United choose the best week possible to find the goal groove – putting Chelsea to the sword and paying off some double gameweek investment in the process. Elsewhere Arteta, Cole and Bellamy kept their bandwagon’s rolling, while modest returns for Lampard and Gerrard make Wigan’s trip to Old Trafford on Wednesday that little bit more interesting…
The Lineups
The early kick-off at Villa Park gave us some immediate points of interest. Laursen made a surprise return from injury to skipper the home side, while Cuellar was also fit to appear from the bench. For West Brom meanwhile, Arsenal loanee Jay Simpson, got an immediate start up front with Bednar dropping to the bench. More on him in another post. As for Laursen – he suffered an price drop in the Fantasy Premier League game from 6.5 to 6.3 as a result of talk of a month-long absence. No clean sheet yesterday but opponents over the next four (sun por WIG bla) look fairly kind, although three of those four are away from home.
At Goodison it was notable that Moyes opted to stick with Cahill up front with Fellaini in support, despite having Anichebe available to him. It appears that unless Everton can sign a striker in the window or they can somehow get Saha functioning again, then both Cahill and Fellaini will be worthy of our attention. However, the latter is now suspended for the two derby matches with Liverpool in the league next weekend, and the FA Cup the weekend after. Everton’s fixtures are evil over the next three (liv ARS mun) but after this, things pick up considerably. With Arteta on fire however, it’s hard to justify looking at a second Everton midfielder.
Tony Pulis handed a start to new signing and one-time fantasy favourite Matt Etherington against Liverpool. He’s expected to hold down a starting role on the left but I can’t see him attracting too much interest from fantasy managers. His stock took an upturn at West Ham whilst playing in an attacking role in a 4-3-3. Out wide, his returns will likely depend on the form of Fuller on his return and for me, Stoke aren’t producing enough from open play as yet to bring Etherington into the picture. The creative Lawrence remains on the bench and that could well continue given that Delap justifies his starting role with his long throw. A shame because Lawrence on the right in tandem with Etherington, could well see attacking returns pick up for all concerned.
There’s been a lot of fuss made about Rafa’s lineup at the Britannia but I can’t really see why anyone was surprised. Kuyt and Gerrard worked well as a pairing at Newcastle and Lucas also started at St James’ which Liverpool won 5-1. Benitez simply stuck with that same lineup with Alonso out and Torres kept in reserve.
As I mentioned in the preamble – Torres had just come back from a hamstring having suffered a recurrence a month ago. I’m not really surprised that Rafa wanted to keep him out of a game at Stoke in freezing cold conditions. At the back meanwhile, Skrtel made a return to re-introduce him as a fantasy option. Agger was frozen out and now looks well on his way out in fantasy terms given the competition for places.
There was a Defoe debut for Spurs at the JJB. He was partnered by Pavlyuchenko in attack as Redknapp employed a 3-5-2 similar to the one that he tried with Portsmouth earlier in the season. It looks as though this will be his solution to fitting Modric into his side. He went with Bale and Zokora as wing-backs with Corluka, Dawson and Woodgate at the back. King was given a midfield role and he, along with O’Hara, with Modric buzzing around them. Interesting stuff from Harry but will he keep that tactic with Bentley and Lennon in reserve? Bale could perhaps offering greater potential should a wing-back system remain in place.
Rio Ferdinand again missed out for United. The United skipper had trained all week and had declared himself fit but according to Ferguson, Ferdinand suffered another back spasm this morning which ruled him out. He is due to have a further scan on Monday according to reports. Clearly this is now beginning to look like a long-term problem and that can only reinforce the appeal of Evans as a fantasy option at the back. Certainly he would look odds on to start against Wigan on Wednesday and, in all likelihood, against at Bolton next weekend.
