Three of the elite group previously labelled the “big four” were in action as Gameweek Twenty came to a close. While Chelsea managed to jerk from their coma to earn a scrappy 1-0 victory over Bolton at the Bridge, Arsenal let 10-men claw them back at the death, as Wigan earned a battling point.
As for Liverpool, their status as one of the Premier League’s elite seemed a distant memory, as bottom club Wolves subjected Roy Hodgson to a home defeat that sparked the predictable reaction from the Anfield faithful and left Fantasy Managers wondering if the likes of Steven Gerrard and Fernando Torres will ever form part of our plans…
Liverpool’s dismal display offered little encouragement for those Fantasy Managers contemplating the merits of Liverpool’s resources over their forthcoming run of kind fixtures. With two double Gameweeks on the horizon, Liverpool’s assets, both at the back and in advanced positions appear to be tempting, but form is a major concern. There’s a severe lack of consistency when it comes to results and Roy Hodgson’s side are struggling to exploit the talent they have available – last night Pepe Reina had more touches of the ball in the first half than Fernando Torres.
Hodgson seems limited when it comes to changing personnel. It seems likely that he will look to shuffle things for the New Year’s day meeting with Bolton but it’s difficult to see where the changes will come. Sotirious Kyrgiakos could come under threat from Dan Agger who was on the bench last night. Whilst commenting on recent speculation surrounding reports that Liverpool were offering Agger out to clubs, Hodgson added…
“There’s a good chance he’ll [Agger] be in the Liverpool team on Saturday (against Bolton).”
The threat to Kyrgiakos is clear then, although the Greek’s aerial prowess could be needed for the battle with Kevin Davies and Johan Elmander so the move to start Agger could well leave Liverpool lacking in that area.
Joe Cole and Maxi Rodriguez are also in the running having been benched in last night’s game and one or both could earn a start against the Trotters. Hodgson will also be contemplating dropping David Ngog to the bench and shifting Steven Gerrard from his deeper role to support Fernando Torres. Neither Gerrard or Torres had an impact against Wolves.
Owners of Kevin Foley got an unexpected clean sheet last night – the out of position 4.0 FPL prospect returned his second cleanie in 3 matches. There’s perhaps some potential with a trip to West Ham to come next for Foley and Wolves, although forthcoming fixtures are nothing less than evil. Encounters with Man City, Chelsea and Liverpool (again) soon follow, with a trip to Bolton and clashes with Arsenal and Untied to come after that. Foley is owned by a staggering 14% of FPL managers but could well find himself swapped out, perhaps for a Blackpool alternative given their run of three double Gameweeks.
Arsene Wenger kept faith with just three players from Monday’s starting line-up; only Lukasz Fabianski, Bacary Sagna and Laurent Koscielny retained their starting roles. That meant that likes of Samir Nasri, Theo Walcott and Gael Clichy dropped to the bench. Robin Van Persie and Alex Song were rested from the squad, Cesc Fabregas served his one-match ban.
Abou Diaby returned to the starting lineup but picked up a first-half injury and was replaced by Wilshere – Diaby will be a doubt for the trip to Birmingham on New Year’s Day.
Not too much can be gained from the Arsenal showing then – aside perhaps from the performance of Andrei Arshavin who impressed, and Sebastian Squillaci who didn’t. Wenger is certain to shuffle his pack for the Birmingham game but Arshavin’s showing could see him retain a start – his goal and assist last night means that he is now the top scoring Arsenal midfielder in the FPL, ahead of both Nasri and Fabregas. The Russian has scored a goal or an assist in 5 of his last 6 starts. Despite this, his FPL price is at an all time low this season at 9.3 from a 9.5 initial valuation. As for Squillaci, it will be interesting to see if Wenger brings back Johan Djourou, benched last night, to replace him against Alex McLeish’s side.
Charles N’Zogbia was widely regarded as the best player on show on the night but tarnished his display with a senseless clash with Jack Wilshere which led to him earning an early bath. The Frenchman will serve a three-match ban for violent conduct and miss league matches against Newcastle and Bolton as well as Wigan’s FA Cup tie with Hull. N’Zogbia will be sorely missed by Roberto Martinez’s side and the onus will fall on Hugo Rodallega and Tom Cleverley to provide the spark and threat in his absence. Should Wigan get results in the next two, the pair will surely be in line for FPL Bonus Points.
Florent Malouda scored for the first time since October. Malouda was left alone at the backpost with little more to do than tap a Didier Drogba pass into an empty net. Didier Drogba appeared fortunate to see the flag stay down and did not waste the opportunity. While the 27,1% of FPL owners still holding Malouda will enjoy the points, Malouda will need to kick-on and continue to offer returns in order to justify his price tag in midfield. A maximum 3 Bonus Points last night helped matters, although the OPTA stats show that Frank Lampard was a bigger influence on the Chelsea display.
Lampard does not yet appear to be at full fitness but should make substantial progress on that front with these three games in one week. While he never threatened himself, Lampard maintained a central role, regularly asked for the ball, and played a beautifully weighted pass through to Drogba, which was struck low toward goal and only denied by a combination of a finger tip save by Jussi Jaskelainen and the wood work at the far post. The ball rebounding off the post seemed to cap Drogba’s frustration on the day, which saw him alternate free kicks with Lampard, with neither providing anything particularly dangerous and each being wildly off target at times.
Jose Bosingwa got the start over Paulo Ferreira at right-back but failed to promote himself in Carlo Ancelotti’s thinking. Bosingwa had a couple of runs, but did not impress and gifted one very dangerous chance to Matty Taylor. The Chelsea right-back situation is far from secure – a frustration for Fantasy Managers given Bosingwa’s generous 5.4 current pricing in the FPL.
Branislav Ivanvovic picked up his fifth booking of the season last night – just days before the December 31 curfew. He will now miss Chelsea’s Stamford Bridge clash with Aston Villa. That could see drafted in to partner John Terry in defence.
Owen Coyle showed no fear and made no formation adjustments at Stamford Bridge, electing to play with two up top – Kevin Davies and Johan Elmander. While many have shifted to pack the midfield at Chelsea. Fabrice Muamba and Stuart Holden more than held their own in the central midfield, with Holden making multiple attacking runs into the area. Davies continued to win numerous balls in the air while Elmander worked tirelessly by his side. With reasonable fixtures ahead over the next month, Bolton continue to play an attractive attacking game.
Coyle offered little insight as for his plans for the right midfield slot with Chung-Yong Lee off to the Asian Cup. Rodrigo Moreno was handed his first start on the season. The teenage Spaniard looked out of his depth at times, and while Coyle is willing to put his faith in youngsters, Lee’s departure would still seem likely to provide an opportunity to find more playing time for Martin Petrov and/or Mark Davies, although both would be out of position or require some formation adjustment.
