The Stock Check – Gameweek 32 – Saturday

A Spurs trio flourish, a fourth returns and Eden Hazard keeps the Chelsea ball rolling on a sun-soaked Saturday in the Premier League.

Clouds continue to gather over Costa, however, and the absence of yet another Spurs asset rains on many a Fantasy parade.

Here’s the Stock Check.

On The Rise

Son Heung-Min, Dele Alli, Christian Eriksen
Spurs brushed aside an under-strength Watford, with the midfield trio outstanding and Son unquestionably the key performer.
His 19-point return followed back-to back-goals, taking him up to 11th in the Fantasy Premier League (FPL) midfielders’ table despite playing less than 20 minutes – or not figuring at all – in 13 of 32 matches this season.

It is a measure of Spurs’ flexibility under Mauricio Pochettino that even 32 points from the last three Gameweeks won’t guarantee the South Korean’s involvement until the season’s end.

He operated on the left, with Vincent Janssen in the striker’s role, against Watford and will likely stay there with the fit-again Harry Kane set to start Gameweek 33’s visit of Bournemouth.

Should Pochettino return to fielding three centre-halves, however, Son’s place immediately comes under threat, with Eriksen and Alli first in line for the attacking roles behind the England striker.

Despite this, Son is currently the most popular signing for next weekend’s matches – ahead of Kane in second and Alli fifth.

The England midfielder made it 13 goals in 15 Gameweeks, and four in a row at home, to justify the faith of 105,425 new managers – more than any other Gameweek 32 asset. Over 339,500, or 7.7%, also captained him.

In a trio of excellence, Eriksen was the poor relation by comparison, yesterday, ‘only’ delivering an assist.

The Dane now has 15 assists for the season – more than any other FPL asset, providing returns in four of the last six Gameweeks and 10 assists from his last nine home matches.

Harry Kane
Kane’s speedy return from injury offers opportunity and complication in equal measure.

Given 30 minutes against the Hornets, the striker hit the bar and confirmed his overall sharpness to boost Spurs’ generally favourable run-in, which includes a double Gameweek still to be confirmed.

Managers have already begun buying him back in, prompting an overnight 0.1 price rise, and many more will surely follow, putting previously iron-clad plans to bring in striker Zlatan Ibrahimovic for Manchester United’s double Gameweek 34 in doubt.

Eden Hazard, Marcos Alonso
The Belgian midfielder is keeping Chelsea’s title march on track not quite single-handedly, but not far off.

A fine individual goal at Bournemouth made it four in four matches from Hazard, and there is a pleasing symmetry to his recent record, with his strikes shared equally between home and away matches.

That should stand him in good stead for what appear to be the final two major obstacles to the Blues’ title challenge – trips to Man United and Everton over the next three Gameweeks.

Consecutive double-digit returns would have delighted the 94,000+ managers who brought him in this week, with 5.7% of all FPL bosses handing him the armband.

Marcos Alonso’s form has not been so cheering for his 15.5% ownership, with no clean sheet in nine matches.

But having struck the bar with two free kicks this season, the Spaniard produced a beauty at Bournemouth to seal the points for the Blues and, presumably, his continued place in close to 700,000 FPL squads.

If that prompts further dead-ball duties, the wing-back is likely to remain a key player for the run-in, particularly with a double Gameweek involving Watford still to come.

Josh King
The Bournemouth midfielder was another who flourished at the Vitality Stadium, scoring for the second match running and for the tenth time in 11 starts.

With strikes against Man United, Liverpool, Everton and now Chelsea in that run, he remains a fixture-proof asset who is also the top-rated for value, with 23.9 points per million.

His deflected shot yesterday had more than a touch of good fortune about it, but his 14.3% ownership base won’t be worrying about that, and once next Saturday’s trip to Spurs is out of the way, he’ll have five excellent fixtures to round off what has become an outstanding season.

Ben Gibson
Tapping into Middlesbrough’s solidity has proved problematic for many, with a number of defenders succumbing to injuries.
Not so Gibson, who has started and finished every single Boro league match this campaign.

He rewarded his 9.4% ownership base with a tenth clean sheet yesterday and provided two more bonus points for good measure.
There are cheaper Boro options available, but Gibson remains the one assured selection at the back ahead of a double Gameweek 34 involving Bournemouth away and a visit from Sunderland.

Tom Heaton
Try as we might to find alternatives in goal, the Burnley man just keeps on delivering.

He kept his third clean sheet in four matches at Middlesbrough yesterday and leads the keepers’ table by 15 points and has made 19 more saves than any other stopper to boot.

Even allowing for matches with Everton and Man United next – and no double Gameweek to sweeten that pill either – it remains highly difficult to justify shipping Heaton.

Maya Yoshida
A goal in midweek, two clean sheets in his last three and back-to-back maximum bonus points have handed the Japanese defender’s owners 27 points this week alone.

Jack Stephens (4.1) offers an even cheaper route into the Saints’ defence than the 4.3-valued Yoshida, but the latter is the clear leader of a Southampton back line preparing for two double Gameweeks before season’s end.

