Richarlison ends his Vicarage Road goal drought as Will Hughes catches the eye against West Ham. Elsewhere, the heroics of Heurelho Gomes helps the Hornets to a rare clean sheet as David Moyes’ tenure at West Ham begins with defeat.
Richarlison ends home drought
Such a reliable source of goals and Fantasy Premier League (FPL) points on his travels, Richarlison finally found the net at home after failing to produce a single effort on target in his previous five at Vicarage Road.
Owned by 18%, the young Brazilian’s home output was of particular concern bearing in mind that his next two visitors are Manchester United and Spurs in Gameweek 14-15.
Yet Sunday’s strike maintained a remarkable run of consistency – he’s now delivered attacking points in six of the last seven Gameweeks ahead of next weekend’s trip to Newcastle United.
Heightening his appeal for that Magpies clash is that, away from home, Richarlison has averaged 7.2 points per match and is the league’s top player for shots inside the opposition box (20).
On the downside, he also has a testing trip to Burnley directly after those United and Spurs matches. But the case for holding is very convincing, with the fixtures turning in his favour from Gameweek 17 once again.
At a price of 6.5, Richarlison is now the top FPL midfielder for value in terms of points per million and sits fifth in the midfield standings on 66 points.
Despite that, his inability to claim bonus points continues to dent the South American’s captaincy potential. He has scored or assisted in eight of the first 12 Gameweeks but has earned bonus points on just two occasions.
Today’s BPS haul was limited by two shots off target and two fouls conceded, while he was also tackled twice.
Hughes impresses in tactical tweak
Handed a central support role alongside Richarlison as Marco Silva moved to 3-4-2-1 against the Hammers, Will Hughes overshadowed his more popular team-mate thanks to a goal, assist and maximum bonus.
But Watford’s form on the road suggests that Silva could revert to his usual 4-2-3-1 at St James’ Park – only Man City (16) and Chelsea (14) have scored more away goals than the Hornets’ 12.
Regardless of formation, Hughes (4.6) now looks likely to be on the teamsheet for the trip to Tyneside after months on the periphery.
Handed just 10 minutes in the opening 10 Gameweeks, Hughes has now started both of Watford’s last two. However, Roberto Pereyra made a return to the bench and replaced the former Derby County man late on; he will doubtless threaten Hughes’ start in weeks to come.
Andre Gray was again a starter up front as Troy Deeney served the second match in a three-match suspension. Gray’s scuffed assist for Hughes’ opener was his second in as many matches.
Gomes keeps it clean
Silva can thank Heurelho Gomes for their first clean sheet in eight attempts after he denied Cheick Kouyate and Marko Arnautovic with superb stops.
Indeed, David Moyes can at least take encouragement from the fact that his side had three big chances today – they had managed just six in their previous six road trips under Slaven Bilic.
For the hosts, the decision to bench Jose Holebas came as a surprise as Marvin Zeegelaar (4.4) earned his first outing of the season at left wing-back. Holebas had played every minute of the previous 10 matches he had been available for, only missing the Gameweek 3 encounter against Brighton due to suspension.
Ranked top for crosses (82) and successful crosses (17) among defenders, Holebas is second only to Ben Davies for key passes (15 to 22) at the back.
Watford’s primary corner taker over the first 11 (he had taken 33 of their first 50), Holebas’ absence saw Hughes also claim dead-ball duties, taking all three of Watford’s corners.
Zeegelaar impressed on his first start, picking up two bonus points on his debut having won three tackles. Kiko Femenía – our preferred option among Silva’s defence – picked up a single bonus point but hobbled off late on with a knock.
Elsewhere, Adrian Mariappa – a 4.0 option in FPL – also earned a notable recall in Silva’s three-man defence having been dropped for the previous two outings.
However, like Hughes, Mariappa will surely have strong competition for his starting role with Sebastian Prödl returning from injury to figure on the bench on Sunday. Younes Kaboul is also on the road to recovery, with Silva likely to go into the busy Christmas period with the option to rotate his centre-backs.
