Daniel Sturridge and Philippe Coutinho are amongst the goals as Liverpool put four past Everton in a one-sided derby at Anfield. Andy Carroll nets again as West Ham sweep aside Watford at Upton Park, whilst Matteo Darmian bags a goal and assist in United’s home win over Palace.
Reds run riot
Jurgen Klopp welcomed back his starters for the Merseyside derby but opted to field Divock Origi ahead of Daniel Sturridge at the lone-striker berth. The former opened the scoring (his third goal in three) at the 43-minute mark but would later leave the pitch on a stretcher with an ankle injury. Post-match, Klopp conceded that the Belgium international has twisted his ankle and is set to undergo scans to assess any further damage.
Sturridge replaced Origi and found himself on the scoresheet seven minutes later, notching his fourth goal in five appearances. Should Origi face a stint on the sidelines, the England international could be in the driving seat to lead the line over the run-in, though with the Europa League clashes against Villarreal also to factor in, Klopp could also utilise Roberto Firmino as a false nine as he continues to manage Sturridge’s minutes.
Philippe Coutinho netted his third goal in as many starts, whilst James Milner also kept his tally ticking over with his second brace of assists in three outings. With the weekend home match against Newcastle taking place five days before the first leg against Villarreal, though, there’d be no surprise if Klopp made several alterations to his team sheet, as evidenced by his first XI at Bournemouth on Sunday.
Rounding off Liverpool’s Fantasy output, Mamadou Sakho bagged his first league goal of the season to deliver a 15-point double Gameweek 34 haul, while Lucas Leiva and Joe Allen grabbed assists.
Funes Mori dismissed for sorry Toffees
Everton endured a torrid evening at Anfield, mustering just three attempts and zero shots on target as they stretched out their winless run to seven matches.
To compound matters, Ramiro Funes Mori received a straight red in the 50th minute for a reckless challenge on Origi, ruling him out of the Toffees’ FA Cup semi-final against Manchester United and their next two league encounters (BOU, lei). With Seamus Coleman and Phil Jagielka both injured, Roberto Martinez’ men look decimated in defence right now.
An exodus is on the cards for Romelu Lukaku owners following the Belgian’s fifth consecutive blank. Lukaku managed a pitiful six attempts in his previous four starts and is fronting an attack that’s netted only two goals in six fixtures, underlining the magnitude of Everton’s current malaise. Ally this with the Toffees’ poor defensive form (one clean sheet in nine) and it’s difficult to justify investment prior to their double Gameweek 37 (lei & sun).
Carroll notches another in Hammers win
West Ham United extended their unbeaten streak to nine matches with a 3-1 home win over Watford.
Courtesy of two goals from the penalty spot, Mark Noble posted his highest score (16 points) of the campaign. Andy Carroll spearheaded the Irons’ attack and went on to notch for the third successive league match. The Hammers striker now boasts six goals in five outings, placing him on many managers’ shopping lists ahead of West Ham’s double Gameweek 37 (SWA, MUN). Considering that Diafra Sakho had to settle for a wing role on his return to action, Carroll looks set to retain his starting berth beyond a blank next Gameweek.
Dimitri Payet, Cheikhou Kouyate and Michail Antonio grabbed the assists. The former somewhat fell short of expectations with a six-point haul over the double, while the latter continues to deliver attacking returns (two assists in three) despite being deployed at right-back.
Prodl bags Hornets’ consolation
In the wake of defeat at the Boleyn Ground, Watford lay claim to just one victory in their last eight outings.
In an obvious ploy to preserve the fitness of his first-teamers before the Hornets’ FA Cup semi-final this Sunday, Quique Sanchez Flores named seven changes for their trip to Upton Park. The likes of Odion Ighalo was afforded a rest, whilst Troy Deeney was named amongst the subs only to emerge from the bench and miss a spot-kick.
Handed a third start in four, Sebastian Prodl (Steven Berghuis assist) starved the hosts of a clean sheet with his maiden goal of the campaign.
Darmian the unlikely United hero
Manchester United renewed their hunt for a top-four berth with a 2-0 win over Crystal Palace at Old Trafford.
Matteo Darmian delighted 13,000 managers that drafted him in prior to Gameweek 34, notching a goal and assist as part of a 17-point showing. The Italian full-back profited from the Red Devils’ fourth clean sheet in five outings, yet the absence of Marcos Rojo and Timothy Fosu-Mensah reaffirmed the fact that David Gea and Chris Smalling represent the only safe routes into their defence. In saying that, it’s worth noting that Antonio Valencia also benefitted over the pair of fixtures, with a goal and two clean sheets earning him 20 points – only Sergio Aguero (26 points) has bettered that score amongst outfield players in the Gameweek ahead of tonight’s final fixture at the Emirates.
Anthony Martial was re-inserted into the starting XI as Louis van Gaal also found room for Wayne Rooney and Marcus Rashford in a 4-3-3 set-up. Ultimately, Martial – who’s now scored a solitary goal in seven appearances – proved to be a misstep for over 200,000 managers that backed him to capitalise on Man United’s favourable pair of home match-ups.