Elsewhere, Carrick’s omission was a surprise but Giggs repaid the faith put in him with a strong performance in central midfield. We should see Carrick against Wigan. Evra made a return to left-back but suffered an injury on the hour-mark and was replaced by O’Shea. He’ll now be a doubt for Wednesday. It was interesting that Neville got the nod at right-back – as I’ve mentioned previously – I’m sensing that he could well pin down regular weekend Premier League starts from this point on. Rafael will likely get the nod on Wednesday however.
As for Chelsea, Drogba again started over Anelka – his fantasy value is beginning to slide badly now. Drogba was pretty awful today however, so Anelka may well be in with a shout of starting a potentially profitable fixture against Stoke next time out. Terry and Carvalho returned as a pairing at the back and barring, injury or suspension, should now be in place for the duration. Bosingwa’s fitness is becoming a concern – once again he was withdrawn after the hour mark here. A trade for the cheaper Carvalho could be a consideration in the FPL particularly as Bosingwa climbed upon the suspension tightrope after his booking today.
The Form…
Saturday saw Gerrard fail to register a goal or an assists for just the second time in the last 6 league outings. He still came home with FPL bonus and was unlucky not to drag Liverpool to victory at Stoke. Not that they deserved to win that game. Rafa’s side kept a second clean sheet in 6 games but were fortunate at times to keep their goal intact. Skrtel is back, Hyypia and Aurellio offer value if they can hold down starting roles but looking at the next three (EVE wig CHE) I just don’t fancy too many clean sheets there given their current defensive form.
The Everton defence, along with Arteta in midfield, continue to flourish. Moyes’ side have now gone 5 straight league games without conceding, although that defensive resolve will be tested to the full with their forthcoming fixutres (liv ARS mun). Their attack has picked up though (7 goals in 5 games), despite the absence of strikers, and Arteta could still be worthy of investment despite that opposition. He has registered 42 FPL points in those last 5 games – his torpedo free-kick against Hull was his third goal in the last two games and he has also returned maximum FPL bonus points in 4 of the last 5 games.
If you missed this week as an opportunity to climb on his bandwagon, you might consider waiting until those three fixtures are out of the way – unless Everton have it in them to spring a couple of surprises, I’m struggling to see him maintaining his run of bonus points given that opposition.
Bellamy and Cole came in with healthy returns once again – it’s 4 goals in 5 for Bellamy, 4 in 4 for Cole. Their partnership could well be disrupted by the transfer window and the bandwagon may well have run it’s course, although the next two fixtures might offer profit (FUL hul) before things stiffen to the Hammers (ars MUN). Cole leads the way in terms of form for forwards in the FPL, with Bellamy fourth. The fact that Agbonlahor is ranked third in that table and yet is without a goal in four games, tells you all you need to know. Finding a consistent points scorer up front continues to be difficult – the top midfielders and defenders continue to outscore the forwards in the FPL and across all the fantasy games.
There does seem to be some potential up front in the next month however, Newcastle’s Owen got back on track with a goal against West Ham and certainly has the fixtures going forward to maintain his record of a goal every other game (bla mcy SUN wba EVE bol). He and City’s Robinho, look good options for the month ahead. City have strong fixtures, including three of four at home coming next (WIG NEW stk MID). Arsenal’s Van Persie – who chipped in with an assist and bonus against a stubborn Bolton – also has the form to warrant consideration given the Gunners long run of forthcoming fixtures (hul eve WHM tot SUN FUL wba BLA new MCY wig). Wenger’s side still require an additional creative spark but Van Persie appears to be able to contribute without Arsenal clicking into form. He’ll need to stay injury free though – that’s always a concern with him.
Defoe has arrived but he couldn’t help the struggle for goals at Spurs (just 3 in the last 7 league games). The change of formation drew at blank against a determined and in-form Wigan. Modric was disappointing on the day and continues to blow hot and cold – I’d expect a change to 4-4-2 for the next two home games. Indeed, Spurs have a decent run of games coming up (POR STK bol) and Defoe will get suitors as a result particularly with Pompey arriving at White Hart Lane next. While Spurs remain disciplined at the back, I’m still not confident about their attacking form home or away, right now. Strange but true – their defenders look better value than their attackers for those three.
