Harry Kane takes little time to adjust to the international stage, joining Wayne Rooney on the scoresheet in an England rout. Elsewhere, injury concerns ease on Merseyside and an unlikely double Gameweek asset shows form behind-closed-doors…
Kane flourishes under Wembley spotlight
England recorded a comfortable 4-0 victory over Lithuania in their fifth Euro 2016 qualifier. As if preordained, Harry Kane etched his name indelibly into the annals of English football with a back-post header just 80 seconds into his debut from the bench. Raheem Sterling provided the assist for the Tottenham star and bagged a goal of his own, while Wayne Rooney and Danny Welbeck netted and assisted goals on the night. Jordan Henderson supplied the cross for Welbeck’s deflected header.
The Scout Says: Including yesterday’s goal for the Three Lions, Kane has now notched six goals in his last four appearances in all competitions. The 6.4-priced Fantasy Premier League (FPL) striker hasn’t failed to score in consecutive matches since a three-game barren spell that started in Gameweek 13.
After registering zero shots when deployed in a right wing-back role against Manchester United, Raheem Sterling flourished on the right flank in Roy Hodgson’s 4-3-3 set-up, attempting more dribbles (11) than the rest of the starting XI combined (nine) and firing off three efforts on goal. In light of reports that Daniel Sturridge could be sidelined for a month with a torn hip muscle, Sterling’s impactful performance in Friday’s qualifier is welcoming news for Brendan Rodgers and Sterling’s 30.8% Fantasy ownership. Sterling is, however, currently playing with a toe problem and will miss Tuesday’s friendly with Italy to undergo treatment – an arrangement that was made between Liverpool and the FA prior to last night’s outing.
Meanwhile, Rooney edged one step closer to overhauling Bobby Charlton’s England scoring record with his headed opener. Allied with his three goals in four league starts, Rooney’s accomplished display at Wembley will surely have cemented the central striker’s role at United, despite Robin van Persie’s scheduled return for the Manchester derby and Radamel Falcao’s recent scoring exploits for Colombia.
Welbeck’s sixth goal in five qualification matches makes him the tournament’s current top scorer. His night ended on a sour note, however, as the Arsenal marksman limped off the pitch after picking up a knock that looks set to rule him out of the Italy friendly. Should Welbeck miss the Gunners’ forthcoming clash with Liverpool as result, Theo Walcott could be handed a rare league start.
Arnautovic on target for the Austrians
Marko Arnautovic scored a half-volley in the third minute of injury time as Austria put five past Liechtenstein in their own backyard.
The Scout Says: With Victor Moses unable to face parent club Chelsea in Stoke’s Gameweek 31 clash at Stamford Bridge, Arnautovic could be handed successive starts for the first time since Gameweek 23. The Potters forward has tallied two assists in his previous four league outings, yet Stoke’s tough run-in (che, whu, SOU, SUN, swa, TOT, bur, LIV) hardly encourages investment in the 6.2-priced Austrian.
Zamora bags brace in Double Gameweek warm-up
Bobby Zamora netted twice as Queens Park Rangers cruised to a 6-1 victory over Swindon Town in a midweek friendly, while the likes of Niko Krancjar and Adel Taarabt staked a claim for a first-team return by bagging a goal apiece.
The Scout Says: It’s unwise to jump to conclusions based a friendly against “inferior” opposition, but Zamora’s starring display in the Swindon encounter can only be a positive ahead of the R’s double Gameweek 31. The 4.1-priced centre forward has tallied just two goals in his last 12 starts, yet Zamora has been one of the league most creative forwards of late, creating an unsurpassed 10 chances for his team-mates in the last six Gameweeks. He’s also been an ever-present in the opposition’s 18-yard box, ranking in the top five among all forwards with regards to penalty-box touches in the same time period.
Nonetheless, investing in Zamora ahead of trips to West Brom and Aston Villa comes with the caveat that the Hoops frontman was dropped to the bench for their last road trip and he’s likely to remain under then radar, given that over 20% of Fantasy Premier League (FPL) managers already own Charlie Austin. Zamora started up top alongside Austin yesterday, though the latter failed to get amongst the goals before both were withdrawn at the break.
