Zlatan Ibrahimovic steers Man United to an easy victory on Wearside as Antonio Valencia misses out again. Later in the day, a brace from Romelu Lukaku ends Leicester City’s winning streak, with Marc Albrighton in the points once again for the beaten Foxes at Goodison Park.
On the Rise
Zlatan Ibrahimovic
The top captaincy pick for Gameweek 32, United’s frontman delivered a goal and assist in an early afternoon stroll at the Stadium of Light.
As the schedule picks up pace, Ibrahimovic seems reinvigorated as a result of serving a recent three-match suspension – he’d scored once in five prior to that ban but has netted in back-to-back league matches upon his return.
While his manager’s teamsheet raised a few eyebrows elsewhere, the Swede’s importance in the final third was all too evident as they prepare for a run of eight fixtures in the final six Gameweeks.
Up to 29% ownership, a home clash with Chelsea has deterred plenty for now – bearing in mind that Harry Kane and Romelu Lukaku host Bournemouth and Burnley respectively next weekend, only 7,000+ have turned to Ibrahimovic compared to Kane’s 28,000+ new owners.
We can expect the bandwagon to pick up significantly thereafter, though, with the summer signing looking one of the few rotation-free options amongst Jose Mourinho’s squad.
Henrikh Mkhitaryan
An early second-half strike on Wearside took the Armenian’s tally to two goals and an assist in his last four league starts.
Yet today was only the second time in United’s previous five league matches that Mkhitaryan found a place in their first XI, with his debut season in the Premier League continuing to be managed by Mourinho.
While Ibrahimovic’s deadly eye for goal makes him more or less undroppable, there’s no doubt that opting for the former Dortmund man doesn’t come without a significant degree of risk.
If he can push on from today’s performance, though, Mkhitaryan may yet prove an effective differential from Gameweek 34 onwards, with an ownership of just 2% in FPL.
Eric Bailly
Although Luke Shaw caught the eye with a second assist in as many Gameweeks, Bailly looks a far more assured starter in Mourinho’s back-four.
With Antonio Valencia once again missing out, the Ivorian staked a claim for a place in our Wildcards after being afforded a sixth start in seven since returning from the Africa Cup of Nations.
Bailly has delivered four clean sheets and six bonus points over those last six outings and, at a price of 5.4, could prove a profitable route into a rearguard that’s conceded just 24 times this term – second only to Spurs’ 22 for goals against.
Romelu Lukaku
While Phil Jagielka (goal and assist) and Kevin Mirallas (two assists) also deserve recognition, it was Lukaku who was our main focal point amongst the Everton contingent after blanking in back-to-back Gameweeks.
The most popular player in FPL, the Belgian’s brace brought Leicester’s winning streak to an end and extended his scoring run at Goodison to seven successive league appearances.
With a home encounter against Burnley up next, his 45% owners will be more than happy to hold as he battles Kane for the Gameweek 33 armband.
With Spurs and United braced for double Gameweeks, Everton’s lack of a pair of fixtures undoubtedly stacks against Lukaku, yet today’s output served a timely reminder of his explosive potential.
On the downside, once the Burnley clash has passed next weekend, just two of his final five matches are at Goodison, and one of them is against Chelsea. Away from home, Lukaku has one goal in his last seven.
Marc Albrighton
Restored to the starting XI for today’s trip to Goodison, Leicester’s budget winger picked up the points once again courtesy of a finely-taken first-half free-kick.
Fully recovered from illness, Albrighton now has a goal and four assists in five league outings under Craig Shakespeare, compared with just a single assist in the opening 25 Gameweeks with Claudio Ranieri at the helm.
The Foxes schedule is somewhat mixed – clashes with Palace, West Brom, Watford and Bournemouth are missed with encounters against Arsenal, Man City and Spurs – yet their form prior to today’s defeat indicates they could yet profit.
Priced at just 4.9, Albrighton – who boasts a 1% ownership – could prove a decent midfield enabler, given that two of those fixtures will hand Leicester a double Gameweek at a later date.
In Decline
Antonio Valencia
The United right-back’s owners were already reeling from his omission from the midweek match with Everton after Mourinho explained that he was “really, really tired” due to recent commitments for club and country.
Much to the chagrin of his 17% FPL owners, Valencia missed out yet again for the trip to Wearside, with his manager stating post-match that he hoped the defender can return for Thursday’s Europa League quarter-final with Anderlecht.
“I think (Antonio) Valencia is the only one who can recover to play Thursday”.
That would indicate that the Ecuadorian may well be carrying an injury of sorts, a setback that proves all the more frustrating considering that Valencia approached this period in his finest form of the season, with attacking or defensive points in eight of his last nine league appearances.
Regardless, at a time when the Red Devils will be gearing up for two double Gameweeks, the transfers out are escalating – among FPL defenders, only Spurs’ Kyle Walker has been sold by more managers so far ahead of the Gameweek 33 clash with Chelsea.
Jermain Defoe
It’s nine blanks in ten now for Defoe and Sunderland as David Moyes’ men slipped another step closer towards the Championship.
Sold by over 67,000 FPL managers last week, the Black Cats frontman remains in over 20% of squads ahead of a very favourable run that sees him square up to West Ham, Middlesbrough, Bournemouth, Hull and Swansea.
Yet with the competition for our three-man frontlines fiercer than ever as we fine-tune plans for the second Wildcard, Defoe faces a tough task to remain in contention. Indeed, among FPL forwards, only Diego Costa has been subject to more sales than the veteran since yesterday’s deadline.
Jamie Vardy
Scorer of five goals in as many Gameweeks, while Vardy kept his tally ticking over with the assist for Albrighton’s free-kick, he was later hooked on the hour-mark as Leicester preserved their star asset ahead of the midweek Champions League tie.
With Craig Shakespeare also benching Riyad Mahrez, there was an obvious statement of intent made which has to dent Vardy’s prospects from this point on.
The Foxes take on Atletico Madrid on Wednesday, with an away trip to Crystal Palace following in Gameweek 33 prior to the home return leg with the Spaniards.
It remains to be seen how that impacts on the weekend teamsheet and Vardy’s pitch time, although with so many prime options now available up front and three successive away fixtures to come, many will doubtless be considering an exit plan.
