Sergio Aguero bags his fourth goal of double Gameweek 34 in City’s stalemate at St James’. Vurnon Anita is the Magpies unlikely hero as Aleksandar Mitrovic is named amongst the Newcastle subs again. Elsewhere, Liverpool and West Ham’s injury worries up front ease ahead of this evening’s home encounters with Everton and Watford respectively.
Aguero nets again
Manchester City failed to strengthen their grip on a top-four berth as they were held to a 1-1 draw at St James’ Park.
Sergio Aguero netted his fourth goal in double Gameweek 34 and, with the maximum bonus also accrued, served up a tally of 26 points over the two fixtures. Notwithstanding the Sky Blues’ progress in the Champions League, they can ill-afford to take their foot of the pedal in the league – given that fifth-placed Manchester United sit five points behind with a game in hand – ensuring that Aguero looks safe from rotation during their run-in (STO, sou, ARS, swa).
Aleksandar Kolarov teed up Aguero for the opener on Tyneside, meaning he’s delivered attacking returns (one goal, two assists) in three of his previous four appearances but still lacks the security of starts. Elsewhere at the back, Vincent Kompany displaced Nicolas Otamendi on his return from the treatment room, leaving Joe Hart as the safest source of Man City defensive coverage.
Anita grabs St James’ leveler
Newcastle tiptoed closer to survival by way of a hard-fought point against Manuel Pellegrini’s troops.
Vurnon Anita grabbed the equaliser, while Mousa Sissoko bagged the assist. Having scored in the weekend win over Swansea, the latter served up 13 points over the double, alerting us to his potential as a cut-price route into a resurgent Newcastle attack that’s scored seven goals in four.
Despite producing an impactful cameo (assist) against Swansea City, Aleksandar Mitrovic was again consigned to bench duty as Papiss Cisse led the line again. The Magpies enjoy a mouth-watering pair of fixtures (CRY, avl) after their trip to Anfield next Gameweek, yet Mitrovic is clearly not trusted by Rafa Benitez to propel them out of the bottom three, forcing his 23,000 new owners to re-invest those funds.
Origi fit for Merseyside derby
Jurgen Klopp confirmed that Divock Origi has been passed fit for the Merseyside derby after shaking off a minor back issue:
“Divock was only a little bit [of a problem] with the back – maybe from sitting on the bench! It was not a real issue. He felt it a little bit in the game and so we left him out of training yesterday but that was only not to take a risk. So that is okay.”
Having rested the majority of his starters at Bournemouth following Liverpool’s Europa League triumph, Klopp is set to name a much-changed side for Everton’s visit. Given that Origi has scored four times in as many outings across all competitions, there’d be no surprise if he returned to the XI tonight. Klopp has started Daniel Sturridge in each of the last four league outings, though, with the forward bagging three goals and two assists over that period, and another start this evening for the England international would likely invite heavy investment ahead of a favourable trio of fixtures (NEW, swa, WAT).
Mixed news for Martinez
Roberto Martinez offered a squad update before their trip to Anfield, revealing that Phil Jagielka and Seamus Coleman have been ruled out, while Aaron Lennon, Tom Cleverley and Leighton Baines are touch-and-go:
“Phil Jagielka and Seamus Coleman will definitely be out of the derby but it is too early to make a final decision before the weekend. At this evening’s session we are going to assess Aaron Lennon, Tom Cleverley and Leighton Baines to have a final decision. They are very close and we will have a better idea if they are back for tomorrow.”
If Baines also fails to recover in time for tonight, those holding Liverpool attacker will be a little more optimistic in light of Everton’s injury troubles. Given that the Toffees have mustered one clean sheet in eight and are facing a team that chalked up the most shots on target (27) across their previous four matches, we’re unconvinced by their clean-sheet prospects. Nonetheless with a double Gameweek 37 and home matches against Bournemouth and Norwich still to follow, Everton’s 4.3-priced first choice keeper Joel Robles and goal scoring centre back Ramiro Funes Mori remain on our radar.
