With the day billed as a head-to-head between Harry Kane and Romelu Lukaku, it was the Spurs man who ultimately came out on top – rewarding those who move to adopt him early to maximise his potential as a short-term differential.
The gap was six points – hardly a huge margin but enough to elevate Kane’s status and ensure that he’s currently second only to Zlatan Ibrahimovic – with Manchester United’s two fixtures – for transfers in ahead of Gameweek 34 so far.
In contrast, Lukaku looks destined for an ownership loss as traffic moves to Ibrahimovic: there is already a deficit with only Diego Costa, and Jamie Vardy sold more among forwards at this point.
Selling Lukaku remains a scary prospect – with 12 goals in ten, 13 in his last eight at home – the Everton striker could easily punish the shift to the United man.
He will face a trip to West Ham, while Ibrahimovic squares up to both Burnley and Manchester City away. With a Goodison Park encounter with Chelsea to follow before we shift to Double Gameweek assets, for many Fantasy managers, today will be the final farewell for Lukaku – a player who has been a spectacular servant since the season’s mid-way point.
Kane is heading in the opposite direction.
While the Spurs midfield is awash with consistent options – a fact demonstrated again in today’s win over Bournemouth – Kane is surely now the premium striker of choice.
Mauricio Pochettino’s side are in irrepressible form, with Kane now back installed as the spearhead to feed off the first-class service provided by Christian Eriksen and Son Heung-min in particular.
Kane went into the today’s encounter as part of 590,000 squads, with 251,000 of those owners immediately trusting him with the captaincy.
He was to score and assist for only the third time this season, sealing the maximum bonus to double Lukaku’s six-point tally.
Having delivered on the armband, Fantasy managers are now faced with a dilemma.
Ibrahimovic is clearly being brought in for his two fixtures as the default captaincy option and yet Spurs’ form, even heading into a testing trip to Crystal Palace, is difficult to ignore.
Looking at the past four matches for all sides, Pochettino’s men have scored 13 goals – five more than any other side. They also lead the way for attempts, shots in the box and big chances.
Comparing them directly with United, they’ve recorded 38 shots on target compared to 21 from Jose Mourinho’s side when both sides’ last four matches are considered.
Even if we can be certain that Ibrahimovic will figure in both his Gameweek 34 fixtures, it’s debatable whether he can better Kane’s potential output.
Spurs are seemingly hellbent on maintaining their title challenge, and the striker himself appears focused on closing on Lukaku in the Golden Boot race.
It wouldn’t be the first time that Spurs and Kane have outscored double Gameweek assets and punished those who dare overlook them. In Gameweek 34 last season, they hit four at Stoke City with Kane firing a brace after 200,000 shipped him out.
Nobody will be selling Kane this time around, but it’s the armband decision that looks key.
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