With the Gameweek 29 “chasm of despair” yawning, our remit ahead of the weekend is being shaped by those players immune to the pitfalls of missing fixtures. We’ll be checking on likely targets, while assessing the new regime at the Cottage and whether Arsene Wenger has handed us the most unlikely of budget options up front.
Fulham under Magath
The Cottagers are already feeling the force of Felix Magath’s arrival. The former Bayern coach wasted little time in panning the methods of the recently axed Rene Meulensteen – a bold move on the eve of his debut as a Premier League manager in a proverbial six-pointer at the Hawthorns. Renowned for his dictatorial style, Magath had his troops in for extra training this week in a bid to turn a tide of form that has seen Fulham lose four of their last five league outings – a run that also featured the shock FA Cup exit to Sheffield United. Few Fantasy managers will be anticipating a major turnaround but Magath’s confident first week in charge hints that we might well witness an instant impact. Fulham are one of the sides unaffected by the Gameweek 29 blanks and both Sascha Riether and Ashkan Dejagah have worked with the new manager before – they could become two potential Fantasy targets, along with Magath’s compatriot, Lewis Holtby. Magath and Holtby have history, with the new Fulham boss having twice sent the midfielder out on loan when managing Schalke. However, the Spurs loanee already looks a pivotal figure at the Cottage and, if Magath can get the best from him, in tandem with new signing, Konstantinos Mitroglou, we might yet cast an eye towards the Cottage. Mitroglou fired a brace for Fulham’s Under-21 side last week – it remains to be seen if we see the Greek hitman handed a debut at the Hawthorns but we’ll be watching for him, and the “Magath effect”, come Saturday.
Everton’s lineup at Chelsea
While the Toffees currently fall into the Gameweek 29 chasm, their fixtures following the weekend trip to Stamford Bridge are so strong that they have to remain in our Fantasy thinking. Sadly, things are no longer straightforward when it comes to Everton’s attacking assets. Whilst Roberto Martinez confirmed this week that Romelu Lukaku would be in the frame to return to action, the Belgian is unavailable to face his parent club but will now presumably tussle with Lacina Traore for the lone striker role from here on in. Flanking that position, Martinez must decide how he juggles the talents of Gerard Deulofeu and the in-form Kevin Mirallas. Arguably, both could do a job in the support striker role, although with Ross Barkley to accommodate, Martinez looks to have ample options here. While a role on the flank looks likely for Deulofeu and Mirallas, Everton have Steven Pienaar as a mainstay on the left, meaning that we could be looking at just one starting role, with Aiden McGeady in contention out wide. All this and we haven’t even mentioned Steven Naismith, who has now scored four in his last five appearances. The teamsheet at Chelsea may not tell us all we need to know but it will hopefully shed some light on Martinez’s current thinking.
Mourinho’s rotation
Jose has seen both City and Arsenal suffer damaging first-leg home defeats in the Champions League and will surely be wary. The draw may well have been kinder to Chelsea but a midweek trip to Galatasaray will still provide a stern test and it remains to be seen if this is in Mourinho’s mind when he compiles his teamsheet for the weekend visit of Everton. The Toffees surely cannot be taken lightly – it’s not a fixture that lends itself to rotation. Even so, Jose may feel he has the options to mix things up – perhaps introducing Oscar and Mohamed Salah in attacking areas, while further preserving John Terry in defence, regardless of his availability. We will watch with interest.
Snodgrass’ performance
So often on the fringes of our squads, Norwich’s playmaker has timed a run of impressive displays with a period which finds the Canaries coming under renewed consideration from Fantasy managers. While Chris Hughton’s side are showing relegation form, their fixtures promote them in our thinking, not least because they offer that precious Gameweek 29 fixture at home to Stoke. Snodgrass is their key attacking prospect – their creative hub and set-piece guru. The Scot has produced some impressive numbers of late and this weekend’s Carrow Road meeting with Tottenham could well be the audition ahead of a flurry of transfer traffic.