Palace quartet miss out
Alan Pardew said that Yannick Bolasie, Scott Dann, Joel Ward and Joe Ledley will all sit out Crystal Palace’s trip to Manchester United but return for their FA Cup semi-final on Sunday:
“Yala has got a bit of an issue, Wardy will miss the game, Scott Dann is struggling and Joe Ledley has a knock, so we’ve got a few problems. They should all be OK for Sunday but they won’t make Manchester United.”
In more positive news on the injury front, James McArthur is set for a run-out at Old Trafford after completing his rehabilitation program.
The likes of Bolasie and Dann attracted a fair degree of interest for the Eagles’ successive double Gameweeks but are now set to be shipped out en masse ahead of their blank in Gameweek 35. Although a home tie against a floundering Stoke City outfit in Gameweek 37 looks promising, that encounter is sandwiched between two challenging road clashes (new, sou), which should curtail investment in the Eagles’ squad for the remainder of the campaign.
Flores set to rotate
Quique Sanchez Flores pledged to make wholesale changes for Watford’s trip to West Ham, but keeper Heurelho Gomes is expected to keep his place:
“In respect of the shape we are not going to change a lot because we are training with the same system or very similar every time. But in terms of the players everyone in the squad knows we are going to change a lot. Practically all the players are going to change and play so we will use a lot of new players for the next match.”
Thanks to a pair of penalty saves against West Bromwich Albion on Saturday, Gomes now boasts a 16-point lead at the summit of the goalkeeper rankings. Although Gomes’ shutout potential looks grim due to the Hornets’ heavy rotation and the Irons’ high-powered offense, his save point potential – having earned at least one point in nine of his last 10 outings – should keep his points tally ticking over. With home matches against Villa and Sunderland on either side of a double Gameweek 37, the Brazilian looks on course for a prosperous end to the season.
Sakho back for Hammers
Slaven Bilic said that Diafra Sakho has recovered from his knock, leaving him with a full complement of players to choose from on Wednesday:
“With one training session to go, Diafra Sakho is back from injury so we have a full squad available, which is good.”
Even though Sakho is back in contention for the Watford clash, Andy Carroll (five goals in four) looks more likely to lead the line at the Boleyn Ground after he was utilised as a sub at Leicester last weekend. Expanding our focus beyond the Hammers’ blank next Gameweek, the depth of forward options at Bilic’s disposal could promote rotation during their double Gameweek 37 (SWA, MUN). If West Ham’s team sheet at Leicester is anything to go by, the Croatian boss will continue to pick the striker based on the perceived strengths and weaknesses of the opposition’s back line.
Van Gaal hints at Rashford start
Ander Herrera is likely to return for United’s home encounter with Palace, Louis van Gaal has confirmed. After making a handful of changes against Villa last weekend, the Dutchman confirmed he is set to tinker with his team sheet once again this evening, though went on to suggest that Marcus Rashford will retain a starting role up front again:
“You know that you have to play matches and you know also that some players have difficulties with the load of matches. You have to rotate because of that. In the Premier League I have to rotate much more than in another league, and that is also a consequence of the high rhythm of the Premier League. I changed him (Rashford) after 70 minutes, I believe, and that is also to give him a little bit of rest. He didn’t train the day after and also the day after that he didn’t train. I want to keep him fresh because he is in the momentum of scoring and that is very important for him but also for the team. That is why I don’t rotate him.”
After bagging the only goal of the 1-0 win over Villa, Rashford – who also netted in last week’s cup win at West Ham – is likely to leap onto Fantasy managers’ radars if handed another start tonight. Whilst a blank Gameweek 35 and trip to Leicester will persuade us to hold off for now, United’s double Gameweek 37 and home encounter against Bournemouth in the final round of fixtures bolsters the youngster’s appeal at a price of just 4.6.
