I’ve got to ask – is there anyone out there without Ronaldo who’s still interested in this season’s fantasy football? Read on for some more tedious C-Ron goal stats and the rest of my thoughts from another evening in the Premiership…
Chelsea 1 Reading 0
Chelsea welcomed back Ballack to the midfield with Sidwell dropping to the bench. Ferreira came in at right-back for the suspended Belletti. They were unchanged elsewhere.
Coppell was forced into a change up front with Kitson sidelined with a knee injury so Oster came into the midfield and Doyle moved up front to partner Lita.
This was Chelsea’s ninth straight victory in all competitions, their fifth in a row in the Premiership. Ballack got the goal, his third of the season from a Ferreira centre. Anelka had chances in his first home start but Chelsea couldn’t add the scoreline. They were always in control however with Reading only really threatening from set-pieces. Defensively that’s three consecutive Premiership clean sheets for Grant’s men. Indeed if you discount the 4-4 with Villa, Chelsea have let in just 4 goals in 11 home games. Chelsea defence is attractive then although there are several factors to consider.
Firstly, Chelsea have no Premiership game on February 23-24 as they take on Spurs in the Carling Cup. Secondly, Carvalho is suspended for their next game at Portsmouth which will weaken their backline. Then there’s the doubts surrounding the full-back positions and rotation. Bridge once again kept Ashley Cole out of the side here, while Belletti missed this through suspension but then Ferreira did well and could keep his place. That leaves Alex and Cech as the best options but with that missing fixture in gameweek 27, they are perhaps only short-term signings if you don’t currently have them in your squad.
In attacking terms Ballack improved his reputation further although his price and the threat of Lampard’s return is a concern. Wright-Phillips remains the best mid-price option in their midfield then but there is likely to be a shake up in midfield on the return of the African Cup of Nations players which could see his current role tweaked and his points potential reduced.
Up front, Anelka is yet to find a Premiership goal in three appearances. He’s now gone seven Premiership games without a goal for Bolton and Chelsea. That will be a major concern and with gameweek 27 in mind, it could be time to look elsewhere. There is also the consideration that Drogba will be making a return from the African Cup of Nations to be available after the Carling Cup Final.
Right now however, the choice of consistent high-scoring strikers is limited to Adebayor. Berbatov, and Keane are both stuttering after good runs. Tevez is an option but, as we saw tonight, rotation is a factor with him. A cheaper striker – like Santa Cruz or Jones of Sunderland, freeing up funds for investment elsewhere, could be a better solution if you’re keen to ship Anelka out. Right now, I’m willing to give him the trip to Portsmouth and particularly the home game with Liverpool – a game in which he should be particularly motivated, to recover his Premiership goal touch.
I’ve wrattled on about Chelsea, mainly because there is little to say about Reading. It’s five consecutive defeats for them and only Kitson attracts the slightest fantasy interest right now. He is suffering from a knee injury so even he is out of the equation right now.
Derby 1 Man City 1
Jewell obviously lost patience with Todd after his performance in the FA Cup against Preston. He dropped to the bench with Leacock drafted in. Fagan returned to the lineup after serving his suspension in the cup game – he played on the right with Pearson employed on the left leaving Robert on the bench. Earnshaw got a rare Premiership start up front with Miller with another of Jewell’s signings, Villa, again left on the bench. Giles Barnes sat alongside him.
Sven made a host of changes – Jihai came in at right-back for Onuoha who dropped out of the sixteen. Hamann, Elano and Mpenza all dropped to the bench with Ireland, Gelson and Etuhu all starting. Young Daniel Sturridge also got a start after his bright performance and goal in the defeat to Sheffield United in the Cup as Sven partnered him with Vassell in a 4-4-2. Richards missed out again through injury.
Miller’s fourth Premiership goal of the season for Derby meant that City have now gone three consecutive games without a clean sheet. That spells trouble for City as they are struggling for goals. Sturridge underlined his potential with the eqauliser here, Petrov once again the provider with his ninth assist of the season and also earned the three FPL bonus points. Petrov aside, City players are slipping in the fantasy rankings then and when you consider that it’s Arsenal, United and Everton next, suddenly it appears it’s time to ship them out, at least in the short-term.
Injuries and Suspensions
Davis and Pearson picked up injuries and were both subbed.
Corluka picked up his fifth booking here and will serve a 1-match ban against United on Sunday week.
Everton 0 Tottenham 0
Moyes had Baines back from injury and he came in on the left of midfield with Valente remaining at left-back. Neville replaced the suspended Hibbert at right-back with Fernandes taking his spot in midfield. Anichebe started up front with Johnson in place of the suspended Cahill as Moyes went with a conventional 4-4-2.
Spurs gave a debut to Woodgate who lined up alongside Huddlestone with Dawson suspended and King still nursing his sore knee. Gunter came in at left-back and O’Hara pushed into central midfield to replace Tanio who dropped out of the sixteen. Chimbonda returned for what could be his last game at right-back after the arrival of Hutton from Rangers today. Lee dropped to the bench. Keane and Berbatov remained up front with Defoe benched again.
Another clean sheet for Everton then, that’s just one goal conceded in the last five games. Baines return and his selection in midfield is of interest. The pending return of Pienaar from Ghana will however, kill any potential that he’ll play their frequently or even again. There are better options in the Everton defence.
