Charlie Austin delivers for Southampton once again, ensuring a hard-fought draw on the south coast as Fantasy managers prepare to abandon their short-term investment in Bournemouth.
The Saints striker returned to the starting XI today after being omitted for the midweek run-around at Manchester City.
Austin responded by scoring another vital goal, the equaliser from a Nathan Redmond assist, to make it three from his last two starts.
Based on data from the last three Gameweeks, only Alvaro Morata and Alexandre Lacazette can better Austin’s eight shots in the box – and that despite being limited to a brief cameo in midweek.
That statistic, along with his three goals, highlights his potential as a budget option available for just 6.0 in Fantasy Premier League.
He will take his opportunities when given pitch-time, but a lack of mobility has previously held the striker back, with manager Mauricio Pellegrino largely turning to Manolo Gabbiadini and Shane Long to lead his attack.
Pellegrino may now find it difficult to overlook Austin, although a congested festive schedule, coupled with the 28-year-old’s propensity to pick up injuries, will ensure that his minutes and starts are managed further.
Southampton’s fixtures also stacks the odds against him as a Fantasy asset.
He’ll face Arsenal, Chelsea, Spurs and Manchester United over the next six Gameweeks; hardly match-ups that encourage renewed interest in the Saints after we were burned by Pellegrino’s side over their incredibly favourable opening to the campaign.
The defence remains the popular area of the squad, with Ryan Bertrand (8.4%) and Fraser Forster (8%) the most owned players.
However, the backline have now have kept just one clean sheet in the last ten Gameweeks and there’s little to suggest that they can improve on that over a punishing run of opponents.
Cherries reach their sell-by date
Ryan Fraser scored in his first start since Gameweek 5, but it’s his fellow midfielder Andrew Surman who continues to offer solid value.
Surman’s assist today took him to three for the season, all of which have arrived in the last six Gameweeks.
He’s also scored twice and his seven-point showing against the Saints, which included two bonus, took him to a club-leading 57 points for the season – and all for just 4.8.
Things were rather less rosy for the 5.4% of managers with Callum Wilson (6.1) as their third striker, however.
Having boosted his ownership by 342,000+ since a Gameweek 12 hat-trick against Huddersfield, Wilson was denied a fifth successive start today and failed to produce from a 21-minute appearance from the bench.
He lost over 6,000 owners heading into Gameweek 15 and has already shed another 10,000 coming out of it. That will surely only increase ahead of next weekend’s deadline.
Elsewhere, the Cherries’ most popular FPL asset, Charlie Daniels (13.3%), also delivered little as Eddie Howe’s men were denied a clean sheet for the second successive home match, having secured three straight shut-outs in the three previous fixtures.
Next Saturday’s trip to Crystal Palace marks the end of a strong run of fixtures since Gameweek 11.
Adam Smith – recalled for Steve Cook on Sunday – will miss that Eagles clash having picked up his fifth booking today – he was controversially booked for simulation in the penalty area by referee Jonathan Moss, who reportedly later admitted the error.
Following the Selhurst Park encounter, Howe’s men will face a visit from Liverpool sandwiched between trips to both Manchester clubs.
The fixtures do soften considerably from Gameweek 20, and that might just be enough to offer Daniels, if not Wilson, a stay of execution.
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