The Gameweek 28 picture becomes considerably clearer after a day of FA Cup shocks for some, but by no means all, of the Premier League sides.
Burnley 0 Lincoln City 1
One of the FA Cup’s greatest ever upsets probably meant only one thing to most Fantasy Premier League managers – another guaranteed Gameweek 28 fixture.
Burnley’s shock defeat to non-league Lincoln City makes it eight teams definitely in action over the March 11 weekend as the Clarets will now travel to face Liverpool at Anfield.
That has further increased the already intense interest in Reds’ midfielder Sadio Mane who, with more than 160,000 new owners, is easily the most purchased player leading into Gameweek 26 thus far.
Mane remained the top transfer target overnight, claiming over 9000 new owners in the last 24-hours, almost double that of Diego Costa, ranked second.
The Senegal international’s brace against Spurs, and a trip to struggling Leicester City to come, first sparked that interest. Throw in home matches with a vulnerable Arsenal and now the notoriously travel-sick Burnley, and it seems guaranteed that Mane’s ownership and price will go on increasing.
Only one other Liverpool player, Roberto Firmino, makes it into the top 30 for new signings this week.
The Burnley loss could change all that, although he, his fellow Brazilian Philippe Coutinho and Adam Lallana are not in the greatest of form – the two goals and an assist they’ve managed between them over the past five matches have all come from Firmino.
As for Sean Dyche’s side, their next four matches are all away from home – not exactly the greatest advert for drafting in players who’ve managed just the one point on the road all season.
The 19.1%-owned Tom Heaton remains the most attractive option, for his potential save points if nothing else. The England goalkeeper has made 105 stops so far this campaign – 17 more than his nearest rival.
Ashley Barnes is likely to be the other popular candidate. Preserved on the bench on Saturday, he saw action with 20 minutes remaining but has started the last nine in the Premier League. At 4.5, he is set to be the go-to candidate for those FPL managers preserving a 3-5-2 formation.
Burnley XI: Heaton, Darikwa, Keane, Tarkowski, Flanagan, Gudmundsson (Boyd 20), Westwood, Barton, Arfield, Vokes (Barnes 73), Gray.
Subs not used: Robinson, Lowton, Ward, Mee, Agyei.
Huddersfield Town 0 Manchester City 0
Pep Guardiola handed Sergio Aguero a first start in five matches – one of eight changes overall – but City could not find a way past a spirited Huddersfield.
David Silva and Yaya Toure were rested, presumably with Tuesday’s Champions League tie against Monaco in mind, and only Pablo Zabaleta, Aleksandar Kolarov and Fernadinho kept their places from the side that beat Bournemouth last week.
The draw means an extra match for City, the replay taking place on Tuesday, February 28. That is actually a relatively minor imposition as they will miss Gameweek 26 because of Man United’s EFL Cup final date, leaving them with five days to recover from the replay before Gameweek 27’s trip to Sunderland.
The stalemate does, however, keep open the likelihood of Guardiola’s side having a Gameweek 28 blank – they’re due entertain Stoke City – should they see off Huddersfield second time around.
And with Liverpool at home and Arsenal and Chelsea away to come after that, investment in City assets remains a somewhat fraught business.
On the injury front, Vincent Kompany missed Saturday’s tie with a leg problem that was played down by City, while Kolarov suffered a knock late on and was replaced – both will need to be assessed prior to the Monaco tie.
Man City XI: Bravo, Zabaleta, Stones, Otamendi, Kolarov (Sagna 75), Fernando, Delph (De Bruyne 67), Fernandinho, Nolito (Sane 67), Aguero, Navas.
Subs not used: Caballero, Sterling, Iheanacho, A Garcia.
Middlesbrough 3 Oxford United 2
Middlesbrough, without a league win since Gameweek 17, took a decidedly scenic route to secure their FA Cup quarter-final place.
Cristhian Stuani’s winner, from an Alvaro Negredo assist, came four minutes from time and only after their League One opponents had clawed back a two-goal deficit.
Skipper Grant Leadbitter, with a penalty, and a spectacular volley from Rudy Gestede – his first goal for Boro – looked to have sealed the deal before Oxford’s comeback.
But Aitor Karanka’s men finally prevailed, meaning their Gameweek 28 home match with Sunderland will now have to be re-arranged.
That is likely to further stall Fantasy interest in their players, which has mostly revolved around defensive assets who have produced eight clean sheets this season – the fifth-best record in the league.
George Friend could eventually return to our thinking as a potential investment – he was due to return from a calf injury on Saturday but was de-railed by an injury in training, thought to be a minor setback at this point.
Meanwhile, the 28.9% of managers with Sunderland striker Jermain Defoe in their squads will continue to look elsewhere, at least in the short term.
The Black Cats travel to Everton and then entertain Man City before their Gameweek 28 blank.
Middlesbrough XI: Guzan, Chambers, Ayala, Bernardo, Fabio, Traore (Stuani 71), Clayton, Leadbitter, Fischer (Ramirez 71), Downing, Gestede (Negredo 85).
Subs not used: Valdes, Gibson, De Roon, Bamford.
Millwall 1 Leicester City 0
Leicester continue to find fresh ways to embarrass themselves this season, losing to League One opponents who had been reduced to ten men at the New Den.
January loan signing Molla Wague made his debut as Claudio Ranieri kept his promise to ring the changes ahead of a Champions League clash with Sevilla in midweek.
But the debutant rather epitomised the Foxes’ current travails when he went off injured in the second half. He’s suffered a shoulder dislocation and now faces a spell on the sidelines.
Millwall were down to ten men by the time Wague departed, but still managed to win the match late on.
Leicester’s FA Cup demise is likely to remain a moot point for Fantasy managers, unless non-league Sutton United pull off arguably the biggest upset of all time by beating Arsenal on Monday, as the Foxes are due to face the Gunners in Gameweek 28.
That likely blank and their wretched form continue to keep Leicester players off most managers’ radars.
Leicester City XI: Zieler, Amartey, Benalouane, Wague (Wasilewski 70), Chilwell, Gray (Vardy 73), King, Mendy, Kapustka (Albrighton 64), Okazaki, Musa.
Subs not used: Hamer, Ndidi, Mahrez, Fuchs.
Wolves 0 Chelsea 2
Chelsea boss Antonio Conte made seven changes to the side who were held to a draw by Burnley, but still fielded Eden Hazard, Pedro and Diego Costa.
And it was that added injection of class that finally saw off a spirited Wolves, with the latter pair scoring second half goals to see the Blues into the last eight.
That, as was always expected, confirms their Gameweek 28 blank, as it does for opponents Watford.
The postponement could now dampen interest in Chelsea assets with Gameweek 28 in mind – but Costa and Hazard are among the top five for players transferred-in ahead of Gameweek 26’s home match with Swansea City. Notably, Costa remained the second most popular target, behind Mane, overnight despite the looming blank.
With trips to West Ham and Stoke and a home match with Crystal Palace to come, the Blues’ fine form should maintain such investment in their key targets.
Chelsea XI: Begovic, Zouma, Terry, Ake; Moses, Chalobah, Fabregas, Pedro (Azpilicueta 73), Willian (Kante 80), Costa, Hazard (Loftus-Cheek 86).
Subs not used: Eduardo, Cahill, Kenedy, Batshuayi.
