Frank Lampard is at the double as Chelsea ease past West Ham. Romelu Lukaku and Olivier Giroud return to form with a couple of goals apiece, Luis Suarez and Loic Remy reward the their new owners with further Fantasy returns, while Hull’s home resilience is breached by the Palace revival.
Blues Midfield Run Riot at the Hammers
Frank Lampard returned to haunt his former club as Chelsea won on the road for only the second time this term. Despite starting nine of the first 11 Gameweeks, Lampard has been a huge disappointment under Jose Mourinho – prior to yesterday, he had managed a single assist since Gameweek 3 but a trip to Upton Park brought out the best in the veteran, who bagged a brace in the 3-0 triumph.
Tellingly, Lampard’s return to form coincided with a switch from 4-2-3-1 to his favoured 4-3-3, with the Blues boss admitting he drafted in John Obi Mikel in order to allow Lampard license to push forward. The change saw Oscar moved to the right of the front three as Mourinho shifted him to the flank after mainly utilising the youngster in “the hole” – the Brazilian served up a goal and assist, whilst Eden Hazard grabbed a pair of assists as the duo moved to fourth and second in the Fantasy Premier League (FPL) midfield standings respectively. Given the impressive nature of yesterday’s performance, Mourinho may well choose to maintain the new shape – further lessening the likelihood of game time for the likes of Juan Mata, Andre Schurrle and Willian out wide, with Hazard and Oscar looking the only two attacking midfielders with assured starts.
Toffees Rediscover their Eye for Goal
Roberto Martinez’ side had drawn back-to-back blanks prior to yesterday but finally found their attacking verve in arguably the most crucial home game of the season. Romelu Lukaku had scored just once in four appearances prior to yesterday but a brace against Liverpool now puts a better spin on his stats – it’s seven strikes and an assist in eight now for the on-loan Belgian, whose performance will be rued by the 104,000 FPL managers who parted company with him prior to the weekend’s deadline.
The Toffees’ upcoming schedule still looks testing – trips to United and Arsenal in the next three are hardly easy but with the fixtures looking very kind from Gameweek 16 onwards, Lukaku’s 21% owners will likely be content to hold now after a reassuring return to form. Kevin Mirallas’ goal and assist will also bring him back onto Fantasy radars. He currently sits in 3% of sides and will surely earn extra investment once the Emirates trip is out the way – Leighton Baines owners will be holding their breath, though, with the left-back set to undergo an x-ray on a toe injury.
Reds Rampant Attack Deliver the Points Again
It’s 19 goals in seven league matches for the Reds after yesterday’s 3-3 draw. Once again, Luis Suarez was pivotal to his side’s attacking forays, producing a goal and assist to maintain his near impeccable captaincy record – since returning from suspension he has produced less than six points on one occasion and with a trip to Hull preceding back-to-back home games with Norwich and West Ham, it’s fair to assume the bandwagon is set to pick up pace yet again. Philippe Coutinho served noticed of his differential appeal (5% ownership) with his first strike of the season – as highlighted in our previous Technical Area article, the Brazilian looks a viable option in midfield.
Daniel Sturridge also managed to find the net despite being benched for the first time this term as Rodgers rolled out a 4-3-3. The Reds boss admitted after the game, though, the decision was due to Sturridge’s 90-minute appearance for England in midweek as he looks to manage his fitness in light of an ongoing leg problem; the forward only returned to training on Friday after taking time to recover.
Giroud Back in the Goals
It may well be that France boss Didier Deschamps did the Gunners a favour by dropping their lone forward from the World Cup play-off against Ukraine in midweek. With suggestions of fatigue blighting his performances, Giroud had toiled for a number of weeks – just a single strike against Palace in the previous seven was indicative of the fall from form that persuaded over 139,000 FPL managers to sell him over the international break. Fully refreshed for the visit of Southampton, Giroud delivered his biggest haul of the season – scoring twice in the 2-0 win (including a spot-kick) and delivering maximum bonus. With a trip to Cardiff and two home games against Hull and Everton, Giroud, who has dropped 0.5 in three weeks, now looks set for renewed interest as he starts to rediscover the form that saw him score in each of the first four Gameweeks. After the game, Arsene Wenger admitted the forward is third in line for penalties behind Mikel Arteta and Mesut Ozil – Giroud was able to benefit as both were already subbed off prior to the late spot-kick award.
