Aston Villa record a rare win as Christian Benteke casts aside a lengthy goal drought. Saido Berahino is on target once again, Sadio Mane puts an end to Southampton’s rocky patch and bags his seventh of the campaign, whilst Dame N’Doye alerts Fantasy managers with his third strike in four.
Relief for Villa and Benteke
At long last, Aston Villa put their 12-match winless streak to bed with an incident-packed 2-1 victory over West Bromwich Albion. The Villains’ first win since early December coincided with Christian Benteke’s first goal in 16 outings, as the Belgian striker bagged his fourth of the campaign with a penalty deep into stoppage time. Gabriel Agbonlahor opened the scoring in the 22nd minute, snapping a 14-match goal drought of his own.
Tim Sherwood named just one change to the side that lost 1-0 to Newcastle last time out, drafting in Charles N’Zogbia to replace Scott Sinclair. The 28-year-old midfielder lined up in the number 10 role behind a front two of Benteke and Agbonlahor.
Villa now face a potential momentum-building pair of match-ups away to Sunderland and home to Swansea before embarking on a brutal run of fixtures until the penultimate Gameweek (mun, tot, QPR, mci, EVE, WHU, sou). We’ll be keeping a close eye on Benteke in the coming weeks to ascertain whether his late goal proves to be the catalyst for a return to form.
Berahino papers over cracks
For the third time in four Gameweeks, Saido Berahino was on target for the Baggies, notching his 12th goal of the season. Although impressive in recent clashes, the 21-year-old’s goalscoring exploits have diverted attention away from the Midlanders’ dearth of creativity. In the last four Gameweeks, West Brom have only mustered a combined total of nine shots on target; in fact, Berahino’s goal against Villa was their only effort on target and one of three attempts altogether. West Brom are to be commended for taking their chances, but it’s a worrying trend that’s worth observing in their upcoming fixtures.
Brown Ideye also passed a late fitness test and was selected in Pulis’ unchanged XI. The physical forward spearheaded the visitors attack – with Berahino operating in “the hole” behind – but couldn’t engineer a single attempt on goal throughout the 90. Nonetheless, Fantasy managers that invested in the strike duo will be hopeful of attacking returns in light of West Brom’s schedule – besides an unforgiving trip to the Etihad, three winnable home ties (STO, QPR, LEI) in the next four provide a platform for their forwards to flourish.
Southampton’s Mane man
Sadio Mane (6.6) registered his fifth strike in nine matches as Saints’ broke a 378-minute barren spell in front of goal, recording their first victory in four Gameweeks. The Senegal international is fast establishing himself as the premier pick in the 6.0–7.0 price bracket, particularly with the likes of Stewart Downing (6.7) and Gylfi Sigurddson (6.5) suffering from a lack of form. Beyond a trip to Stamford Bridge next Gameweek, Southampton’s schedule throws up a host of favourable match-ups (BUR, eve, HUL, sto), which could trigger an increase on Mane’s 1% ownership.
Meanwhile, Dusan Tadic and Florin Gardos were demoted as Eljero Elia and Filip Djuricic muscled their way back into Ronald Koeman’s starting line-up. Saints rearguard recorded their third clean sheet in five matches, much to the delight of Nathaniel Clyne’s (35%) and Ryan Bertand’s (19%) substantial ownerships. Toby Alderweireld was only fit enough for the bench after recovering from a hamstring problem but is expected to return to the starting XI next time out.
Crystal Palace tasted defeat on their travels for the first time under Alan Pardew’s stewardship. Mile Jedinak began his four-match ban after being charged with violent conduct by the FA for elbowing Diafra Sakho last weekend. Joe Ledley and James McArthur were recalled to the Eagles midfield, while Dwight Gayle was tasked with leading the line in the absence of the suspended Glenn Murray. In spite of last night’s blank, the Eagles’ fixtures still look promising for their maian Fantasy assets – Pardew’s side host QPR, West Brom and Hull over the next six and also travel to Stoke and Sunderland.
N’Doye turning heads
Having only been afforded a 35-minute cameo against Stoke City last Saturday due to fatigue, Dame N’Doye netted his third goal in as many starts as Hull City shared the spoils with Sunderland. The 5.5-priced frontman was welcomed back into the starting line-up alongside Nikica Jelavic, who’d recovered from a knee injury, while Gaston Ramirez and Sone Aluko dropped out to accommodate the pair. With Saido Berahino, Papiss Cisse and Diafro Sakho all vying for our attention around the 5.5 price point, and Hull set to duel seven of the league’s top eight sides in their last 10, N’Doye remains a speculative – yet potentially profitable – punt.
With regards to the visitors, Jack Rodwell marked his first appearance since January with his second goal in three outings. In defence, Patrick van Aanholt missed out to Santiago Vergini, yet picked up three points for an assist on the equaliser. Despite earning a start against Manchester United last Gameweek, the Dutchman’s value as a budget defender looks to have dissipated with manager Gus Poyet’s recent full-back rotation – it’s now just one start in the last three, though his owners will be hoping his impact off the bench moves Van Aanholt back up the pecking order ahead of some very promising fixtures (AVL, whm, NEW, CPL).
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