A wasteful Dele Alli maintains his scoring form, Mesut Ozil wins the plaudits but blanks again, while injuries to Ryan Bertrand and Darren Fletcher cause early Gameweek 8 concerns. Here are the notes from Saturday’s international tussles…
Alli Nets Again
England found a way past the Maltese bus at Wembley, with Spurs midfielder Dele Alli (8.2) scoring the second goal.
The Spurs man could, and should, have had more, but his strike confirmed his blossoming form – you just wouldn’t know it from his Fantasy Premier League ownership.
Alli has scored a solid 24 points over the last four Gameweeks and yet he has consistently suffered sales. Having started the season as part of 415,753 FPL squads, Alli is now found in just over half of that figure, although he looks to have enjoyed a small gain in ownership heading into next weekend’s fixtures – the first Gameweek where he has shown an increase this season.
This trend is undoubtedly attributed to the popularity of team-mate Heung Min-Son (7.6), who has seen a big surge in his ownership (141,900 transfers in this week alone) on the back of four goals and two assists from his last four starts up front.
Spurs’ remain in the thick of the international action, and with a UEFA Champions League fixture looming, Mauricio Pochettino would not have been overly pleased to see Danny Rose (5.9) playing such a full part at Wembley.
He came on for the injured Ryan Bertrand (5.4), whose hamstring issue has already ruled him out of the Slovenia clash.
Rose has himself only just returned from a spell on the sidelines and Pochettino must now be pondering his rotation options in the light of his international minutes.
The 5.3% of FPL managers who own Rose will be hoping that he gets the nod for the trips to West Brom and Bournemouth, rather than the Champions League fixture at Bayer Leverkusen.
Bertrand Concern for Saints
Bertrand’s hamstring injury will be a major worry for Claude Puel with the club confirming that their left-back will now return to the south-coast for an assessment.
Should Bertrand face a spell on the sidelines, Puel will likely turn to Matt Targett as his replacement, although he was also nursing a minor injury which saw him miss out for England U21’s and remain with the club over this break.
Targett started the first three Premier League matches and would be of interest to FPL managers given his 4.4 price tag.
The Saints have kept three consecutive clean sheets in the league heading into their Gameweek 8 home encounter with Burnley – they’ve kept six successive shut-outs in all competitions.
Ozil sparkles but draws a blank
Things seemed to be looking up for Arsenal’s Mesut Ozil (9.5) when he was initially credited with an assist in Germany’s 3-0 win over the Czech Republic.
It soon transpired that he had in fact missed helping on the pass that led to the German opener – par for the course for a man who had 19 assists last season but has none in six league matches this campaign.
Two goals have sugared the pill for the 7.4%-owned midfielder, but his premium price is surely testing the patience of his FPL owners.
Ozil’s performance against the Czechs garnered high praise, but he could do with improved returns to back up his undoubted influence.
Domestic matches at home to Swansea City and Middlesbrough and a trip to Sunderland have a last chance saloon feel to them, with Alexis Sanchez and Theo Walcott continuing to offer more explosive potential in the Gunners’ camp.
McArthur on target as Fletcher pulls up
Scotland’s last-gasp draw at home to Lithuania confirmed the unlikely goalscoring form of Crystal Palace midfielder James McArthur (4.9).
His late, late header was his third goal in four matches. Throw in an assist as part of an impressive 12-point haul in the 3-2 win at Sunderland and it is perhaps unsurprising that McArthur has enjoyed a mini-surge in his FPL popularity – he gained more than 28,000 owners heading into Gameweek 7.
As one budget midfield option grows in strength, another suffers a potential blow.
McArthur’s introduction came as a result of Darren Fletcher’s (4.4) withdrawal at half-time. He suffered a first-half thigh injury and is now a major doubt ahead of Tuesday’s trip to Slovakia.
That’s bad news for the well-owned West Brom veteran, who is found in 9.6% of FPL squads.
Tony Pulis will also be hugely concerned given the forthcoming schedule awaiting his side.
The Baggies face Spurs and Man City at home, along with tough trips to Liverpool and Leicester City over their next four Gameweeks.
An absence for the influential Fletcher would surely have some bearing on their chances in those matches – Fletcher has made more successful passes in the opponents’ half than any other Baggies player.
Out of Africa
Liverpool’s Sadio Mane (9.0) continued his fine start to the season going with an assist for Senegal’s opening goal in the 2-0 win over Cape Verde Islands.
The 15.0%-owned midfielder has three goals and an assist from six league starts and, once Gameweek 8’s home match with Manchester United is done, enjoy a superb run of fixtures all the way through to New Year’s Eve.
Hull City also have a prolonged run of attractive matches to come – their next stern test appears to be Spurs away in Gameweek 16 – so striker Dieumerci Mbokani’s (5.5) brace for DR Congo in a 4-0 win over Libya will have done his prospects no harm.
Mbokani made his first start for the Tigers in the 2-0 loss to Chelsea and, depending on his fatigue levels, he will be in line to retain his start for the trip to Bournemouth next weekend.
