Michail Antonio shifts forward and provides the decisive finish as West Ham celebrate their London Stadium bow with a hard-fought victory. Earlier in the day, Alvaro Negredo’s qualtiy and Cristhian Stuani’s finishing combined to earn Middlesbrough three points on Wearside. Here’s the Stock Check after Sunday’s matches…
On the Rise
Alvaro Negredo
A goal in Gameweek 1, followed by two classy assists today. Negredo appears to be reveling in his lone striker role for Middlesbrough and his intelligence and awareness looks very effective in combination with the likes of Gaston Ramirez and Stewart Downing as creators. Negredo sits third in the FPL rankings – only Sergio Aguero and Zlatan Ibrahimovic have started stronger. Further transfer traffic is heading his way.
Cristhian Stuani
It’s a long shot but we have to mention the Uruguayan following his two goals. Brought in to replace Albert Adomah as part of Aitor Karanka expected rotation on the flanks, he reacted by seizing his opportunity in style. It remains to be seen if Stuani can retain a starting role – even as a 4.9 forward, his appeal would seem limited.
Patrick van Aanholt
More goals and more attempts than any other defender last season, the flying Dutchman has already opened his account for 2016/17. While David Moyes’ defence ha been unsettled by injury and departures, Van Aanholt still provides a tempting proposition given his attacking prowess and Sunderland’s fixtures. The Black Cats welcome Everton, Palace and West Brom to Wearside over the next five Gameweeks.
Michail Antonio
Has Eden Hazard done Fantasy managers a huge favour? After enduring a torrid evening at the hands of the Belgian at Stamford Bridge last Monday, Antonio was shifted onto the flank for today’s home clash with Bournemouth. Considering the injury situation in attack, Slaven Bilic will surely now look to keep Antonio in an attacking role after the former Nottingham Forest man headed home the match-winner. If he can keep his place and that position beyond the Gameweek 3 trip to City, Antonio would certainly be back on our radar as a true alternative to Dimitri Payet.
James Collins
A goal against Chelsea, followed up by a solid rearguard display against the Cherries, looks to have kept the Welshman ahead of Angelo Ogbonna in the West Ham defence. At 4.5, he’s got some very decent upcoming fixtures after next week’s trip to City has passed. We’re currently favouring Winston Reid for his security of starts but Collins may just usurp him heading into that run of matches.
In Decline
Dimitri Payet
Slaven Bilic has played down the severity of the Frenchman’s injury but, with a trip to City up next, Payet’s 25% owners aren’t hanging about. Over 36,000 have parted company already this week, more than any midfielder – with the international break to follow Gameweek 3, a failure to feature at the Etihad could see the exodus snowball.
Andy Carroll
With Andre Ayew ruled out for months, the Hammers target man seemed nailed on up front for the foreseeable future. Yet again, though, Carroll faces a spell on the sidelines after succumbing to a knee injury – given his treatment room history, we should have known that price of 6.5 was too good to be true.
Callum Wilson
The Cherries striker looked a shadow of the player that scored a hat-trick away to the Hammers just 12 months ago. Hauled off for the second match in succession, Wilson has managed just two attempts on goal in the first couple of Gameweeks. Eddie Howe’s side will struggle if they fail to get him firing.
