We only hope for a smoother passage into Gameweek 15 after the midweek turbulence. We begin at the venue of some of Wednesday’s major rotation “crimes”, as Chelsea host Newcastle United at Stamford Bridge.
Our attention will be focused on Antonio Conte’s charges who, with an outstanding run of fixtures to come, have been major investment targets ahead of today’s deadline.
Striker Alvaro Morata has boosted his ownership by 102,000 ahead of the Magpies clash, having already added almost a million since Gameweek 9. The Spaniard has just two goals from his last six Gameweek starts, though was unfortunate with his six shots against Swansea, with opposing goalkeeper Lukasz Fabianski in outstanding form.
Eden Hazard is the other big attacking asset on show. He is owned by another 54,000+ ahead of today’s encounter, though he is still only part of 9.9% of squads, a somewhat surprising statistic given that he has produced 41 points from his previous five appearances, which included a nine-minute run-out on Wednesday.
Defender Andreas Christensen has proved a more popular transfer target than Hazard. His ownership has increased by 72,000 managers following a run of four successive starts that have delivered three clean sheets. The Dane starts in Conte’s defence again today.
For Newcastle, Rob Elliot is again on the bench as Karl Darlow earns the start. That provides confirmation that Rafa Benitez has revised the pecking order in goal, perhaps forcing more of Elliot’s 1.4 million ownership to market.
