Just before last night’s FPL bonus points scandal, some Premier League matches broke out and some of us did pretty well out of them. Here’s the belated notes on Wednesday’s drama…

Blackburn 0 Everton 0

Allardyce started with Brown in goal with Robinson sidelined to two to three weeks. Roberts came in for the banned Gamst-Pedersen as Big Sam adopted his old Bolton formation of 4-3-3/4-5-1. Santa Cruz was deployed in the Kevin Davies position out on the right, with Roberts down the middle. Not great news for Santa Cruz owners, although the situation should change on Gamst-Pedersen’s return.

Moyes made some changes for Everton, with Osman and Rodwell coming into the starting eleven. Hibbert was out with a thigh strain, while Fellaini dropped to the bench. Jagielka shifted to right-back then, with Yobo and the returning Lescott paired in central defence.

A largely dull affair this, marked by a couple of smart saves from Brown. It was another clean sheet for Everton though, their fourth in a row and their ninth in twelve league games. Investment in that defence should continue with fixtures falling kindly for Moyes’ men in the short-term (STK por WIG).

Blackburn meanwhile, have struggled for goals of late, with just three in the last five league games. A rotation system up front hinders any fantasy investement so there’s likely to be minimal interest in their players going forward, particularly given their forthcoming fixtures after the Fulham game this gameweek (ars WHM TOT liv)

Injuries and Bans
Givet picked up a knock and was replaced on 64 minutes.

Fulham 0 Hull 1

Hodgson recalled Paintsil at right-back as expected. Phil Brown, in contrast, surprised us by starting Geovanni, despite the outburst against the player after the Blackburn defeat. Gardner, Ricketts, Fagan and Cousin all earned starts with Dawson, Doyle, Garcia and Marney dropping out. The Hull lineup is far from settled then.

The home side pummelled the Hull goal but found keeper Duke in fine form. Hull then nicked the poitns and broke the hearts of thousands of fantasy managers, by scoring in the dying minutes. Fulham still have the Blackburn home game to come in the gamweek, in which the likes of Schwarzer, Hangeland, Paintsil, Murphy and Johnson could all profit but last night’s game was clearly a missed opportunity for big returns. Once this double fixture gameweek is gone, Fulham’s fixtures stiffen considerably (bol MUN LIV mcy), which may see some movement away from their players in the weeks to come.

Hull meanwhile, rode their luck for their first win in twelve league games. We shouldn’t get carried away here – although their fixtures are kind over the coming weeks (NEW wig POR mid sun).

Tottenham 4 Middlesbrough 0

Woodgate passed a fitness test to start in the back four that also saw Zokora at right-back. Corluka, rather surprisingly, dropped to the bench. Gomes kept his place in goal with Cudicini benched. Palacios and Keane returned after being cup-tied for the Carling Final. Southgate meanwhile, kept an unchanged lineup after two straight wins. King, Alves and Johnson were all on the bench.

An outstanding display from Spurs in which Lennnon, Modric and Keane all sparkled. Keane repaid those who gambled on handing him the armband for his two fixtures with two assists and a first goal back in Spurs colours. Lennon meanwhile, weighed in with two goals as his strong run of form continues – he has four goals in the last five league starts.

Spurs have their double fixture at Sunderland to come and then have a fairly patchy run of games (avl CHE bla WHM NEW). To my mind, there’s not too much promise there for clean sheets or attacking points. While Keane, Modric and Lennon will get plenty of attention from last night’s haul then, caution is required before you take the plunge with investment.

As for Boro, they were bitterly disappointing after a mini-revival. Again it proves you cannot rely on Southgate’s men for any form of consistency. Use their form to guide your fantasy picks at your peril. One day I will learn that for myself.

Injuries and Bans
Aliadiere suffered an injury for Boro and was subbed on 53 minutes.

Wigan 0 West Ham 1

Steve Bruce was able to recall both Mido and Valencia after injury – they came in with Scharner and Kapo dropping out. Zola made just one change – Noble returned from suspension for the injured Beharmi.

