Harry Kane and Christian Eriksen are the cause of much frustration as Spurs’ full-backs bring in the points in a comeback win over Burnley. Theo Walcott nets as Arsenal lose to a Kevin De Bruyne-inspired Manchester City, while Jay Rodriguez scores twice as Southampton put three past Bournemouth at the Vitality Stadium. Here’s the Stock Check following Sunday’s events…
On The Rise
Theo Walcott
Again, the right winger was named in Arsene Wenger’s starting XI and, on this occasion, required just five minutes to get amongst the goals at Man City.
Walcott’s eighth strike of the season – a third goal in five – coincides with a superb schedule that sees the Gunners handed four home fixtures (WBA, CPL, BUR, WAT) in addition to trips to Bournemouth and Swansea in the next six Gameweeks.
While Alexis Sanchez’ assist served a reminder just why he’s the star turn for Arsenal in the final third, Walcott – having dropped down to 7.8 and sitting in just 14% of FPL squads – looks an ideal double-up option alongside his premium-priced team-mate for our five-man midfields.
Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain’s injury which saw him withdrawn having been introduced from the bench may also ease short-term rotation concerns.
Danny Rose and Kyle Walker
After producing an assist apiece at home to Hull on Wednesday, the Spurs pair both served up attacking points for the second successive Gameweek.
With Toby Alderweireld missing out with a back problem, Mauricio Pochettino resisted the urge to rotate his full-backs at home to Burnley, with a switch from 3-4-2-1 back to 4-2-3-1 failing to diminish Rose and Walker’s points potential.
Rose grabbed the winner in a 2-1 comeback victory over the Clarets and has now averaged 5.1 points per match to Walker’s 4.6. The latter remains the most popular defender in FP, with 38% ownership, yet his 6% owned team-mate is proving more than a match as a deadly differential.
Rose was subbed off with a knock to his thigh, however, forcing would-be suitors to hold fire with any transfers until Pochettino rolls out his pre-match press conference at the end of the week.
Kevin De Bruyne
Leroy Sane and Raheem Sterling grabbed a goal apiece in City’s 2-1 win over, while David Silva hinted at an upturn in consistency by producing points for the third successive Gameweek, courtesy of an assist for his side’s leveller.
Yet there can be no doubt that De Bruyne was the chief architect of City’s comeback win – he created seven scoring chances and was highly unfortunate to only to collect an assist for his efforts.
Nonetheless, a sublime pass for Sterling’s winner took De Bruyne’s total to eleven assists for the season – that’s more than his tally of 10 over the entirety of 2015/16 and seven clear than any team-mate.
A run of 11 matches without a goal leaves him on the periphery for now, but with Sergio Aguero edging closer to a return, De Bruyne still has the potential to edge back into consideration.
Nathan Ake
The most popular defender in the FPL market ahead of Gameweek 17, Bournemouth’s on-loan centre-half notched a third goal in the last six rounds of fixtures since nailing down a starting berth.
Ake is, of course, unavailable to feature against parent club Chelsea on Boxing Day but, beyond that, the bandwagon will likely pick up pace once more.
From Gameweek 19 onwards, the Cherries face Swansea City, Hull City, Watford and Palace in four of the subsequent five, affording Ake – who is now joint-top for goals scored at the back – the chance of further returns at both ends of the pitch.
Jay Rodriguez
Handed a second start in the last three Gameweeks, Rodriguez staked a claim for consideration by firing a double in Southampton’s 3-1 win at the Vitality.
Listed as a midfielder in FPL, it’s fair to say that the former Burnley man has done little to merit our attention up to now, with today’s pair of strikes his first goals since Gameweek 3.
Nonetheless, with Charlie Austin now sidelined for three or four months, Claude Puel’s decision to field Rodriguez as a lone striker in recent matches is worth monitoring.
Once next week’s clash with Spurs has passed, the St Mary’s outfit have some fine upcoming fixtures. Puel’s rotation policy is concerning, though, particularly with a two-legged EFL Cup semi-final against Liverpool also to factor in next month.
In Decline
Harry Kane
Home matches against Hull and Burnley looked tailor-made for the Spurs forward, earning him top billing in our Gameweek 16 and 17 Captain Polls.
But Kane proved a huge letdown by blanking on both occasions.
With the in-form Zlatan Ibrahimovic a hot property again, only Diego Costa’s one-match suspension will temporarily prevent Kane from being shown the door by many FPL managers over the next few days.
Yet with Costa and Aguero back from their bans in time for Gameweek 19, the battle amongst the premium priced forwards has never been fiercer. Kane will need to put on some performance at St Mary’s a week on Wednesday to prevent a festive fire sale.
Christian Eriksen
Second only to Adam Lallana for transfers in last week, Eriksen also failed to deliver in what seemed a plum home encounter.
Nonetheless, after producing 37 points in his previous two fixtures, the Dane remains Spurs’ form attacker and at a price of 8.6 to Kane’s lofty 11.3, many of his 15% owners will be happy to hold for the time being.
Another blank away to Southampton and there will be a need to re-assess – with the likes of Philippe Coutinho closing in on a comeback and Walcott braced for such fine fixtures, there’s no room for passengers in our midfield right now.
Toby Alderweireld
After being outscored by defensive team-mates Walker and Rose in the midweek win over Hull City, the Spurs centre-half missed out today with a minor back problem.
Having only recently returned from injury, Mauricio Pochettino is clearly determined to avoid taking risks with Alderweireld’s fitness.
At a time when the double-up on Chelsea’s resolute defence looks increasingly popular, the Belgian’s 10% FPL ownership may well decide to cut and run.
Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain
A run of four straight starts was brought to an end as Alex Iwobi claimed the left wing role at the Etihad.
With a goal and four assists in the previous seven, Oxlade-Chamberlain seemed to have finally cemented a regular role in Wenger’s XI. Yet today’s teamsheet indicates his security of starts clearly remains in question, denying us a mid-price route into Arsenal’s attack ahead of those fine upcoming fixtures.
Having limped off just minutes after appearing off the bench as a sub, his injury situation is clearly worth monitoring, potentially allowing Iwobi to reclaim a spot over the coming spell.
John Stones and Kelechi Iheanacho
Guardiola’s decision to retain the same defence for the first time this season saw Stones warm the bench once again, with Aleksandar Kolarov and Nicolas Otamendi continuing at centre-half.
The summer signing from Everton remains in over 19% of FPL squads – making him the third most popular defender – and was sold by 76,000+ ahead of yesterday’s deadline.
Today’s starting XI looks set to trigger further sales prior to City’s Boxing Day trip to Hull City.
Iheanacho was again overlooked despite the absence of the suspended Aguero as the City manager opted for a “false nine” formation against Arsenal.
Handed a brief cameo at the end of today’s clash, the young Nigerian has managed just 64 minutes in the three matches that Aguero has missed through suspension.
Over 110,000 FPL managers parted company last week and, like Stones, Iheanacho looks in line for an exodus over the next few days. With Aguero primed to return in time for Gameweek 19, the short-term gamble on his City team-mate has proven to be a disastrous one.
