This Much We Know – Gameweek 30

A muted Alexis Sanchez, a pair of Eagles poised for an early take-off and the return of Romelu Lukaku’s old Fantasy Football demons. This and more occupy our thoughts following Gameweek 30.

Moody Sanchez remains a worry…
Arsenal’s Alexis Sanchez was always set to be reserved for our squads for the final quarter of the season.

The top scoring FPL asset, with ten fixtures over the remaining eight Gameweeks, the Chilean surely remains a central figure.

But Sunday’s lacklustre performance against Manchester City renewed fears surrounding his mindset and approach to Arsenal’s run-in.

Seemingly at odds with himself and his team-mates at times in Sunday’s 2-2 draw, Sanchez produced just a single shot and touch in the box all match.

Those numbers hardly instil confidence in a player who will likely be earmarked for the remaining Triple Captain chips once Arsenal’s double Gameweek’s are confirmed.

A role on the left flank is not helping his cause, but with Danny Welbeck now making three consecutive starts and Olivier Giroud still a factor, there can be no promise of that situation changing in the near future.

Sanchez faces West Ham United on Wednesday, an opponent that suffered at his hands so severely at the London Stadium. He produced 23 points in that encounter and will be heavily backed with the armband in Gameweek 31 as a result. Another disappointment would see alarm bells multiply and confidence waver.

Mane loss paves the way for Origi…
While it’s Philippe Coutinho who came to the fore to capture the bulk of the Gameweek 31 transfers thus far, Saturday’s injury to Sadio Mane might just leave the door ajar for another Liverpool asset to shine.

With the Senegalese likely to miss the Reds’ next two outings – at the very least – Divock Origi seems destined for another run of appearances in the attack.

Typically, on his introduction against Everton, Origi took his opportunity to impress, smartly converting Coutinho’s slide rule pass to demonstrate an undoubted goal scoring ability.

On a run of six appearances – including five starts – from Gameweeks 13 to 18, the Belgian flirted with our squads, providing four goals, an assist and seven bonus points before giving way to Liverpool’s regular front three.

Now set for another burst of starts, Origi could offer outstanding short-term value once more, starting with Wednesday’s Anfield collision with an erratic Bournemouth rearguard.

Missing Lukaku rekindles doubts…
While one Belgian took his chance in Saturday’s Merseyside derby, another barely made an impression having failed to register a single shot all afternoon.

After making such progress to banish his FPL demons with a sustained and prolific spell of goals, Romelu Lukaku raised old concerns with an almost anonymous display against Liverpool.

Once again we witnessed how even a striker of Lukaku’s talent can struggle when the Toffees fail to function as an attacking unit.

Deprived of the tireless bursts of Seamus Coleman from wing-back, Ronald Koeman’s side struggled for width, which left Lukaku drifting deeper and into wide areas in an attempt to influence proceedings.

Sadly, that took him away from the zones from which he can inflict damage.

Of his last 12 goals, only two have arrived away from home, while the other two matches that saw him fail to register a shot were against Chelsea and Manchester United.

That suggests that Lukaku is still struggling to overcome the doubts surrounding his ability to rise above Everton’s mediocrity when faced with superior opposition.

He likely needs a big performance at Old Trafford tomorrow night to stave off further sales.

Zaha and Benteke book early flights…
Notable for their recent defensive resolve, Fantasy managers required the Crystal Palace attack to be revived ahead of their demanding Gameweek 34 twin fixtures.

Wilfried Zaha and Christian Benteke were always the likely protagonists and, earlier than scheduled, they demonstrated their promise on the most unlikely of stages.

Few would have foreseen the Eagles victory at Stamford Bridge, but the confidence and form shown by Palace’s lively attacking partnership has now provided renewed optimism ahead of Gameweek 34.

With Zlatan Ibrahimovic back in the equation up top and Mane crocked, many are apparently moving early for Zaha – only Coutinho has seen more acquisitions so far ahead of tomorrow’s deadline.

Another dress rehearsal at Southampton on Wednesday will offer more evidence but, on Saturday’s showing, both the winger and a reinvigorated Benteke could well be major factors in the double Gameweek shake-up.

Chelsea jitters keep Alonso’s stock in check…
The Eagles unexpected gains at the Bridge provided the latest evidence that Antonio Conte’s cruise to the title is suffering turbulence.

Most alarmingly, the defence has now conceded at least once in their previous seven outings, diminishing the appeal of clinging to Marcos Alonso. For all his attacking endeavour, we need to see urgent returns from the Blues’ defender as we approach a spate of Wildcards and heavy transfer activity around Gameweek 34.

The Chelsea attack is also under scrutiny. While Eden Hazard’s trickery is still there to be admired, his returns have ticked over rather than exploded, while Diego Costa has stalled badly.

Back-to-back single point scores and just two goals from his last seven Gameweeks has ensured that Costa is the major fall-guy from the renewed interest in Ibrahimovic.

Costa and Chelsea need a performance and some stable returns come Wednesday’s Gameweek 31 meet with Manchester City.

