Liverpool breeze past Bournemouth at the Vitality Stadium, with Mohamed Salah among the goals once again. Though it is Philippe Coutinho and Roberto Firmino who outstrip the Egyptian, as both deliver double-digit hauls in a 4-0 victory.
Selected as the top captain choice in a Gameweek for the first time this season, Mohamed Salah justified that backing.
Afforded the armband by 20.9% of Fantasy Premier League (FPL) managers, Salah scored his fourteenth league goal of 2017/18, returning eight points.
Atoning for a rare blank in the previous Gameweek against West Brom, Salah has now produced returns in nine of Liverpool’s last ten league outings ahead of a trip to Arsenal on Friday evening.
It’s testament to how crucial he is to the Merseysiders right now that his manager was keen to give the winger a breather, replacing Salah on 70 minutes with the Reds already up by four goals and cruising at that point.
Encouragingly for their Fantasy backers, Liverpool are the only top five side without a midweek Carabao Cup fixture, ensuring they’ll be further refreshed by the time they face the Gunners.
With back-to-back home encounters against Swansea and Leicester then to follow, Salah – and Liverpool – have the platform to go on delivering.
Brazilians bag double-digits
While Salah extended his lead over the chasing FPL pack to over 20 points, he was overshadowed by team-mates Philippe Coutinho and Roberto Firmino in the Vitality Stadium stroll.
Both the Brazilians delivered a goal and assist apiece to claim 13 and 12 points respectively.
Stationed on the left of the front three as Sadio Mane dropped to the bench, Coutinho fired seven shots on goal, matching Salah’s four efforts inside the box.
Incredibly, he has now played five away matches this season and produced 10+ points on four occasions.
Next up, he visits Arsenal side that he scored twice against in a 4-3 win in the corresponding fixture last season.
Second only to Salah in terms of points per match (ppm) by 7.3 to 7.5 among all regular players, he’s shaping up as a very strong festive differential with an ownership of just 11%.
Despite a slow start to the season, Firmino now racked up four goals and two assists in his last four starts across all competitions.
As a result, he’s climbed to fifth in the FPL forward standings on 82 points – just four points behind premium priced pair Alvaro Morata and Sergio Aguero.
The Reds’ frontman was dumped by over 79,000 FPL owners ahead of Gameweek 18 after failing to deliver against the Baggies in midweek.
But that trend is now being reversed – Firmino is the third most bought player over the last 24-hours as many look to Jurgen Klopp’s attack to take advantage of their favourable upcoming fixtures.
Despite this, the threat of rotation over the festive period should not be overlooked. The Gameweek 20 fixture with Swansea City at Anfield will be identified as a hot-spot for returns for both Brazilians. However, arriving four days before another home fixture with Leicester City and four days after the Arsenal test, we should expect Jurgen Klopp to shuffle his pack for the Swans clash in particular.
Then in Gameweek 22, Liverpool will go to Burnley four days before a Merseyside derby FA Cup clash with Everton. While Liverpool could field a weakened XI, there will be pressure on Klopp to preserve some star men – unlike many other Premier League sides who will doubtless turn to the second string for their third round ties.
Reds resilience on the rise
The 4-0 win over Eddie Howe’s side helped Liverpool claim back-to-back clean sheets for the first time since Gameweek 3.
Promisingly for Klopp, his side are now keeping out opponents on the road, too – after conceding 16 times in their first six away matches, they have allowed just one goal in the subsequent three.
Indeed, since their chastening 4-1 loss at Spurs in Gameweek 9, Klopp’s side have shipped just four goals in nine league matches – only Burnley (three) can boast a stronger record.
Installed to the Reds’ back-four in Gameweek 15 as a result of Alberto Moreno’s recent injury, Andrew Robertson supplied the assist for Coutinho’s opener to return nine points yesterday.
Looking at the statistics, the Scot’s performances will have given his manager food for thought once Moreno returns to contention.
Over the last four Gameweeks, Robertson is ranked second top for Liverpool when it comes to clearances, blocks and interceptions (CBI), with 20, winning all five of his tackles. Both are crucial statistics in the Bonus Points System.
Going forward, only Salah and Coutinho have had more touches in the final third during that period, while Robertson sits second for attempted crosses (14).
Injuries adding up for Howe
After yesterday’s home hammering, the Cherries now have a weekend trip to Manchester City on their agenda next.
Eddie Howe has injury concerns at both ends of the pitch after two of his key first-team regulars were forced off against the Reds.
“We don’t know the situation with either player, it’s a huge worry though regarding Charlie Daniels and Joshua King. It was a hamstring injury with King and a groin injury for Daniels so we’re not sure at the moment. Callum Wilson had an injection in his knee for a really minute problem. It’s nothing serious”.
Owned by 11% of FPL managers, Daniels is Bournemouth’s most popular player heading into the festive matches.
Over 20,000 owners have already parted company with the left-back, though – if fit – he could still profit from the schedule after the Etihad clash has passed.
Bournemouth will then host West Ham and Everton before travelling to Brighton on New Year’s Day.
