We cast an eye over the weekend’s nine fixtures this afternoon for any signs of lessons learned. Riyad Mahrez’ season shows no signs of slowing, Stoke are start to click up top, Aaron Ramsey is flourishing in a central role, whilst City’s away day blues could thwart their title bid.
Mahrez is a home and away asset…
A hat-trick away to Swansea saw the Leicester winger move 23 points clear of the nearest midfielder in the Fantasy Premier League (FPL) game at the weekend. Mahrez has now served up five goals and two assists in his last four away appearances, producing points in each one for the league leaders. After being benched for back-to-back road trips in Gameweeks 8 and 9, the Algerian has quashed any suggestions that he still remains a rotation risk and, given his blistering form, it’d be a major surprise if Claudio Ranieri omitted him from the XI in any given Gameweek from this point onwards as the Foxes look to maintain their unlikely title tilt.
There’s more to Stoke than Butland…
Whilst a sixth clean sheet in eight Gameweeks ensured that Jack Butland remained the top scoring keeper in FPL, Mark Hughes’ tactical tinkering has brought the Potters attackers onto the radar. The Stoke manager’s decision to shift Bojan Krkic up front looks to have added a new dimension to his side’s prospects in the final third. Although the Spaniard failed to get amongst the points, Marko Arnautovic’s double took his tally to five for the season – a huge improvement on last term’s one-goal haul – whilst Xherdan Shaqiri’s two assists indicates he’s finally starting to settle after serving up just a single assist in his first 11 appearances for the Britannia outfit.
Ramsey passed his audition…
Finally deployed in a central role as a result of Arsenal’s injury crisis, the Welshman immediately produced the goods at home to Sunderland. Ramsey had managed just one strike in ten appearances from the right flank but served up a goal and assist as the Gunners overcame Sunderland at the Emirates to highlight their strength in depth. With Santi Cazorla expected to be sidelined for around three months, the 2%-owned Ramsey now has a chance to return to the form that saw him deliver ten goals and nine assists from the double-pivot back in 2013/14.
We’re waiting on a Wijnaldum window…
The Newcastle midfielder rose to fourth in the midfield standings on the back of a goal and assist against Liverpool yesterday as his penchant for home returns continued. Wijnaldum now has seven goals and an assist at St James’ compared to just two assists on his travels and luckily for Steve McClaren, the Magpies are poised for a run of fixtures that could help boost their survival bid. From Gameweek 17 onwards, Newcastle have four home encounters (AVL, EVE, MUN, WHU) in six that are bound to bring the 6%-owned pried Dutchman into contention as a potential deadly winter differential.
It’s Coutinho or nothing…
Despite a number of highly polished performances in recent weeks, Liverpool’s display at St James’ reminded us they are very much a work in progress under Jurgen Klopp. The German once again made six changes to his side but without the guile of Philippe Coutinho alongside him, Roberto Firmino failed to impress before being hauled off just after the hour mark. With Klopp continuing to chop and change up front, the risk of rotation remains far too high as we enter the busy Christmas period and most Fantasy managers will be reluctant to invest until Coutinho can find his way out of the treatment room and offer us a reliable route into Klopp’s attack.
Pellegrini needs to solve City’s travel sickness…..
The 2-0 defeat at Stoke continued Man City’s problems on the road as Manuel Pellegrini’s men dropped down to third spot in the table. In front of their own fans, the Etihad side remain reliable as ever – their tally of 23 goals is seven more than any other side – yet Saturday’s result means they have scored just one goal in their last four road trips and notched a mere seven times on their travels all season. Bearing in mind that leaders Leicester have scored 18 away goals already, City’s attack are clearly struggling to justify the hefty outlay and worryingly for Pellegrini, they now hit the road in three of the next five Gameweeks.
Alli’s appeal is on the rise…..
Back after a one-match suspension, the Spurs youngster retained the role in “the hole” he was handed in Gameweek 13 against West Ham. Alli bagged an assist against the Hammers that day and vindicated Mauricio Pochettino’s decision by firing the opener in the weekend draw at West Brom. With the Spurs boss dropping new boy Heung-Min Son to accommodate Alli in his attacking trio behind Harry Kane, Alli – at just 5.0 – is starting to emerge as the next value candidate for our five-man midfields.
Watford have the form to trump the upcoming fixtures…..
The Hornets are now up to ninth in the table after a 2-0 win over Norwich last Saturday, with Quique Sanchez Flores’ men continuing to offer us exceptional value at both ends of the pitch. The 4.7-priced Heurelho Gomes sits just three points off Jack Butland at the top of the keeper standings after earning a sixth clean sheet of the campaign, whilst Odion Ighalo and Troy Deeney sit second and fourth amongst frontmen after grabbing a goal and assist apiece against the Canaries. Once this weekend’s plum home clash with Sunderland is out of the way, the Hornets’ dire schedule (LIV, che, TOT, MCY, sou) could persuade some to part company but on current form, getting rid looks a risky move.
There’s no end in sight to the Chelsea malaise…..
A home clash with Bournemouth was expected to prove the catalyst that brought Jose Mourinho’s big hitters back onto our radars. The Cherries, however, didn’t read the Stamford Bridge script and instead emerged with a 1-0 win as the champions’ toils continue. Despite starting the last two up front, Eden Hazard – brought in by over 44,000 FPL managers last week – still has just one goal to his name all season, whilst the return of Thibaut Courtois couldn’t prevent an eighth league loss in 15 Gameweeks. Upcoming home clashes with Sunderland and Watford over Gameweek 17-18 would normally trigger a wave of new investors but Saturday’s showing confirmed the fact that the Blues still have plenty of convincing still to do.
