Newcastle United eased their relegation worries slightly and pushed Huddersfield Town closer to the drop with a 2-0 win over the ten-man Terriers on Saturday.
The one-sided contest was settled by Fantasy Premier League forwards Salomon Rondon and Ayoze Perez but it was the home debut of a new mid-price FPL midfielder, Miguel Almiron, that set tongues wagging before and after the match.
We’ll assess how the Paraguayan fared on his first Premier League start and round up the other Fantasy talking points from the Magpies’ third straight home win.
Newcastle United 2-0 Huddersfield Town
- Goals: Salomon Rondon (£5.8m), Ayoze Perez (£6.1m)
- Assists: Isaac Hayden (£4.3m), Salomon Rondon
First, the caveats.
This was the easiest of Newcastle victories over a fairly wretched Huddersfield Town side, who are winless in 14 Premier League matches and who played the bulk of this match with ten men following the 20th-minute dismissal of right-back Tommy Smith (£4.4m).
Neither the Magpies nor home debutant Miguel Almiron (£6.0m) will likely enjoy a fixture as comfortable as this for the rest of the season, with the shot count of 29 to three summing up just how much of a mismatch this contest was after Smith’s red card.
Even accounting for the pitiful opposition, however, there was much for both Newcastle supporters and Fantasy managers to be enthused about regarding Almiron’s display.
It was no surprise that Newcastle’s January transfer window signing from Atlanta United was at the centre of the game’s most pivotal moment: Almiron’s quickness of thought and movement proving too much for the leaden-footed Smith, whose studs-up tackle on the Paraguay international led to a straight red card from referee Kevin Friend.
Almiron’s speed was cited as a key asset upon his arrival on Tyneside and that turn of pace was in evidence early in this match, with the Paraguayan attacking midfielder racing clear of the Huddersfield defence and chipping an effort onto Jonas Lossl‘s (£4.4m) right-hand post – Salomon Rondon (£5.8m) striking the same part of the woodwork when following up Almiron’s effort.
Almiron twice tested Lossl just after Smith’s sending off, while no player on show at St. James’ Park registered more key passes than the former Atlanta United star.
As well as coming within inches of a first goal in English football, Almiron was perhaps unfortunate not to collect an assist: Ayoze Perez (£6.1m) scuffing a shot wide from the Paraguayan’s excellent pass and then Sean Longstaff (£4.5m) cracking the woodwork after being teed up by Newcastle’s club-record signing.
Rafael Benitez said of Almiron’s full debut:
Almiron is a different kind of player, with the pace and the movements we were looking for. He did well today and it was a pity he couldn’t score with the chances he had.
He was doing what we were expecting. He has energy, he is running all over the pitch. He is trying to link with other players. I think it was a great game for him and the fans to enjoy.Everything we have seen is what we were expecting from him. Obviously, the defenders from the other teams will know him a little bit better now and it will be more difficult for him.
But still, he is someone who is working really hard, so I think he can do well.
Now he has to learn in the Premier League to understand what the physicality of the game means here, but I think he has the right mentality.
Those words of caution from the Newcastle head coach are certainly worth bearing in mind, with an ever-improving Burnley side that are unbeaten in eight Premier League matches the next visitors to Tyneside.
Almiron can surely expect some close attention from Phil Bardsley (£4.2m) on Tuesday night, while only two clubs have conceded fewer goals than the Clarets during their excellent run from Gameweeks 20 to 27.
Having named an unchanged team for the last four Gameweeks, Benitez made only one alteration to his starting XI from the 1-1 draw with Wolves: Almiron replacing Christian Atsu (£5.1m) on the left of United’s front three.
There were positive signs that Almiron’s arrival could prove beneficial to Perez and Rondon’s Fantasy appeal, too, with that attacking trio dovetailing nicely and showing some good understanding despite having limited time together.
The fact that all three of those players are Spanish-speaking would surely only aid their interplay.
Rondon and Perez indeed had more attempts on goal and penalty box touches than Almiron, racking up a combined 13 shots between them.
It was not far off this time last season that Perez went on his scoring run of six goals in eight league matches and the Spanish forward’s link-up play with Almiron was particularly impressive.
