A dour Anfield affair offered scant reward for Fantasy Football managers as defences came out on top.
That added up to another ineffective evening for Zlatan Ibrahimovic, who played his part in a guarded United performance, resulting in another blank with inevitable Fantasy Premier League sales to follow.
Here’s the final Stock Check of Gameweek 8…
On the Rise
Nathaniel Clyne
Owned by less than 9% of Fantasy Premier League managers, the Liverpool right-back shook off a knee problem to start and play his part in a first clean sheet of the season for the Reds. Clyne claimed the maximum bonus points on offer after winning all four of his attempted tackles.
Priced at 5.5, his stock is somewhat limited by his price point which, in the current landscape, presents a significant obstacle. Dejan Lovren, at 4.9, remains our preferred route into Jurgen Klopp’s rearguard.
With West Brom, Crystal Palace and Watford up next, further defensive returns for Clyne and Lovren could be on the horizon.
David de Gea
A world class save from Philippe Coutinho’s long-range effort kept the scoreline at 0-0 and helped De Gea to only his third save point of the season.
The Spaniard also edged a bonus point as United won their third clean sheet of the campaign – their first since Gameweek 3 as the Spaniard’s 40% ownership fetched belated returns.
Jose Mourinho’s rearguard takes on Chelsea at Stamford Bridge in Gameweek 9, followed by an Old Trafford meeting with Burnley and a trip to Swansea City.
In Decline
Zlatan Ibrahimovic
Almost inevitably, Ibrahimovic suffers a further blow as he blanked for the third Gamweek in four and picked up a second successive yellow card.
That’s now just four points in four Gameweeks, during which time his price has dropped from 11.9 to 11.4, with more than 620,000 showing him the exit.
The Swede will dominate the transfers out column again heading into Gameweek 9, with Diego Costa and Romelu Lukaku the major benefactors of the continued fall-out.
