Papiss Cisse’s last-gasp winner earns Newcastle a crucial victory at home to Fulham. Luis Suarez’s owners are left frustrated as West Ham hold Liverpool to a goalless draw at Anfield, Kevin Mirallas scored for the third time in four ahead of Everton’s double Gameweek, Juan Mata toils at home once again as Chelsea scrape past Sunderland, while Loic Remy and Shaun Maloney both find the net as Wigan and QPR share the spoils at Loftus Road.
Cisse’s Home Consistency
A dramatic late winner from the Senegal striker proved crucial as Newcastle boosted their bid for survival with a fourth successive home win against Fulham. After a hugely frustrating first half of the season, the departure of Demba Ba has helped unleash Cisse’s potential as a Fantasy force once again – he has now scored in each of his last three appearances at St James’ Park and has produced five goals and an assist in 12 matches without Ba, compared to three strikes and an assist in the opening 20 Gameweeks of the season. With two home games in the next three (SUN, LIV) he looks to have a platform to produce yet again as Alan Pardew’s side edge further away from the drop zone.
Magpies’ Defensive Worries
With Fabricio Coloccini and Mathieu Debuchy still sidelined at the back, Pardew was left with further defensive concerns after Davide Santon last just 15 minutes of yesterday’s match. The left-back had only just recovered from a thigh problems and had returned to first-team duties along with Tim Krul for the midweek Europa League clash in Benfica but was forced off with a hamstring injury yesterday, with Jonas Gutierrez shifting to left-back as a result. Pardew still has real doubts over Massadio Haidara and with Cheick Tiote also missing out in central midfield, yesterday’s clean sheet – their first in 10 attempts – was all the more impressive and hints at their resilience ahead of next weekend’s vital Tyne-Wear derby. Pardew was far from optimistic in his post-match comments regarding the injury to Santon:
“The diagnosis is probably not good because it looks like a hamstring”
Sturridge Denied Another Start
Having been dropped for last week’s trip to Villa, there was a feeling the former Chelsea man would return to the Liverpool first XI for the visit of West Ham yesterday afternoon. Sturridge had started all three of the home games he has been available for – a thigh injury against West Brom in Gameweek 26 was the only time he’d previously been omitted from the starting line-up at Anfield, with the Reds had scoring 13 goals over that trio of fixtures. Brendan Rodgers, however, maintained the 4-3-3 formation rolled out at Villa Park, with Jordan Henderson getting the nod again – although Sturridge climbed off the bench midway through the first half for the stricken Stewart Downing, Rodgers’ decision to keep the same system saw his side fail to break down a resilient Hammers backline. With double Gameweek 33 on the horizon, Sturridge’s owners are likely to pack up and move on – despite a promising first few appearances, game time looks far from guaranteed right now. Post-match, Rodgers confirmed that Downing’s early withdrawal was down to illness:
“He [Downingg] took ill yesterday, but he wanted to give it a go. He’s in good form at the moment. He took some tablets but when he was out there, he was very weak. When he came off you could see it in him that he wasn’t feeling well.”
Hammers Show Resilience
Yesterday’s goalless draw means Sam Allardyce’s side have now registered a clean sheet in two of their last three road trips and is bound to earn the Hammers plenty defensive investment ahead of their double Gameweek. Jussi Jaaskelainen once again demonstrated his importance to the London outfit’s cause – he produced seven saves to keep the Merseysiders at bay and returned eight points for his Fantasy owners. Elsewhere at the back, Allardyce has concerns, however. Winston Reid missed out with a thigh problem, while replacement James Tomkins limped off towards the end after picking up a knock. With George McCartney our injured, Guy Demel, at 4.0, is the cheapest option on offer but a trip to Southampton and home clash with United is anything but straightforward. Bearing in mind that Wigan, Newcastle and Reading all roll up to Upton Park from Gameweek 34 onwards, though, the Hammers’ chances of adding to their current tally of nine clean sheets looks strong.
Mirallas Magic On Show Once Again
The Belgian shrugged off a groin problem to take his place in the Everton XI and was amongst the goals again as the Toffees picked up a point at the Lane. Mirallas notched the second in a 2-2 and has now scored in three of the last four Gameweeks, with goals also against Reading and Stoke in recent matches. Although Marouane Fellaini and Steven Pienaar are now back from suspension for the upcoming Gameweek 33, Mirallas’ place in David Moyes’ XI won’t be threatened, with plenty new suitors ready to take a punt on the Merseysiders’ in-form winger, despite his FPL forward classification. The same can’t be said for Nikica Jelavic – the Croatian was dropped to the bench as Victor Anichebe led the line; the latter comes in at a mere 4.3 in FPL and could prove a real cut-price alternative to Mirallas for the upcoming games against QPR and Arsenal. Post-match, Moyes reserved praise for the Belgian, whilst citing his policy of keeping faith with his strikers as a factor for Mirallas’s form”
“Mirallas was our individual today and did what Gareth Bale may usually do. I thought Mirallas got better in the second half and his goal showed why you stick with strikers. Even after his goal we had a couple of chances to make it 3-2.”