Ince’s Role
We couldn’t have asked for more from Tom Ince on debut. A goal and an assist from the support striker role immediately flagged the England Under-21 star as a potential fifth midfielder option. We’ll be watching for his performance against United with interest, then, a match that may put him on the same pitch as the fading Fantasy star that is Adnan Januzaj. While the United man looks to be somehow struggling to win recognition from his manager, Ince has been immediately trusted with supplying the goals and assists to help preserve Palace’s Premier League status. Such faith from Tony Pulis could well translate to similar conviction from Fantasy managers.
Sherwood’s teamsheet
The Tottenham teamsheet at Newcastle demonstrated that Tim Sherwood is not afraid to make changes at the cost of established Tottenham assets. Christian Eriksen recent form has failed to cement him in his manager’s plans and he made way to the bench as the Spurs boss opted to bolster his central midfield with the muscle of Etienne Capoue, allowing Paulinho more freedom to join the attack. More significantly, Younes Kaboul’s return to fitness saw club skipper Michael Dawson drop to the bench, having made 25 consecutive league starts this season. We’ve been waiting for Dawson’s game time to come under pressure but, in truth, we were expecting the challenge to come from Vlad Chiriches. With the Romanian currently injured, though, Kaboul, at just 4.6, could well present a hugely attractive option for the run-in if we can be sure he’s cemented himself in Sherwood’s plans. The Spurs boss has left several big names at home ahead of tonight’s Europa League clash with FC Dnipro – Kaboul is amongst them – perhaps indicating that his fitness is being managed ahead of the weekend trip to Carrow Road.
The Cardiff options
With the Cardiff backline leaking goals at an alarming rate, Ole Gunnar Solskjaer appears to have little option but to go on the attack. Their next two home matches with Hull this weekend and Fulham in Gameweek 29 look crucial to their prospects of beating the drop with encounters against Spurs, Everton and Liverpool scattered around this pair of fixtures. That Gameweek 29 clash with Fulham may also draw attention from Fantasy managers shopping in the budget bracket. Solskjaer has a number of players which could tempt short-term investment – certainly Wilfred Zaha and, to a lesser extent Craig Noone. We’re going to need plenty of convincing: while Zaha impressed on his debut, he can go missing in matches and Cardiff him need him to be pivotal in any potential recovery. Show some intent against Hull and we must just be tempted to go shopping in the Bluebirds’ roster come Gameweek 29.
The Jelavic & Long show
Shane Long and Nikica Jelavic are already fulfilling the expectations created by the £15 million laid down to acquire their services. The new strike partnership have found the net in their first three matches together and will surely fancy their chances of adding to their tally when they face the obliging Cardiff rearguard on Saturday. While Long is the cheaper option, Jelavic’s numbers on his arrival on Humberside are hugely impressive – our members need only dip into the player stats for the past few Gameweeks to assess how the Croatian stacks up against some of the league’s top performers. There’s just a chance, then, that Bruce has untethered a pairing that could not only find Hull snuggling safely into a top ten position, one of the duo may also fire their way into consideration for a treasured slot in our forward lines.
Yaya Sanogo a go-go?
Handed a shock starting role against Bayern last night, can we now expect the power and pace option handed to Arsene Wenger by the young Frenchman to be favoured over the “talents” of Olivier Giroud? Having impressed against Liverpool in the FA Cup, Sanogo was given 90 minutes last night, leaving Giroud on the timber for the duration ahead of the home clash with Sunderland. So what can we expect from Wenger on Saturday? Noises suggest that Giroud was simply being handed a rest but there’s obvious speculation, fuelled by off-field antics and countless missed opportunities on the pitch. Wenger may just have decided on Sanogo as true competition for the lone striker role, giving Giroud new impetus to produce. At just 4.8 in the Fantasy Premier League game, we undoubtedly have to monitor the Sanogo situation further.
