The race for the Golden Boot proves decisive in the final fixture of Double Gameweek 37 as Harry Kane runs riot at Leicester City on a night that will live long in FPL folklore.
On the Rise
Harry Kane
Spurs’ title aspirations may have been quashed prior to their first match of Double Gameweek 37, but Harry Kane lacked little motivation in his bid to finish the season as the Premier League’s top scorer once again.
Starting the match two goals behind Romelu Lukaku in the Golden Boot race, Kane notched four times and supplied an assist in a 6-1 win over Leicester City’s patched-up defence, earning 24 points and taking his overall tally to 31 for Double Gameweek 37 – the highest individual score of 2016/17.
His output sent shockwaves through FPL mini-leagues. Perhaps wary of last year’s capitulation after the Foxes pipped them to the title, only 5.5% opted to captain Kane, with just two of the top 100 FPL managers ahead of Double Gameweek 37 affording him the armband.
That caution was punished as Kane showed just why he’s now regarded as Fantasy royalty with a devastating blitz against Craig Shakespeare’s side. An average of 7.1 points per match sees him leapfrog Alexis Sanchez’s 6.9 as the best on show, with last night’s haul also topping the Chilean’s 27 points for Arsenal’s pair of matches last week.
The bandwagon is now in full flow – Kane is second only to Liverpool’s Philippe Coutinho for transfers-in over the last 24 hours, with many now looking to hand him the armband for Sunday’s trip to relegated Hull City.
Son Heung-Min
It says everything about Kane’s performance that the South Korean’s two goals and an assist were completely overshadowed.
While Dele Alli mustered just an assist and Christian Eriksen was surprisingly handed the night off, Son flourished in a central role in Pochettino’s 3-4-2-1, ending the evening with 17 points – his first return in five appearances.
An impressive average of 148 minutes per goal is second only to Arsenal’s Sanchez (144 minutes) among FPL midfielders this season, yet Son’s security of pitch-time continues to remain an issue – he’s started just 22 league matches this term, with a further 11 appearances off the bench.
Going by last night’s performance, start number 23 could well be on the cards come Sunday, though a move back to 4-2-3-1 may be the only way to facilitate Son, Eriksen and Alli in the same line-up.
Ben Davies
An assist for Kane’s fourth maintained a fine run of form for the Spurs defender.
Owned by just 5% of FPL managers, Davies has proven a canny differential over the last few months since deputising for the stricken Danny Rose in Gameweek 24.
The Welshman has started each of the last 14 league matches either as a left-back or wing-back, returning three assists and seven clean sheets and creating 21 chances for team-mates – third among defenders over that stretch.
With Rose still stuck on the sidelines, Davies’ ability to provide points at either end could be in profit once again as Spurs make their way to the KCOM.
In Decline
Christian Eriksen, Dele Alli
While Kane and Son ran rings around Leicester’s rearguard, the Dane was surprisingly handed bench-warming duties from start to finish at the King Power.
Eriksen was captained by over 33,000 FPL managers as he looked a secure pick – he’d started 35 of his side’s 36 league matches prior to last night. Yet with his side facing three matches over eight days, Pochettino’s decision to give his playmaker a breather afforded Double Gameweek 37 one final twist.
On the upside, Eriksen’s owners will surely now expect a return to the teamsheet ahead of the Hull encounter and he’s bagged two sets of double-figures in his last three road trips.
Alli was named in the starting XI, but that hasn’t stopped him being the most sold Spurs player in the Gameweek – over 28,000 have now moved him on.
Worryingly for his 33% of FPL owners, Alli’s influence on the Spurs attack seems to be dwindling as the season comes to a close – he’s played a part in just four of the 19 goals his side have scored in their last seven league matches.
With Son making such a convincing case for inclusion and Eriksen rested, the England international could be the one to make way should Tottenham continue with a 3-4-2-1 set-up at the KCOM.
