Saturday’s FA Cup ties provided some clarity on Gameweek 30’s postponed league fixtures, as Everton and Watford booked their passage to the last eight. However, Arsenal’s failure to dispose of Hull City’s challenge at the first time of asking creates a pile-up of epic proportions, leaving us hanging on the fate of the Gunners’ Gameweek 30 fixture. Here’s the notes on Saturday’s events.
Tigers Hold Firm To Earn Unwanted Replay
Arsenal paid the price for fielding a weakened side in their FA Cup tie with Championship Hull City, as Steve Bruce’s high-flyers held the Gunners to a 0-0 stalemate, generating an unwanted replay date for both teams. Arsene Wenger’s men fired in 24 efforts on goal but saw Hull’s stopper Eldin Jakupovic register 11 saves, more than any other keeper against Arsenal so far this season.
With Tuesday’s midweek Champions League encounter with Barcelona beckoning, Wenger was prompted to make nine changes. Laurent Koscielny recovered from the dead leg he sustained against Leicester City and partnered Per Mertesacker in central defence, while Mesut Ozil was allowed the afternoon off along with full-backs Hector Bellerin and Nacho Monreal. Olivier Giroud and Alexis Sanchez weren’t called upon until the 67-minute mark, so Theo Walcott was tasked with leading the attack.
The draw means that Arsenal’s status is Gameweek 30 is still in flux. While their opponents in that week, West Bromwich Albion, were knocked out by Reading in their own fifth round tie, we must likely wait until the eve of Gameweek 30 to know whether Wenger’s men will book a place in the Quarter-Finals and therefore miss their league fixture with the Baggies.
Given that the Gunners have midweek cup matches for the next fortnight, the replay with Hull at the KC Stadium will fall in the week beginning March 7: reports suggested that Tuesday March 8 will be the likely date. That would force Hull to postpone their Championship fixture with Brentford. More significantly, it would follow Arsenal’s headline encounter with Tottenham Hotspur just three days earlier, with a potential FA Cup Quarter-Final date to follow immediately after.
Such an eventuality would afford us little time to reshuffle our squads if the likes of Ozil (50% ownership), Bellerin (15% ownership) and Sanchez (14% ownership) face blanks in the wake of Arsenal’s progression. A confirmed date for the replay is expected on Monday.
Baggies Slip To Royals Defeat
West Brom’s indifferent form continued as they followed a fine 1-0 win at Goodison with a miserable FA Cup reverse at the hands of Championship Reading.
Tony Pulis enacted just two changes from the XI that triumphed at Goodison. Craig Dawson was omitted from the matchday squad due to injury – rendering him a doubt for West Brom’s home encounter against Crystal Palace next Gameweek – so James Chester occupied his berth and Chris Brunt slotted in at left-back.
Darren Fletcher opened the scoring courtesy of a Salomon Rondon assist. The Venezuelan frontman scored the West Midlanders’ only two goals in their previous five league outings and, along with Fletcher, remains the stand-out attacking asset in the West Brom camp. Despite this, West Brom’s appeal continues to be limited to Dawson and the Baggies’ questionable potential for clean sheets.
As mentioned above, Pulis’ men must likely wait until the week of March 7 before they know if their Gameweek 30 fixture at Arsenal remains intact.
Wootton Gaff Seals Hornets’ Progress
Scott Wootton’s horrendous own goal sent Watford into the quarter finals with a 1-0 victory over Leeds United. The Hornets retained just five players from their league win against the Eagles, with Odion Ighalo among those that were demoted to the bench. Watford’s leading scorer entered the fray in the 67th minute, while Troy Deeney lasted the distance at Vicarage Road.
In a knock-on effect of Watford’s passage through to the last eight, their Gameweek 30 road tie against West Ham United will be postponed. This will have a major influence on FPL squads for that round of fixtures, with Dimitri Payet’s growing ownership the most concerned. The Frenchman is currently the third-most transferred-in player (63,000) this week and the most transferred-in midfielder. Although Payet’s new owners will feel justified in their move ahead of the Hammers’ tantalising home clash against Sunderland, West Ham’s subsequent pair of challenging match-ups (TOT, eve), together with the Gameweek 30 blank, will likely act as a deterrent for further investment.
Despite a surge in sales (over 40,000 this week) Ighalo remains the fourth-most popular forward (35% ownership) on the FPL market, underlining the impact of this forthcoming blank. Beyond Bournemouth’s visit next weekend, Watford embark on a pair of testing fixtures (mun, LEI) before Gameweek 30. That’s likely to trigger accelerated sales should Ighalo fail to find the net for the seventh start in eight.
Lukaku & Barkley Combine to Pick off Cherries
Everton fielded an unchanged side as they ran out 2-0 victors over Bournemouth at the Vitality Stadium. Ross Barkley – who hasn’t scored from open play in the league since the Toffees’ 3-3 draw against the Cherries back in Gameweek 14 – delivered the first blow with a deflected strike, while Romelu Lukaku doubled the visitors’ advantage 14 minutes from time. On the creative front, Tom Cleverley and Gareth Barry claimed the assists.
From a Fantasy perspective, the Merseysiders’ success on the south coast means their trip to Sunderland in Gameweek 30 will be pushed back, creating two blanks within the space of four Gameweeks for the popular Lukaku (37% ownership) and Barkley (39%). Everton’s high-profile duo already rank among the top-four most transferred-out players by virtue of their Gameweek 27 blank and this additional postponement will only accelerate their ownership and price decline.
Bournemouth Defeat Preserves Swansea Clash
Eddie Howe opted to rest the majority of his first-teamers as Bournemouth crashed out of the FA Cup. Joshua King and Junior Stanislas were named in the starting XI, but the likes of Benik Afobe, Andrew Surman and Harry Arter were absent from the matchday squad.
Charlie Daniels spurned a golden opportunity to fire the hosts into the lead in the first period when he saw his penalty saved by Joel Robles. The 4.7-priced defender has scored two out of two penalties in the league this term, yet his 6% ownership will now be concerned that Howe will consider relieving Daniels of spot-kick duties from this point on.
However, Bournemouth’s FA Cup exit is likely to see Daniels’ owners hold tight: it guarantees that their home tie against Swansea City in Gameweek 30 will go ahead. As such, the likes of Daniels, Afobe (three goals in five), Andre Ayew (two goals and assists in five) and Gylfi Sigurdsson (five goals in seven) will emerge as profitable differentials during a round of fixtures that will test the strength in depth available to FPL managers. Indeed, the Swansea duo’s case for inclusion is bolstered by their favourable home ties (NOR, AVL) either side of their Gameweek 30 match-up.
