Yaya Toure clinches victory at Newcastle to leave City on the brink of the title. Martin Petrov gets amongst the points for Bolton again, Clint Dempsey breaks his three-game goalless streak, while Djibril Cisse boosts QPR’s chance of survival by sealing a late win over Stoke…
Yaya Toure
A double from the City midfielder saw the Newcastle defence concede at home for the first time since Gameweek 27 and set City up for a home win over QPR to take the title. It’s only the second time in 12 appearances since arriving back from the African Cup of Nations that Toure has found the net – with the maximum bonus surely to follow, a 15-point return would hand the Ivorian his highest Fantasy Premier League (FPL) haul of the season. Toure will overtake Samir Nasri in the rankings and, priced at 7.7, has proven to be decent value for a mid-price midfielder, with six goals, eight assists and a total of 15 bonus points.
City Defence
A fourth clean sheet in the last five kept Papiss Cisse at bay and sets City up nicely for next Sunday. Considering they have dropped two points at home all season, Roberto Mancini’s side will be heavily backed by Fantasy managers prior to next weekend’s deadline. Vincent Kompany’s six point return move the Belgian to 144 points – only Joe Hart, David Silva and Sergio Aguero have picked up more from City’s players but, with a price of just 6.8, Kompany has proven to be the best value of any of Mancini’s outfield men. Gael Clichy is also worth a mention. The left-back continued his recent upturn in attacking displays by setting up Toure for City’s second – the third time in the last four matches he has provided an assist.
Emmanuel Adebayor
While Gareth Bale and Rafael Van der Vaart failed to fire in the drab draw at Villa Park, Adebayor picked up where he left off at Bolton in midweek. Spot kick duties came to the on-loan forward’s aid, as he grabbed a vital equaliser to keep Spurs’ hopes of a fourth place finish alive. Now up to 184 points pre-bonus, Adebayor is just eight points behind Bale as the top scoring FPL players for Harry Redknapp’s side and, with a home clash against Fulham to follow, has the chance to overtake the Welshman on the final straight.
Charles N’Zogbia
The Frenchman supplied the assist for Ciaran Clark’s deflected opener against Spurs to continue his recent impressive Fantasy performances. A couple of assists and three bonus points in his last four has helped return 19 points since Gameweek 35 and, while the likes of Gabby Agbonlahor fail to produce the goods, the summer signing’s form has boosted his side’s relegation bid. The pressure now seems off Villa – three points ahead of Bolton going into next week’s trip to Norwich, their goal difference is so superior to the Trotters that their top-flight safety is virtually secure.
Martin Petrov
His crucial contribution against West Brom yesterday was not quite enough, as Bolton blew a two-goal lead to stare relegation in the face. Petrov followed up his spot-kick opener with an assist for his side’s second, after the Baggies’ right-back Billy Jones netted past his own keeper. Petrov now has two goals, three assists and five bonus points in his last five appearances and, although the Trotters now find themselves in the bottom three, there is still some hope – with City likely to beat QPR to clinch the title, a win for Owen Coyle’s side at Stoke next weekend would seal their survival. With Stoke unbeaten in their last six at the Britannia, however, Petrov will have to be at his very best to steer his side to safety.
James Morrison
Having sustained a knee injury in Gameweek 30, the midfielder was not expected to feature again this season but, having returned to training this week, Morrison was handed a brief second half sub role as the Baggies fought back to steal a draw. The Scot climbed off the bench on 74 minutes and within a minute, his side grabbed one back through Chris Brunt – Morrison then broke Bolton’s hearts with an equaliser right at the death. West Brom are now undefeated in four and, with Arsenal rolling up next weekend, the Gunners can expect a battle in Roy Hodgson’s final match in charge.
Clint Dempsey
The American’s four game rule applied once again in Fulham’s final home game of the campaign. Dempsey had not gone more than three appearances without a goal and continued that streak after a recent drought, firing home a free-kick for the Cottagers’ opener. The 9.8 priced midfielder has now notched 17 times this term and, with seven assists also returned, currently sits on 209 points – 17 ahead of Gareth Bale in the midfielder rankings. Both players now go head to head at the Lane next Sunday, as the season draws to a close.
Djibril Cisse
For once, the Frenchman overshadowed his Newcastle namesake for the right reasons. Cisse’s late, late winner against Stoke helped his side to a fifth straight win at Loftus Road and hands the R’s hope ahead of next week’s trip to the Etihad. A look at his goals returns highlights just how costly his couple of red card bans have been since joining up in January – Cisse has scored in five of his seven appearances for Mark Hughes’ side but has missed the same number of matches through suspension.
Anton Ferdinand
The centre-half continued his recent strong home returns by providing the assist for Cisse’s winner. QPR’s defensive resilience has now helped them to three back-to-back clean sheets at Loftus Road and, with an assist in the 3-0 win over Swansea in Gameweek 33 also thrown in, Ferdinand has now picked up 24 points over that trio of matches. His upturn in attacking threat has been crucial in recent weeks – Ferdinand had previously failed to produce any attacking returns all season before the game against the Swans.
United Defence
With Jonny Evans still unavailable, Chris Smalling slotted in alongside Rio Ferdinand at the heart of the back-four. Phil Jones was once again preferred to Rafael for the right-back role, though the latter managed a couple of minutes as a sub towards the end, as Jones moved to the middle after Ferdinand limped off. Despite the changes, a comfortable stroll over Swansea helped them to a fifth clean sheet in the last six at Old Trafford – given that Sunderland have failed to score in two of their last three at homes, they’ll be confident of nullifying the Black Cats’ threat next Sunday. Both Rio Ferdinand and Chris Smalling are early doubts for the trip, although Sir Alex Ferguson expects both to be in contention.
Ashley Young
Sir Alex Ferguson sprung a surprise for yesterday’s visit of Swansea by dropping Nani from the United XI. Young returned on the left to the starting lineup for the first time since the Gameweek 34 win over former club Villa, with Antonio Valencia reinstalled on the right as United reverted to 4-4-2. The winger grabbed United’s second in the 2-0 win and, when handed a first-team chance, he’s been highly consistent of late – Young has produced attacking returns in five of his last six starts now.
