A Harry Kane goal moves matters from bad to bearable for many as Brighton and Spurs play out a 1-1 draw in the first of Gameweek 34’s double fixtures.
The striker’s Saturday night blank against Man City had stoked fears of captain/Triple Captain debacles for a large chunk of Fantasy Premier League (FPL) managers, with Kane (18.28%) second only to Liverpool’s Mohamed Salah (18.32%) for the Gameweek 34 armband.
But even with the England international’s first goal in six league appearances last night, it still took two bonus points for him to finally outscore the prodigious Egyptian by ten points to eight – from an extra fixture, lest we forget.
The bonus award was his first in a match in which he’d scored since Gameweek 24, which was a timely return to that particular points party and redemption, of sorts, for the 71,000+ who staked their Triple Captain chip on Kane.
But overall, Spurs’ defeat and a draw from their two fixtures was as disappointing as the Fantasy returns from their players, with Kane’s double-digit score (his first since Gameweek 23) the pick of a decidedly measly bunch.
Both the player and the team will need to improve if the striker is to be confirmed as the Triple Captain of choice for Gameweek 37 (wba NEW).
Kane now has a clear and convincing rival for that honour. The news that Sergio Aguero could miss the rest of the season following knee surgery promotes Gabriel Jesus as an alternative for the chip in Gameweek 37, with Man City boasting an even more attractive double (HUD BHA) in the penultimate round of fixtures.
Kane brushed aside criticism of his recent successful goal appeal, after a match that leaves Spurs eight points clear of Chelsea in the race for a top four finish, with the Blues having a game in hand.
“People are going to jump on the bandwagon and have a bit of fun on social media. But it’s my job to be able to be out there on the pitch and do my best for the team and work hard.
It’s just part of the game in this day and age.
People can have their opinion; it doesn’t bother me in the slightest. Some people can laugh at it but I’m just focused on my own job.Salah’s been doing well and we’ve both got four games left so we’ll just have to wait and see.
We’ve just got to finish strong; we finished strong last season and got in the Champions League so that’s what we’re aiming to do this year.”
Kane’s pursuit of Salah in the race for the Golden Boot will surely nullify any threat of rotation, though that clearly hangs over other Spurs players while Mauricio Pochettino seeks FA Cup glory.
He threw a major spanner in many a manager’s works by making six changes ahead of the weekend’s semi-final clash with Man United, with Kane, Christian Eriksen, Hugo Lloris, Jan Vertonghen and Ben Davies the only players to start both Gameweek 34 matches.
Should Spurs prevail in the cup this weekend, Pochettino’s willingness to rotate his squad will be worth bearing in mind for both that second Double Gameweek and the final-day fixture, at home to Leicester City.
It certainly burned Dele Alli’s 14.2% ownership this week. He didn’t even make the bench for the Brighton match, which meant a princely two points delivered across the pair of matches.
Son Heung-min’s 17% manager base were at least treated to his return at the Amex, the South Korean starting ahead of Erik Lamela and setting up Kane’s goal for a relatively respectable six points from 116 minutes of Double Gameweek 34 action.
He now has four goals and two assists from his last five starts, but the emergence of both Lamela and Lucas Moura, who was handed a first league start on Tuesday, means that midfield minutes for all but Eriksen are not exactly assured.
The one factor in Son’s favour is his fine home form. Three of Spurs’ last four fixtures will be at Wembley, where he has scored nine of 12 goals and provided five of seven assists this season.
Fantasy managers seem unmoved by that – Son’s Gameweek 35 blank has persuaded more than 41,000 of them to make him the most sold player ahead of the weekend’s matches.
Sales in Spurs defenders could be forthcoming as well. The backline now has no clean sheet in five matches, having produced four from the previous five.
Spurs’ schedule (WAT wba NEW LEI) might be one of the best once the reduced Gameweek 35 is done, but that lack of resilience could persuade us to stock up on attacking assets only for the final push.
Gross steers Brighton closer to safety
It will take remarkable finishes from both Southampton and Stoke City to deny Brighton their Premier League survival now, but that’s not going to make their end to the season any easier.
A tricky trip to Burnley follows their Gameweek 35 blank, and then it’s the run-in from hell – Man United at home and visits to Man City and Liverpool.
It might be a double, but Gameweek 37’s entirely Mancunian make-up suggests twice as much pain as points, and it will take a brave Fantasy manager to stick with many of their assets from here on in.
Pick of last night’s crop was Pascal Gross, who broke a four-match barren spell with the equaliser against Spurs.
That, in turn, ruined the Fantasy appeal of Glenn Murray, as the German took over the veteran forward’s penalty-taking duties to secure a point for the Seagulls.
Having missed from the spot as recently as Gameweek 32, Murray accepted Chris Hughton’s stance.
“Sometimes you’ve got to go with his decision. I respect him as a manager and he’s my boss. That was his decision and it turned out to be the right one.
We don’t really practice them in training, but Pascal has always been second on the list. With me missing my second one, it was only right that Pascal got his chance.”
Jose Izquierdo picked up an assist for his part in the penalty, meaning he equalled Gross’ 12-point return from Double Gameweek 34 following a goal in the 3-2 weekend loss at Crystal Palace.
As a result, the 0.3%-owned Colombian emerged as a fine differential from the double, whereas Murray’s 7.2% ownership gained only eight points – he also scored against the Eagles.
Meanwhile, the 3.4% hoping for bumper save points from goalkeeper Mat Ryan had to make do with one each from the two fixtures as the Seagulls extended their run without a clean sheet to 13 matches.
That horrific run-in makes him and his team-mates poor prospects now.
Even Gross lacks appeal, particularly as he has scored all six of his goals at home this season, whereas three of Brighton’s last four matches are on the road.
