Boasting more braces than Bobby Ball’s bottom drawer – Saturday saw Gerrard, Lampard, Arteta and Dempsey get bandwagons running with a couple of goals each. Significantly, not one of those is a striker; further proof perhaps that these days, it isn’t the front men bringing in the fantasy points and winning matches. Just ask David Moyes….
The Lineups
The team selections at St James’s have already been dissected somewhat in an earlier post but the headlines are that Rafa rotated. Many fantasy managers, including me, were scathing. Then Rafa’s side played brilliantly and made us all feel somewhat silly for doubting his methods.
Regardless, it remains clear that Rafa’s untouchables remain a select group that currently consist of Reina, Carragher and Gerrard. Kuyt appears to have applied for membership and his chances of making it in are looking good. Apart from that lucky few, you’re taking a risk on the likes of Alonso, Keane, Agger and Hyypia. The presence of Skrtel on the Liverpool bench today should be a warning to those considering the goalscoring Hyypia or the mid-to-high price option that is Agger. Arbeloa is perhaps the only other candidate in the Liverpool back four worthy of consideration once he is back from injury. Although the Inusa situation is worth monitoring. It looks like he’s seen off the abject Dossena, could he hold the spot when Aurellio is available? I’m not so sure.
Down at Upton Park, Zola had an raft of injuries to deal with. He lost his skipper Neill , to a knock sustained at Portsmouth, while Davenport and Noble were also nursing scrapes according to reports. Faubert and Boa Morte came in, while Di Michele replaced the suspended Bellamy up front. Stoke boss Pulis was able to welcome back Griffin in the right-back spot for the suspended Wilkinson.
At the Hawthorns, both managers were ringing the changes from Boxing Day. Bednar and Moore both came in fresh up front for the Baggies as expected, as Mowbray switched to a 4-4-2. He was without Meite in defence, so Barnett came back in, while Cech replaced the suspended Robinson. Koren dropped out with a knock, allowing Valero to return, while Kim and Beattie dropped to the bench.
As for Spurs, Harry was predictably without the services of King but Woodgate came in to replace him. Huddlestone’s ankle injury saw him miss out and hand Jenas a starting role. Bent started up front with Pavlyuchenko out of the 18, reportedly he was carrying a knock. Mmmm.
David Moyes was again without a recognised striker for the visit of Sunderland but was at least able to welcome back Osman who came in for Gosling in midfield. Anichebe was fit enough to return to the bench but Moyes obviously wanted to keep faith with Cahill up front. Ricky Sbragia made a couple of changes as he hinted – Whitehead and Murphy came in for Reid and, rather bizarrely, Anton Ferdinand. He must have picked up an injury in the draw with Blackburn. Whitehead took the right back role, allowing Bardsley to switch left which shifted Collins to centre-back.
At the Emirates, Adebayor returned to the starting lineup as expected. What was less predictable perhaps was that Van Persie was rested with Bendtner coming into the attack. Clichy returned to the starting lineup, which saw Silvestre shift to the centre and Toure drop to the bench. Diaby kept his place and was deployed in central midfield. It looks as though he could now hold down a starting role with Fabregas sidelined, unless of course Wenger strengthens in January.
As for Pompey, Adams went to form and opted with 4-5-1 to frustrate Arsenal. He did however make a somewhat surprising change by dropping Defoe to the bench and bringing in Nugent. A combination of lack of form and perhaps a mind wandering to a January move, losing Defoe his starting role. His days at Pompey are surely numbered so his destination – whether it be Spurs, Chelsea or City, needs monitoring.
Megson brought back Kevin Davies to his starting lineup, dropping Muamba to the bench. Cahill injury late on at Anfield saw him miss out, so Shittu started alongside O’Brien at the back. Steve Bruce kept an unchanged lineup with Boyce again benched and Taylor on the left of midfield once again. Wigan did however lose Kirkland in the warm-up to a groin problem (warm-up injuries are the new hip hip injuries). Pollitt came in to replace him.
Hodgson was without the talismanic Bullard at the Cottage after he suffered a dead leg at the Lane on Boxing Day. Etuhu was handed a starting role. Hangeland returned to the defence though with Baird making way. Scolari recalled Deco and Malouda to his side, dropping Anelka and Ballack to the bench. Carvalho returned from injury and was also on the bench. Both he and Anelka emerged in the first half as Malouda and Alex suffered injuries.
In the late kick-off there was just one change to Big Sam’s lineup, with Tugay replacing hamstring victim Dunn. Nelsen recovered from his eye injury to start then. Mark Hughes was forced into one change on his return to Ewood – Richards was a doubt so he was left on the bench and Onuoha started alongside Dunne. He then picked up a knock in the second-half, with Richards replacing him.
The Form
All the early attention went to Gerrard of course, scorer of two goals with an assist for another. He would have had his hat-trick had he not been subbed before Alonso’s penalty. The form of the Liverpool skipper cannot be questioned. However, his role in the side on the return of Torres, is still a doubt. As I keep stressing, while Gerrard plays behind the striker he is irresistible, as one of central midfield pairing, his appeal and fantasy output is likely reduced. Torres should make a return in time for the resumption of the Premier League in a fortnight – we’ll know more on how Rafa plans to fit Gerrard, Keane and Spaniard in his side, very soon then.
