After casting on eye over the double Gameweek 33 Defences on Wednesday evening, we shift our attentions further up the field.
Crystal Palace’s chances of beating the drop are boosted by a pair of home encounters against Norwich and Everton. The Toffees, meanwhile, make their way to out-of-sorts Watford before rolling up to Selhurst Park on Wednesday evening.
As discussed in our first article, Palace (no clean sheets in 12) and Everton (a couple of shutouts in nine) have been defensively unconvincing in recent months. Whilst faith in their backlines is limited, the prospect of points in the final third looks a little more positive.
The Eagles have been somewhat hot and cold in their last few league fixtures. Although Pardew’s side have scored twice in three of their last five, it’s worth noting that all those fixtures were on the road – indeed, Palace haven’t scored more than one goal in each of the last eight in front of their own fans.
Nonetheless, the explosive potential offered by Yannick Bolasie (6.0) could be worth a flutter – particularly in light of a double Gameweek 34. Now fully recovered from injury, Bolasie looks an assured starter over the Eagles’ upcoming four fixtures and whilst a single assist in five is indicative of his inconsistency, the DR Congo has served up 10 and 15-point hauls at home already this season.
Passed fit in yesterday’s press conference, Yohan Cabaye’s (6.4) dominance of dead-ball duties may yet prove decisive, particularly with Pardew’s love of set-pieces. In addition, the Frenchman has already netted three penalties this season.
Connor Wickham is another fit-again option. Having produced back-to-back braces in his last two appearances, the 5.5-priced striker has missed the subsequent three but has since been declared available for the weekend. With four league fixtures over two Gameweeks, though, there has to be some questions over his pitch time as he’s eased back into action. Pardew is likely to retain his 4-2-3-1 set-up, though, and having talked up weekend scorer Dwight Gayle (5.1), the competition up front looks too close to call.
In midfield, Bakary Sako (5.0) bagged an assist last weekend but bearing in mind that was his first start since Gameweek 21, there has to be doubts over his consistency of starts. It’s a similar story for Jason Puncheon (5.5) and the 5.6-priced Emmanuel Adebayor (if fit), whilst Wilfried Zaha’s (5.2) minutes could be rationed after he was hauled off at the break last weekend.
For Everton, Romelu Lukaku (9.0) is the clear standout candidate.
The runaway favourite in this week’s Captain Poll, the Toffees top scorer has been transferred in by over 154,000 FPL managers and now sits in over 40% of sides.
Although the Merseysiders have failed to score in their last two, Lukaku’s away record is encouraging – only Harry Kane and Riyad Mahrez, with 12 strikes apiece, have bettered the Belgian’s nine goals on the road. Weekend hosts Watford have been as porous as Palace and served up two shut-outs in 14.
Along with Lukaku, Ross Barkley (7.1) is the only other player to start every league match for Martinez this term and offers a security of pitch time. His form is highly unconvincing, though – the playmaker has scored in just one of the last 16 Gameweeks, courtesy of a pair of penalties against Newcastle after first-choice spot-taker Lukaku was subbed off injured.
Aaron Lennon (5.6) is the best of the rest. He’s started the last seven and fired four goals and an assist over that period but Martinez’ history of rotating on the flanks over congested fixture schedules is a slight concern. With a 1% ownership level, the former Spurs wide man could be a canny differential, though the risk here is that a big display from Barkley, who sits in 32% of sides, would prove far more punishing to non-owners in terms of overall rank.
While it’s tempting to bank on Palace and Everton assets as providing cover for Gameweek 34’s double fixtures, we have to consider the likelihood of rotation.
The Eagles travel to Arsenal and United in the following week of fixtures, whilst Everton host Southampton before visiting Anfield for a Merseyside derby. Bearing in mind that the two clubs then face FA Cup semi-finals in the weekend directly after the midweek Gameweek 34 matches and it’s fair to say a degree of chopping and changing from both Pardew and Martinez could be on the cards to cope with the packed fixture list.
The Top Target
Romelu Lukaku – with 18 goals to his name, the Everton frontman is the third-top scorer in the Premier League. A guaranteed starter with spot-kick duties who squares up to two of the top-flight’s most out-of-sorts defences, it will be a brave Fantasy manager who decides against captaining Lukaku.
The Differentials
Yannick Bolasie – a total of 16 blanks in 21 appearances sums up the inconsistency on offer from Palace’s winger. If Pardew’s side are to prevail, though, Bolasie’s recent threat in and around the box may yet come to fruition.
Ross Barkley – a respectable eight goals and as many assists this season suggests we cannot write Barkley off. Too crucial for Martinez to drop, though his woeful recent form represents a gamble.
Aaron Lennon – since nailing down a starting role in Gameweek 24, the midfielder has outscored Lukaku by 45 points to 28. Whether he can maintain an abnormally high goal conversion rate and start all four fixtures is somewhat debatable but he looks a worthy punt.
