A Palace pair delight, Coutinho comes good and the Vardy party shows no signs of flagging as Gameweek 30 kicks off an intensive week of Fantasy action.
But while the Eagles fly high, Costa and Mane bring many back down to earth and even Lukaku returns to more mortal ground.
Here’s Saturday’s Stock Check.
On the Rise
Wilfried Zaha, Christian Benteke
The perennial form versus fixtures debate animates plenty of us, but Crystal Palace are currently winning it hands-down for the former.
The Eagles have now won four straight, and yesterday’s victory at Chelsea was their finest recent hour, with a goal and an assist apiece for Zaha and Benteke.
The Ivory Coast winger, in particular, has caught the eye, scoring a superb solo goal on international duty while providing two goals and an assist across his last three domestic starts.
Benteke, meanwhile, built on a brace for Belgium on Tuesday with his first goal in six Palace starts at the Bridge.
The fixtures don’t get any easier for Sam Allardyce’s side – they have trips to Southampton and Arsenal and a home clash with the equally in-form Leicester City up next – but the Chelsea result proves that they’re a match for anyone at the moment.
Throw in a double Gameweek 34 – a daunting pair of Liverpool away and Spurs at Selhurst Park – and investing in the Eagles’ key assets still looks fraught with risk.
But that form…
Philippe Coutinho
It’s been a long time coming for the managers who’ve stuck by the Liverpool midfielder.
Coutinho’s goal in the Merseyside derby was only his second since returning from injury in Gameweek 21 in a spell during which the Brazilian didn’t even have his creativity to fall back on – his assist for Divock Origi’s strike yesterday was his first in those ten matches.
But with Adam Lallana and now Sadio Mane injured, Coutinho’s return to form looks welcome for us, and desperately needed for Liverpool.
There’s no double Gameweek to come for the Reds, although their fixtures should sweeten that pill, with a run-in that even Spurs can’t match among the top six.
The title might be beyond them, but a Champions League spot most assuredly isn’t.
Coutinho’s strongest hint yet that he’s getting back to his best could well prove to be beautifully timed – and more than 35,000 Fantasy Premier League managers have already brought him in ahead of Gameweek 31’s midweek schedule, making him the current top transfer target.
Divock Origi
Presented another opportunity to shine as a result of the injury to Sadio Mane, the Belgian striker again stepped up and grabbed it.
He’s produced a goal and two assists over his last four appearances, despite starting just one of those encounters.
With Bournemouth the visitors on Wednesday night and Origi looking an almost certain starter, he again presents a potentially explosive short-term differential for just 6.1.
Origi could be a perfect one Gameweek move prior to the big shift to the returning Zlatan Ibrahimovic.
Jamie Vardy
It’s not a matter of hints when it comes to Vardy – the Leicester striker’s form is explicit.
His goal in the Foxes’ 2-0 win over Stoke City made it for four in four matches and he’s also provided two assists over that spell, earning 36 points for an ownership base that’s nearly doubled as a result.
Vardy was Gameweek 30’s top transfer target, with 197,000+ new signings, and 4.5% of us captained him yesterday.
His seven-point haul was solid enough, and Tuesday’s home match with Sunderland promises at least more of the same.
A double Gameweek to come adds to his appeal, although Leicester have to travel to both Arsenal and Everton in the near future and there’s the small matter of a Champions League quarter-final to consider as well.
But Leicester won the title defying the odds and have rediscovered a taste for doing just that under Craig Shakespeare, with Vardy as its focal point.
Antonio Valencia
Second only to Vardy for transfers-in ahead of Gameweek 30, the Manchester United defender earned his 187,000+ new owners a clean sheet and two bonus points in the stalemate with West Brom.
Valencia’s consistency is currently the stuff of Fantasy dreams – he’s produced in six straight matches, with four shut-outs, two assists and a goal. He’s also provided five bonus points from his last five starts.
United’s defence has been as stingy as you’d expect from a Jose Mourinho side, but Valencia continues to offer strong attacking potential – he received more passes (27) in the final third than any other defender in yesterday’s matches.
Gameweek 34’s double, with another yet to be scheduled, is clearly central to his appeal.
On the downside, United’s squad is picking up injuries and Mourinho’s men are horrendously busy, with nine matches to play in April. It remains to be seen if Valencia falls victim to rotation but, as it stands, he’s currently looking vital to their cause.
Gareth McAuley
Just when we thought it was safe to ditch our West Brom defenders, the Baggies come up with a first clean sheet in six matches – and at Old Trafford to boot. More unlikely still, it was their first away blank since Gameweek 1.
McAuley remains an integral part of 32.5% of FPL teams, with his six goals this season having a major bearing on that, but he was benched by 465,000+ for Gameweek 30 – second only to Hull’s stopper Eldin Jakupovic. Kyle Walker’s rest to the Spurs bench will likely offer an auto-sub reprieve to many of those McAuley doubters.
Notably, McAuley also added two bonus points to his clean sheet tally courtesy of 18 Clearances, Blocks and Interceptions (CBI) in the Manchester bus-park.
Now that a tough treble of Everton, Arsenal and United is done, West Brom’s schedule softens slightly, with a trip to Watford followed by home matches with Southampton and Liverpool.
Although the Baggies don’t play in Gameweek 34, that does mean they have a double Gameweek still to come.
There’s enough promise left in West Brom’s season to suggest ditching McAuley and co isn’t the wisest option.
Jordan Pickford
Sunderland already looked doomed, but at least their keeper won’t go down without a fight.
Pickford didn’t keep a clean sheet at Watford – the Black Cats have managed only of those since the home fixture with the Hornets in Gameweek 17 – but his nine saves was more than any other stopper in yesterday’s matches and his biggest total in a single match this season.