Everton’s approaching fixtures are excellent – they don’t face any of the “big four” until the trip to Liverpool (who can hardly be considered a force right now) at the end of March. That’s seven Premiership games without a real test. That’s enough to warrant looking very seriously at Lescott, Arteta and Cahill for starters.
Jagielka offers value in defence although the return of Yobo from the African Cup of Nations seems likely to shake up the back four. His return doesn’t seem likely to affect Jagielka’s starts however as Lescott is likely to move to left-back on Yobo’s return. Pienaar in midfield also offers value if he is assured of starts on his return from the African Cup of Nations. Yakubu will also be worth a look once he gets back from Ghana and is reinstalled up front.
Be warned about Cahill though – he is due to travel to play for Australia in a World Cup qualifier on February 6 which could cast some doubt over his appearance against Blackburn at the weekend, but more likely Reading a week later.
A second consecutive clean sheet for Spurs, that doesn’t happen too often. Woodgate impressed on his debut and hinted that he could have a marked affect on Tottenham’s defensive fantasy output for the remainder of the season. That’s something that can only be helped further with Hutton’s arrival at right-back. Woodgate will serve a suspension though having picked up a fifth booking here. Berbatov was once again the class act on show for Spurs – he picked up the three FPL bonus points here. He’s now gone four Premiership games without a goal however while Keane has just one in his last five Premiership appearances.
Tottenham’s forthcoming games look very good once they get the United game at the weekend out of the way. However, with the Carling Cup final to come – they too miss a fixture in gameweek 27. After the Wembley date, it would appear there are some very decent fixtures lying in wait for them having already played United and Arsenal home and away at that point.
Injuries and Suspensions
Woodgate picked up his fifth booking tonight and will serve a 1-match ban. He’ll miss the game at Derby a week on Saturday.
Man United 2 Portsmouth 0
United had Vidic back alongside Ferdinand in defence after he shook off the illness that kept him out of the Cup game against Spurs. Giggs and Hargreaves dropped to the bench with Scholes starting his first game in three months and Park coming in on the right. More surprisingly and much to the annoyance of many fantasy managers, Ferguson decided to rest Tevez to the bench bringing in Nani to allow Ronaldo to push up alongside Rooney.
Harry gave a debut to Baros up front with Nugent sidelined with a hernia. He started up front with Benjani in a 4-4-2. Mendes dropped to the bench to allow Davis to return to the midfield. More significantly, Campbell returned to central defence allowing Pamerot to move to left-back. Hreidarsson made way and was benched. He did eventually appear after Distin picked up a knock and was subbed at half-time. Pamarot moved to the centre once more with Hreidarsson moving to left-back.
Ronaldo’s incredible run of goals continued then, reaching 19 Premiership goals and 27 goals overall, for the season here. He has now found the net in seven of the last eight Premiership games, scoring ten goals in the process. Ironically this kind of form causes fantasy managers problems elsewhere.
Ferguson’s decision to rest Tevez to the bench is a worry. Clearly, with Ronaldo on such form, Ferguson can look to rest either Rooney or Tevez. When the Champions League kicks off again next month, that will be of particular concern.
Defensively, United also continue to excel. Another clean sheet tonight – that’s five in the last six Premiership games. A United defender is a must then. Evra is available this weekend but is due to serve his one match ban against City the following Sunday.
Portsmouth’s form has suffered with so many key players absent at the African Cup of Nations. Defensively it’s just one clean sheet in the last five. Their goals for over the last eight games meanwhile is boosted by five goals against the Derby and Reading defences – and Reading were down to ten in that game. In basic terms then, they’re struggling at both ends. A home game with Chelsea next, doesn’t promise too much of a return. After that however they will have their African players back and their fixtures do improve.
Injuries and Suspensions
Distin picked up an injury and was replaced by Hreidarsson at half-time.
West Ham 1 Liverpool 0
Curbishley resisted the temptation to start with Ashton and left him on the bench. Indeed he made just one change, bringing in Mullins for Etherington in midfield. Solano was fit enough to take a place amongst the subs.
Liverpool had Aurellio back from injury at left-back and Carragher returned in central defence. Kewell came in on the left of midfield, Alonso came in for the suspended Mascherano and Kuyt and Torres returned up front. Benayoun kept his place after his hat-trick in the Cup.
A fantastic result for the Hammers and well deserved. They had the better of this against a Liverpool side which appears low on confidence at both ends. It’s just one clean sheet in nine Premiership games for Liverpool. At the other end, Gerrard has gone five straight games without a goal or assist. Torres has faired better but has had to create his own chances to keep his tally tickin. Fixture wise, the Sunderland game should offer opportunities to improve. They visit Chelsea after this and then have a run of decent looking fixtures. They’ll need to recover form and confidence to make the most of them though.
For West Ham, this was a first clean sheet in eight and they’ve lost just one in the last seven Premiership games. Despite that, in fantasy terms there’s little to get excited about. Ljungberg is in fine form but is expensive, Noble offers Larsson-like value in midfield. Bellamy’s return could offer some potential however, as could Ashton if he ever gets back to full fitness.