In the meantime Frank Lampard did at least do his bit to remind us that he remains the top scoring midfielder this season. Two goals at Cottage sweetened the pill for non-Gerrard owners. As I mentioned in the picks, rather than reduce his output, the return of Drogba could well bring Lampard increased returns. To repeat then, this is not a time to get rid despite the appeal of Gerrard. Drogba’s presence gives Lampard more assurance to make penalty box bombing runs and as we saw today, Drogba’s propensity to win free-kicks will also hand Frank the chance to capitalise from set-plays. The pressure is on Ronaldo against Boro now.
Arteta’s brace at Goodison may have got the motor running on yet another mid-price midfield bandwagon. Returns for the playmaker have been long overdue but even with these goals, he is seriously lagging behind expectation. He was superb today and his FPL bonus points tally is now second only to Lampard but can he maintain significant fantasy scoring form? Well his fixtures won’t help him. As I’ve mentioned previously, after the Hull game next, Everton are about to enter a tunnel of evil fixture-wise. I’d have another look at Everton players when they get out the other side.
Fulham’s Dempsey was another to find the net twice. A fantasy favourite last season whilst employed as a striker, the American capitalised on very sloppy (dreadful) Chelsea defending to profit today. His place in the Fulham side has been cemented of late by an injury and loss of form for Gera but he is by no means a sure-bet in Fulham’s starting lineup given that Hodgson may strengthen if Bullard departs. A short-term prospect perhaps but still a decent option in the budget bracket – particularly with Fulham’s favourable fixture run.
A word on Denilson too – he profited again from the absence of Fabregas today by taking charge of the free-kick that led to the Gallas goal. He was excellent value earlier in the season and has suddenly returned to the radar once again. FPL bonus points came his way today too.
It’s all been about midfielders so far and it’s worth noting that while they keep harvesting the points, the strikers struggled once again to keep up in the scoring stakes. When you consider that the likes of Van Persie, Anelka, Defoe and Keane were all rested to the bench and that its likely that one of Tevez and Rooney will be tomorrow night, selecting a big-hitting striker who consistently starts and brings in the points is getting more and more difficult.
Carlton Cole was an exception today. He was on the scoresheet for a second consecutive match and his budget potential has obviously now been rejuvenated by some extra training hours with Zola. In a shrewd move by Cole, his equaliser for the Hammers also doubled-up as an eliminator for a rival in the budget bracket. Fuller earned himself a 3-match violent conduct ban for slapping his own skipper Griffin following Cole’s goal.
Griffin was badly at fault for the goal but Fuller’s actions were nothing short of ridiculous and there must surely be repercussions beyond the ban. Griffin himself was later withdrawn and looked far from fit – the right-back area was always going to be a problem for Stoke in this one and it was Cole who profited. Fuller is firmly out of the picture as a budget option then, and you’ve got to start fearing for Stoke.
Keep an eye on Bednar as another budget option up front – he scored in a second consecutive start today – I can see him holding down a starting role with a new partner arriving in January – Arsenal’s Jay Simpson looking the likely candidate. Both could be worth monitoring when home fixtures fall kindly.
The other budget striker catching the eye was City’s Sturridge. A smartly taken goal and a superb assist for Robinho’s late equaliser. Sturridge is cheap, but still not assured of a starting role, despite impressing when he’s appeared from the bench. He’s surely in line for a start in the FA Cup next weekend and if he takes his chance he must be worth monitoring.
Zaki also notched again – another penalty. They all count and keep his tally ticking over of course and interest in him will doubtless pick up once again. He is still without a goal from open play since his brace at Anfield but Wigan are in fine form with 5 wins in 6. Zaki should have the platform to add his tally then, despite some tougher fixtures to come in the next month.
Going up a price bracket and Benni McCarthy is emerging as a certain starter and, as I’ve mentioned previously, is beginning to live up to his goal-every-other-game record in the Premier League. Today’s strike was his third in three games and seventh of the season. With fixtures looking fairly favourable in the next 4 gameweeks , you could do a lot worse than looking his way.
I had concerns that clean sheets would be hard to find, and so it turned out. Both Liverpool and Chelsea failed to produce shut-outs. Chelsea look fragile without Terry, particularly from set-plays. It’s not a short-term problem though – the return of Carvalho should help, while Terry is due a return from suspension against United. The Liverpool situation looks more of an issue – they’ve now conceded in 4 of their last 5 games. In fantasy terms, a switch in focus from the Liverpool to the United defence looks a very sensible move on current form.
While the big two let us down, I did successfully hunt out the other clean sheets on the day in the picks with Everton and Arsenal. Sadly neither look to offer too much long-term potential. The Gunners defence remains unpredictable and was largely untested by Portsmouth this weekend. As for Everton, this was their fourth consecutive clean sheet but as I keep saying – tunnel of evil – catch ’em on the other side perhaps.
Wigan and West Brom were the other cleanies on the day as their defenders continue to offer good value. Ryan Taylor is the pick of the Wigan back four with his midfield role and set-piece hogging. A sound investment going into Wigan’s double gameweek, even with the trip to Old Trafford. West Brom offer a budget option at the back, but investment in their defence is certainly not advisable. Fulham with a strong run of fixtures and perhaps Blackburn, who lapsed late on and have some decent short-term home games, appear to offer the best defensive value right now.
There were a lot of injuries and bans to take in today, so I’ll cover these in an additional post.