Fulham 2-0 West Brom
- Goals: Bobby De Cordova-Reid (£5.3m), Ola Aina (£4.5m)
- Assists: Aleksandar Mitrovic x2 (£5.8m)
- Bonus points: Aina x3, De Cordova-Reid x2, Antonee Robinson x1 (£4.4m)
BAG ‘EM AND TAG ‘EM
Any concerns that West Bromwich Albion’s defence had improved enough to cause Spurs problems in Gameweek 8 were dissipated in a 2-0 defeat to Fulham on Monday night.
After conceding 13 goals in the first four matches of the season, Slaven Bilic tweaked the Baggies’ backline from a back-five to a back-four, adding Branislav Ivanović (£4.5m) into the mix.
There were initial signs of recovery as they kept their first clean sheet and conceded just once in the Serbian’s first two matches for the club.
However, that progress was dashed in Gameweek 7 as a poor Fulham side made light work of emerging 2-0 winners at Craven Cottage on Monday night.
That was only the second time this season that Scott Parker’s men had found the net more than once in a match and they also bested a number of their underlying statistics against West Brom.
Fulham’s attacking statistics per game between Gameweeks 1 and 6 (left) compared with Gameweek 7 in isolation (right)
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As you can see from the comparison above, on Monday night, Fulham registered superior figures for shots, big chances, shots on target, accuracy rate and goal conversion in comparison to their averages between Gameweeks 1 and 6. That certainly suggests the Baggies are not quite as capable of restricting sides as they indicated in Gameweeks 5 and 6.
FALSE DAWN
West Brom’s defending statistics per game between Gameweeks 1 and 6 (left) compared with Gameweek 7 in isolation (right)
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While West Brom have certainly conceded fewer goals since Ivanović’s debut, and improved some defensive underlying statistics, they have by no means become watertight.
We must remember that the last three matches have pitted them against weaker opposition in Burnley, Brighton and Fulham while Southampton (two goals), Chelsea (three), Everton (five) and Leicester (three) had no problems dismantling the Baggies.
What is also of interest, is one area of West Brom’s team that has been a persistent problem, regardless of opposition: their right-hand flank.
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The maps of key passes conceded by West Brom this season, split across the two different defence systems they have used, show a concentration on their right-hand side.
Between Gameweeks 1 and 6, every assist they gave up came from that direction and while that has not continued to be the case from Gameweek 5 onwards, you can see that they are still giving up more chances created there than anywhere else.
Crucially, a quick look back to the defence comparison table shows you that, despite conceding fewer goals since a switch to a back-four, their chances conceded from the right per game has risen from 10.8 to 14.0.
That is rather encouraging for those taking Spurs’ left-sided assets Son Heung-min (£9.6m) and Sergio Reguilón (£5.6m) into Gameweek 8.
Indeed, one of Fulham’s goals scored on Monday night looked as if it had been lifted straight from Jose Mourinho’s playbook this season.
Left-back Antonee Robinson (£4.4m) pressed into advanced space, crossing for Aleksandar Mitrović (£5.8m) who nodded back across goal for Bobby De Cordova-Reid (£5.3m) to nip in at the back post and head home.
ADEMOLA BOOKMAN
Despite picking up just one point thanks to a blank and a yellow card, Ademola Lookman (£5.0m) continues to impress for Fulham.
Utilising his pace in wide areas, the former Everton man produced an all-round performance, shooting and setting up his team-mates alike; of course, helped by West Brom’s brittle right-hand side.
The fixtures remain unfavourable for Fulham, with West Ham (away), Everton (home), Leicester (away) and Manchester City (away) their next four opponents.
However, it is worth keeping the player on our radars considering his price.
Fulham XI (4-2-3-1): Areola; A Robinson, Adarabioyo, Andersen, Aina; Lemina (Reed 46′), Zambo Anguissa; Lookman (Bryan 90′), Cairney, De Cordova-Reid (Cavaleiro 85′); Mitrović.
West Bromwich Albion XI (4-1-4-1): Johnstone; C Townsend, Ajayi, Ivanović, Furlong; Krovinović (M Phillips 70′); Diangana, Gallagher, Livermore (Sawyers 56′), M Pereira (C Robinson 56′); Grant.
LESSONS LEARNED FROM FPL GAMEWEEK 7
- Wolves 2-0 Crystal Palace
- Sheffield United 0-1 Manchester City
- Burnley 0-3 Chelsea
- Liverpool 2-1 West Ham United
- Aston Villa 3-4 Southampton
- Newcastle United 2-1 Everton
- Manchester United 0-1 Arsenal
- Tottenham Hotspur 2-1 Brighton and Hove Albion
- Fulham 2-0 West Bromwich Albion
- Leeds United 1-4 Leicester City
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3 months, 28 days agoOnly silver lining this week is my rival got 2 points from his bench boost.
He still had a 5 figure gameweek rank mind.