Steven Gerrard delivers from the spot yet again, before clearing Christian Benteke’s goal-bound effort to seal the points for Liverpool at Villa Park. Paul Lambert’s side slip further into the mire, then, while Daniel Sturridge’s owners are left equally deflated by their man’s no-show. Here’s the Stock Check from Sunday’s clash…
On the Up
Steven Gerrard
The Liverpool skipper’s winning strike from the spot took him to five goals in his last nine league starts. Bizarrely that continued the trend that has seen Gerrard notch in every other match since Gameweek 23. His last three goals have all been from the spot, underling the importance of set-pieces in a Liverpool side that has Luis Suarez probing the front line, winning set-pieces and drawing fouls in and around the box.
Philippe Coutinho
The young Brazilian continued his impressive start to his top flight career in England with the assist for Jordan Henderson’s opener. That was Coutinho’s third assist in five starts for Liverpool and he has now either scored or assisted in four of those five matches. At 6.9 in the Fantasy Premier League (FPL) he continues to tempt investment and, with Daniel Sturridge making way today, the signs are that Coutinho’s start in this Liverpool lineup is more secure than first anticipated.
Christian Benteke
While Villa’s Premier League status continues to dangle by a thread, there’s little doubt that Benteke will grace the same stage next season with or without them. The Belgian’s opening strike was his fourteenth goal of what has been an outstanding first season in England, further rewarding his Fantasy owners who will be hugely satisfied by a run of eight goals in Benteke’s last nine league starts. With Stoke and Fulham up next, few would bet against the big centre forward adding to his tally further in the next fortnight.
Going Down
Daniel Sturridge
Following defeat at St Mary’s, Brendan Rodgers shifted his tactics to include two holding midfielders and draft in Jordan Henderson to raid forward – that left Stewart Downing and Coutinho to flank Luis Suarez, leaving no place for Sturridge. Rodgers has shown flexibility with his tactics and could well shift again for the Anfield clash with West Ham. Even so, Sturridge owners will have been hugely disappointed that their man saw no action against the Villa defence and, at the same time, relieved that Suarez only came out of the game with the assist for Liverpool’s spot-kick winner. Doubts continue over Sturridge’s fitness following recent thigh problems and, ultimately, further disappointment could see him sold on by many of his current owners.
The Liverpool Defence
While Brendan Rodger’s rearguard has kept 11 shut-outs over the season,
two clean sheets in the last eight league outings are not the returns we anticipated when we looked ahead at the Liverpool fixture list back in January. Owners of Glen Johnson (denied by the post today) and Jose Enrique will be pondering exit plans, although with the Hammers at Anfield and without Andy Carroll up next, a change in fortune could be on the cards.
Revised Bonus Predictions – Courtesy of the Bap Chap
Sunderland 0 Man United 1 – RVP 3, Young 2, Carrick 1 (in the mix Buttner, Smalling)
Arsenal 4 Reading 1 – Gervinho 3, Cazorla 2, Arteta 1 (in the mix Mariappa) (top 2 very tight)
Man City 4 Newcastle 0 – Silva 3, Clichy 2, Kompany 1 (extremely tight)
Southampton 2 Chelsea 1 – Rodriguez 3, Lambert 2, Terry 1 (in the mix S.Davis)
Swansea 1 Tottenham 2 – Vertonghen 3, Bale 3, Sigurdsson 1 (the 1 is very low and open)
West Ham 3 West Brom 1 – Carroll 3, O’Neil 2, Collins 1
Wigan 1 Norwich 0 – Kone 3, Beausejour 2, Alcaraz 1 (very low and open behind Kone, no gimmes)
Everton 1 Stoke 0 – Mirallas 3, Jelavic 2, Distin 1 (in the mix Gibson, Anichebe)
Aston Villa 1 Liverpool 2 – Gerrard 3, Henderson 2, Suarez 1 (in the mix Benteke)
