Huddersfield Town need extra time to ensure that their FA Cup journey goes on – and another Gameweek 31 fixture will go ahead – while a forgotten striker option finds some form as Swansea City destroy lower-league opposition.
The most notable issue to arise from Huddersfield’s 4-1 win at Birmingham last night was that it now guarantees a third fixture will be played in Gameweek 31.
The Terriers had to wait until extra time to secure their place in the fifth round and a home tie with Manchester United.
That, in turn, means one of those sides will be able to fulfil their league fixture when the quarter-finals take place over the weekend of March 16.
Huddersfield are due to entertain Crystal Palace in the league on that date, while United travel to West Ham.
As both the Eagles and the Hammers are already out of this season’s FA Cup, one of those fixtures will now join the other two matches – Liverpool v Watford and Stoke City v Everton – already guaranteed to take place during Gameweek 31.
Terriers coach David Wagner made five changes to the side that lost at Old Trafford on Saturday, but it was still a team packed with regular starters.
Striker Laurent Depoitre and defender Christopher Schindler missed out through injury, but Aaron Mooy and Tom Ince were recalled in midfield, with the latter’s shot leading to an own goal that leveled the tie.
Despite incessant pressure, Huddersfield couldn’t find a winner in 90 minutes, although they put the tie to bed early on in extra time.
Steve Mounie, from a Mooy assist, and Rajiv van La Parra scored within seven minutes of the restart before Ince rounded off the win a minute into the second period.
Abraham stakes his claim
At the start of Gameweek 12, Swansea striker Tammy Abraham’s ownership peaked at just under one million managers, and his price at 6.0, in Fantasy Premier League (FPL).
Fourteen Gameweeks, no goals and six price drops later, just over 200,000 managers remain.
Four goals in eight Gameweeks made him one of the leading early-season budget strikers in FPL; a mantle that team-mate Jordan Ayew is currently trying on for size.
But Abraham’s star turn in last night’s 8-1 demolition of Notts County looked particularly well-timed in light of the season-ending injury suffered by Wilfried Bony in the Swans’ 1-1 draw at Leicester City last weekend.
Speaking before the FA Cup fourth round replay, manager Carlos Carvalhal was happy to talk up Abraham’s prospects.
“Tammy Abraham is an interesting player. He has only been training with us for something like a week and a half after injury. Wilfried’s injury will give more opportunities to him and he is someone we believe in a lot.”
The striker responded with an eye-catching first-half display against the League Two side, scoring two goals and setting up another as the Swans went into the interval 4-1 up.
Abraham then capped a fine display with an assist for the final goal.
Carvalhal’s post-match summary acknowledged the striker’s performance, though he also made it clear that he expects more.
“He is progressing – but he can do better in my opinion. He knows he can do better. If you ask me between now and when we arrived has he progressed, he has but I’m still thinking he can do better. We will try to push him to do better.”
Ayew’s four goals in the last eight Gameweeks is likely to keep him in the side for the short term. However, Abraham will need monitoring, particularly if he is given a chance to take advantage of his team’s excellent schedule.
Swansea entertain Burnley this weekend before an FA Cup fifth round tie at Sheffield Wednesday.
The fixtures after that (bha WHU hud SOT mun wba EVE) could well decide their Premier League fate and if Abraham can rediscover his early-season form, it could revitalise a side that has managed a joint-worst 19 league goals thus far.
New signings Andre Ayew and Andy King were cup-tied and unavailable to Carvalhal, who made seven changes to the team that drew at Leicester. That saw him revert to a 4-4-1-1, giving Luciano Narsingh an opportunity to impress on the right flank.
The Dutch international set up three of the Swans’ four first-half goals as Abraham and Nathan Dyer – again playing up behind Abraham – scored two apiece.
Kyle Naughton also boosted his stock with a second-half goal, at a time when Fantasy managers will be assessing the merits of the Swans backline.
Wayne Routledge, Tom Carroll and debutant Dan James rounded off the scoring, with an assist coming from Routledge.
Swansea are now one win from an FA Cup quarter-final place.
Should they beat Sheffield Wednesday in the fifth round, that would mean their Gameweek 31 home match with Southampton would have to be rescheduled.
And even if they don’t, the league match might still not go ahead as the Saints also remain in the FA Cup.
The south coast side take on West Brom in the fifth round. Should the Baggies be knocked out, their Gameweek 31 trip to Bournemouth would then be confirmed.
A reminder that Ben Crellin’s Twitter Moment provides full detail on the scenarios that could develop for Gameweek 31 and beyond.
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