The Hawthorns embrace their new goal hero as West Brom rout Sam Allardyce’s Hammers. Stoke ship four at Ewood Park as Mark Hughes’s defensive casualties mount and Daniel Sturridge’s cutting edge sparks a Liverpool revival as Palace are sent packing. Here’s the notes from yesterday’s FA Cup encounters….
Ideye at the double
West Bromwich Albion put four past a lethargic West Ham in Saturday’s early kick off, as Brown Ideye propelled the Baggies to their second convincing victory this week. Tony Pulis named a largely unchanged XI from that which he fielded against Swansea, with Stephane Sessegnon and Craig Gardner drafted in to replace Callum McManaman and the cup-tied Darren Fletcher.
Ideye was mooted for a move away from The Hawthorns in January yet now – with four goals in his last three starts – the Nigerian striker is fast becoming the focal point of West Brom’s attack. His strike partnership with Saido Berahino has served up five goals in two matches, which could trigger an influx of transfers for the ex-Dynamo Kyiv forward.
Priced at 5.6 in the Fantasy Premier League (FPL), Ideye faces direct competition from teammate Saido Berahino (5.5) and Danny Ings (5.8) for the right to occupy the third striker slot in our squads: Burnley’s unforgiving fixture list (che, SWA, liv, MCI, sou) and West Brom’s reasonable schedule (sun, SOU, avl, STK, mci) should favour the Baggies duo.
Wisdom Benched Again
Andre Wisdom’s 21% ownership will have been looking to Saturday’s teamsheet in hope of seeing their man earn a recall. To their frustration, the Liverpool loanee remained out of favour as the 4.6 FPL asset remained rooted to the bench for the third successive match, losing out to Craig Dawson in the tussle for the right-back berth. The former Rochdale defender’s accomplished build-up play for Ideye’s first goal – allied with West Brom’s consecutive clean sheets – looks to have consigned Wisdom to a bit-part role for the near future, removing his status as a viable budget defender. Indeed, with Jonas Olsson returning to the Baggies bench following a long-term injury, Pulis’ options at the back seem worrying plentiful.
The 4.4-priced Dawson could emerge as the new preferred option, although Pulis’ continued rotation policy at left-back indicates that Dawson’s start is far from assured: midfielder Chris Brunt filled in at the left-back spot in Saturday’s win, a berth which has also been occupied by Joleon Lescott and Chris Baird in recent weeks.
Considering their balanced fixture list, investment in the West Midlands outfit’s defence looks a solid strategy in the upcoming Gameweeks, with trips to the league’s two lowest-scoring teams (Sunderland and Aston Villa) pinpointed as potential shut-outs.
Downing on the Downslope
Despite only recording a solitary goal and assist in his last eight league games, Stewart Downing has retained his lofty position as the fifth-most popular midfielder in the FPL. Raising further concern for his 28% ownership, the Middlesbrough native had an unproductive afternoon as the central playmaker in the Hammers’ 4-3-2-1 line-up, creating just one opportunity throughout the 90 minutes.
In the wake of Andy Carroll’s season-ending knee injury, Enner Valencia and Diafra Sakho were deployed up front, with Downing operating in “the hole” behind the pair. Carlton Cole and Morgan Amalfitano made way for Mark Noble and Kevin Nolan, who were comprehensively outfought by West Brom’s industrious midfield.
Liberated from domestic cup concerns, The Hammers now face Spurs, Chelsea and Arsenal in the next four Gameweeks having scored just once in their last four outings in all competitions. Confidence in Downing understandably waning and returns at White Hart Lane next weekend look essential if he is to stave off FPL sales.
Potters Suffer Rovers Rout
Mark Hughes made a single change to the side that were dismantled by Manchester City on Wednesday, naming substitute goalkeeper Jack Butland ahead of Asmir Begovic. However, a similar fate befell the replacement shot-stopper, as the Potters slumped to a second 4-1 defeat in less than a week, this time to Championship Blackburn Rovers.
Hughes back four resources are being stretched to breaking point, a situation that was exacerbated by Marc Muniesa’s hamstring injury which forced him off on 52 minutes. The Italian has suffered a suspected tear which, according to Hughes, is likely to keep him out for “a number of weeks”.
Muniesa is a major doubt for Stoke’s Gameweek 26 trip to Villa, then, a fixture which will also be missed by Geoff Cameron after he was dismissed against Blackburn for denying a goalscoring opportunity. With both Ryan Shawcross and Marc Wilson currently sidelined by injury and Erik Pieters failing to appear in yesterday’s defeat, despite a return to training following his recent groin problem, Hughes looks set to make the trip to Villa with a ramshackle back four.
Peter Crouch’s opener – his third goal in as many outings – was the only positive takeaway for Hughes, who now has two strong contenders for the lone striker role upon the return of Jonathan Walters. Hughes was unable to include Walters in his matchday squad as they monitor an ongoing injury complaint, casting doubt over the Ireland international’s involvement at Villa Park.
Sturridge Finding Form
Following a five-month layoff at the start of the campaign, Daniel Sturridge (11.2) is slowly but surely rediscovering his rhythm. The Liverpool frontman restored parity at Selhurst Park when he connected sweetly with an over-the-shoulder volley in the 49th minute.
The Reds striker initially lined up as a lone striker, with Philippe Coutinho and Adam Lallana providing support on either wing behind a midfield four. A fruitless first half saw manger Brendan Rodgers bring on Mario Balotelli – who partnered Sturridge in a 3-4-1-2 as Coutinho dropped into his natural “number 10” role – in place of Lazar Markovic. The change in formation worked to great effect, as Liverpool overturned a 1-0 lead and gained entry into the last-eight of the Fa Cup.
Strurridge’s 11.1% ownership will be praying that his goal against Crystal Palace catalyses a scoring streak in the league, starting next weekend when the Merseysiders are pitted against fellow top-four hopefuls Southampton. Looking beyond the next Gameweek, Liverpool’s March schedule (MCI, BUR, swa, MUN) throws up some tricky home ties against the Manchester clubs, although neither side boast an impervious defence this term.
Pardew Explores His Options
Alan Pardew was able to hand a full debut to Senegalese left-back Pape N’Diaye Souaré, a change which saw Martin Kelly move to right-back as Joel Ward shifted to bolster a midfield that was missing the injured the James McArthur. Ward will be expected to regain the right-back berth once both McArthur (thigh) and skipper Mile Jedinak (ankle) are fit to return – potentially against Arsenal next weekend. Elsewhere, Scott Dann’s return to the teamsheet saw Damien Delaney make way to the bench as Pardew elected to keep faith with Brede Hangeland after he’d impressed in Dann’s absence in the previous two outings.
Further forward, Pardew’s options on the flank saw him elect to rest Jason Puncheon and Wilfried Zaha to his bench as both Yannick Bolasie and Dwight Gayle earned starts. Those four look set for continued rotation in the coming weeks – limiting pitch time and their potential as Fantasy assets.
