A decent evening for our fantasy players in the UEFA Cup as a shuffled Villa side triumph in Prague, City edge past McClaren’s Dutchmen and Bent puts himself onto our shopping lists with hat-trick against Zagreb at the Lane. Here’s the notes on tonight’s games…
As promised, O’Neill made a string of changes for Villa against Slavia Prague, following the flat performance at St James’ Park on Monday. Guzan started for Friedel in goal with Knight and Davies the central defensive partnership in front of him. Sidwell came into the midfield for Barry, with Salifou replacing Reo-Coker. Gardner replaced Milner on the right.
Villa’s makeshift side took a while to get started but eventually clicked and went on to carve out good opportunities in the first half. Carew netted the winner, his second of the UEFA Cup campaign and seventh strike of the season but he he knew little about it. Sidwell’s drive deflected off the big Norwegian to leave the Slavia keeper stranded. Ashley Young was then denied a second Villa goal by the woodwork from a direct free kick. Young and Villa petered out in the second half but defended well to hold onto their second victory of the campaign.
Not sure what we can take from the match other than the fact that O’Neill proved to himself that he can rotate his side and still get a result – even against a side who had not lost in their last 14 games. Long term, that could spell trouble for us fantasy managers but we can expect the likes of Luke Young, Laursen, Barry and Reo-Coker to return for the home clash with Boro this weekend.
Over at Eastlands, Mark Hughes made a couple of changes as City took on FC Twente. Fernandes was drafted into the midfield and Garrido making a return at left back – a welcome sight for his fantasy owners. Dunne was fit to skipper the side after suffering a swollen knee earlier this week, while Vassell returned to the side as one of the front three.
Once again City were occasionally brilliant in attack, often hesitant and slack at the back. In an open game, they conceded two careless goals to McClaren’s side but, luckily for Hughes, the likes of Wright-Phillips and Robinho produced on the night.
It was Wright-Phillips that got things under way with an early strike from a Fernandes pass – his first goal in five games. Robinho then curled home a superb effort from outside the area after City’s lead had been cancelled out. It was left to Benjani, making his first appearance of the season from the bench, to fire the third after receiving a Wright-Phillips pass before City conceded once again, after slack defending.
Investors in City should know what to expect by now – owners of Robinho, Wright-Phillips and Ireland – all of whom notched goals or assists tonight – will hope to see all three amongst the points this weekend in what promises to be an attacking game against Spurs. Defensive returns look minimal though – City’s fixtures hand them matches against Spurs, Hull, Arsenal and United over the next four. It’s difficult to see any clean sheets amongst that lot given their current generosity at the back.
Garrido may well find himself on the bench again this weekend but to be honest, that might not be a bad thing for those who have opted to hold onto him. Vassell and Benjani will now come into the equation in the coming weeks and with Johnson stepping up his recovery this week, Hughes will soon have a wealth of options that could allow for rotation in the coming weeks. Of the popular fantasy players, Ireland still looks the most threatened. He has got to keep contributing in order to hold his place – right now he’s doing enough but things might get a little hairy should his form drop.
There’s no doubt who was the big mover on the fantasy radar tonight – Darren Bent’s hat-trick in the 4-0 win over Dinamo Zagreb will surely have plenty of us on alert given his modest price across the games. Huddlestone also enjoyed a profitable game as Spurs continued the upward spiral under Redknapp.
He was in the starting lineup tonight as Harry made five changes to the side that stung Liverpool at White Hart Lane at the weekend. Bent started for the cup-tied Pavlyuchenko, Hutton, Dawson, Bale and Lennon also came in with the cup-tied Corluka, while King, Assou-Ekotto and O’Hara also dropped out.
Bent struck first on the half hour mark, crashing home a Modric cross. Three minutes later he fired his second from a Huddlestone pass. Huddlestone then got on the scoresheet himself, blasting a spectacular volley from 35-yards from a Bentley corner on the hour mark before Bent earned his hat-trick with a smart finish from another Huddlestone assist.
Against the odds, investment in Spurs is now looking viable option. Bentley’s starting place looks assured under Redknapp, while Modric has also been given a pivotal role in the side. Huddlestone looks to have made the central midfield holding role his own and is beginning to contribute in attacking terms. As for Bent, he looks likely to fulfil the potential that had him placed highly on many a shortlist following an outstanding pre-season. He has come alive under Redknapp and if if he can begin to work alongside Pavlyuchenko, then he surely looks an excellent prospect in the coming weeks.
Tottenham’s fixtures could well provide the platform for future profits – after the trip to City this weekend, Spurs follow with strong fixtures against the likes of Fulham, Blackburn, Everton and West Ham. All of those promise attacking returns and present a decent window for the likes of Bent and Bentley.