With the third international interruption of the season now upon us, we take time to assess the lessons learned from the Gameweek gone by. The impact of Swansea’s summer signing, the return of a certain Dane to Liverpool’s backline and City’s woeful away form are amongst our Monday lunchtime agenda:

Laudrup Needs to Start Bony More Often…
Swansea have scored 11 goals in the five games Wilfried Bony has started, compared to four goals in the six he hasn’t – given that he climbed off the bench to score or assist two of those, it highlights the summer signing’s impact. Yesterday’s brace against Stoke took the Ivorian’s tally to four for the season; double that of Michu, despite the fact he has played 342 minutes less than the injured Spaniard. Up until now, Laudrup has seemed unconvinced over Bony’s abilities but with his star midfielder likely to be out for up to four weeks, the Swans manager has to rely on Bony to deliver the firepower his side has been sorely lacking. Sunday’s display certainly makes a convincing case for a regular role –he looks poised to take advantage of games against Fulham, Newcastle, Hull and Norwich in the next five and, at 7.4, gives us a chance to shake up our three-man forward lines.

Reds Are More Resilient with Agger At the Back…
The big Dane came in from the cold on Saturday as Brendan Rodgers opted for a return to a four-man backline at home to Fulham. With Kolo Toure missing out through injury and Mamadou Sakho dropping to the bench, Agger partnered Martin Skrtel in the heart of the Reds defence – the 4-0 win, which was Agger’s first start since Gameweek 5, was Liverpool’s first clean sheet in eight attempts. The Merseysiders have shipped one goal in the five matches Agger has started this season – without him, they’ve shipped nine in six and conceded in every game; if Rodgers is looking to shut up shop at the back, he cannot afford to overlook Agger, suggesting Toure and Sakho owners may have cause for concern.

Villa Have Discovered the Art of Defending…
Until recently, it was common knowledge Paul Lambert doesn’t really “do” clean sheets. Norwich managed three under him in 2011/12, while last season Villa conceded in every match from Gameweek 17 onwards – having shipped goals in their first four of the new campaign, Villa rolled up to Carrow Road in Gameweek 5 on a run of 26 matches without a clean sheet. A 1-0 win that day, however, has seen Villa embark on a series of games which has now kept their opponents at bay in four of the last seven Gameweeks. Lambert’s side are poised for a kind upcoming schedule which may see us target their budget defensive assets – Ron Vlaar comes in at 4.4 and has earned bonus in all four of those games.

Morrison Seems the Safest of the Budget Midfielders…
Ross Barkley made a brief sub appearance for the second game running as Everton blanked at Palace. Robbie Brady called off sick with his ongoing hernia problem and Adnan Januzaj failed to make an appearance in United’s home game with Arsenal, as David Moyes opted for Shinji Kagawa on the left. While Andros Townsend at least lasted the 90 minutes at home to Newcastle, the Spurs winger again flattered to deceive with a ninth blank in 11 appearances – as our cut-price options in midfield diminish, Ravel Morrison again laid claim as a real contender. With nine goals scored after 11 games, it’s a understatement to say West Ham are anything but prolific but, as his opener at Carrow Road showed, if the Hammers do manage to find the net, the chances are that Morrison will be involved – he has now played a part in four of the seven strikes (three goals and an assist) Sam Allardyce’s side have mustered since Gameweek 2 onwards. Still favourably priced at 4.8, the former United youngster has now started the last eight for Allardyce and has Fulham, Palace and Sunderland in the next five to further his budget appeal.

The Poyet Effect is Up and Running…
It’s three wins in three home games in all competitions for Sunderland under the new manager. Gus Poyet has wasted no time in making his impact felt on Wearside as the Black Cats quickly kick on from the Paolo Di Canio era with a series of resolute displays – with fit-again Wes Brown superbly marshalling the backline and previously out-of-favour Phil Bardsley now scoring twice in cup and league games over the past week, the 1-0 win over a City side that had scored 12 times in their previous two games indicates the players’ willingness to battle for Poyet. It’s early days yet but if the Uruguayan continues in the same vein, Sunderland’s schedule come the New Year may well bring their assets into focus with our winter wildcards.

City Don’t Like it on the Road…
In Roberto Mancini’s final season at the helm, City lost just four times on their travels – a tally already mirrored under Manuel Pellegrini in just six away fixtures. While City have swept all before them at the Etihad and plundered the goals and points (they are the only side with a 100% record in front of their own fans), they are clearly a different animal altogether when they hit the road –only the bottom four have picked up less away points than City’s four so far. Under the Chilean, attack seems the best form of defence and, while that has proved profitable for Sergio Aguero on most occasions, the new approach has altered our assessment; Pablo Zabaleta, their top-scoring backline option on 40 points, sits joint 20th for defenders in the FPL standings. The grinding consistency of Mancini’s sides seem long gone.

Remy is Newcastle’s Main Man….
With back-to-back wins over Chelsea and Spurs leading into the international break, Alan Pardew reckons Newcastle’s desire has been markedly improved in recent matches. Fundamental to his side’s ascent up the table has been the decision to drop Papiss Cisse and Hatem Ben Arfa and rely on a team ethic, with the on-loan Loic Remy racking up the goals. Since being handed his first start in Gameweek 4, the Frenchman has embarked on a run of seven goals in eight matches and has been shifted to the centre alongside Shola Ameobi in a front two in recent weeks. With back-to-back home games against Norwich and West Brom up next, the bandwagon is well underway for the 7.7 priced forward– over 34,000 FPL managers have snapped him up since the weekend.

Reid is Key to Hammers Resilience…
West Ham’s trip to Carrow Road looked to have “clean sheet” written all over it. Big Sam’s side had conceded once in their first five road trips, whereas Norwich had notched three times in the previous seven Gameweeks – the absence of Winston Reid proved disastrous for the Hammers as their hosts hit three past Jussi Jaaskelainen. With reports earlier this morning suggesting the big Kiwi could be out until after the New Year, West Ham’s prospects of clean sheets could well be set for a drop – James Collins is down to 4.3 now, though, and looks set for an extended spell in the heart of the back-four if Reid remains on the sidelines for the next couple of months.