His biggest tally of the season. A third successive double-figure total. Sixty-eight points in his last seven Gameweek starts.
We can’t deny the numbers – Zlatan Ibrahimovic is delivering and refusing to leave the door ajar for a cast of competitors up front.
Both Diego Costa and Sergio Aguero are now back from the cold and, while we will doubtless begin measuring up for the surgery to install one of that pair alongside the Swede, it currently seems unthinkable to drop the Manchester United striker.
Having scored or assisted 16 of 26 goals scored while he’s been on the pitch, Ibrahimovic has been involved in 61% of United’s goals. While Jose Mourinho’s men have yet to hit the heights to suggest that they are a true attacking force, that’s a difficult statistic to ignore.
Zlatan’s fixtures remain strong and, seemingly classed as “undroppable” by Mourinho; there appears little or no counter argument. Ibrahimovic increased by 0.3 in price ahead of today’s deadline and, again, he’s already ranked second only to Costa for transfers, with another hike looming.
If we wish to opt for two heavyweights in our forward lines, our decision currently appears to create a head-to-head between Costa and Aguero: two strikers who present two very different scenarios.
Chelsea are undoubtedly pacesetters supreme. Their current form and confidence cannot be questioned and, while the fixture list remains demanding, it would be brave to underestimate Antonio Conte’s side against any opposition.
Manchester City’s fixtures are also testing, but they will go to Anfield on New Year’s Eve still in stuttering form.
The Gameweek 17 victory over Arsenal looked priceless in re-establishing their status as title challengers but the performance in tonight’s 3-0 win at Hull City was, for long periods, still unconvincing.
Aguero may be able to circumvent any malaise and doubts – arguably, he could flick the switch and re-invigorate City’s season.
However, at 12.8, he costs a princely sum which would surely restrict flexibility in midfield or defence. In many ways, Aguero now represents a gamble.
That seems an unthinkable and unlikely sentence to write on these pages. The Argentine has, for so long, been a mainstay of the Fantasy Football Scout community and an asset that requires little thought or research. But that is surely no longer the case.
Having missed seven matches of the season through ill-discipline and, with the jury still out on Pep Guardiola’s side, the choice between Costa and Aguero is not straightforward and even appears weighted in the Chelsea man’s favour.
Currently 2.1 cheaper than Aguero, the Spaniard has shown unerring consistency and, crucially, could allow us to retain significant funds in midfield, or even opt for a Blues pairing in defence.
But, as we’ve seen, the landscape can shift so quickly. With just a matter of days before Gameweek 19, our opinions and plans have to remain flexible.
Midfield assets like Eden Hazard and Alexis Sanchez, in particular, are under constant pressure to perform now that Aguero is back in the game.
Hazard’s spot-kick against Bournemouth may have kept talk of an exodus subdued for now, although two goals in six Gameweek starts is still not enough to justify his selection now that Costa has returned to the equation. We need more from Hazard against Stoke City.
As for Sanchez, he hit a post and fired in more attempts than any other player in Monday’s matches but has now produced just a single goal since his heralded hat-trick at the London Stadium back in Gameweek 14.
Arsenal still appear to be struggling at the Emirates without Santi Cazorla in the double pivot. That needs to change for the visit of Big Sam’s Crystal Palace: we perhaps need to see Sanchez back in the striker’s role. We certainly need him back in the points to stave off any talk of exit plans.
Again, such a knee-jerk reaction seems unthinkable when we look back on the scramble for the Chilean’s services only last month.
But that’s typical of this campaign and, for tonight at least, the only current certainty appears to be relentlessly providing and scoring goals for Manchester United.