Wigan’s lack of goals is now costing them results with the defence breached by Carlton Cole’s first goal in five league games. Wigan have now scored just two goals in the last eight league games. They have two strong fixtures to come against Sunderland and Hull but in their current form, the best bet for fantasy managers appears to be a clean sheet for Wigan’s opponents.

The Hammers continue to tighten up defensively with their third clean sheet in five here. They have strong fixtures in the short-term (WBA bla SUN) and investement in their mid-price defence (FPL bonus magnet Upson in particular) looks a option as a result. Cole’s suspension for two matches and the injury to Collison, to go with Behrami’s absence, will certainly slow investment in their attacking players though.

Injuries and Bans
Collison picked up a nasty looking knee injury and was replaced on 78 minutes. He is due to have scans today but it looks likely that has suffered ligament damage and could miss the rest of the season. Carlton Cole will serve a two match after seeing red for the second time this season. He will miss games against West Brom and Blackburn.

Cattermole will serve a four-match ban as he has also been dismissed earlier in the season. He will currently miss games against Sunderland, Hull, Everton and Arsenal.

Newcastle 1 Man United 2

Hughton handed a start to former United man Alan Smith with Ameobi dropping out. Nicky Butt was only fit enough for the bench so Geremi took his place in midfield. Ferguson meanwhile, handed a start to Rooney as expected after he recovered from a virus. The likes of Van der Sar, Vidic, Carrick, Fletcher, Park and Berbatov also made returns. Anderson, Giggs, Scholes and Evans were all on the bench.

United conceded for the second game running and now enter a relatively tough period of fixtures (LIV ful AVL) which could see further disappointment for owners of their back four. They certainly looked shaky at times in this one, not helped by Van der Sar’s early error for the Lovenkrands goal. Goals from Rooney and Berbatov earned the points though. That was Berbatov’s sixth goal in the last ten starts. Ronaldo meanwhile, drew a blank but was able to keep his owners pacified with the three FPL bonus points.

Man City 2 Aston Villa 0

Hughes was without Robinho, Bellamy and Richards for this one but Wright-Phillips made a return from suspension. Caicedo came in up front, while Elano started in midfield with Zabaleta shifting to right-back. O’Neill went with an unchanged lineup which meant that Carew was left benched.

Villa disappointed again but this time could not grind out the result against a City side inspired by Wright-Phillips. He cracked his second goal in the last four starts here and returned an assist and FPL bonus. Ireland was also amongst the assists and bonus to keep his tally ticking. Fixtures are against City’s attacking players in the short-term though, with three strong defences coming their way in the next four (che SUN ars FUL), so caution is advised. Villa need to pick up to keep Arsenal at bay in fourth place but their fixtures and form isn’t promising (TOT liv mun EVE). The coming weeks look fairly unprofitable at both ends for O’Neill’s side.

Injuries and Bans
City lost De Jong to an injury just after half-time.
Cuellar suffered an injury late on and was replaced on 88 minutes.

Stoke 2 Bolton 0

There were three changes from Stoke with Whelan earning a start, Delap returning from suspension and Abdoulaye Faye shrugging off a back injury. Amdy Faye, Sonko and Pugh all dropped out. Lawrence kept his starting role. Megson kept an unchanged side, with Puygrenier again on the bench and Andy O’Brien preferred alongside Cahill at the back.

Beattie will once again get all the attention from this one – notching his fifth goal in seven games for Pulis’ side. He has only failed once in those seven games to return either a goal or an assist – an extraordinary run for a budget forward. Beattie’s stock will surely rise further given his forthcoming fixtures which remain fairly kind until the end of the season. After the Everton game next, Stoke have a relatively decent passage of games (MID wba NEW BLA) which will be vital to their survival chances. Beattie looks a good bet for further profits. The Stoke defence could also be worth a look given that three of those four after the Goodison trip are at home where they have kept five clean sheets.

As for Bolton – they have lost four of the last five away games without scoring. That’s a sobering stat for Davies and Taylor owners given that, following the home game with Fulham, Megson’s side have three of the next four away from the Reebok (FUL wba MID che por).