Vertonghen’s Attacking Instincts Deliver Again
Despite being shifted to left-back, the Tottenham defender kept up his recent attacking exploits and justified his Scout Picks selection yesterday. Vertonghen supplied the assist for Emmanuel Adebayor’s early opener and continues to flourish as a Fantasy force – that’s three goals and a pair of assists for the Belgian in the last four Gameweek now. Despite picking up just one clean sheet in the last 10, Vertonghen continues to climb the Fantasy standings and after Tottenham’s blank is out the way next weekend, he’ll surely be back on radars, bearing in mind the north London club will also have a double Gameweek to come shortly.
Adebayor Steps Up
Devoid of the services of Gareth Bale, Andre Villas-Boas’ side dispelled the “one-man team” theory with the Welshman’s absence affording a couple of alternatives to come to the fore. There’s little doubt Bale’s loss was hugely significant – he had scored or assisted 11 of the club’s 13 goals over the previous eight Gameweeks but Emmanuel Adebayor rose to the occasion to register a goal and assist, with a nine point pre-bonus haul his highest of a hugely disappointing season. Gylfi Sigurdsson maintained his recent rise to form. Handed a place on the Scout Picks bench, his equaliser was the sixth time he has notched in the last 10 matches for club and country – having started each of the last five Gameweeks, a consistency of starts is clearly making a substantial difference to the Icelandic international’s form.
Mata Blanks Again
As Chelsea stuttered to a narrow win over Sunderland at the Bridge, Juan Mata’s owners were left frustrated by the Spaniard’s two point return as he continued a run which has seen him score in just two home games all season. Yesterday’s blank continued a run that has seen him produce just a single assist in the last six Gameweeks – at a time where Gareth Bale, Santi Cazorla and Michu have rediscovered their attacking verve, he is falling further behind in the midfield standings. While Rafa Benitez’s rest and rotation policy continues to rack up the wins for Chelsea and has kept them in the race for third in addition to the FA Cup and Europa League, the constant chopping and changing is proving detrimental to Mata’s Fantasy potential as the season heats up.
With Cazorla, Marouane Fellaini and Theo Walcott (if fit) all set for double Gameweeks, many may be contemplating a transfer out for the Spaniard, with his slump – and Chelsea’s relentless fixture schedule – showing little sign of abating. For those who are looking to hold, however, there is a definite upside; eight of his 10 goals have arrived on the road and with four away games in the next five, his propensity for picking up points on his travels could come to the fore again.
Ba’s Ankle Concern for Blues
Subbed off at half-time after failing to recover from a Craig Gardner challenge in the first 45, the former Newcastle forward continues to remain a peripheral Fantasy figure since moving to Stamford Bridge. The form that produced 13 goals, three assists and 18 bonus points has long vanished under Benitez; Ba’s blank yesterday means he has notched just twice in nine league appearances for the London outfit. His ineligibility for Europa League duties has helped his domestic game time – Ba has started four of the last five in the league but with Chelsea playing in the FA Cup next weekend just three days after a European clash with Rubin Kazan, the Senegal striker may be replaced by Fernando Torres for the league clash against Fulham on Wednesday April 17 as Benitez alternates his forwards from one game to the next. Post-match, though, the Chelsea boss admitted:
“Ba has a problem with his ankle but we will have to see tomorrow.”
Remy’s Cut-Price Consistency
While Bobby Zamora lasted 20 minutes before seeing red and Adel Taarabt dropped to the bench once again, the Frenchman demonstrated his reliability once more. A superb strike for the hosts opener at Loftus Road maintained a stunning run of form which has seen Remy score in four of the last five Gameweeks now – indeed, he has notched five time in eight appearances since arriving in January and is the club’s joint-top scorer along with Taarabt, despite playing just 646 minutes to the Moroccan’s 2,074 minutes. With Stoke and Reading in their next three, the 5.9 priced forward’s owners are likely to hold for now, with his form simply too good to overlook.
Maloney Stakes a Claim
It’s understandable that Arouna Kone has received most of the Fantasy attention on recent weeks. The Ivorian has been key to the Latics’ survival bid with four goals in the previous four matches but yesterday’s clash with QPR served a reminder of Maloney’s midfield appeal. A sweetly taken free-kick saw the Scot hog the headlines and brought him back onto Fantasy radars ahead of a double Gameweek 36. Priced at just 5.0 in FPL, Maloney has now scored or assisted in four of the last seven and is serving up a consistency more in line with mid-price or even premium priced midfield alternatives. While games against City and Spurs in the next three dent his appeal, Wigan’s have turned the form book on its head more than once around this time of year and with that double also to come, Maloney looks set to play a vital role over the last few Gameweeks of the season.
