Roberto Manicini’s City side cruise past the banana skin thrown down by Mark Hughes and his Fulham outfit at the Cottage. Up at Ewood meanwhile, it’s another setback for Gerard Houllier as Villa are kept at bay by a resolute Rovers following a couple of Morten Gamst Pedersen strikes. Here’s the notes from Sunday’s events…
Blackburn put in a stout defensive performance in their 2-0 home win over Aston Villa, with a series of impressive Paul Robinson saves mainly responsible for the clean sheet. Nikola Kalinic was dropped as Jason Roberts led the line in a game that saw David Dunn manage his first full game of the season. After next week’s trip to Old Trafford, Big Sam’s team have a kind run of fixtures that read (WOL, bol, WHM, STK, wba) and look in good form; this was their third win in four. Morten Gamst Pedersen, in particular, looks a player worth considering; his match-winning brace means he has now returned 4 goals and 9 Fantasy Premier League (FPL) Bonus Points in his last four league games.
An overnight illness kept rising star Marc Albrighton out of the Aston Villa line-up, forcing Ashley Young back into midfield, with Stephen Ireland coming in to play off a lone forward. Robert Pires came off the bench to make his debut for Gerard Houllier’s side, but the injury-decimated Midlanders are far from full-strength right now. Known for their defensive solidity under Martin O’Neill, Villa are struggling to keep opponents at bay; they’ve earned just one clean sheet in the last six games.
Carlos Salcido and Chris Baird returned from injury for Fulham, but the Cottagers were blown apart by visitors Man City. Mark Hughes’ side had only conceded two goals in their previous four games, but the gulf in class was alarming at times. Fulham have now managed just one win in their last ten games and with both Bobby Zamora and Moussa Dembele out injured, look toothless up front. Three critical home games in the next five (BIR, ars, SUN, liv, WHM) could help their cause but Hughes’ side are perilously close to being drawn into the relegation zone.
Man City brushed aside recent claims of negative football by putting four goals past Fulham in their most impressive performance of the season. Talisman Carlos Tevez grabbed two goals and one assist in a display that saw him pick up the maximum 3 FPL Bonus Points. That haul makes him the Premier League top scorer and puts him just a point behind Bolton’s Johan Elmander in the FPL Forward rankings.
A deflected Zoltan Gera goal meant City conceded for the first time in four games, but Joe Hart was rarely troubled as their back four continue to look impressive. Interestingly, full-back Aleksander Kolarov was also taking corners, which could give him the edge over other City defenders for an upcoming run of games that reads (stk, BOL, whm, EVE, new, AVL). James Milner and Adam Johnson were again benched as Yaya Toure impressed in an attacking central midfield role for Roberto Mancini’s side.
