Romelu Lukaku disappoints yet again as Everton and Palace play out a goalless draw at Selhurst Park. The Eagles serves up a second successive shut-out in the first of their two double Gameweeks. Elsewhere, United’s Marcus Rashford strengthens his prospects of retaining a starting berth by netting the opener in a 2-1 cup win at West Ham.
Lukaku blanks again
Everton extended their winless streak to five matches with a goalless stalemate at Selhurst Park as Gameweek 33 came to a bitterly disappointing conclusion.
Runaway leader in last week’s Captain Poll, with in excess of 70% of the votes, Romelu Lukaku failed to justify our collective show of faith and posted his fourth successive blank. Despite having clashes against Southampton and Liverpool up next, his 44% ownership won’t have too much optimism ahead of another double Gameweek for the Merseysiders.
Joel Robles proved to be the chief beneficiary of Everton’s first clean sheet in seven outings, picking up two save points and three bonus for an 11-point haul. Pitched at 4.3, the Spanish shot-stopper furnishes us with a budget path into a defence that lacks the consistency to warrant serious investment.
Post-match, Roberto Martinez conceded he has major worries over three of yesterday’s starters, with midfield duo Aaron Lennon and Ross Barkley both forced off in the second-half:
“Ross and Aaron have been accumulating a lot of minutes. I think Ross had a knock at the end and he couldn’t move freely. Lennon we’ll have to assess, I’m a bit worried about his hamstring. Baines had to stay on but in the last five minutes, he couldn’t move freely, so those three are going to be a serious concern for Saturday.”
Having received his marching orders for a second bookable offence, James McCarthy will be sidelined for the Merseysiders’ home encounter against Southampton this weekend.
Another clean sheet for Palace
Palace lacked the clinical touch to capitalise on their one-man advantage and territorial dominance in the second period.
To the jubilation of managers that targeted the Eagles’ rearguard for their double Gameweek 33, Alan Pardew’s troops notched their second shut-out on the bounce. The recent turn of events is all the more surprising bearing in mind that Palace had failed to keep a shut-out in 12 league outings prior to this week. Nonetheless, Alan Pardew’s side will do well to sustain their diligence during their consecutive road trips (ars & mun) next Gameweek.
Yannick Bolasie came up short for his 50,000 new owners, stretching out his scoreless run to 10 matches. With Manchester United and Arsenal – who possess the best and second-best home defensive records, respectively – next on the Eagles’ agenda, an exodus could be on the cards for the DR Congo international.
Dwight Gayle was forced off at the break through injury and is a doubt for the trip to Arsenal, with Connor Wickham favourite to start at the Emirates this weekend.
Rashford helps United through
Manchester United set up a meeting with Everton in the FA Cup semi-finals after beating West Ham United at the Boleyn Ground.
Marcus Rashford opened the scoring with a sumptuous strike, delighting 30,000 Fantasy managers that snapped him up ahead of the Red Devils’ double Gameweek 34 (AVL & CRY). Hauled off at the break against Spurs last weekend, there were doubts over the youngster’s pitch time after the fit-again Wayne Rooney was named amongst the subs last night but Rashford’s display against the Hammers suggests he may well remain in pole position for the lone striker role over the double.
Anthony Martial also served a reminder of his points potential by providing assists for both the visitors’ goals. The France international remains the most secure route into the Red Devils’ attack and has now recorded attacking returns (three goals and one assist) in four of his previous six starts, which bodes well for his chances of punishing Aston Villa’s obliging defence.
In defence, Timothy Fosu-Mensah was passed fit following his injury scare at White Hart Lane, setting him up for further starts in the coming weeks. Priced at a mere 3.9 in FPL, the Dutch defender’s rise to prominence is an irksome development for Matteo Darmian’s 17,000 new owners, given that the Italian right-back looks highly unlikely to reclaim a regular starting berth.
Tomkins goal not enough for Hammers
Despite mounting a late comeback, West Ham were unable to emerge victorious in their final cup fixture at the Boleyn Ground.
James Tomkins set up a grandstand finish with a goal 11 minutes from time, latching onto an Andy Carroll header. The latter lays claim to four goals and one assist in four outings across all competitions, illustrating his potential to flourish as a differential source of Hammers attacking coverage for their double Gameweek 34 (lei & WAT).
Winston Reid was omitted from the squad and James Collins was only deemed fit enough for a spot on the bench, so James Tomkins partnered Angelo Ogbonna in central defence and Michail Antonio remained at right-back as Slaven Bilic rolled out a 4-2-3-1. Antonio’s 4% ownership will hope that the return of Collins and Tomkins triggers the winger’s reinstatement in the attacking quartet.
