The Digest – Gameweek 16

Liverpool’s fit-again captain makes an instant impact on his first league start under Jurgen Klopp. Bournemouth claim another big scalp by seeing off United at Dean Court, whilst Manuel Pellegrini’s decision to bench Kevin de Bruyne and Aleksandar Kolarov gives us an early heads-up on festive rotation.

The Player

A goal and assist in his first league start under Jurgen Klopp immediately brought Jordan Henderson back onto Fantasy managers’ radars.

Sidelined since sustaining a foot injury in Gameweek 2, the Reds skipper was afforded a brief second-half sub appearance against Swansea in Gameweek 14 before Klopp named him in his first XI for the weekend visit of West Brom.

With maximum bonus also accrued against the Baggies, Henderson racked up 13 points to quickly serve a reminder of his six goals and ten assists in the 2014/15 campaign. Having dropped from 7.0 to 6.5 in the Fantasy Premier League (FPL) game, it may be time to start considering him again.

Crucially for Klopp, his captain’s high-energy style of play looks a perfect match for his gegenpressing approach and a fully-fit Henderson – like he was under Rodgers – will surely be immune to rotation in the centre of the park.

Certainly, the midfielder’s showing against Tony Pulis’ side bodes well for his Fantasy potential under the new manager. Although there’s a chance that the German may ration Henderson’s Christmas minutes as a result of his stint on the sidelines, clashes against Watford, Leicester, Sunderland and West Ham could afford him the platform to push on from that Baggies’ display and finally find himself back into our plans.

The Team

A 2-1 home win over Man United helped Bournemouth climb two points clear of the drop zone as Eddie Howe’s side showed their Gameweek 15 triumph at Stamford Bridge was no fluke.

The Cherries’ heroes of the day, Junior Stanislas and Joshua King, are clearly thriving in Howe’s new-look set-up and their recent hauls have proved worthy of starting roles in our XIs. The former has chipped in with three goals and an assist in the last four, whilst King’s role as the lone striker has helped him produce two goals and an assist across the same period.

Although Stanislas (4.2) and King (4.6) have emerged as the choice routes into Howe’s attack, both Dan Gosling and Matt Ritchie have shown plenty of goal threat since the return of Harry Arter in Gameweek 11. Indeed, Gosling, Ritchie, Stanislas and King have all produced 16 attempts on goal apiece in the last six matches, underlining their points potential.

If King can shrug off a hamstring problem sustained against United, Howe’s side will have every reason for optimism heading into the busy festive period. The last two results have clearly shown they are more than capable of upsetting any opponent and with home clashes against the likes of Palace, West Ham and Norwich in the next six, could continue to offer excellent value for money.

The Talking Point

After watching his side lose to Stoke in the previous Gameweek, Manuel Pellegrini put the blame firmly down to fatigue. With so many injuries to contend with, the City boss was unable to rest and rotate with regularity and instead relied heavily on a small core of players over the past few months.

On Saturday, Pellegrini finally took action. With the likes of Gael Clichy and David Silva fully fit, the Chilean dropped Aleksandar Kolarov and Kevin de Bruyne to the bench for the visit of managerless Swansea after both had started the midweek win over Borussia Monchengladbach. As City huffed and puffed to a late 2-1 win, De Bruyne owners were left with a one-point second-half cameo, whilst Kolarov warmed the bench from start to finish.

Given that next Monday’s match at Arsenal is the first of eight fixtures in 26 days for City, we’ll have to prepare for more of the same. It remains to be seen just how often Sergio Aguero will feature, then, whilst the Gunners’ recent results will perhaps persuade Arsene Wenger to court caution with the fitness of Alexis Sanchez.

Pellegrini’s team sheet served a timely reminder of the need for strong benches at this time of year. Come the festive period, our squads are subject to the rotational whims of top-flight managers more than any other point in the season as the fixtures arrive thick and fast.

As the schedule picks up pace, there’s also potential suspensions to consider and plan around. Jamie Vardy – owned by over 56% FPL managers – now sits just one caution short of a single-match ban after earning his fourth yellow of the season last night. Should he be booked in any of the next three league fixtures before the limit is extended to ten yellows on New Year’s Day, he’ll topple off the Tightrope.

Fortunately, the absence of both Aguero and Sanchez has, for once, come in handy, with plenty of cash subsequently freed up just as the schedule picks up pace.

Their injuries, allied with the raft of value options on offer, means that this year, arguably more than ever, Fantasy managers are well-positioned to strengthen our squads and back-up options, allowing us to plan for these worst-case scenarios in order to navigate the tricky Christmas period.