Odion Ighalo scores twice as Watford sweep aside Liverpool at Vicarage Road. The Reds concerns in defence grow, with Jurgen Klopp sweating over the availability of Simon Mignolet and Martin Skrtel. Elsewhere, Swansea and West Ham play out a goalless draw at the Liberty, as Slaven Bilic’s side bag a third straight clean sheet.
Ighalo Bags a Brace
Watford extended their winning streak to four matches as they ran out 3-0 victors over Liverpool – in turn equaling their best ever Premier League tally (28 points). Odion Ighalo reaffirmed his status as one of the season’s breakout stars with a brace against the Merseysiders, marking the fourth start in succession that he’s graced the scoreboard. Only Riyad Mahrez (20) and Jamie Vardy (19) have been involved in more goals than the Nigerian frontman’s 17, courtesy of 12 strikes and five assists, so Watford’s tough schedule (che, TOT, MCI, sou) will serve as little deterrent for his 31% ownership.
Once again, Troy Deeney proved to be the perfect foil for Ighalo, grabbing his third assist in four outings. The 5.2-priced marksman has produced attacking returns in six of the last eight Gameweeks yet sits at a modest 4% ownership by virtue of his strike partner’s heroics. Valon Behrami carded an assist of his own, teeing up Ighalo just five minutes after being subbed on.
Casting our attention towards the Hornets’ defence, Nathan Ake profited from Adam Bogdan’s abysmal goalkeeping to claim his maiden top-flight goal. Priced at 4.4, the Netherlands U21 international represents the cheapest route into a rearguard that ranks second for clean sheets (eight), having earned three shut-outs on the trot. That being said, the Chelsea loanee will be forced to sit out a road tie against his parent club on Boxing Day.
Benteke Benched as Reds Falter Again
The Reds slumped to their second consecutive away defeat and are now winless in three matches. Jurgen Klopp opted for the same 4-3-3 set-up that caused all manner of problems for Manchester City in Gameweek 13, deploying Roberto Firmino as the false nine and demoting Christian Benteke to the bench. The striker-less system proved ineffective against Watford’s industrious banks of four, with the visitors mustering zero big chances and four shots on target. It looks unlikely, then, that Klopp will retain a similar set-up at home to Leicester on Saturday.
Since starting the campaign with three clean sheets, Liverpool have conceded in all but two of their subsequent 14 match-ups, underlining their fragility at the back. With both their senior shot-stoppers flattering to deceive in recent starts and Martin Skrtel sustaining an injury against Watford in the first half, it’s hard to present a convincing case that they’ll become the first team to silence the Foxes. Back-to-back road encounters against Sunderland and West Ham United could reap greater rewards, though.
Goalless Swans Remain in Drop Zone
Swansea stretched out their winless run to seven fixtures with a goalless draw against the Hammers. The Welsh outfit have now failed to secure three points in seven successive home ties, drawing blanks in all but two of those head-to-heads – an unsurprising revelation when you consider that they posted by far the worst shot accuracy (9.5%) of any team in the league this Gameweek. That being said, Swansea can draw heart from their first clean sheet in 11 outings.
Caretaker boss Alan Curtis eschewed the 4-3-3 set-up he adopted last time out, preferring a 4-3-1-2 formation that saw Bafetimbi Gomis and Andre Ayew forming a strike partnership, and Gylfi Sigurdsson operating from “the hole”. Ayew was responsible for the hosts’ only two shots on target, while Gomis – who earned a recall in light of his goal scoring cameo against Man City – was unable to register a solitary accurate attempt throughout the encounter. Sigurdsson, meanwhile, continues to offer plenty of goal threat under Curtis – he’s fired five attempts on goal in each of his two appearances since Garry Monk departed.
Another Clean Sheet for Hammers
For the first time in their history, West Ham have recorded three 0-0 stalemates in a row. Although a trio of shut-outs looks impressive on paper, it’s worth noting that the Hammers’ recent opponents, Manchester United, Stoke City and Swansea, accrued just five goals between them over the last five Gameweeks. Moreover, looking at that period from a statistical perspective, the Hammers conceded the joint-most shots inside the box (32), tempering our enthusiasm with regards to their defensive prospects.
Slaven Bilic’s chief concern will be West Ham’s paucity of goal threat since Dimitri Payet suffered an ankle injury. Indeed, the Hammers rank joint-bottom for goals scored (two) and second-bottom for shot-conversion rate (2.8%) across the previous five Gameweeks, while only two teams accrued fewer big chances (five) during that period. Manuel Lanzini’s imminent return should afford the Londoners a boost on the creative front ahead of an enticing road clash against Aston Villa.
