Dimitar Berbatov came in from the cold to bundle a precious winner for United as the Gunners demonstrated further frailties to stumble at the Hawthorns. For Fantasy Managers is a was a largely frustrating day as big attacking options failed to deliver on expectations – it was left to deadball master Charlie Adam to deliver the biggest haul – compounded by his customary Bonus Points return…
Saturday’s early kick-off saw Harry Redknapp named Gareth Bale in his starting line-up for the first time since gameweek 23, as Spurs squared up to in-form West Ham. Rafael Van der Vaart also returned to the starting XI, with Jermaine Defoe preferred to Peter Crouch up front. William Gallas continued in the heart of the Tottenham defence, quashing reports that the defender was set for a spell on the sidelines with a reported hamstring injury. In spite of their attacking line-up, the home team could not find a way past Robert Green, with Defoe in particular guilty of missing a handful of gilt-edged chances.
Redknapp was quick to jump to the defence of Defoe, revealing that he was tempted to leave the striker out of his lineup following a bereavement in Defoe’s family…
“Jermain was up half the night due to a family bereavement…I wasn’t sure whether to play him but he wanted to. He had some good chances today, the little fella, and he normally scores them but it was just one of those days. It wasn’t through a lack of effort.”
Van der Vaart failed to produce for his Fantasy owners and was subbed on 70 minutes by Harry Redknapp. The Dutchman duly reacted by storming down the tunnel. Redknapp played the incident down in his post-match comments…
“I don’t like to see that. He is part of the team and he should stay and watch…Rafa did nothing wrong, but I thought I would get some fresh legs on. You do things to try and change the way the game is going.”
Luka Modric again claimed the maximum 3 Bonus Points for Spurs – the Croatian has now gathered 23 Bonus in total, 21 in his last 12 league starts. With just 2.5% ownership, he continues to provide a handy differential though for those Fantasy Managers choosing to overlook Gareth Bale and Rafael Van der Vaart.
Antonio Valencia returned to Man United’s starting XI, sampling some league action for the first time since gameweek 2. Sir Alex Ferguson continued with the recent front pairing of Wayne Rooney and Javier Hernandez, meaning Dimitar Berbatov, once again, was left on the bench. Jonny Evans partnered Chris Smalling in central defence, with Nemanja Vidic still sidelined. Paul Scholes served the first of a two-match ban.
Wayne Rooney was a central figure for United by failed to return having scored 5 goals in his last 6 outings. It was left to Dimitar Berbatov to come off the bench to notch the winner, clouding the striker situation at Old Trafford even further. Having announced to the press that the Bulgarian is not assured of a starting role following the emergence of Hernandez, Ferguson introduced Berbatov at half-time. He was on hand to bundle home the winner after Jussi Jaaskelainen spilled Nani’s effort.
Fabio was also introduced following the first 45 minutes with Wes Brown reportedly picking up a leg injury – another potential defensive casual. Ferguson will already be without Johnny Evans for three matches following his red card for the studs up challenge on Stuart Holden. Evans will miss league matches against West Ham, Fulham and the FA Cup semi-final with City.
Arsenal’s defensive frailties and continued issues in goal were again underlined as Steven Reid exposed issues at set-pieces by heading the opener, before Peter Odemwingie embarrassed Manual Almunia for the second. Despite this, it’s worth noting that, in the last 10 league outings, Arsene Wenger’s side have kept 7 clean sheets. The goals conceded at the Hawthorns followed 3 consecutive shut-outs. Nonetheless, you have to imagine that Almunia is now under real pressure from Jens Lehman following his recent loan signing.
Andrey Arshavin’s fine strike and wriggling run to help produce Robin Van Persie’s equaliser underlined his current form. Often overshadowed by Cesc Fabregas and Samir Nasri, Arshavin is now the leading points scorer amongst the Arsenal midfield in the Fantasy Premier League game with 127 points having recorded 6 goals and 11 assists. He has completed 90 minutes in the last two league outings; prior to this his last 90 minute appearance was back in gameweek 16. At 9.0 with 9.5% ownership in the FPL, Arshavin could be a darkhorse contender for Arsenal’s continued run of favourable fixtures (BLA blp LIV/tot bol).
With his two-match suspension now served, Charlie Adam came back into the Blackpool team for the away trip to Blackburn and wasted little time in getting back amongst the goals. His brace underlined his dominance of Blackpool’s set-plays as Adam stroked home a controversial penalty and a beautifully flighted free-kick to hand the Tangerines a 2-0 first-half lead. Adam’s 9 goals and 7 assists, together with a staggering 43 Bonus Points, places the Blackpool skipper second only to United’s Nani in the midfielder FPL points rankings. Available for 5.9, Adam will surely be a vastly popular signing with a run of four consecutive home games approaching or Ian Holloway’s side (ful ARS WIG NEW STK).
Chris Samba justified his Scout Pick selection with a crucial opening goal for Blackburn. Samba had a string of goal attempts on the day, emphasising his goal threat which rivals that of Stoke’s Robert Huth. The Rovers skipper has now scored 4 league goals this season – only Huth has notched more. Samba will be a major threat to Arsenal defence at the Emirates in gameweek 31 – following that Blackburn have a run of 3 home games in 4 (ars BIR eve MCY BOL ) which could yet spark further interest in Samba.
