There was just one Premier League club in UEFA Champions League action in midweek.
And what a win it was for Newcastle United, who hit Qarabag for six in Azerbaijan.
Here are the key takeaways for Fantasy Premier League (FPL) managers.
RESULT
| Team | Opposition | Result | Goals | Assist |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Newcastle United | Qarabag (a) | 6-1 win | Gordon x4 (2 pens), Thiaw, Murphy | Burn, Trippier, Barnes x2, Woltemade |
SELECTION/ROTATION
| TEAM | CHANGES FROM THE FA CUP 4TH ROUND | PLAYERS WHO KEPT THEIR PLACES (+ MINS) | OTHER PLAYERS (+ MINS) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Newcastle United | 4 | Thiaw (90), Burn (90), Hall (90), Tonali (90), Woltemade (90), Barnes (87), Trippier (77) | Pope (90), Willock (68), Elanga (68), Gordon (68), Osula (22), J Murphy (22), Ramsey (22), Joelinton (13), Neave (3) |
FOUR-GOAL GORDON RUNS RIOT
On a day when many FPL managers’ captains delivered so-so returns at Molineux, Anthony Gordon (£7.2m) ran riot in the Champions League.
Gordon plundered four goals and a 27-point haul in UCL Fantasy, which would have translated to 25 points in FPL.
The England international again lined up ‘out of position’ (OOP) as the striker in Eddie Howe’s 4-3-3, exploiting the huge gaps in behind a naively high Qarabag defensive line.
“I think he’s been really good in that position. Looking back to the Liverpool game, where I thought he was excellent and he scores. He’s really shown that he wants to play there, which is hugely important, and then he’s got the qualities to play. I thought his pressing today was incredible for us. I think that gave us the platform to build, off the back of his work and a lot of high pressing regains, a lot of counter-attack opportunities for us. Of course, he’s taken the four goals and will get the headlines naturally, but I thought his all-round game was really strong.” – Eddie Howe on Anthony Gordon as a striker
Two of his goals came from his runs beyond the last man, firstly latching onto a Dan Burn (£5.0m) pass and then benefitting from a defender miscontrol from Nick Woltemade‘s (£6.9m) hopeful prod forward.
Gordon also netted twice from the spot, despite Woltemade and the German’s cheerleader Kieran Trippier (£4.9m) trying to muscle in on the second spot-kick.
“I think Anthony naturally wanted to take the second penalty and I understand why there’s a debate over it. Sometimes, that’s not clear when there’s two in one game, but he took both penalties superbly. I’m pleased with that. And I think Kieran’s only ever trying to help the team. So, I think it’s, as you say, a positive situation rather than negative.” – Eddie Howe on the argument between Anthony Gordon and Kieran Trippier over Newcastle’s second penalty
Gordon spurned two other huge chances on his way to a remarkable expected goals (xG) tally of 3.53 (Statsbomb, below):
Harvey Barnes (£6.1m), who won the first penalty via his handballed shot, also wasted some gilt-edged opportunities, while Burn twice should have scored from set plays and substitute Will Osula (£5.4m) ought to have buried a late chance.
All that added up to Newcastle trouncing their hosts 5.4-0.4 on Statsbomb xG, showing that the margin of victory was no fluke:
Saturday’s opponents Manchester City will, of course, not be as gullible as Newcastle’s midweek hosts.
WOLTEMADE DEEPER AGAIN
If you saw last weekend’s cup clash at Villa Park, or read our Scout Notes, you will have seen/learned about Woltemade operating in a deeper role.
And Howe used that tactic again on Wednesday, with Woltemade again in the midfield three:
“Today we were 4-3-3 and Woltemade is just playing in the midfield position.
“The system that we’re playing is the system that we’ve played really consistently for four years here but the personnel slightly different. So, we played Woltemade slightly lower and Anthony higher. I think, naturally, you then see different strengths in the players. Anthony’s running ability and his pace, and Nick’s technical quality is so high that it’s been an interesting change for us.” – Eddie Howe
It’s still early days but we might be seeing Woltemade ‘Joelintoned’ by his manager, i.e. unconvincing run-outs as a nine (which neither player ever really was) followed by a reinvention in a deeper role.
The Brazilian midfielder himself returned from injury as a substitute here, while Jacob Ramsey (£5.3m) – another positional rival – was on the bench. So, it’s probably not going to be a tactic we see every week.
RESTS COMING IN THE SECOND LEG?
Originally, it looked like Manchester City would be encountering Newcastle at a favourable time in Gameweek 27.
The Magpies’ trip to the Etihad is sandwiched by the double-header against Qarabag, which includes a 5,000-mile round trip to Azerbaijan.
But this procession in Baku meant that not only could Howe take the likes of Gordon, Anthony Elanga (£6.5m), Joe Willock (£5.9m) and Trippier off relatively early on Wednesday, it also means he can likely rest a few of his regulars next Tuesday.
Osula, who might have otherwise led the line at the Etihad, surely gets the nod in the return leg, for instance.
Malick Thiaw (£5.0m), who netted from a corner, will also miss the rematch with Qarabag through suspension.
So, while there may be a few changes at the Etihad (say, Ramsey, Joelinton and/or Jacob Murphy (£5.9m) coming in), it’s should still be a strong (and not particularly overworked) line-up in the north-west.
Yoane Wissa (£7.3m), Sven Botman (£4.9m) and Lewis Miley (£4.5m) all missed out again, so we’ll wait to hear what Howe says in his pre-match presser on Friday. None have serious injuries, so they could return over the coming week – perhaps easing their way back in against Qarabag.
Newcastle face Everton at home in Gameweek 28, which follows that glorified dead rubber.
