United undone by a Baggies bounce back. Liverpool’s slide continues. City’s momentum is maintained and a Drogba-less Chelsea fail to blow the door down at Villa. Here’s another round of notes from the Gameweek weekend…
Mark Hughes handed Diomansy Kamara a first start of the season against Spurs at the Cottage; with Mousa Dembele also returning to the side this meant that Clint Dempsey reverted to a midfield role. This obviously dents Dempsey’s Fantasy potential but also makes his starting role less secure given that Damien Duff will be vying for a start on his return from a calf injury. Having said that Dempsey enjoyed a very decent day at the office, laying on the assist for Kamara’s opener and proving a constant threat to the Spurs defence – no player had more shots on goal (5) in Saturday’s games. Dempsey, Mousa Dembele and Kamara all offer mid-price potential as Fulham embark on a decent run of games (wba WIG AVL).
It’s also worth noting that Hughes opted to keep Chris Baird at right-back, leaving both Stephen Kelly and John Pantsil on the bench. Baird moved to a central midfield role when Danny Murphy was forced off through injury with Kelly introduced at the back. Baird may now be set for a run of starts – he is available for 4.7 in the Fantasy Premier League game.
In the same match Gareth Bale was kept in the left midfield role by Harry Redknapp with Benoit Assou-Ekotto starting at full-back. Redknapp shuffled his pack with Roman Pavlyuchenko and Sandro both starting, ousting Peter Crouch and Jermaine Jenas to the bench. Rafael Van der Vaart was again played up in support of the lone striker and was once again prominent, earning two Fantasy Premier League Bonus points. While Bale contributed his several key passes, one of which led to the belated assist for Tom Huddlestone’s goal, he played second fiddle to Van der Vaart in Bonus point terms. The Dutchman made almost 50% more passes and fired in 3 efforts on goal; Bale failed to register a single effort on Schwarzer’s goal.
Charles N’Zogbia will have soared up many a watchlist as result of his brace at Newcastle. The inevitable 3 point FPL Bonus also gave him returns in that area for a third consecutive match, confirming that his Bonus magnet from last season is well truly operational. Priced at just 5.4 in the Fantasy Premier League game following a drop from 6.0, he appears to present superb value. Fixtures over the next three could be a lot worse (BOL ful bla) which will only promote his bandwagon further.
Steve Gohouri suffered an injury in training on Friday and that saw him miss Wigan’s trip to Newcastle with Steven Caldwell starting in central defence. Antolin Alcaraz recovered from his own injury to start against the Magpies. It was interesting that Martinez chose to drop Rodallega to the bench with Ronnie Stam starting on the right of midfield in his place. With Rodallega out of the side, N’Zogbia’s FPL Bonus prospects look even stronger.
Andy Carroll missed a sitter late on and earned a booking but did come away with the assist for the late equaliser from Fabricio Collicini. Carroll was heavily involved however and may need Hughton to have the conviction to move to a 4-4-2 to unlock his true Fantasy potential. The Newcastle boss chose to start Peter Lovenkrands, rather than Shola Ameobi, in place of skipper Kevin Nolan who was injured in training on Friday. Ameobi’s goal may see him alongside Carroll against West Ham and Sunderland over the next two Gameweeks.
Marouane Chamakh rewarded those Fantasy Managers who had kept the faith with his biggest points haul of the season. Chamakh’s dubious assist for Arsenal’s opening penalty was boosted by a third goal of the season and a 2 point Bonus. That performance was timely given the threat now posed by a fit-again Nicklas Bendtner. It remains to be seen just how Arsene Wenger will juggle these two but with Robin Van Persie also due back in early November, it’s clear that Chamakh is in danger of losing pitch time – unfortunate considering Arsenal have two decent home games (WHM NEW) to follow the trip to City in Gameweek 9.
Ryan Giggs suffered a hamstring injury in the first half of the win over West Brom and will now be out for an “extended period”. That’s bad news for Alex Ferguson who has problems on the left of midfield with Ji Sung Park missing out this weekend with a knee injury. This could open the way for some “out of position” or bargain Fantasy potential within the United midfield. If Park is unable to return then Ferguson will either need to play without a natural wide player or start with Gabriel Obertan (4.5 Midfielder) or Bebe (5.5 Forward). He could even consider pushing Patrice Evra forward and starting O’Shea at left-back with Rafael remaining on the right. Clearly the situation on United’s left needs monitoring.