Injuries Easing for Toffees
Steven Pienaar – who last featured for Everton in mid-December against QPR – is set to return to training next week. Toffees boss Roberto Martinez expressed his delight at the imminent return of the South African, stressing the importance of getting him match fit before the season’s conclusion. Elsewhere, Kevin Mirallas, Bryan Oviedo and Tony Hibbert are recuperating well from their respective injuries:
“We had very good news on Steven. He’s going to join the group on Monday and we’ll take it from that point on, making sure that slowly but surely we give him the right path to being fully fit and being able to enjoy his football again. We’ve missed Stevie massively throughout this season and it’s important we’ll be able to see him on a football pitch before the season ends. The international break is always important for the injured players because you can really focus on their needs and it gives them time to set individual targets. Kevin Mirallas has improved immensely over the past couple of days, Bryan Oviedo is steadily getting a lot stronger and Tony Hibbert is very close to joining the group as well.”
Leighton Baines has, however, returned to the club after he sustained a minor injury in England’s win over Lithuania.
The Scout Says: With both Pienaar and Mirallas closing in on comebacks, then, Martinez’ options out wide look set to increase for the run in. The Everton manager has started Leon Osman and Aaron Lennon in each of the last two since moving to a 4-4-2 but with doubts over both Romelu Lukaku and Arouna Kone up front, he may be forced to revert to a 4-2-3-1 in order to accommodate his numerous attacking midfield options. Given that the Toffees have won both matches with their new formation, though, Martinez could shift Steven Naismith up top, leaving Pienaar and Mirallas to battle it out for the flank berths, with Lennon perhaps in pole position on the right after serving up 15 points in his last couple of appearances. With Swansea, Burnley, Villa and Sunderland in the next six, the schedule certainly affords the Merseysiders the chance to maintain their recent renaissance. Baines’ injury has been described as “minor” although, having missed four matches over February and March, Martinez will not be keen to take any risks with his prized left-back.
Haidara sidelined for the season
Newcastle United left-back Massadio Haïdara has undergone surgery on his right knee and will play no further part this campaign.
The Scout Says: Season-ending injuries (Haïdara , Steven Taylor and Ryan Dummett) and suspensions (Fabricio Coloccini) have conspired to restrict Toon boss John Carver to just three senior defenders right now. As such, Newcastle were forced into fielding a makeshift back four against Arsenal, with Jack Colback and Ryan Taylor filling in at left and right-back, respectively, and Daryl Janmaat shifting into central defence alongside Mike Williamson. Coloccini’s return from suspension in Gameweek 33 will allow Janmaat to return to the right and should hand Taylor the chance to nail down a spot at left-back for the run-in. With five decent fixtures to finish the season (SWA, lei, WBA, apr, WHM) from Gameweek 34 onwards, Taylor, at just 4.4 in FPL, could be set to profit and serve a reminder of the talents that harvested two goals and six assists in the 2011/12 campaign.
Mignolet Declares Himself Fit
Liverpool shot-stopper Simon Mignolet allayed fears over his fitness after picking up a knock in last weekend’s 2-1 defeat at Old Trafford. The Belgian international is set to be in contention for the pair of friendlies against Cyprus (Saturday) and Israel (Tuesday). A post from Mignolet’s Twitter account read as follows:
“Back to full fitness since yesterday. Gym session this morning, last training before #belcyp [Belgium/Cyprus] later today.”
The Scout Says: Mignolet has silenced his early-season critics since the turn of the year, safeguarding the Reds goal with authority throughout their recent 13-match unbeaten streak that was snapped by United on Sunday. Between Gameweeks 17 and 29, no goalkeeper that registered 10 appearances or more tallied as many cleans sheets (eight) or conceded as few goals (six) as Mignolet. With back-up Brad Jones nursing a thigh injury and third-choice Danny Ward securing a one-month loan deal to Morecambe earlier in the month, Brendan Rodgers can ill-afford to lose his number one ahead of a crunch tie against Arsenal next Gameweek, bearing in mind that Martin Skrtel is suspended and Dejan Lovten doubtful. Following that one, though, the Reds face an excellent schedule which hands them six favourable fixtures (NEW, hul, wha, QPR, CPL, sto) in the final seven Gameweeks and should allow Mignolet to continue his ascent as a Fantasy asset.
