Georginio Wijnaldum scores four times as Newcastle rout Norwich at St James’. Magpies front two Ayoze Perez and Aleksandar Mitrovic also get on the scoresheet, whilst strikes from Dieumerci Mbokani and Nathan Redmond offer scant consolation for the beaten Canaries.
Wijnaldum Grabs Four for Magpies
Newcastle registered their first win of the season in astounding fashion at St James’ Park, putting Norwich City to the sword in a 6-2 mauling. Georginio Wijnaldum etched his name into the Magpies’ folklore with a four-goal haul that included two headers and a pinpoint long-range effort to cap off the scoring. Priced at 6.8 and now sitting joint-second in the league scoring charts with six goals, the Netherlands international – who had produced points against Chelsea and City in the previous two Gameweeks – will doubtless enjoy a huge increase on his 2% ownership ahead of an excellent quintet of match-ups (sun, STO, bou, LEI, cry).
Elsewhere in the Magpies’ midfield, Moussa Sissoko racked up three assists from his role on the right flank. Notwithstanding the impressive nature of his performance against the Canaries, Fantasy managers might adjudge Sissoko (5.7) to be priced a little steep, given that he tallied just four goals and three assists last term and has only mustered five attempts this season.
Up top, Ayoze Perez produced a goal and an assist for the second home match in succession. The 5.1-priced striker had achieved the same feat against Chelsea in Gameweek 7 and rewarded the 9,000 managers that drafted him in prior to the deadline. Aleksandar Mitrovic’s 7,000 new owners witnessed the Serbian frontman net his second goal in as many starts. Deployed in a 4-4-2 set-up, both forwards harbour the potential to be valuable low-priced pick-ups as Newcastle face off against two of the league’s bottom four defences (Sunderland and Bournemouth) over the next four Gameweeks.
Daryl Janmaat underlined his rich potential for attacking returns with the assist for Wijnaldum’s hat-trick strike. Having amassed two more shots on target (six) than any defender this term, the 4.9-priced right-back’s Fantasy worth is evident, but a lack of confidence in Newcastle’s clean sheet prospects has deterred many. Afforded a strong run of fixtures, there’s arguably no better time for prospective Janmaat investors to snap him up.
Redmond in the Goals Again
Norwich’s rearguard bent and then buckled under the force of Newcastle’s resurgent attack, extending their winless streak to four matches. Dieumerci Mbokani gave the visitors reason to be cheerful with an equaliser at the 20-minute mark, yet that proved to be a mere footnote among a compendium of defensive errors. Nonetheless, the Congolese frontman looks to have ousted Cameron Jerome as the Canaries lone striker – after scoring against Leicester last time out and netting over the international break, he was handed his first start yesterday. Mbokani could offer value at 5.7, although the Canaries upcoming fixtures (WBA, mci, SWA, che, ARS) are far from accommodating.
Nathan Redmond bagged his fourth goal of the campaign in his first start since Gameweek 6. Alex Neil has employed the England U21 star as an impact player of late but will surely now be inclined to hand Norwich’s top scorer a sustained run on the right flank, with his side now just three points clear of the drop zone. Pitched at 5.6, the 7%-owned Redmond could subsequently claw back some of the 70,000 owners he’s shed in the past four Gameweeks.
Martin Olsson was handed a start at left-back, as Neil pushed Robbie Brady into midfield. The 4.4-priced Swede chalked up two assists, drawing attention to his potential as a budget defensive option. That being said, few managers will be tempted to recruit from a Norwich backline that ranks top for goals conceded (20), shots inside the box conceded (90) and big chances conceded (24) this term.
