This Much We Know – Gameweek 6

There may be one match remaining in Gameweek 6 but, as always, there’s plenty for us to mull over. Palace’s form under the new man in charge, Southampton’s wide men, the lack of resilience afforded by Hull, Chelsea’s out-of-form Belgian and Man City’s improving performances are amongst a number of topics on today’s menu.

Warnock deserves credit…
A 2-0 win over in-form Leicester extended Palace’s unbeaten record to four since Neil Warnock took the reins. At both ends of the pitch, the new manager has made an impact – not only has he retained the Selhurst Park solidity instilled by Tony Pulis by securing back-to-back home clean sheets, his side are flourishing in the final third and have fired eight goals in four league outings, bringing the London club back onto our radars at both ends of the pitch. Warnock has also put aside his previous spat with Jason Puncheon and the wide man has flourished – attacking returns in four of his five league outings this season indicates he remains the weapon of choice, with Wilfried Zaha looking an increasingly peripheral figure once again.

Mane’s arrival could unleash Tadic…
The Senegal wide man was handed his league debut at home to QPR and immediately picked up an assist as the Saints won yet again. Mane’s installation on the left allowed Dusan Tadic to start as an inverted winger on the opposite flank and register his most attacking display of the season – six shots and four efforts inside the box was a season high for the Serb and top amongst midfielders for the Gameweek. Both players look full of promise right now, and with the fixtures still very much on side, Tadic may well be set for a climb up the midfield standings if he starts to convert his increased number of chances.

Hull don’t do clean sheets with four at the back…
Steve Bruce’s side had conceded just three goals in the opening trio of Gameweeks with his tried-and-trusted 3-5-2 formation. A spate of summer signings has forced the Tigers boss to change course, however, but his decision to play a more expansive brand of football has come at a cost, with the switch seeing Hull concede eight goals in the resultant three league fixtures. Bruce’s side may be scoring more – averaging two goals per match with the new system – but having picked up just two points with their new tactics, their manager may well be pondering a return to a more pragmatic approach in order to stop the rot.

Chelsea can coast without Hazard’s contribution…
The Belgian turned in yet another ineffectual display as Jose Mourinho’s side eased past Villa 3-0. With a single goal and two assists over the first six fixtures, Hazard has now played a played a part in just three of his side’s 19 league goals this season (15.7%) – a ratio in stark contrast to last year, when he scored 14 goals and created 10 of the Blues’ 71 strikes (33.8%). Whilst there’s no denying his calibre, it’s clear that Jose Mourinho’s side have become far less reliant on the Belgian – subbed off on 68 minutes without a shot or key pass against Villa, the Fantasy exodus looks set to pick up pace.

Chadli looks the real deal..
While Chelsea’s Hazard continues to toil, his compatriot is becoming increasingly crucial to Tottenham’s season. Chadli sits joint-top of the Fantasy Premier League (FPL) midfield standings after firing his fourth goal of the campaign and has now moved 14 points ahead of team-mates Christian Eriksen and Erik Lamela. It’s worth bearing in mind, though, that Mauricio Pochettino’s penchant for freshening up his options midway through the second-half has meant Chadli has managed 90 minutes just once – whilst the Belgian’s pitch time still looks an issue, he’s shown time and again that he’s more than capable of atoning for that, notching four of his side’s eight goals so far.

We can’t write off Gerrard…
The Liverpool skipper served a perfect reminder of his dead-ball abilities by firing a free-kick opener in the Merseyside derby. As we saw last year, Gerrard, in spite of his deep-lying role, proved the doubters wrong on numerous occasions by racking up 205 points and his weekend rise up the rankings suggests it’d be wise not to overlook him. Now sitting just five points behind team-mate Raheem Sterling, Gerrard is identically priced at 8.9, yet sits in just 5% of Fantasy teams compared to the teenager’s 49.5% ownership – those eyeing up an Aaron Ramsey replacement may well ponder Gerrard as a real differential as the Reds prepare for an excellent run of fixtures.

Burnley’s midfield is key to clean sheets…
A 4-0 hammering at West Brom ended The Clarets’ run of three clean sheets yesterday. Noticeably, both David Jones and Dean Marney missed out through injury, forcing Sean Dyche to change tactics and shift to a 4-5-1. The Clarets boss switched formation after the break but by then it was too late – forced to go on the offensive, their frailties at the back were cruelly exposed, leaving them rooted to the bottom of the table. It’s just one goal in six matches now, and with last term’s top scorers Danny Ings and Sam Vokes still sidelined through injury, Dyche’s side risk being cast adrift before long.

The budget frontmen continue to deliver…
There’s no shortage of cut-price options for our three-man frontlines right now. Saido Berahino’s brace took the West Brom forward into fourth spot in the FPL forward standings – so far, four of the top eight strikers sit under the 6.0 price mark. Add in the fact that Palace’s Fraizer Campbell has now scored in each of the last two and West Ham’s Diafra Sakho has notched in all four of his starts for Sam Allardyce’s side and it’s fair to say that Fantasy managers looking to offload Wayne Rooney are spoiled for budget choices right now, with such a trade potentially freeing up plenty of cash to upgrade elsewhere.

Arsenal are looking top heavy…
The arrival of Alexis Sanchez was meant to spearhead the Gunners’ title bid but so far it’s clear that Arsene Wenger has yet to find a perfect balance. Despite scoring in three of his previous four appearances in all competitions, the Chilean was dropped to the bench for the north London derby, and whilst replacement Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain grabbed the hosts’ equaliser, Sanchez will surely be expected to nail down a starting berth in the near future. With Theo Walcott potentially back within a month, though, the Arsenal boss still needs to find a formula that allows all his big-hitters the chance to flourish and keeps his side tight at the back. It’s perhaps no coincidence that their only clean sheet so far was due to a move to 4-2-3-1 away to Villa, but with a number of central midfielders doubtful for the weekend trip to Chelsea, Wenger’s chances of keeping out the hosts at the Bridge seem remote.

We can’t ignore City’s goal potential…
With Edin Dzeko installed alongside Sergio Aguero in a 4-4-2, the champions ran riot against Hull’s porous defence. The Bosnian’s brace suggests he’s finally rediscovering the form that served up 16 goals last time around, though with Stevan Jovetic now passed fit for tomorrow’s Champions League clash with Roma, the options up front look set to increase for Manuel Pellegrini. Sergio Aguero’s minutes continue to be managed, though a fourth goal of the campaign, allied with David Silva’s two assists, suggests that City’s main men are starting to find their stride ahead of a very encouraging run of fixtures.