Shelvey Rescues Swans
Swansea’s summer signing from Liverpool is starting to develop a “supersub” tag after climbing off the bench to deliver the goods once again. Shelvey had started the first seven under Michael Laudrup and, with Michu sidelined, had seemed the ideal replacement in “the hole” – instead, the Dane has turned to Alex Pozuelo to tuck in behind Wilfried Bony for each of the last couple of fixtures. Shelvey’s winner, allied with an assist in the previous league game against Stoke, certainly staked a claim for a first-team berth away to City next weekend – with home games against Newcastle and Hull to follow, he may yet force his way up the pecking order, though Laudrup’s midfield tinkering makes it increasingly difficult to nail down a consistent candidate.
Tigers Backline Breached
With a single goal conceded in five home games, the visit of a Palace side that had scored just twice on the road all season suggested another clean sheet was on the cards for Hull. Allan McGregor’s return from a thigh injury merely added to expectancy levels but a surprise loss to the Eagles leaves those holding Hull defensive attacks with a quandary – seven of their next nine visitors between now and mid-March currently reside in the top nine, with only Stoke and Fulham looking favourable home encounters. Bruce’s side have yet to register a clean sheet on the road, suggesting that defensive return may be hard to come by as the KC schedule takes a turn for the worse. Liam Rosenior was notably dropped to the bench for yesterday’s defeat having just earned a price rise to 4.0 in the FPL. James Chester may return from injury to offer a new alternative – he is currently priced at 3.9 and will vie for starts along with Abdoulaye Faye, with Paul McShane set to be sidelined with a hamstring problem sustained in Saturday’s defeat.
Palace Resilience Bodes Well for Pulis
The 1-0 win at Hull in Keith Millen’s final match at the helm suggests Palace are starting to find their way defensively. Tony Pulis has now been installed as the Eagles new boss on the back of two consecutive clean sheets – considering Palace had conceded in all of their first 10 games, Millen’s influence has been impressive. If Pulis can instill the sort of defensive displays that earned Stoke plenty Fantasy interest at the back, Palace’s rearguard may yet be worth considering – a trip to Norwich, followed by back-to-back home games with West Ham and Cardiff affords the new man in charge the chance to hit the ground running.
Remy Justifies the Faith
Snapped up by over 211,000 FPL managers heading into yesterday’s deadline, the Newcastle forward maintained his outstanding form as Norwich rolled up to Tyneside. Paired with Shola Ameobi in a 4-4-2 for the third match in a row, Remy netted his eighth goal in as many matches and also delivered maximum bonus points for his new owners against the Canaries – a home game with West Brom is likely to tempt more to snap up the 8.0 priced frontman, though with United and Southampton in the following three, his consistency is set to be tested.
Adam Stakes a Claim
With Stephen Ireland missing out through injury, the Scot was drafted into the XI for the first time since Gameweek 8. Handed the role in “the hole” behind Peter Crouch, Adam grabbed his chance to score for the second league fixture in a row; he had previously notched a spot-kick away to Swansea after climbing off the bench. The 2-0 win over Sunderland continues the Potters’ impressive attacking displays – they have now scored eight times in the last four matches and with home games against Cardiff and Hull, in addition to a trip to Villa in the next five, Hughes’ side have a decent run of matches to capitalise further. If Adam keeps the role ahead of Ireland, he could be an option at 5.6 – his converted spot-kick at the Liberty suggests he has now moved ahead of Jon Walters for those duties.
