Leicester 2-1 Crystal Palace
- Goals: Timothy Castagne (£5.8m), Kelechi Iheanacho (£6.2m) | Wilfried Zaha (£7.1m)
- Assists: Iheanacho, Jonny Evans (£5.6m) | Eberechi Eze (£5.8m)
- Bonus points: Iheanacho x3, Eze x2, Castagne x1
BUENOS NACHOS
Kelechi Iheanacho‘s (£6.2m) incredible form does not look like stopping after his latest double-digit haul.
After scoring and assisting in Leicester’s 2-1 win over Crystal Palace, the Nigerian international has scored 12 points or more in three of his last five Premier League appearances.
Since Double Gameweek 26, Iheanacho has provided nine goals and one assist in eight matches for a total of 70 points (8.8 per game).
In his last nine outings in all competitions, he has scored 12 times and assisted twice. And in all competitions in 2021, Harry Kane (£11.8m) is the only player to have involved himself in more goals (excluding Fantasy assists) than Iheanacho (16 to 14).
That is obviously an incredible achievement considering his largely forgettable time at Leicester up until now. 14 goals in Iheanacho’s last 14 appearances in all competitions are many as he managed his previous 76 games for the Foxes.
“We knew the quality he has, the talent he has, and now he’s getting an opportunity. We were playing a system that only allowed him to come into games, but we’ve now designed the team around the injuries, with a bit of common sense, we’ve put in attacking players. He’s been incredible, that’s 14 goals in 14 games now and all different types of finishes. Tonight, wow, what a strike. The team are delighted for him.” – Brendan Rodgers
With Southampton (away) and Newcastle (home) up next, it is not too late to get in on Iheanacho’s form although arguably the window is narrowing.
After those two matches, Leicester face Manchester United (away), Chelsea (away) and Spurs (home) in the final three rounds of 2020/21…
VARDY’S NOT HAVING A PARTY
Monday night proved to be another frustrating one for owners of Jamie Vardy (£10.3m).
His recent form has largely been feast-or-famine, his last five matches featuring two double-digit hauls but three blanks.
It took some time for the veteran forward to feel his way into the game as Crystal Palace crowded the middle of the pitch with their 4-3-3 system, cut off supply to the Foxes’ attackers and even forced Vardy and Iheanacho to drift wide to try and create chances themselves.
However, Brendan Rodgers’ half-time team-talk helped the hosts find a way to play through the compact press, resulting in more chances for Vardy especially.
In the 64th minute, he cut inside from the left-hand side and curled an effort at Vicente Guaita‘s (£4.8m) near post which the goalkeeper blocked.
Shortly after, Vardy turned a scuffed Iheanacho shot into the net only to be ruled out for offside and in the 77th minute, an intricate one-two between the two players put Vardy through at a tight angle and he could only fire across the line.
With a trip to Southampton on the horizon, Vardy’s persistence will not have gone unnoticed by his owners, especially considering he ended Monday night top of the game for shots in the box. It might be accuracy and conversion that counts against him though, especially for anyone not in possession of Kane for Spurs’ meeting with Sheffield United.
THE OTHER GUYS
James Maddison (£7.3m) has now started each of the last two Premier League matches as he continues his return to full speed following injury.
Just as was the case against West Bromwich Albion, Rodgers deployed him number 10 in a 3-4-1-2 formation on Monday although he did not last the game, this time substituted after the 69th minute.
His 7.5% might be somewhat disappointed by his role against Palace considering he spent large portions of the first half crowded out by compact defensive lines and Youri Tielemans (£6.4m) took the corners and free-kicks.
There is perhaps still some hope for Maddison though. With Tielemans failing to impress with his free-kick delivery, the former Norwich man took over some responsibility before his second-half performance, although the corners stayed exclusively with the Belgian.
Meanwhile, Timothy Castagne (£5.8m) is continuing the revival of his FPL prospects. The defender’s second-half goal means he has now scored nine points or more in back-to-back games for the first time since Gameweek 2.
The Belgian international has operated as a wing-back since Harvey Barnes’ (£6.6m) Double Gameweek 26 injury forced a change in Leicester’s system. Without the former West Brom loanee, the wide-men in the midfield four are expected to provide the width for Iheanacho and Vardy.
Castagne’s versatility has helped him in this regard. He started on the right-hand side against Crystal Palace, with Ricardo Pereira (£5.9m) on the bench once more. However, when Marc Albrighton (£5.2m) replaced Luke Thomas (£4.1m) in the 70th minute, Castagne moved to the left.
WHERE THERE’S A WILF
Wilfried Zaha (£7.1m) had not read the script for Crystal Palace’s Monday-night trip to the King Power Stadium, netting in the 12th minute and wiping out Leicester clean sheets.
But it was a goal that allowed the out-of-position FPL midfielder to creep back onto the Fantasy radar, especially with a Double Gameweek on the horizon.
After just one attacking return between Gameweek 17 and his Gameweek 22 injury, Zaha has now produced two in his last four starts.
A Gameweek 34 meeting with Manchester City aside, the Eagles have some appealing fixtures to look forward to with Sheffield United (away) and Aston Villa (home) two of their next three opponents while a trip to Southampton remains to be rearranged.
Still, Zaha has a clear affinity for playing Leicester, as this was his fourth successive trip to the King Power Stadium that he scored in.
In fact, the Ivory Coast international has been involved in seven goals (excluding Fantasy assists) in his last seven Premier League appearances against the Foxes (six goals, one assist).
And, of course, Palace’s attack has hardly pulled up trees this year outside of Zaha’s 10 goals and four assists.
In setting up his colleague’s Monday-night goal, Eberechi Eze (£5.8m) registered an assist for the first time in 10 Premier League appearances, taking him joint-top among colleagues for assists this season with a total of just four (excluding Fantasy assists).
Leicester City XI (3-4-1-2): Schmeichel; Fofana, Evans, Söyüncü; L Thomas (Albrighton 70′), Ndidi, Tielemans, Castagne; Maddison (Pérez 70′); Iheanacho, Vardy.
Crystal Palace XI (4-3-3): Guaita; van Aanholt, Dann, Kouyaté, J Ward; Eze, Milivojevic (McCarthy 83′), Riedewald (Schlupp 85′); Zaha, Benteke, Ayew (Townsend 78′).
Elsewhere in Blank Gameweek 33
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