Romelu Lukaku is stretchered off as Manchester United fail to break down a resolute Southampton on a day when clean sheets proliferate, although not for Sam Allardyce’s Everton.
A third straight draw badly damaged Man United’s already faltering attempts to keep up with their crosstown rivals, and it did little to enhance the Fantasy reputation of their key attacking assets either.
Jose Mourinho’s men could muster only three shots on target in the goalless stalemate with a well-organised Southampton side that might well have taken all three points but for the brilliance of David De Gea.
The goalkeeper made one stunning save with his feet to deny Shane Long on the way to an 11th clean sheet for his 43.3% ownership.
Centre-back Phil Jones also prospered, earning maximum bonus for a nine-point haul.
Only Nicolas Otamendi (14) and Cesar Azpilicueta (15) have now accrued more bonus points among defenders than Jones (13) this season, although as yesterday was the injury-prone centre-half’s fifth straight match it might be a surprise if he gets the chance to add more with a start away at Everton tomorrow.
That was about as good as it got for United, however.
Romelu Lukaku went off with a head injury after 14 minutes and is now a major doubt for a return to his former club.
Only Harry Kane, who didn’t have a Gameweek 21 fixture, and the injured Nacho Monreal were sold by more than the 195,000+ managers who ditched the Belgian leading into the weekend, and he is now leading Gameweek 22’s transfers-out.
Mourinho’s post-match prognosis was guarded but suggested that Lukaku will miss both tomorrow evening’s league match and Friday’s FA Cup tie against Derby County.
“I don’t know. I know that normally bad, bad news arrives immediately. Bad news didn’t arrive. I think that there’s a problem for the next two matches, for sure.”
Marcus Rashford, who replaced the Belgian yesterday, could now step up to fill in at Goodison Park as Zlatan Ibrahimovic was not even on the bench against the Saints after his start in Gameweek 20, suggesting the Swede is still some way off full fitness.
Paul Pogba had suffered a minor drop in ownership prior to the match and his third straight blank since returning from suspension is unlikely halt that slide.
He has had just one touch and a single shot in the box in those three matches as Mourinho has restricted him to a deeper-lying role. Across the same time frame, even his defensive midfield partner Nemanja Matic has had four times as many penalty area touches.
Jesse Lingard has been United’s unlikely saviour in recent weeks, producing five goals and two assists in his last seven appearances, and he was the second most signed asset ahead of Saturday’s deadline.
He huffed and puffed against Southampton, but looks likely to continue in the No10 role as Henrikh
Mkhitaryan, who was handed a first start since Gameweek 11, failed to take his opportunity to impress.
As for the Saints, coach Mauricio Pellegrino opted to drop goalkeeper Fraser Forster as they kept their first clean sheet since Gameweek 9.
His replacement, Alex McCarthy, dealt well with what little United threw at him, but his Fantasy appeal is somewhat compromised by his 4.4 price tag.
Should Southampton build on the defensive resolve displayed yesterday, their schedule has the potential to attract interest, with visits from Spurs and Liverpool by far their toughest tests across the next 11 fixtures.
Fraser bursts the Big Sam bubble
Bournemouth’s 2-1 win over Everton was a low-key affair in Fantasy terms, with match-winner Ryan Fraser’s brace delivering 15 points for precisely 15,794 FPL managers.
That denied rather more managers the prospect of a sixth Everton shut-out in eight Gameweeks as Sam Allardyce opted for a back four after employing a three-man defence in Boxing Day’s 0-0 draw at West Brom.
Further forward, the 17.2%-owned Wayne Rooney returned from a two-match illness lay-off and was introduced at the interval as Allardyce sought to remedy a listless first-half performance.
Fellow substitute Oumar Niasse then set up Idrissa Gueye’s equaliser as starting striker Dominic Calvert-Lewin (14.3%) made way on 54 minutes.
That might indicate the young England man will start against United on New Year’s Day, even though it was Niasse who caught the eye.
But with Everton shopping for a striker, Calvert-Lewin’s appeal as a budget forward now looks to have a limited shelf life.
Richarlison plods on
Watford contrived to ship two goals in the last four minutes in a 2-1 loss to Swansea City, although their main Fantasy asset, Richarlison, still delivered for his 17.9% ownership.
His assist for Andre Carillo’s opener brought in a second successive five-point haul, but four assists and no goals since Gameweek 12 is proving to be a meagre return from a player of such promise.
The Brazilian did manage three shots, all in the box and two of which were on target, yesterday.
But he was ditched by 93,000 ahead of the match and he’s already the fourth most sold player since as managers look to free up the 6.5 invested in his limited returns for potentially more potent Double Gameweek 22 assets from Spurs and West Ham.
Watford’s Tuesday trip to Man City is another compelling reason to offload Richarlison.
Terriers find bite at the back
Huddersfield managed to keep just a second clean sheet in 10 Gameweeks in a 0-0 anti-thriller with Burnley.
Terriers assets dominated the bonus points on the day, with Christopher Schindler underlining his status as the key target in their defence with the maximum award.
He now has 12 for the season, with goalkeeper Jonas Lossl and fellow defender Scott Malone the others to take home extra points from the encounter.
Up front, budget striker Laurent Depoitre (5.5) had gained nearly 350,000 new owners over the past three Gameweeks, but he followed up a one-point cameo from his limited pitch-time against Stoke City with a 90-minute blank yesterday.
The match marked Burnley’s 10th shut-out of the season, and a fourth in the last six Gameweeks, as goalkeeper Nick Pope moved onto an impressive 19.0 points per million average – the top-ranked figure across all four positions.
But the Clarets’ immediate schedule (LIV cry MUN new MCI) contains some decidedly stern tests to come, so Pope’s 7.1% ownership might have to make do with save points for a while.
North and south and goalless
Another 0-0 stalemate was played out by Newcastle and Brighton at St James’ Park.
That proved to be recent business as usual for the Seagulls’ rearguard as their cut-price defenders have now kept three clean sheets in the last four Gameweeks.
Gaetan Bong (4.4) and Lewis Dunk (4.5) picked up three and one bonus point respectively, with Ciaran Clark claiming two for the Magpies.
Dunk made 14 clearances, blocks and interceptions and completed 90% of his 52 passes to see off team-mate Shane Duffy (4.6) in the Bonus Points System.
The latter did have three shots in the box, more than any other defender, while Dunk had an effort of his own – a big chance to open his scoring account in a season where he has already managed three own goals.
Brighton have the fixtures to suggest that their defenders, and keeper Mat Ryan (4.5), can continue offering great value, with only a visit from Chelsea looking troublesome over the next seven Gameweeks.
Newcastle kept their first clean sheet since Gameweek 9.
Unfortunately for goalkeeper Rob Elliot’s 1.2 million owners, it arrived just as he was ruled out with a thigh injury.
A trip to Stoke City tomorrow and a Gameweek 23 visit by Swansea offer the potential for more of the same, but coach Rafa Benitez has made no secret of his desire for a new stopper, so Elliot’s owners might be in for further disappointment even if their man makes a speedy recovery.
