Peter Odemwingie grabs both goals as West Brom win at home yet again. Robin Van Persie praises his flourishing partnership with Wayne Rooney, Alan Pardew is confident of Demba Ba’s chances of returning against West Ham this weekend, while Darren Bent is an injury worry for Villa ahead of United’s visit on Saturday…
Fortress Hawthorns
Last season under Roy Hodgson, West Brom toiled in front of their own fans, with 26 of their 47 points coming on the road. The installation of Steve Clarke seems to have completely reversed the Baggies’ fortunes at the Hawthorns – they have now accrued more points at home than any other side, with last night’s win meaning they have triumphed in five of their opening six in front of their own fans – just one less victory than last term. Granted, they have played one more than the top three but it’s a sign of their flourishing form under Clarke – with three of their next four on the road, though, the new manager will be desperate to improve upon a record of two points and three goals from their first four on the road.
West Brom/Stoke Rotation
The 2-0 win took West Brom’s clean sheet tally to four for the season – equalling Chelsea, West Ham and Stoke for defensive returns thus far. All of the Baggies clean sheets have arrived at the Hawthorns, with the likes of Ben Foster, Liam Ridgewell and Gareth McAuley continuing to rack up the points, while neighbours Stoke have returned three of their four at the Britannia. Rotating Foster and Asmir Begovic for home games alone looks a hugely rewarding tactic and would have returned seven clean sheets for Fantasy managers in the opening 10 Gameweeks – the pair offer home/away rotation in all but four of the remaining 28 Gameweeks of the season.
Long’s Consistency
It’s been a frustrating start for life on loan at the Hawthorns for Romelu Lukaku. The giant Belgian has been handed just two starts by Steve Clarke but despite scoring in both his first XI appearances, he remains firmly behind Shane Long in the pecking order. Many had expected Lukaku to remain in the side after scoring at Newcastle last weekend but Long shook off knee and hamstring concerns to return to the Baggies starting line-up last night. While he’s yet to hit double figures in any Gameweek, Long has offered an impressive consistency – he has scored or assisted in all six of his home appearances this season, highlighting the task Lukaku has on his hands in earning a regular role up top.
Team Effort Under Clarke
While James Morrison’s owners were dealt a blow after the midfielder was ruled out with a “little niggle” picked up in training, Peter Odemwingie stepped up to serve a reminder of his capabilities. The Nigerian had failed to score since the first match of the season but grabbed both his side’s goals to send the Baggies into fifth spot – he currently sits on 32 FPL points, having bagged the maximum bonus. Looking at the points distribution for West Brom, their collective efforts have seen 10 of their players return 29 points or more; by comparison, only four players at United have equalled or bettered this tally, while just three players from Spurs and Newcastle have managed this achievement. It’s a sign of just how solid they are in every department, with Clarke managing to get the best out of his subs as well as his first-team regulars.
Struggling Saints
The return of Gaston Ramirez was meant to spark Southampton back into life – instead they failed to score on the road for the first time this season. Nigel Adkins will take a crumb of comfort in the fact his side have scored nine goals in their five at home – the Saints now play at St Mary’s four times (SWA, NEW, NOR, REA) in the next six, with that run of games now crucial if they are to stand a chance of avoiding the drop.
In Other News
Paul Lambert is awaiting news on Darren Bent’s ankle problem after the forward was ruled out of Villa’s trip to Sunderland at the weekend:
“Darren hurt his ankle on Friday in training. It is the same ankle he hurt against Wigan (in February). I know it was serious then. Is it serious? I don’t know yet. He will get treatment on it during the week and we will see. He was really hobbling on Friday and we couldn’t take a chance on him with Sunderland.”
Bent has cut a peripheral figure of late for the midlanders and had started just one of the previous four Gameweeks, with Lambert clearly preferring new signing Christian Benteke up top. Benteke has now produced a goal and assist in Villa’s last two league matches and bagged a brace in last week’s Capital One Cup win at Swindon. While the next three Gameweeks look dire for Villa (MUN, mci, ARS), the following three (RDG, qpr, STO) look tailor-made for Benteke to continue his recent strong form, regardless of Bent’s availability. Lambert also revealed that Joe Bennett was subbed off early at the weekend after the knee wound sustained early last month at Spurs reopened. With Eric Lichaj suspended for United’s visit after picking up five bookings for the season, Enda Stevens could fill in at left-back if Bennett fails to recover in time.
Robin Van Persie has talked up his role within his flourishing up front partnership with Wayne Rooney after United hit top spot for the first time this season with a 2-1 win over Arsenal:
“I call it a nine-and-a-half because you have two positions, the nine and the ten, and we are both nine-and-a-half. We are just helping each other out. We both play behind and a bit higher up. It seems to be working well and I am very happy with Wayne – hopefully we can keep it going.”
The pair have now started the last four matches together for United, following Rooney’s comeback from a thigh injury, and have returned a combined 63 FPL points over that quartet of fixtures, with Van Persie edging it by 35 to 28. Between them, they have produced five goals, seven assists and 14 bonus points from Gameweek 7-10 – despite facing the likes of Newcastle, Chelsea and the Gunners. With United’s next five fixtures looking particularly enticing (avl, nor, QPR, WHM, rdg), the duo have the potential to run riot as Sir Alex Ferguson looks to go all-out for goals; some Fantasy managers are even considering bringing Rooney in alongside Van Persie, with United averaging three goals per game when the pair start together.
Alan Pardew gave Demba Ba’s Fantasy owners a boost yesterday by admitting he expects the forward to shake off the shin problem that forced him off against Liverpool last Sunday:
“I should perhaps have taken Demba off at half-time, but we wanted to see how he went and that was no good, but hopefully he’ll be all right for next weekend.”
Despite being subbed off in the past two Gameweeks with the injury, Ba also took to twitter to play down the problem and with Newcastle’s next league game not until next Sunday, he’ll clearly be afforded plenty rest prior to the visit of former club West Ham. Having played a part in eight of the Magpies’ 12 goals, finding the net seven times and providing an assist, Ba’s importance cannot be downplayed ahead of a run of games that sees Swansea and Wigan also make their way to St James’ Park in the next five, with a trip to Southampton also on their agenda.
Pardew is also hoping Yohan Cabaye can recover from a “slight strain” to his hamstring – the Frenchman has scored two of his side’s last four goals, though James Perch could be out after picking up a thigh injury. The Newcastle boss also revealed he won’t be appealing the three-match ban handed out to Fabricio Coloccini for a challenge on Luis Suarez – the Argentine’s absence means Steven Taylor and Mike Williamson are favourites to be fielded at centre-half for the next three.
