Our last look back at Gameweek 37 bring Southampton’s in-form wide man and West Brom’s resilient end to the season onto our radar. Meanwhile, the Arsenal exodus looks on the cards, with the Gunners nailed- on for third spot barring an almighty final day capitulation.
The Player
On Saturday afternoon, the 795 Fantasy Premier League (FPL) managers that shipped out Sadio Mane prior to Gameweek 37 watched on with incredulity as the Saints’ midfielder recorded the fastest ever Premier League hat-trick and bagged an assist in a 6-1 thrashing of Villa. Three bonus points inevitably followed, boosting his tally to an eye-watering 23 points.
As the campaign comes to a close, the Southampton summer signing has taken his tally to 11 strikes in just 2,153 minutes – put into perspective, his average of 195.7 minutes per goal in second only to Alexis Sanchez amongst midfielders for the season. Mane has started just 23 matches under Ronald Koeman and has incurred his manager’s wrath on more than one occasion but, as evidenced by his weekend display, his pace and composure look the deadliest of weapons for the St Mary’s outfit.
Mane’s 19% conversion rate is also highly impressive. That’s superior to Eden Hazard, Sanchez and David Silva – the top three midfielders in the FPL game. Considering that team-mate Graziano Pelle has converted a mere 10% of his opportunities, it’s clear just how crucial the Senegal international can be for Koeman’s side.
Bearing in mind that Koeman has only handed him the full 90 minutes on 14 occasions, it’s fair to say that Mane’s pitch time has plenty of room for improvement. With an average of 5.4 points per start (compared to 4.7 for the season), allied with the fact he’s played a part in 50% of his side’s goals when on the pitch, there’s a growing hope that he could be Fantasy royalty next time around.
The Team
West Bromwich Albion have recovered from a rocky patch between Gameweeks 31 and 33 – in which they conceded 10 goals in three matches – and since embarked on a five-match undefeated streak, carding three wins and four clean sheets in the process.
Crucially, those recent shut-outs have arrived against Palace, Liverpool, United and Chelsea, underlining the Baggies ability to serve up the defensive points under Tony Pulis, regardless of opponent.
Since Pulis took over at The Hawthorns, no league side has earned as many shut-outs (10) as the Baggies. Looking at the season as a whole, the West Midlanders’ 16 cleans sheets is second only to Chelsea’s 17, after they surpassed Southampton’s 15 with a 3-0 win over the Blues this Gameweek.
At the opposite end of the pitch, Sadio Berahino’s brace (two penalties) marked his first attacking returns in nine appearances on Monday, having been a popular pick prior to his dry spell by virtue of five goals in 10 starts. Chris Brunt’s good form (one goal and four assists in six starts) has also been instrumental in West Brom’s impressive run, with the Northern Irish midfielder needed just seven more points to match his highest ever tally (130) in a league campaign.
The Baggies under Pulis, though, are all about clean sheets. His departure from Palace just prior to the season’s start had deprived us of a reliable source of defensive returns but Pulis’ installation at the Hawthorns has, once again, proved a crucial weapon for Fantasy managers on the search for dependable shut-outs.
The Talking Point
After loading up on Arsenal players for their disappointing double, there’s every chance that many Fantasy managers will now be looking to part company with their misfiring Gunners assets.
Barring a catastrophic meltdown at home to West Brom on Sunday, the north London club have all but secured third spot and with the FA Cup final to think of, Arsene Wenger has admitted that rotation “is possible” as he looks to freshen up a side that’s now failed to score in each of their last three at home.
With news breaking that Chelsea’s Eden Hazard could possibly miss out this weekend after undergoing emergency dental treatment, more are now willing to even spend points for one last hurrah.
Typically at this time of season, there’s more to play for at both ends of the table, which tends to help influence our final set of trades. The last few days, however, have seen Sunderland and Villa clinch their survival, whilst City have taken second as a result of last night’s result at the Emirates.
As the curtain prepares to fall on the 2014/15, though, only two sides – Newcastle and Hull – have anything left to play for as the battle to beat the drop goes to the wire. Papiss Cisse, Nikica Jelavic and Dame N’Doye have the chance to fire their teams to safety and with all three owned by 1% or less of FPL managers, they could offer a solution to our quest for final-day differentials.
With Sergio Aguero leading the Captain Poll by some distance, those holding mini-league leads will be keen to play it safe, however, and hand the Argentine the armband. For those chasing, scouring the market for that inspired last trade, or transfers, will be the difference between success and failure.
Aside from Hull and Newcastle, we’re relying on form, rather than motivation, as our guiding influence this Sunday. Romelu Lukaku is building momentum perfectly ahead of Everton’s home clash with Spurs. Yaya Toure fired his highest haul of the season away to Swansea last week. Palace looked rampant against Liverpool and the likes of Yannick Bolasie remains very much under the radar.
Elsewhere, Diego Costa has returned from injury just in time for Chelsea’s final home match of the season. Theo Walcott could be set to benefit from Wenger’s rotation for the Gunners’ final clash and offers an alternative to those looking to cash in on their Arsenal regulars.
As mentioned in yesterday’s members article, there’s no shortage of in-form, low-owned players on the market as we approach Sunday’s deadline. Now’s the time to roll the dice.