Bolton’s 2-1 win over Stoke saw Kevin Davies amongst the FPL Bonus for the fourth time this season, the 3 points giving him his third maximum haul. Our Members can get a view on just how Davies earns this recognition by analysing his Distribution and Influence statistics and it’s clear that, when Bolton prevail, Davies will likely be amongst the points. With fixtures continuing to look decent for Owen Coyle’s men (wig LIV TOT), we should see more profit for recent England call-up.
Martin Petrov’s starting role could be under threat however, Coyle would not have been happy with the careless flick that led to the corner for Rory Delap’s goal. Petrov was subbed on 64 minutes and Matt Taylor may be on the verge of a first start on the left of midfield very soon.
Gerard Houllier started the Chelsea game with Ashley Young on the left flank and Stewart Downing on the right, with Stephen Ireland bombing forward to support John Carew in attack. The shuffle was prompted by the absence of Marc Albrighton through illness and must put further doubt on the young winger’s starting role. Ireland is clearly suited to the role “in the hole” and Houllier will also have Gabby Agbonlahor fit as an option soon, allowing him to move to a 4-4-2. It looks likely that Young will end back in a wide role, casting real doubt over Albrighton’s security as a budget Fantasy signing.
Everton’s fine 2-0 win over Liverpool continued their change in fortunes. They’ve now kept three consecutive clean sheets which will surely start to earn their key defenders – Leighton Baines, Sylvain Distin and Phil Jagielka, some increased Fantasy recognition. Following a trip to Spurs, Everton a decent run of games on which to build on their current form (STK blp BOL).
Seamus Coleman is perhaps the key target right now. He put in a strong performance on the right of Everton’s midfield, surely cementing his starting role in this position for the foreseeable future. As we’ve mentioned in several articles of late, Coleman is classed as a 4.4 Defender, and his showing in the derby match will see him enjoy a big rise in our Watchlist rankings as he becomes a hot-property for Fantasy Managers, regardless of the fact that Everton travel to White Hart Lane next. With clean sheets so hard to come by, a 4.4 defender playing in a right-wing role for a side showing decent defensive form, is clearly an offer that’s hard to refuse.
Mikel Arteta’s fine second-half strike also promoted his stock. That was his second goal of what has been a quiet Fantasy season so far and surprisingly the Spaniard saw no FPL Bonus return with Distin and Tim Cahill hogging those. Both Arteta and Cahill are now firmly in the top 10 midfielders in the FPL – not bad considering neither have been recognised as key Fantasy signings to this point. Arteta suffered a knock late on and was replaced – that obviously requires monitoring.
Injuries to the Toure brothers saw Roberto Mancini shift to a 4-4-2, drafting in Emmanuel Adebayor alongside Carlos Tevez. The brief “experiment” failed to convince. City were undoubtedly second best until the introduction of David Silva for Adebayor which saw a shift in the system and the ignition of City of Tevez in particular. His brace of goals in the 3-2 win took him top of the goalscoring charts and has him trailing Didier Drogba by just 6 points. Tevez has scored goals in his last four starts for City and has brought in 8 Bonus Points in that spell. For many Fantasy Managers, those stats and his form will have him rank as the “essential” striker behind Drogba. Juggling that pair with a the array of high-scoring midfield assets is the the dilemma for Fantasy Managers now.
David Silva’s showing will raise his profile and hand Mancini further selection headaches going forward. His goal oozed classed and there’s no doubt that he is tuned into the Tevez wavelength. Fantasy Managers just have too many attractive options right now but Silva’s progress needs tracking – particular by those who are unable to draft in team-mate Tevez.
Charlie Adam brought in 2 more FPL Bonus Points – despite the defeat to City. He has now gathered more Bonus than any other midfielder and, having also notched an assist for Harewood’s goal, his returns remain strong and well worth the current 5.3 price tag. Charles N’Zogbia’s emergence this weekend may see him share investment with the Wigan man, but with decent fixtures to come (bir WBA EVE avl whm WOL bol), Adam will surely go on returning points and attracting new suitors.