Most Fantasy managers will perhaps be more interested in Salomon Rondon (£5.8m) than Perez, however, given his cheaper price and more sustained goal threat.
There were certainly plenty of opportunities on Saturday for the Venezuelan striker, who twice tested Lossl’s reflexes early on before missing a glorious headed chance just before half-time.
The concern from a Fantasy perspective is that he is perhaps just not clinical enough in the box, with even his goal just after the break coming from a shot that was fired straight at Lossl (the ball passing through the Dane’s legs) from eight yards out.
At £5.8m, though, deficiencies have to be expected. The fact remains that Rondon has already banked 11 attacking returns in a side with the second-lowest goalscoring rate in the Premier League this season and has registered more attempts on goal and shots in the box than any FPL forward in the sub-£6.0m bracket.
Rondon banked his second double-digit haul of the season at St. James’ Park yesterday when teeing up Perez for Newcastle’s second goal, the Venezuela international going on to collect three bonus points.
Budget FPL midfielders Isaac Hayden (£4.3m) and Longstaff continue to keep Mohamed Diame (£4.8m), Ki Sung-yueng (£4.7m) and the fit-again Jonjo Shelvey (£5.3m) out of the team, with the central midfield pair starting their ninth and sixth matches in a row respectively in the engine room.
Both players impressed with and without the ball, Hayden creating two big chances (one being the assist for Rondon’s goal) and Longstaff again enhancing his growing reputation with some excellent passing.
It was from Longstaff’s superb cross than Rondon missed that gilt-edged headed opportunity just before half-time, while the youngster struck the angle of post and bar late in the game.
Benitez said of Longstaff’s performance:
He is doing well and has the support of the players around him. He is quite focused, is a good lad and a good professional. He is trying to learn and is doing well. Hopefully, he can do well for a while.
Newcastle’s defence kept their eighth clean sheet of the season and no club outside of the “big six” have now conceded fewer goals in 2018/19.
Fabian Schar (£4.7m) underscored his attacking threat with four efforts on goal, while wing-back DeAndre Yedlin (£4.5m) was again prominent in the final third and was heavily involved in both of the Magpies’ goals.
Huddersfield are now 14 points adrift of safety at the foot of the Premier League and their Fantasy assets look as unattractive as ever (despite some appealing fixtures ahead), having scored just two goals in the last eight Gameweeks and having kept a solitary clean sheet in that time (away at Cardiff).
The Terriers enjoyed a fair amount of possession in the opening 20 minutes but this was familiar territory in that they did precious little of note in the final third, managing only one shot on target and three efforts overall in their latest toothless showing.
Laurent Depoitre (£5.1m) led the line as Adama Diakhaby (£4.5m) missed out through injury, while Lossl and Chris Lowe (£4.4m) returned from illness in Jan Siewert’s two other changes.
The Huddersfield boss said:
I think people will have heard that Adama Diakhaby had an injury. We will see exactly what it is.
In each game, I have had to sort situations because someone was ill, or there was an injury, and that makes it even harder for us because it is not my thinking.
We want to go with the same shape [4-3-3] and if we have to change it because of illness or injury we have to find solutions and, as Lolo [Depoitre] proved, he tried everything to get his first goal this season.
Asked why new signing Karlan Grant (£5.0m) wasn’t given the chance to impress, Siewert said:
As I have said before, don’t put too much pressure on him. What we should focus more on is that we as a team have to win games. Every individual should have his impact on it.
Karlan had his impact but, here, just because of the red card situation, it was hard for me to bring him into the team.
Newcastle United XI (3-4-3): Dubravka; Schar, Lascelles, Lejeune; Yedlin, Longstaff, Hayden, Ritchie (Kenedy 68′); Perez, Rondon (Joselu 84′), Almiron (Atsu 81′).
Huddersfield Town XI (4-3-3): Lossl; Smith, Jorgensen, Schindler, Lowe; Hogg, Bacuna (Billing 69′), Mooy; Kachunga, Puncheon (Hadergjonaj 24′), Depoitre (Mounie 76′).