Junior Hoilett was again the star performer on show for Rovers however, drawing praise from his manager Steve Kean post-match.
“He’s a great player. Junior was exceptional…I don’t know who picks the man of the match but I think he got it. He’s got a lot. He’s got a great future. He’s a match-winner, he’s got fantastic ability. But he’s a level-headed lad.”
Hoilett’s late equaliser was not enough to earn his Bonus with Charlie Adam predictably stealing those points. Hoilett did however earn 2 Bonus – he has now notched 7 Bonus in his last 8 league outings, scoring 3 goals and a single assist in the process. That’s a strong return for an FPL forward who can be acquired for just 4.0 – clearly outstanding value and a real option for those looking to clear some cash for heavyweight signings elsewhere.
Liam Ridgewell struck his fourth goal of the season to give Birmingham an early lead at Wigan. Although team-mate Roger Johnson offers strong Bonus potential, Ridgewell is clearly another viable option as Birmingham’s fixtures continue to look favourable (BOL bla SUN/che liv). Birmingham’s form is poor however – three defeats in the last four, with no clean sheets gathered.
Alex McLeish was able to recall both Craig Gardner and Barry Ferguson to his midfield but injuries and fatigued have mounted up for his side. Martin Jiranek was the latest casualty – he failed to see out the opening period, forced off on just 14 minutes with an ongoing foot injury. McLeish gave us this on the lingering injuries at St Andrews…
“Martin has had a foot problem for a few weeks and it worsened early on in the game. It certainly wasn’t in the plan to make a change so soon but we had to. He will now be in the treatment room again…With regards to some of the other injured players, Fahey and Bowyer continue to make progress but Zigic is still being troubled by his hip injury.”
Wigan’s Tom Cleverley put in a superb showing, fetching an assist and goal for Roberto Martinez’s side. Cleverley earned the 3 Bonus Points but is unlikely to attract short-term Fantasy interest with games against Spurs and Chelsea coming next for the Latics.
Gerard Houllier was forced to field a makeshift defence in the 1-0 home defeat to rivals Wolves. The Villa boss started with the recalled Carlos Cuellar and Chris Herd in the centre, with Kyle Walker and Nathan Baker at full-back. Houllier replaced Baker on 33 minutes, a purely tactical move as the boss looked to introduce a more attacking option.
Villa’s slide down the table is alarming – they’ve won just one of their last six league matches and have failed to keep a clean sheet in the last seven. In attacking terms Villa have at least fared better – yesterday’s defeat was the first time they’ve drawn a blank since gameweek 22. Ashley Young owners will be frustrated however – his 18 point haul in gameweek 27 represents his only Fantasy returns in the last six matches although only the crossbar denied him an equaliser in the second-half.
Jamie O’Hara was again a key figure for visitors Wolves, earning the maximum 3 Bonus Points – the Tottenham loanee has gained 8 Bonus in his last three starts. He, along with Nenad Milijas and Matt Jarvis, now looks settled in a productive Wolves midfield. Jarvis’ form is beginning to catch the eye having returned 2 goals and an assist in his last three starts. Despite the blank fixture in gameweek 33, Wolves’ run of opponents remains favourable and may earn them some Fantasy interest in the budget bracket (new EVE blank FUL bir WBA).
Stoke City’s fine 4-0 win over Newcastle saw them record their first clean sheet since gameweek 23 having conceded in their last eight league matches. Danny Higginbotham struck his second goal from a direct free-kick in consecutive games – Robert Huth seems unlikely to get near another long-range deadball for a good while then. Huth and Higginbotham may well require further attacking returns in the next few gameweeks with Chelsea and Spurs to follow.
Newcastle boss Alan Pardew was boosted by the news that Jose Enrique and Joey Barton were both passed fit to start at the Britannia, but Jonas Gutierrez was only healthy enough for the bench. The Newcastle boss opted to boost his aerial power against the Stoke threat by including Sol Campbell in his defence – it failed to aid matters. Injuries again played their part in Newcastle’s downfall – Jose Enrique only lasted 23 minutes of the match before aggravating his hamstring problem. Cheik Tiote then handed Pardew further problems by picking up his tenth booking in the season; he will now miss the games against Wolves and Villa.
Everton’s 2-1 win over Fulham see them remain the form side in the Premier League with four wins in their last six. David Moyes was able to recall both Tim Cahill and Phil Neville to his starting lineup following injury. Cahill took up his regular role up in support of Louis Saha, as the Frenchman sealed the points for the Toffees with a second-half strike. Saha’s day was predictably ended by injury however – he was stretched off with Moyes later confirming ankle and hamstring injury concerns.
“It looks as if he has landed heavy on his ankle…We will get him checked out and see how he is. He had a bit of a hamstring injury and we were about to sub him and then he went up for the header and landed awkwardly.”
Seamus Coleman took another step to cementing his starting role on the Everton right-flank with his opening goal. Coleman has now notched 4 league goals and 3 assists and provides a strong alternative to team-mate Leighton Baines who demands a far higher transfer fee. Baines gathered the 3 Bonus Points in yesterday’s win after another impressive showing. With 6 Bonus in his last 6 starts, Baines is beginning to show up and add supplementary points to add to his 11 assists so far this term.