Wigan’s form is superb going into their trip to Old Trafford on Wednesday. Four consecutive wins in the Premier League with just a single goal conceded in that run, tells you that the likes of Figueroa (scorer today) continue to offer value. Taylor remains the key signing though – a midfield role and, as we saw today, plenty of potential of goals and assists from set-plays. In attacking terms, Valencia can’t find consistency with his fantasy returns, while Zaki is still without a goal from open play since the middle of October. Fixtures get tougher for Bruce’s side now (mun mcy LIV avl) it will be interesting to see if they can maintain their form over those four.
United choose the most unlikely fixture to cut loose. Today’s 3-0 against a poor Chelsea performance was the first time they have scored more than one goal in a game since the 5-0 against Stoke back on November 18. Incredibly, it brought about an eighth consecutive Premier League clean sheet, again reinforcing the necessity for at least one United defender in your lineup. That defender should really be Vidic despite his price. Again today he demonstrated his goal threat potential with his third of the season, while in the FPL he has now picked up 9 bonus in the last 7 games. Further injury complications to Evra and Ferdinand keep Evans and O’Shea as decent short-term options but the long-term security and consistency offered by Vidic is worth the outlay to my mind.
Ronaldo’s assist kept the fantasy wolf from the door for now – another, or even a goal against Wigan, and his returns in the double gameweek will have justified his selection as FPL captain. To be honest, yet again he could and should have earned and perhaps scored a penalty and also had a goal disallowed. He’s still by no means firing but he fired enough to get a single FPL bonus point to boost his return. Berbatov again earned bonus – in addition to his second goal in as many games. Should he start against Wigan (and in my opinion, he will with Tevez perhaps replacing Rooney) then the Bulgarian would be fancied to add further to his tally.
If you resisted the temptation to overload on United for the double fixtures this gameweek, consider this run of games after Wednesday’s home game with Wigan (bol wba EVE whm FUL). The last two are another double gameweek, so United’s players will likely take another price rise in a few week’s time. If you missed out this time, today’s returns may convince you to act early in preparation for next time. Even without a double fixture, United have a decent run of fixtures there.
Chelsea’s form is now a big concern. Domestically, it’s now just 2 wins in the last 8 games. Today’s performance was abject to say the least with Drogba particularly disappointing. That won’t worry fantasy managers but 5 goals conceded in the last 2 certainly will. Luckily, the fixtures fall in Chelsea’s favour and they now have comfortably looking home games (STK MID) before visiting Anfield on February 1st. Those two should give the back four and Lampard the opportunity to bring in some points to keep fantasy owners happy.
Injuries and Bans
Craig Bellamy was holding his hamstring as he was subbed on 81 minutes against Newcastle. Middlesbrough lost Josh Walker to a sprained ankle just after half-time against Sunderland, while Digard suffered a bang to his head and was subbed on 65 minutes. In the same game, Sunderland’s Malbranque sustained a knock to his hip and was replaced shortly after half-time. Tottenham’s Dawson picked up a head injury after a clash with Heskey and was replaced on 79 minutes. Finally, Evra limped out of today’s game with Chelsea on 65 minutes.
Eveton’s Fellaini has now earned 10 bookings and will miss the league game with Liverpool next weekend, in addition to the FA Cup tie the weekend after. Hull’s Zayatte earned his fifth booking of the season and will now miss the home game with Arsenal next weekend. Malbranque picked up his fifth booking at the Riverside and he will now miss the home game with Villa. Finally, West Brom’s Bednar picked up his fifth booking at Villa and he will now miss the home game with Boro next weekend.
Chelsea’s Terry and Bosingwa, Villa’s Barry and Petrov and Hull’s Mendy are all new entries on the suspension tightrope which is beginning to look rather crowded.