Since returning from injury to reclaim his starting role, Pickford has provided seven save points from four matches.
Behind such a porous defence – only four teams have conceded more goals than Sunderland’s 51 – you’d think there should be plenty more of that before the season’s end.
A relatively kind schedule and a double Gameweek yet to come only add to the appeal of an in-form keeper costing just 4.1.
Dele Alli, Ben Davies
Chelsea’s slip-up against Palace kept the title race just about simmering, thanks to Spurs’ win at Burnley.
Dele Alli again did his bit – much to the relief of the near-130,000 new managers who invested in him – with an assist for Spurs’ second at Turf Moor.
The midfielder has rebounded from a three-match barren patch with three goals and two assists in his last four starts and Spurs’ accommodating run-in, plus a double Gameweek, bode well for the 29.7%-owned star.
Meanwhile, with Christian Eriksen having his corner-kick assist wiped off – it deflected off two Burnley defenders on it’s way to Eric Dier – the Dane is now losing his grip in the battle with Alli as Spurs’ prime midfield asset. Eriksen has produced just a goal and two assists in his last eight Gameweeks.
With Danny Rose’s injury issues ongoing, the 4.8-priced Ben Davies remains a great value way into a resolute Spurs back line.
That rearguard have now kept six clean sheets in ten matches and Davies has been involved in the last three of those, with an agonising 53-minute run-out at Sunderland meaning he missed out on a fourth by just seven minutes.
Swansea, Watford, Bournemouth and Palace are up next for Spurs.
Maya Yoshida
Southampton’s third clean sheet in seven Gameweeks arrived courtesy of some face-palming Bournemouth profligacy, but the 1.7% who own Yoshida took the clean sheet and a single bonus point without worrying about the details.
Priced at just 4.3, the Japanese centre-half started despite a busy international break, hinting that Claude Puel is perhaps still mindful of blooding Martin Cáceres just yet. With Jack Stephens most likely to rotate, Yoshida could well provide us ten appearances over the remaining eight Gameweeks. Six out of those remaining ten matches are at St Mary’s.
In Decline
Sadio Mane
A fourth goal in six starts for the Liverpool man…and then came the injury.
Jurgen Klopp effectively ruled the Senegal midfielder out of Wednesday night’s home match with Bournemouth – “When I saw him in the dressing room, it didn’t look like he’ll be ready for Wednesday” – and next Saturday’s trip to Stoke City could also come around too soon for Mane.
As mentioned above, Liverpool’s schedule is an attractive one, if offset by the lack of a double Gameweek to come.
Mane’s 9.6 price tag offers his 22.5% ownership base a large degree of financial freedom should they choose to look elsewhere – even a like-for-like swap involving Philippe Coutinho would leave them with 1.4 in the bank. The Brazilian, with his Bournemouth fixture in midweek, certainly provides a temptation, although Spurs’ Dele Alli is arguably the big draw over a longer period.
Diego Costa, Pedro
More than 14% of FPL managers made Costa Gameweek 30’s top captaincy pick, and he repaid that faith with a dismal one-point haul for the second match running.
Two goals and a pair of assists from his last seven starts is starting to try the patience of his 37.8% ownership, as is his wastefulness – he managed nine attempts against Palace to no avail.
Yes, Chelsea still have a double Gameweek. Yes, they’ll play five of their last nine matches at home. And yes, they’re still Chelsea despite yesterday’s shock defeat.
But Costa has been an expensive (10.7) passenger in recent weeks, and FPL managers could be excused for considering another companion to travel with as the season reaches the sharp end.
As mentioned in last night’s Knee Jerk, with Manchester United’s Zlatan Ibrahimovic now available, Costa’s stock is clearly in decline and continued sales have already followed. He’s been sold by 13,000+ since yesterday’s deadline, more than any other unflagged FPL player.
Pedro owners, boosted by a further 69,000+ ahead of the Palace encounter, were rewarded with the news that their man would be deployed in a wing-back role in the absence of the injured Victor Moses.
The Spaniard still created four chances and received 48 passes in the final third – second only to Eden Hazard in the Gameweek – but his attacking threat was clearly compromised by his increased defensive duties.
Even if Moses is back for Wednesday’s huge match with Man City, Pedro’s return to a more offensive role is far from assured. Willian’s 32-minute run-out on Saturday suggests he could start against City, and the Brazilian played considerably fewer minutes than Pedro over the international break.
Romelu Lukaku
While it seems almost churlish to criticise a man who blanked yesterday for the first time in five matches and still has five goals and a pair of assists over that time frame, the Belgian does love his home comforts.
Only eight of his 21 goals have come away from Goodison Park, and five of those were in two matches at Sunderland and Watford.
He’s now scored just twice in 12 away fixtures and failed to muster a single shot on goal at Anfield yesterday.
There’s no double Gameweek for Everton, and four of their eight remaining matches won’t be on Merseyside.
Factor in two tough home fixtures with Chelsea and Leicester and the Lukaku love-in – a romance that has seen his ownership double to more than two million over the past ten Gameweeks – could finally be petering out. Again, the return of Ibrahimovic is a factor.
Josh King
Another possibly harsh downgrade, the Bournemouth midfielder’s first negligible return in five matches was hardly down to his own efforts.
He laid one chance on a plate for Benik Afobe, while manager Eddie Howe confirmed that King would have taken the penalty that Harry Arter sent to the heavens had he still been on the field.
But the Cherries’ immediate future is the stuff of nightmares – a home encounter with Chelsea sandwiched by trips to Liverpool and Spurs – and the lack of a double Gameweek doesn’t help King’s cause either.
Bournemouth’s last five fixtures are very attractive. Whether King’s 13.2% ownership base will hold for those with double Gameweek assets available, is another matter.