Goal-shy United cements Ibrahimovic run-in…
Jose Mourinho didn’t hesitate to single out his attacking players for criticism in Saturdays 0-0 stalemate with West Brom.

With Ibrahimovic now available for tomorrow’s clash with Everton, Jose’s kidology, playing down the Swede’s re-introduction to the starting XI, is fooling nobody.

Saturday’s failings revealed once again just how reliant United have become on the striker – reassurance, perhaps, for us Fantasy managers who look on United’s forthcoming impossibly busy schedule and question whether the veteran can really offer us assured starts.

While United remain in the chase for a top four placing, it would seem that Mourinho can ill-afford to consider resting the 35-year-old’s limbs.

Defoe’s supply is being strangled…
Jermain Defoe is another evergreen striker who remains integral to his side’s fortunes but, unlike Ibrahimovic, the Sunderland marksman looks unlikely to factor in our run-in reckoning.

Defoe has now returned in just one of his last seven Gameweeks and, more alarmingly, with David Moyes’ men so bereft of ideas, his supply appears to be too easily strangled by opponents.

Saturday’s 1-0 defeat to Watford saw him fail to record a single shot on goal or even a touch in the Hornets’ penalty area.

A doubt for Tuesday’s trip to Leicester City, the chances of Defoe salvaging the Black Cats’ season and reinstating himself in our squads is looking more remote with every outing.

Shackled Lanzini a new Hammers concern…
After three goals and three maximum bonus hauls from his last five outings, Manuel Lanzini looked on course to become an unlikely differential, at least until the double Gameweek surgery kicked in.

But with Slaven Bilic seemingly spoiled for options for his attacking midfield roles, the West Ham manager made the decision to sacrifice Lanzini’s recent flair in the final third and drop him back into a deeper central role.

The Argentine was impressive enough at the KCOM Stadium, even in defeat, but a single touch in the Hull City box and a solitary shot from range summed up the impact of Bilic’s tactical tinkerings.

With Michail Antonio soon to return from injury to crowd the attacking positions further, we have to wonder if Lanzini’s spell as a game changer around the opposition area is at an end.

…but Carroll looks poised following Koscielny blow…
While Lanzini may struggle to make an impact from a new midfield role at Arsenal, another West Ham asset will be relishing his likely opportunities presented by Wednesday’s Emirates Stadium visit.

Fresh from his goal on Humberside, Andy Carroll was always going to prove a menacing opponent for the Arsenal back four. Extract the influence of Laurent Koscielny and insert a shaky Gabriel, and Carroll’s prospects seem even more favourable.

The stand-in centre-back will welcome the opportunity to regain a starting role. He will not have wanted it to come against West Ham and a fit-again Carroll. The Brazilian has been terrorised by the target man in previous meetings and with David Ospina also a likely soft target in goal, Carroll will not be holding back.

Luckless King can’t stem sales…
In a season which has seen midfield assets swapped out of our squads with alarming regularity, it seems even an explosive run of form and a modest price tag cannot guarantee you a stay of execution.

Josh King’s failure to return and his premature withdrawal on 69 minutes at Southampton has already prompted significant sales, despite a spell that had seen him provide eight goals in eight Gameweeks prior to the St Mary’s blank.

Faced with a withering short-term schedule – Liverpool (a), Chelsea (h), Spurs (a) – there is obvious logic behind the King exit plans. However, we have to wonder if things would have been different had he remained on the pitch and earned the opportunity to convert Bournemouth’s second half penalty.

For those holding ahead of a favourable final five, King may now be relegated to bench fodder material. It remains to be seen if he can overcome fixtures to punish our fickle fancies.

Sigurdsson’s goal drought is testing the patience…
Just as the King doubts have prompted immediate action from some, so Gylfi Sigurdsson is currently on the receiving end of a minor exodus following his Sunday blank against Middlesbrough.

Like King, the Swans’ playmaker has been a gift in recent weeks, but with the tide turning so quickly towards double Gameweek assets, it appears that some have little consideration for sentiment, or indeed, Swansea’ favourable schedule.

The Icelander is now without a goal in six Gameweeks, having kept his tally ticking over with a stream of single assists.

With Spurs the Gameweek 31 opponent, more than 25,000 have already ushered the Swan from their squads.

Fixtures with West Ham (a), Watford (a) and Stoke City (h) provide incentive enough for the rest of us to sit tight. For now at least.

Boro remain reliant on resilience…
New regime, same old issues.

We were struggling to see how Steve Agnew could possibly transform Middlesbrough’s tactical approach with so few viable attacking assets at his disposal and Sunday provided our answer.

If Middlesbrough are to remain in the top flight, they will likely have to achieve it by grinding out narrow victories and hard-fought draws akin to Sunday’s result at Swansea City.

The clean sheet in south Wales – only a second in eight Gameweeks – confirmed our suspicions: it will be the defence that tempts investment ahead of Gameweek 34, with Alvaro Negredo and the stilted Boro attack still struggling to make an impression.