Eden Hazard and Diego Costa find their feet away from home and punish the legions of Fantasy Premier League managers who dismissed them ahead of Gameweek 27. Elsewhere, Manuel Lanzini’s late goal blinked the Argentine on the Gameweek 28 radar, while causing yet more frustration in Chelsea’s defensive assets.
Here’s the Stock Check following Monday’s action…
On the Rise
Eden Hazard
Without a goal away from home since the Gameweek 14 victory at the Etihad, the Belgian overcame concerns of his form on the road to convert Chelsea’s counter-attacking opener.
The 11 points – Hazard’s seventh double-figure return of the season – took him to 163 points, second only to Alexis Sanchez overall.
With an aggressive chase for Manchester City assets taking place prior to this Gameweek and a blank to come, Hazard had suffered more than 179,000 sales prior to the London Stadium visit.
But with a double Gameweek to be scheduled and kind short-term fixtures against Stoke City and Crystal Palace, Hazard surely remains in our thoughts for the run-in.
With doubts surrounding Arsenal’s form and a seemingly unsettled Sanchez, the Belgian’s stock as a heavy-hitter midfield asset appears strengthened and we’re likely to see his ownership rise again once Gameweek 28 has passed.
Diego Costa
The Spain international doubled up with Hazard to punish the thousands of FPL managers who traded their Blues assets for City acquisitions.
More than 156,000 moved Costa out of their squads in the scramble for Sergio Aguero and, while that’s a move that could, and should, return profit, the Chelsea man nonetheless issued a reminder that he cannot be easily dismissed.
Monday’s effort, a simple tap in from a Cesc Fabregas corner, was his first goal on the road since a Gameweek 17 headed winner at Crystal Palace.
Despite the perception that Costa has struggled to keep pace with Romelu Lukaku and Harry Kane, he has returned a goal or an assist in four of his last six Gameweek starts.
Nonetheless, doubts remain on his ability to “explode” double-digit returns.
Costa produced nine points on Monday and has broken the 10-point barrier on just three occasions; Lukaku and Kane have supplied six double-figure returns apiece.
Manuel Lanzini
A strike at the death proved a bitter blow to those FPL managers holding Chelsea’s Marcos Alonso and his defensive team-mates, but it also offered further indication of the Argentine’s recent form.
While we will still likely focus on the appeal of the returning Michail Antonio for the Gameweek 28 visit to Bournemouth, Lanzini at 6.3 to Antonio’s 6.9, clearly has the potential to provide an effective differential.
With three goals and a trio of assists in his last six Gameweek starts, Lanzini certainly makes a case to supersede Robert Snodgrass as the option to undercut Antonio.
Snodgrass has delivered one assist in his four Hammers’ starts so far, despite creating nine chances – more than any of his team-mates over that four-match spell.
But the Scot has lagged behind in terms of goal threat. Lanzini has fired in 12 efforts on goal over the last four Gameweeks, compared to Snodgrass’ disappointing contribution of just five attempts.
In Decline
Marcos Alonso
Established as the go-to option in the Chelsea defence around these parts, Alonso is beginning to cause some concern following the Blues’ run of five Gameweeks without a clean sheet. Lanzini’s late goal means that Antonio Conte’s rearguard has kept just two shut-outs in their last nine outings.
Attacking returns have also somewhat dried up over that spell, with the Spaniard contributing a single goal over his last six outings – his last assist was back in Gameweek 19.
But patience is perhaps a worthy policy; Chelsea have strong short-term fixtures and Monday night again saw the Spaniard bomb forward on occasions, earning four penalty area touches – only Costa (five) manager more for the Blues.
Ultimately, our degree of patience shown in Alonso and the Chelsea back four may depend on the “cost of sale” and a reluctance to abandon a prime defensive asset prior to a Chelsea double Gameweek.
Winston Reid
Hobbling off on 68 minutes with what appeared to be an ankle problem, the Kiwi is now an early doubt for West Ham’s visit to Bournemouth in Gameweek 28.
With two goals and three assists to his name, Reid is arguably the key asset for those considering a Hammers defensive acquisition.
Any absence would cast real doubt on investment elsewhere, with Cheikhou Kouyate or James Collins likely to deputise alongside Jose Fonte.
Slaven Bilic’s defence have not kept a clean sheet on their travels since Gameweek 8, a factor that should perhaps be considered when weighing up the merits of Bournemouth’s Josh King as a short-term purchase.
