Wayne Rooney continues to flourish as the spearhead of Manchester United’s attack. Diego Costa gives reason for non-owners to reinvest in the league’s top scorer, and former Blues frontman Romelu Lukaku is amongst the goals as Everton record their second win in 13 Gameweeks.
Rooney Nets Again
With Radamel Falcao firmly out of favour and Robin van Persie still nursing an ankle injury, Wayne Rooney led the line for the third league match in succession and to great effect, fashioning five attempts on goal and crafting two chances for his team-mates. The United skipper’s third goal in as many starts had Tottenham on the ropes before half time at Old Trafford, as the hosts cruised to a 3-0 victory over their fellow Champions League hopefuls.
Given his recent productivity as the focal point of the Red Devils’ attack, you’d imagine that Rooney will continue to operate up front beyond Van Persie’s return to the side. Only 36,000 Fantasy managers drafted in the Liverpool-born striker in the wake of his brace against Sunderland, yet the improvement shown by Louis Van Gaal’s outfit against Spurs – chiefly, the speed and incisiveness of their build-up play – could encourage a more sizeable uptake this time round.
That being said, United’s demanding schedule through to Gameweek 34 (liv, AVL, MCI, che, eve) doesn’t look the most conducive to attacking returns – Chelsea have only conceded six goals at Stamford Bridge this term, while Liverpool boast six clean sheets in their last eight outings.
Rooney wasn’t the only United player that caught the eye against Mauricio Pochettino’s troops. Both Michael Carrick (14) and Marouane Fellaini (13) posted double-figure points tallies for the first time this campaign, as the pair bagged a goal and an assist apiece. Ashley Young failed to get amongst the points but, like Fellaini, is looking more secure under Van Gaal by the week.
Carrick made his first start in seven Gameweeks after recuperating from a ruptured muscle, lining up as the holding midfielder in Van Gaal’s 4-1-4-1 set-up. Daley Blind dropped into the left-back berth to cover for the injured Luke Shaw, while Phil Jones replaced Marcos Rojo – who sustained a knock in the FA Cup – in the centre of defence. Juan Mata earned a rare start in the absence of the suspended Angel di Maria.
Three clean sheets on the trot for United has us eyeing up potential routes into their rearguard. However, with their unforgiving fixture list and Van Gaal seemingly not settled on his best combination of defenders, we’re holding fire for the moment.
Spurs’ Main Men go missing in Old Trafford loss
United’s most accomplished performance under the tutelage of Van Gaal coincided with Tottenham’s least impressive under Pochettino. The North London club were comprehensively out-played by the hosts, as evidenced by Spurs’ inability to engineer a single attempt on goal in the first half.
Harry Kane rolled up to Old Trafford having scored in each of his previous six away matches but was forced to feed on scraps and only mustered a single attempt on goal over the 90 minutes, whilst Christian Eriksen’s display was even more anonymous. The Dane – whose Fantasy Premier League ownership bloomed to 26% as a result of Tottenham’s double Gameweek 28 – failed to produce an attempt on goal or create a single opportunity for his team-mates at Old Trafford.
It’s now six matches since Eriksen last scored, with only a single assist in the Swansea match-up to disrupt that run of blanks. Clearly, the former Ajax man is struggling to exert his influence in the same headline-grabbing fashion he did earlier in the season. One might deduce that – given that Tottenham have played more matches in all competitions (48) than any other Premier League outfit so far term and Eriksen’s been involved in every league fixture – the schedule is starting to catch up with a player who was often hooked off before 90 minutes due to concerns on this fitness.
Nonetheless, the next three fixtures (LEI, bur, AVL) could barely be more promising as Pochettino’s side look to bounce back from yesterday’s mauling and those holding Tottenham’s assets are unlikely to part company in the short-term.
Elsewhere in Tottenham’s squad, Pochettino named only one change from the side that triumphed over Queens Park Rangers last time out, as Danny Rose stepped in for Ben Davies at left-back. Mousa Dembele entered the fray just after the half-hour mark in an attempt by Pochettino to stop the flow of attacks down Spurs’ right flank. Emmanuel Adebayor made a brief cameo in the dying embers of the match in his first appearance since Gameweek 22.
