Wes Morgan grabs the only goal of the match as Leicester take a step nearer to the title with a fourth successive 1-0 win. Elsewhere, Anthony Martial leaps onto our double Gameweek radars by firing United to victory over Everton at Old Trafford.
Morgan wins it for Foxes
Leicester City stretched out their lead at the top to seven points by way of their fourth consecutive 1-0 win.
Wes Morgan did the damage for the hosts with his first goal of the campaign, latching onto Christian Fuchs’ cross. The latter now boasts four assists and has amassed the second-most bonus points (21) of any defender on the Fantasy market.
Although the Foxes lack a double Gameweek, they have now recorded shut-outs in seven of their previous eight home ties and remain at the King Power Stadium for two of the next three Gameweeks, encouraging investors in their defence to hold tight.
In the wake of his blank against Saints, Jamie Vardy has now failed to net in six successive starts, which will prompt a portion of his 54% ownership reinvest their funds in Romelu Lukaku before Everton’s back-to-back double Gameweeks.
As for Riyad Mahrez, his explosive potential (11 double-figure hauls) should deter many owners from maxing out on double Gameweek players.
Saints struggle on the road again
Southampton were stifled by the Foxes’ regimented defence and were only able to muster two shots on target throughout the encounter.
Ronald Koeman’s side have failed to score in three of their last five away matches and now hit the road in three of the next five Gameweeks, which includes trips to Everton and Spurs, in addition to a home encounter with Man City. Their lack of a double Gameweek and poor defensive record of late (nine goals conceded and zero clean sheets in six) render their squad a relative non-factor during the final stages of the season.
Martials notches United’s winner
Manchester United remain in the hunt for a Champions League berth as they carved out a third 1-0 victory in four outings.
Anthony Martial proved to be the difference between the two sides, bagging his third goal (Timothy Fosu-Mensah assist) in seven starts. Given that Wayne Rooney’s imminent return makes Marcus Rashford a rotation risk, the 7.6-priced Martial represents the choice route into the Red Devils’ attack for their mouth-watering double Gameweek (AVL & CRY).
Man United’s tenth home clean sheet of the campaign underlined the merits of targeting their defence during the double. On that note, both Daley Blind (fatigue) and Marco Rojo (jet-lag) were subbed off at Old Trafford, highlighting the fact that Chris Smalling and David De Gea are the safest options for Gameweek 33 wildcarders.
Out-of-sorts Toffees fail to impress
Everton suffered their third straight defeat and have now tasted victory just once since Gameweek 26.
Romelu Lukaku had an afternoon to forget against Louis van Gaal’s charges, mustering a solitary off-target attempt. Nonetheless, the Belgian marksman is sure to be one of the most popular pick-ups ahead of the Toffees’ aforementioned successive doubles in Gameweek 33 (wat &cry) and Gameweek 34 (SOU & liv) – indeed, he already ranks top for “transfers in” (62,000) at the time of writing.
For those eyeing up the Toffees midfielders, Aaron Lennon (5.6) was intriguingly handed a central support role behind Lukaku as Gerard Deulofeu started on the right wing. Lennon then switched back to the flank after the young Spaniard was withdrawn just after the hour mark.
Roberto Martinez switched things up at the back, benching Ramiro Funes Mori to facilitate John Stones’ reinstatement in a four-man defence. In terms of tapping into Everton’s backline potential, goalkeeper Joel Robles (4.3) is the standout pick by virtue of his budget price tag, while skipper Phil Jagielka (5.1) – who fired two attempts from inside the box yesterday – seems the safest route into the defence.
