A gutsy Villa showing exposes the Chelsea frailties at the Bridge to earn a point in a thrilling 3-3 draw. Down at the DW Stadium meanwhile, Wigan whimper allowing Newcastle to earn a comfortable 1-0 win as another Gameweek closes…
Chelsea lined up as expected with Jeffrey Bruma given his opportunity alongside skipper John Terry. The only one area of doubt surrounded Carlo Ancelotti’s choice at right-back and he decided to rotate here with Paulo Ferreira coming in for Jose Bosingwa. Elsewhere Ramires continued in midfield with Mikel still sidelined.
Ferreira struggled badly and the decision to remove him with 30 minutes left and introduce Bosingwa was roundly cheered by the Stamford Bridge crowd. Bosingwa would appear to be in the box seat for that role, at least while Branislav Ivanovic is forced to fill in alongside Terry.
Defensively Chelsea still have major problems. After fetching a clean sheet in the 1-0 win over Bolton, Chelsea looked vulnerable. Carlo Ancelotti’s rearguard has kept just that one shut-out in their last 8 league matches, a record which won’t increase the confidence of Fantasy Managers looking at their defensive assets.
Ancelotti was quick to acknowledge the defensive frailties after the game…
“Obviously i just want to say that Bruma played very well but we are without Alex and Ivanovic, we lost some energy on the high ball. We conceded the second goal for this reason, the third was different because we needed to have more attention in the box.”
In attacking terms Chelsea did at least find the net three times for the first time since Gameweek 5 back September. That meant more returns for Didier Drogba who has continued to dribble in points of late and maintain his place in many a Fantasy squad. Drogba has now scored or assisted in his last 5 league matches.
Frank Lampard’s return has relieved Drogba of spot-kick duties and it was Lampard who fired home Chelsea’s opener with Florent Malouda drawing the foul for the assist. Lampard has slotted back to a familiar role in the Chelsea engine room and our Members’ OPTA stats suggest that he has already begun to pose a significant goal threat and taken up set-piece duty at corners and free-kicks.
Gerard Houllier reacted to the pressure coming his way by turning to experience against Chelsea. Richard Dunne returned to the back four after impressing in training, shifting Carlos Cuellar to right-back with Eric Lichaj making way. Further forward we saw Emile Heskey return, with Gabby Agbonlahor retaining his place and Marc Albrighton surprisingly dropping to the bench.
Two of Villa’s young hopefuls eventually proved key players on the day however; Albrighton saw action and typically provided the assist for fellow sub Ciaran Clark to nod home the late equalizer. Houlier’s lineup for the home clash with Sunderland will be interesting in regards to Albrighton’s role – it could be that he struggles to break back into the side for several weeks if Agbonlahor shows some form.
Over at the DW Stadium Wigan lined up with Jordi Gomez drafted in to replace the suspended Charles N’Zogbia. Roberto Martinez left the rest of his side intact as Antolin Alcaraz recovered from injury to start.
Martinez described the defeat to Newcastle as “the worst performance of the season” as his side struggled to make an impression on the visitors defence or wrestle any real authority in midfield. Charles N’Zogbia was missed – badly missed.
Wigan travel to the Reebok to face Bolton in midweek – Owen Coyle’s side will be fancying their chances in that one and owners of Johan Elmander and Kevin Davies will surely be holding firm and expecting returns.
Alan Pardew turned to Shola Ameobi to lead his attack in the absence of thigh injury victim Andy Carroll. He pushed Peter Lovenkrands up in support, dropping Wayne Routledge to the bnech and shifting Kevin Nolan to a deeper central midfield role – a significant move for his Fantasy potential.
Ameobi duly delivered a first-half goal to win the game and would seem certain to lead the attack while Carroll remains sidelined. At just 4.2 in the FPL, he could warrant some short-term attention. Carroll could well make a return for Gameweek 23 according to quotes from Alan Pardew in his post-match comments.
Steve Harper returned to the Magpies’ goal in this one and immediately returned a clean sheet – Newcastle’s first in seven league games. Tim Krul is now surely set for bench duty for the remainder of the season with Harper now back on the radar as a 4.3 goalkeeping prospect.
