A surprise blank for Mohamed Salah makes it a bad start to Gameweek 36 for many as Stoke City hold Liverpool to a goalless draw.
A collective laugh of disbelief went round Anfield when Salah, put through by Jordan Henderson’s pass, missed an early golden opportunity against the Potters. It was, after all, the kind of chance he’s gobbled up all season.
Still, there was plenty of time for the league’s top scorer to prevail against a team with only two clean sheets on the road all season.
By the end of the match, Stoke had made it three, and more than 50,000 fans in the ground, and some 3.5 million Fantasy Premier League (FPL) managers across the globe, were not so amused.
Humour was in particularly short supply among the 1.6 million (29%) who handed him the armband, with a further 40,000 Triple Captaining the Egyptian – 61.7% of those using the chip in Gameweek 36.
Salah’s blank was the first time he’d failed to score at home since Gameweek 24, and only the second time in his last 11 starts. The other was at Man Utd, in Gameweek 30, when he was captained by 966,699 (16.6%), compared to the 1.5 million (27.28%) on Harry Kane.
The roles have been reversed now, with Kane hosting Watford on Monday night backed by 17.8% with the armband, including 54 of FPL’s top 100 managers – Salah was backed by 40.
The 34.7%-owned Spurs striker was already the most signed player of the Gameweek, with 241,417 new owners, and a decent haul against the Hornets will have a major impact on FPL ranks, as well as confirming that the race for the Golden Boot is back on.
The lack of a Double Gameweek 37 meant this match was a last hurrah for Salah as far as some owners were concerned, particularly as Liverpool’s sole fixture next week involves a trip to Chelsea.
But while other Reds assets experienced sales heading into Gameweek 36, Salah’s ownership actually increased, albeit by a marginal 8,726.
His backers endured a frustrating day, with the winger firing in seven shots, six from inside the box, more than any other player in the Gameweek so far. But it was to no avail, while Liverpool had 20 shots overall – their most in a match without scoring.
To add to the mix, cameras appeared to show Salah lashing out towards Bruno Martins Indi, though there is no suggestion as yet that this will lead to an FA review and a potential suspension.
The draw means Liverpool’s top-four place is still not guaranteed, which will likely urge coach Jurgen Klopp to continue fielding strong sides despite the demands of Champions League action.
The likes of Salah, Roberto Firmino and a fit Sadio Mane could, therefore, still produce solid points in a full-strength and well-motivated side.
But that single fixture in Gameweek 37 has made up many managers’ minds – the four most sold players are currently all from Liverpool, with Salah trailing Firmino at the top of that list.
Klopp rings the changes
The injury to Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain in the Champions League tie with Roma prompted Klopp to declare that he would have to be creative to fill the midfield hole that resulted.
His response was to rest James Milner and move full-back Trent Alexander-Arnold further up the pitch.
That was a potentially lucrative move for the 4.9% of managers who own the 4.4-priced defender, although it ended up securing them just the six points from a clean sheet as he was replaced by Milner after 64 minutes with a knock.
The Liverpool coach was also forced into another change as Mane picked up a minor injury and played no part in the match at all, although he is expected to be fine for the midweek match in Rome according to Klopp’s update.
Danny Ings came in for the Senegalese international, a move that persuaded 6,800+ managers to take a punt on the striker.
The logic was sound – if Liverpool, as expected, put Stoke to the sword early enough, Ings might well get on the scoresheet and stay on the pitch for the full 90 minutes as Klopp took the chance to rest Salah and Firmino for Wednesday’s vital trip to Italy.
The Potters’ obduracy put paid to all that, with Ings lasting a mere 64 minutes while the star attacking duo played the full match.
Change was in the air at the back as well, with Ragnar Klavan coming in for Dejan Lovren and Alberto Moreno replacing Andrew Robertson, who was benched for a second Gameweek in three.
The Scottish left-back had been signed by 10,431 ahead of today’s deadline, with his ownership rising by 89,929 since Gameweek 32.
He, along with Mane, is now among those four Liverpool players suffering early Gameweek 37 sales.
The result did at least make it four clean sheets in six Gameweeks for Klopp’s defence, with Virgil van Dijk and Loris Karius the big beneficiaries in Fantasy terms as they’ve started all those matches and seem to be rotation-proof.
Post-match, Klopp gave an update on knocks suffered by Alexander- Arnold (dead leg), Jordan Henderson and Joe Gomez, though all three will be expected to be in contention for Wednesday’s tie in Rome.
“How it always is after a game, [we have] knocks here and there. Hendo obviously twisted his ankle but could carry on, so that’s rather good than a bad sign.
“But until Wednesday is not the longest break in the world, so we will see. Joe got an early knock as well and twisted his ankle as well a little bit, so we will have to see about that. We will see.”
Stoke clinging on
The Potters arrived at Anfield with the worst away record across England’s top four tiers, with just nine points from an available 51.
Results elsewhere slightly devalued the point they then earned, but keeping just a second clean sheet in 11 matches is a step in the right direction ahead of their final two fixtures (CRY swa).
They were out-shot 20-5, but keeper Jack Butland was only required to make two stops as he failed to return a save point for just the second time in 11 Gameweeks.
That meant Erik Pieters instead gathered bonus for the Potters – his first extra points of the season – which was fitting given his role in keeping Salah off the scoresheet.
Maximum bonus went to Joe Gomez, with fellow defender Klavan picking up an extra point for his day’s work.