Costa back in the goals
The 10.9-priced Diego Costa recorded his first strike in three league starts as Chelsea were held to a 1-1 draw by Southampton at Stamford Bridge. With the Premier League’s other marquee forward, Sergio Aguero, drawing blanks in the last three, many Fantasy managers would’ve been drawn to the impressive form of Arsenal’s star man Olivier Giroud, who has now notched in four successive outings. Costa’s headed goal against Saints could instead encourage non-owners who parted with the Blues frontman after his three-match suspension to make plans to re-invest as double Gameweeek 34 comes into focus.
The assist for Costa’s goal arrived courtesy of Branislav Ivanovic, marking the sixth occasion in the last nine Gameweeks that the Serbian right-back has delivered attacking returns. Doubtless Ivanovic – who already boasts a 27.7% ownership – will top many a Fantasy shopping list as Chelsea’s double Gameweek 34 rapidly approaches.
In the only change from the side that were defeated by Paris Saint-Germain in midweek, Willian reclaimed his berth on the right flank ahead of Ramires. The industrious Brazilian made way for Juan Cuadrado in the 83rd minute due to injury.
Pelle Finally Dropped by Koeman
In the Southampton camp, boss Ronald Koeman made four alterations to the XI that bested Crystal Palace in their last league clash. Graziano Pelle was replaced by Shane Long in light of the former’s 11-match goalless streak, while Dusan Tadic and Steven Davis usurped Eljero Elia and Filip Djuricic in Saints’ midfield. Toby Alderweireld stepped in for Maya Yoshida to partner Jose Fonte in central defence.
Southampton’s equaliser came via a penalty from Dusan Tadic – the Serbian international’s fourth goal of the campaign – with Sadio Mane (6.6) earning the assist after being tripped by Nemanja Matic in the area. Koeman’s decision to opt for Long’s pace up top, with Mane offering support through the middle, could well bring the latter onto many a radar as the Saints square up to Burnley, Everton, Hull and Stoke over the next four.
Lukaku the Toffees’ hero
A change of formation brought about Everton’s second victory in 13 as Roberto Martinez switched to a 4-4-2 in search of the winning formula. Arouna Kone was handed his third start of the season and partnered Romelu Lukaku up front. Despite the fact that Leighton Baines was on the pitch, the Belgian marksman netted his eighth of the campaign with a second-half penalty as the Toffees triumphed 3-0 over a toothless Newcastle United outfit – it seems that the big Belgian has now usurped the left-back for spot-kick duties.
Although Everton face four decent match-ups in their immediate schedule (qpr, SOU, swa, BUR), few managers will be tempted to snap up Lukaku until he starts to emulate his Europa League scoring exploits. Despite notching seven goals in eight in the cup competition, the former Chelsea striker has only tallied one goal from open play in his previous 15 league appearances.
Manager Roberto Martinez enacted three further changes with one eye on the return leg against Dynamo Kiev. Baines recovered from his knee complaint and replaced youngster Luke Garbutt at left-back, while Darron Gibson covered for the banned Gareth Barry. Ross Barkley and Steven Naismith also dropped to the bench, with Leon Osman fit enough to start and Aaron Lennon reinstated on the right flank. John Stones was named among the subs on his return from the treatment table. Mirallas was omitted from the full squad having failed a late fitness test before the Toon clash, though he should be in contention for Everton’s midweek Europa League tie.
James McCarthy and Ross Barkley notched their first and second league goals of the campaign, respectively, with Christian Atsu, Lukaku and Aaron Lennon picking up an assist apiece.
The visitors struggled to breach Everton’s rearguard in the absence of suspended Papiss Cisse, who was replaced by Yoan Gouffran. Their slim hopes of surmounting a two-goal deficit were dealt a blow on the 58th minute when Fabricio Coloccini was shown a straight red for a dangerous challenge on Lennon. The Argentine centre-back will now miss a home tie against Arsenal and trips to Sunderland and Liverpool, inspiring even less confidence in the Tyneside club’s beleaguered back line.
