This Much We Know – Gameweek 19

Although there are still two fixtures left in the Gameweek, we still have plenty to chew over after yesterday’s matches. Palace and Swansea’s upturn in defensive resilience, Marko Arnautovic’s rise to Fantasy prominence, Bournemouth’s set-piece struggles and Watford’s fixture-proof front two are all on our Tuesday afternoon menu.

Pardew can rely on his rearguard….
Palace may be struggling for a cutting edge in the absence of Yannick Bolasie and Connor Wickham but Alan Pardew’s side still offers us some solid options at the back. A goalless draw with Swansea means that the Eagles have conceded just a single goal in the last four, with Wayne Hennessey and Joel Ward the cut-price alternatives to the 5.7-priced Scott Dann – indeed, Ward, at just 4.4, has mirrored Dann’s 4.8 points per appearances so far. Intriguingly, Palace alternate with Stoke home/away from this point onwards, with a Hennessey/Jack Butland double-up affording Fantasy managers the chance to pick and choose their fixtures for the remainder of the campaign.

Williams can be an immovable object…
The departure of Garry Monk has had a significant impact on Swansea’s defensive fortunes. It’s a trio of successive clean sheets now for the Welsh club, with Ashley Williams serving up maximum bonus on all three occasions under the guidance of caretaker boss Alan Curtis. Much depends on Swansea’s approach once a new manager is finally appointed but there’s no doubt that we need to re-assess Williams as an option again – he leads the way for CBI this season and also tops our ICT Index for Influence amongst defenders.

Arnautovic demands our attention…
In seasons gone by, the Stoke midfielder has flattered to deceive, serving up decent underlying stats that he failed to translate to Fantasy returns. A 12-point haul at Everton continue Arnautovic’s rise under Mark Hughes as he took his tally to seven goals and three assists for the campaign. The Austrian sits fourth amongst midfielders and, having played a part in 50% of his side’s strikes when on the pitch, is becoming increasingly influential ahead of a schedule that pits the Potters against West Brom, Norwich and Leicester’s defences in the next four outings.

Everton can’t afford to stop scoring…
In retrospect, Roberto Martinez will perhaps rue his decision to bench Leighton Baines as Xherdan Shaqiri ran riot on the Toffees left flank, though there’s no doubt that the Toffees are toiling without Phil Jagielka. Everton have managed just one clean sheet in nine matches without their injured captain and have conceded at least three times in three of the last six Gameweeks. With their backline so brittle, though, Martinez has ensured his attack remain on the front foot and despite winning just once in the previous six, yesterday’s showing at Goodison underlines that, with the focus on offence, the likes of Romelu Lukaku, Ross Barkley and Gerard Deulofeu will remain very much in Fantasy relevance.

Ighalo & Deeney seem fixture proof…
Yesterday’s narrow home loss to Tottenham saw Odion Ighalo score for the sixth successive league outing, whilst Troy Deeney’s assist means he has now served up points in all but one of the previous eight Gameweeks. Many would-be suitors had baulked at the idea of buying into the Watford attack given that they faced Liverpool, Chelsea and Spurs in the previous three but Quique Sanchez Flores’ front two have emphatically shown that they are primed for points regardless of opponent.

Ozil form ensures that Sanchez will be a differential…
Last night’s 14-point haul at home to Bournemouth – his fifth double-figure return of the season – took the Arsenal playmaker to 53% ownership in FPL as the bandwagon continues apace. Although Alexis Sanchez is closing in on a return, those holding Ozil will surely look to retain the serves of a player who has now produced points in 12 of his previous 13 league appearances. Finding a space for the 9%-owned Sanchez will be a priority for many once he’s fully fit, though with Ozil racking up the points, a double-up seems the best way to address this dilemma.

Debuchy poses little threat to Bellerin…
Arsene Wenger’s decision to freshen up his defence for the visit of Bournemouth saw the former Newcastle man benched once again despite the hectic fixture list. Instead, Laurent Koscielny and Nacho Monreal were given the day off as the Gunners boss turned to Gabriel and Kieran Gibbs against the Cherries, with Bellerin yet again retaining his starting spot in the 2-0 win. The young Spaniard has now missed just one match since Gameweek 2 – due to injury against Spurs in early November – and looks the most reliable route into a rearguard that’s now served up eight clean sheets this term.

Cherries are easily picked off at set-plays…
Eddie Howe’s side arrived at the Emirates having conceded 12 goals from dead-ball situations – the worst record in the top-flight. It was no real surprise, then, that the Gunners’ first goal came courtesy of a corner as Mesut Ozil teed up Gabriel to open the scoring. With the likes of Tommy Elphick and Tyrone Mings both sidelined through injury, Bournemouth’s lack of physical presence at the back is making them easy targets for opponents when it comes to set-pieces – worryingly for Howe, 35% of their goals conceded have now arrived this way.

Antonio may yet have a part to play…
West Ham’s summer signing from Forest had to bide his time before being afforded a run of starts under Slaven Bilic. Indeed, Antonio waited until Gameweek 16 for his debut in the first XI after Victor Moses limped out of action in the previous league fixture. Since then, though, the winger has turned in series of displays which bodes well for his future pitch time, with a goal and assist against Southampton backing up the underlying stats. Over the last four, he sits second amongst midfielders for touches in the box (19) and has fired seven efforts inside the box. Although Moses and Dimitri Payet have a chance of returning for the weekend, Antonio may well have done enough to retain his spot ahead of the Nigerian in Bilic’s attacking midfield spots.