The big Sunday schedule saw Liverpool break Chelsea’s home record, Robinho break the Stoke net and the Fantasy Premier League break their own game. Here’s the notes.
The Lineups
Redknapp didn’t take long to make an impact – he apparently played some part in the team selection and, as expected, there were changes. King surprisingly started a second consecutive match at the back. Woodgate was sidelined, so Corluka remained at centre back. Assou-Ekotto came in for the suspended Bale. Huddlestone returned from injury and started in central midfield. O’Hara got a start on the left, while Bentley also started on the right. Lennon and Zokora were benched – as was Bent, with Pavlyuchenko shaking off a knock to start.
No real surprises with the Chelsea or Liverpool lineups – Ashley Cole returned from injury to oust Bridge to the bench as expected. Rafa pushed Gerrard up just behind Keane – and the Liverpool skipper looked all the better for his more advanced role.
Plenty of changes in the Portsmouth lineup. Adams was able to bring back Diarra and Hughes to the Portsmouth midfield but Johnson was still out with his pelvic injury. Pamarot remained at right back then with Belhadj brought in for Hreidarsson at left back. Kaboul started in place of Campbell who was rested. Kranjcar was back on the bench and replaced Traore late on. It will be interesting to see how Adams changes his lineup now that he has the Croatian back in contention. Traore should be assured starts however – he was outstanding today. Strangely however, at the time of writing, the FPL have given two bonus points to his namesake Djimi Traore who never got off the bench.
Zola dropped Etherington to the bench for West Ham – and there was a further blow for fantasy managers who jumped on the West Ham budget bandwagon – Cole saw red and will now miss the next three matches. His suspension will likely see Zola hand a start to either Sears or Tristan, if fit.
Wenger welcomed back Gallas so he was able to shift Song to midfield. That saw Denilson dropped from the sixteen. Toure and Sagna were on the bench – expect to see them both on Wednesday, when Arsenal face Redknapp’s Spurs.
The Arsenal boss started with Bendtner up front, benching Adebayor. The big striker made his impact by arriving as sub. Owners of Van Persie and Adebayor need to be wary however, Wenger issued us a warning that rotation up front is likely to continue: “Last year I over-used him and now we go into a period where we play every three days, which is why I want to rotate a little bit.” We’ll need to keep a watchful eye on Wenger’s policy over the coming weeks then.
O’Neill dropped Carew to the bench after his alleged “night out” on Wednesday. He soon answered his manager in the best way possible by coming on to contribute a goal and an assist. Cuellar kept his place in the Villa side and now looks as though he has ousted Davies. Sidwell made his first Premiership appearance of the season – scoring from the bench. Meanwhile, for Wigan, skipper Melchiot missed out with an injury and was replaced by Boyce.
The Form
Liverpool’s win was undoubtedly the performance of the week and the defensive display at Stamford Bridge was a timely reminder to fantasy managers on the potential of their rearguard. Carragher was the pick of the bunch, claiming the maximum FPL bonus. Liverpool now go on an excellent run of fixtures which sees them avoid any of the top sides until gameweek 18 when they travel to Arsenal. Before that they have home games with Portsmouth, West Brom, Fulham, West Ham and Hull – all of those five games look strong clean sheet candidates. Their away fixtures are pretty favourable too. In short then – Liverpool’s next 8 games look strong, they have 5 of those at home and clean sheets should be plentiful.
Adebayor repaid my faith in him for the picks and my Guardian lineup with a goal, an assist and FPL bonus from the bench at West Ham. For me, he looked the sharpest he’s been all season. He faces Spurs on Wednesday and has a strong record against them. I see him improving his output then, although Arsenal do have a horrible period waiting for them. Between gameweek 12 and 15 they face United, Villa, City and Chelsea. It was a clean sheet for Arsenal today but I’m struggling to see one amongst those four games.
Great win for Villa in which Carew and, in particular, Agbonlahor sparkled. It was a second consecutive clean sheet and with games against Blackburn, Newcastle and Boro in the next three – more points at both ends should be on the agenda. There were no returns for Ashley Young today again though – that’s three games running with a goal or assist. The clock is ticking for his owners and with Arsenal and United to come in gameweeks 13 and 14, he needs to deliver over the next three.
Dreadful defending by Wigan in this game – that’s three defeats in a row and eight goals conceded in those games. Figueroa is suddenly looking more like a liability than a bargain right now – time for FPL owners to cash in that price rise for Zayatte perhaps?
Robinho’s hat trick brought him up to six goals for the season and suddenly he is looking difficult to ignore. Good opponents over the next four should see the points keep flowing towards the Brazilian and if you’re getting nervous over Defoe or Carew, he looks a strong contender for your cash. Three of those four are away from home but that doesn’t appear to stop City scoring goals.
I’m a little concerned that Robinho is showing signs of monopolising City’s attacking points, something that is certainly hurting the output of Wright-Phillips who is without a goal or an assist in four now. Like Young at Villa, Wright-Phillips needs some points over the next two games to justify his selection and with Arsenal and United to come in gameweeks 14 and 15, he needs to profit soon.
As a side note, the FPL have awarded Wright-Phillips three points for an assist on Robinho’s second goal but this was clearly Sturridge’s contribution. I can only presume that this error will be corrected, although with the new gameweek starting tomorrow night, there’s not long to correct the error.
It was a rare clean sheet for City – there first in four games. Garrido continues to offer value then, Kompany more attacking and FPL bonus potential for that little bit extra.
Spurs put on a decent showing for Redknapp – Bentley got up and running under the new boss with an assist, while Pavlyuchenko got his first Premiership goal. Good potential then but little for us fantasy managers to get excited about just yet. Tottenham’s fixtures do them no favours but from gameweek 13, they may well be worth a look.
Injuries and Bans
Man City lost Ched Evans late in the first half to an injury while Richard Dunne also picked up a knock and was replaced on 73 minutes.
Portsmouth’s Diarra picked up a knock and was replaced on 82 minutes.
Bolton’s McCann will serve a one match ban for his two yellows against Spurs. He’ll miss the Everton game and return on Sunday against City.
West Ham’s Carlton Cole will serve an immediate three match ban for the red card received against Arsenal.
Villa’s Gareth Barry picked up an injury and was subbed on 53 minutes.