Romelu Lukaku is rested to the bench as Fernando Torres leads the line in the first match of Chelsea’s double. Oscar proves his differential status by grabbing the opener from his role in “the holeâ€, while Roberto Soldado opens his Tottenham account with a coolly-converted spot-kick at Selhurst Park.
The Game Changer
While Chelsea eased past Hull at the Bridge, Tottenham’s narrow victory came courtesy of their summer signing from Valencia. Andre Villas-Boas’ side rolled up to Palace without last term’s talisman Gareth Bale and with the likes of Robin Van Persie, Christian Benteke, Rickie Lambert and Daniel Sturridge opening their accounts on Saturday, Roberto Soldado’s 15% Fantasy Premier League (FPL) owners were desperate for a response from their 9.5 investment.
The Spaniard may have looked sluggish but eventually delivered thanks to a smartly converted spot-kick. His manager duly admitted post-match that Soldado’s still lacks “sharpness”. Despite this, the numbers suggest good things to come: Soldado had more shots on target and created more goalscoring opportunities than any Spurs player.
A guaranteed starter, whether in a 4-3-3 or 4-2-3-1, he now sets his sights on a run of four home fixtures (SWA, NOR, WHM, HUL) and also has trips to Cardiff and Villa in the next eight Gameweeks.
For those eyeing up an exit route for Romelu Lukaku or who simply cannot stomach shelling out 14.0 for Van Persie, Soldado certainly presents an option if he can, as Villas-Boas’ suggests, sharpen up in the weeks to come. Conceivably, he could even become an armband contender over Tottenham’s favourable run.
The Underused
Oscar went into today’s clash firmly in the shadow of Eden Hazard and Juan Mata in terms of FPL ownership. Typically, however, he stepped up to deliver and outscore both. Moved to the role in “the hole†behind Fernando Torres, the Brazilian – with less than 5% ownership – continued the form that saw him score in three of his last five starts in 2012/13 by poking home the opener at the Bridge.
Mourinho has already suggested he is likely to field the playmaking skills of Oscar centrally more often this season but with Mata warming the bench for the entire match, there’s every possibility the Brazilian could be ousted from the XI for Wednesday’s game with Villa, with Jose giving the Spaniard a run-out. Furthermore, the introduction of Marco Van Ginkel and subsequent shift to a 4-3-3 merely compounds the potential headache we could face this season, with Chelsea’s midfield boasting an embarrassment of riches.
The Selection Poser
Jose Mourinho’s first teamsheet of the season has already signposted the Fantasy frustration we can expect up front for Chelsea over the upcoming campaign. Romelu Lukaku was the Blues form player over the summer, racking up five goals and a pair of assist across the pre-season fixtures, and was anticipated by many to get the nod as Mourinho welcomed Hull to the Bridge. Instead, it was Fernando Torres who led the line against the Tigers, earning an assist for Lampard’s stunning dead ball strike after being fouled, before making way for the Belgian on 75 minutes.
Today’s XI will, at least, afford Lukaku’s owners a fair degree of optimism ahead of the midweek visit of Villa. Surely he will now return to the starting line-up on Wednesday against Paul Lambert’s side but with a trip to United and a blank Gameweek 3, it seems the exodus is already underway.