With five of the top six still to play, it’s a devilish run-in, however.

Sergio Aguero, Raheem Sterling
Competition for our forward lines is suddenly very intense again, leaving Aguero’s future at the mercy of other strikers’ performances.

The Argentinian scored his fifth goal in six matches yesterday – and bagged his first maximum bonus points haul since Gameweek 13 – to reward the 12.5% of us who handed him the armband.

But with Kane now available and Ibrahimovic’s double Gameweek fast approaching, Aguero is likely to lose owners despite his good form, Man City’s favourable run-in and a double Gameweek of their own.

Romelu Lukaku’s performance and returns against Leicester City today will be critical for managers trying to decide which of a quartet of premium strikers will lead their lines through the run-in.

At least Sterling’s 11.6% ownership got to see their man starting and producing again.

Given just 57 minutes over the previous two matches, the midfielder played the full 90 against Hull City and served up two assists to take him joint top, on 14, with De Bruyne and Eriksen.

Having started just two of City’s last five matches, Sterling’s consistent involvement from now until the end of the season looks rather more likely.

Philippe Coutinho
The Brazilian’s ownership figures have been a moveable feast over recent weeks, with more than 141,000 jumping ship before Gameweek 32 after illness curtailed his involvement in Wednesday’s draw with Bournemouth.

That decision looked wise when Jurgen Klopp benched Coutinho yesterday, only for the German to bring him on at half-time with the Reds trailing to Stoke City.

Cue a second-half goal – his third in three matches – and the great Coutinho buy-back has begun again ahead of a trip to West Brom next Sunday.

Liverpool have just six matches left to play this season, but all are relatively kindly. Those holding Coutinho certainly face a dilemma with double Gameweeks looming.

Dusan Tadic
The Serbian halted a run of three matches without a return with an assist for the winner at West Brom.

As mentioned above, Southampton’s run-in is both busy and tough, but Tadic remains the Saints’ key attacking asset in the ongoing absence of Manolo Gabbiadini.

The midfielder has dovetailed well with the Italian since the latter’s arrival in January.

Tadic’s 2.2% ownership base will be hoping for a swift return for Gabbiadini to help their man prosper from Southampton’s final eight matches.

In Decline

Kyle Walker
FPL’s most popular defensive asset is suddenly a rotation risk, rested for the second time in three matches against Watford yesterday.

If that wasn’t bad enough for his huge 35.7% following, replacement Kieran Tripper was outstanding, bringing in a double-digit haul courtesy of a clean sheet, assist and two bonus points.

It’s far from the end of Walker’s season, but the worry is that Pochettino will consider bringing in Trippier for some of Spurs’ easier fixtures to come – the encounters from which Walker’s ownership would be expecting meaty returns to justify his 6.5 price tag.

Just over 20,000 have already seen enough, making him the early leader of the transfers-out brigade for Gameweek 33.

Gylfi Sigurdsson
Not far behind Walker in the sold section comes Swansea City’s star man.

Another Gameweek, another blank – Sigurdsson has now gone four matches without a decent return, and he’s not scored since Gameweek 24.

Swansea City are struggling, but there is still hope for both the team and its talisman.

The Swans’ final six fixtures are generally favourable, and striker Fernando Llorente emerged from the bench yesterday to boost their attacking options – and the Icelander’s chances of providing assists.
Whether that is enough to halt the Sigurdsson slide remains to be seen.

Diego Costa
On a day of almost unrelenting positivity for Chelsea, even the struggling Diego Costa got in on the act with two assists – his first returns in four matches.

It was looking even better for the Spaniard as he was initially awarded a goal for his mis-hit shot. That lasted about a minute, however, and he now has no strikes in four Gameweeks and just two from his last nine starts.

With competition among forwards suddenly at its most cut-throat in a long time, sales in the 10.5-priced Costa continue apace, and the Blues’ relatively tough immediate schedule is unlikely to stem that particular tide.

Andy Carroll
The promise of returns against a suspect Arsenal defence and a porous Swansea back line prompted a small surge in the big forward’s ownership.

He blanked in the first and was preserved in the second, having suffered another groin problem.

His 4.7% ownership base can only hope Carroll is being saved for Saturday’s trip to Sunderland, with boss Slaven Bilic sort of confirming his availability post-match.

“Andy is going to be probably…most definitely fit for the next game.”

Gareth McAuley
Those of a conspiratorial bent will have viewed Tony Pulis’ decision to hook McAuley just before the 60-minute mark for the second match running through typically narrowed eyes.

Whether the centre-half was pulled for tactical or fatigue-based reasons – he is, after all 37 – is unclear. A second consecutive loss of an extra point is, however, undeniable.

Investment in the Baggies’ rearguard has become vexed. They’ve managed just one clean sheet in eight matches and with McAuley’s goals and now even appearance points drying up, his 33% ownership are well within their rights to sell up and move on.

A Gameweek 34 blank and Liverpool, Chelsea and Man City still to play only strengthens that selling strategy.