United edged closer to the top spot with another 1-0 win, against a Wigan side who stretched them all over the park. Rooney’s winner was enough to win the points but his hamstring injury early on, ruling him out for at least three weeks, could cost them dear…
Ferguson was pretty predictable with his lineup changes. Evra missed out with a foot injury that will keep him out until February so O’Shea earned a starting role at left-back. Evans covered for Ferdinand again – he is expected to be in contention for a return next weekend. In midfield both Carrick and Scholes earned recalls with Fletcher and Giggs making way. Nani came in for Park out wide and Rafael returned at right-back with Neville benched. Rooney and Berbatov started to keep Tevez on the bench.
In contrast, Steve Bruce kept an unchanged side off the back of four straight wins.
Ronaldo may have picked up another award before the game but in fantasy terms, he left with just an assist. He faded badly in the second-half after supplying cross for Rooney’s girl in the opening minute. That assist was enough to earn him 12 points for the gameweek, not the big returns that Ronaldo owners were looking for but enough to keep him ticking over. With another double fixture gameweek looming in February and good fixtures between now and then, the bulk of his owners will surely keep the faith.
Once again, it was defensively that United excelled. Vidic was outstanding in both games and was undoubtedly the big earner in the gameweek, with his owners amassing 21 FPL points. Those managers handing him the armband made up huge ground as a result.
Wigan players in contrast, were largely unproductive over the two gameweeks – scoring just the single goal. Predictably, they drew a blank at Old Trafford, despite gallant efforts, with United earning their ninth clean sheet in a row. The big earners from the Spurs game – Figueroa and Taylor – remained the key Latics picks for the gameweek.
The win gave United the opportunity to go top before Liverpool take the field on Saturday, however, the injury to Rooney somewhat overshadowed the result. The goalscorer pulled up with a hamstring early on and was replaced by Tevez on 7 minutes. Ferguson revealed after the game that he would be out for a “minimum of three weeks” with the injury. That would rule him out of league games with Bolton, West Brom and Everton, in addition to cup ties with Derby and Spurs.
Tevez will of course benefit from Rooney’s absence. He took a knock in the second-half, as did Jonny Evans and Ronaldo. All three are described as minor-injuries that will be assessed prior to the trip to Bolton this weekend. If news is good on Tevez, then he will be a worthy consideration for the next few weeks. It seems likely that Rooney will miss more than the three weeks mentioned by Ferguson and therefore Tevez should be treated to an unchallenged run of games alongside Berbatov. He is currently priced at a reasonable 9.0 in the Fantasy Premier League game.
Rooney’s absence also protects Berbatov’s starting role of course. Although rarely rested, the extra assurance will please the Bulgarian’s fantasy owners. The only issue of course, is how United perform without Rooney. Barring the 3-0 win on Sunday, goals have been hard to come by of late for Ferguson’s side and tonight’s injury won’t help their cause.
Expect further changes to the United lineup for the trip to Bolton. Fletcher, Park and Anderson could all feature having been rested for this one. I’d also expect Neville to return for Rafael. Given Bolton’s injuries, Ferguson will still be very confident of getting a result at the Reebok and United certainly look good to equal Chelsea’s record of 10 straight clean sheets.
As for Wigan – they’ll take a lot from tonight’s game. Not many teams cause United as many problems at Old Trafford and Bruce will take his side to Eastlands with aching limbs but with confidence high. Man City fans may have been dreaming of Kaka all day but the less glamorous names in the Wigan lineup could well ruin another weekend for them.