Dele Alli fires a brace to silence Stamford Bridge as Harry Kane’s return sends Fantasy managers back to the drawing board.
A superb second-half performance from Spurs saw them run out 3-1 winners over Chelsea on Sunday, as their “traditional” Fantasy midfield pair – Christian Eriksen and Alli – inflicted the damage.
Before Alli’s decisive intervention, it was Eriksen who had equalised Alvaro Morata‘s opening goal on the stroke of half-time.
The Dane’s sublime dipping effort came from a Ben Davies pass and was his first goal since Gameweek 25, taking him to eight for the campaign.
Alli then took over, first smartly converting a chipped Eric Dier through-ball, then firing home from a saved Son Heung-min shot.
A bit part player for England over the break, Alli is now showing compelling form on the domestic stage.
Sunday’s brace meant that he has returned three goals and two assists from his last three Gameweeks, having produced just a pair of assists in seven previous to that point.
That dry spell means that Alli has remained a relative differential, found in just 11.7% of squads. Meanwhile, Eriksen is owned by 14.1% of managers.
Their ownership has suffered as a result of Son’s form in recent Gameweeks, with the South Korean heading into Sunday’s match as the most signed midfielder.
Over 174,000 managers swooped for Son ahead of the Chelsea clash with Spurs’ two Double Gameweeks in mind.
He came out of Sunday with just an assist, a somewhat controversial one, with his shot taking a touch off Marcos Alonso before being turned into Alli’s path by Chelsea goalkeeper Willy Caballero.
While that kept Son’s Fantasy stock simmering, the return of Harry Kane could have an impact on his potential over the remaining Gameweeks.
Kane returns for Double Gameweeks
The England striker was a shock inclusion in Mauricio Pochettino’s squad to make the bench at Stamford Bridge.
He was eventually introduced for the final 16 minutes but will surely now start in the Gameweek 33 trip to Stoke City.
More significantly, he will be available to us as a Double Gameweek 34 asset for matches against Manchester City (home) and Brighton (away).
His return will likely shift Son back to a role on the flank which, in turn, will mean that his start could be challenged by Erik Lamela.
Son’s form should maintain his berth for now but the Korean’s minutes may well be in question over the final three Gameweeks, including the potential Double Gameweek 37.
Kane was sold by 610,000 managers ahead of Saturday’s deadline, who will now surely consider reversing that decision.
Those who activated the Wildcard ahead of Gameweek 32 will now either have to plan two transfers to acquire him for Gameweek 34, or have the funds available to make the move in one swoop.
A four-point hit is an alternative and, arguably, this could be justified early to capture Kane’s potential against Stoke City.
The other option, of course, is to ignore Kane and stick with Romelu Lukaku as the Double Gameweek big-hitter up front.
Kane is already the most signed player ahead of Gameweek 33 with over 30,000 snapping him up in the last 24 hours.
With a relatively modest ownership of just 1.4 million, the striker could potentially be a factor that splits active managers for the Double Gameweek. He will be a prime candidate for the captaincy among his owners, particularly if Man City have sealed the title before their trip to Wembley Stadium.
Not for the first time this season, then, Kane provides us with a dilemma as the Fantasy Football community ponders a number of potential strategies.
Chelsea Humbled
Sunday’s defeat could prove catastrophic for Chelsea’s top four ambitions and potentially knock on to their Fantasy prospects from this point on.
Willian boasted four goals and three assists from his previous six starts heading into Sunday’s contest. That was enough to tempt 133,000 managers to bring him in ahead of two Double Gameweeks to come.
He again outperformed team-mate Eden Hazard for goal threat by three shots to zero, with the latter relying on his six chances created to catch the eye.
But the pair were ultimately contained by the Spurs defence, with Morata’s goal – from a Victor Moses assist – the only Blues points on offer.
Hazard now has just a single assist in four league outings as his modest 401,000 ownership continues to dwindle.
Alonso is also struggling to justify his hefty price tag.
Chelsea have kept just a single clean sheet in their previous seven Gameweeks, while the Spaniard is without a goal or an assist since Gameweek 22 (seven starts).
Now eight points behind Spurs in fourth, there is real concern that the Blues’ season will drift with the FA Cup semi-final against Southampton becoming the focus.
That could severely damage the prospect of Willian and Alonso over the forthcoming Double Gameweeks, and may be reflected in Wildcards played ahead of Gameweek 33.
