The Digest – Gameweek 33

The Digest brings the curtain down on Gameweek 33 as we assess the key player, the team and the big talking point to emerge from the weekend’s action.

Christian Eriksen puts us on alert ahead of two Double Gameweeks following a season-high return at Stoke.

Manchester United’s options open up ahead of their own double-header, while Mohamed Salah’s status as a must-have looks set to be determined by tonight’s Champions League tie.

The Player

At a point when many of us are looking to bring back Harry Kane for Double Gameweek 34, Christian Eriksen served a timely reminder of his potential for Spurs’ pair of fixtures with Manchester city and Brighton.

Having watched Son Heung-min and Dele Alli produce two sets of double-figure hauls over the previous three outings, the Dane delivered a 15-point haul, netting both Spurs’ goals in the 2-1 win at Stoke. That was his biggest return of the campaign so far.

Eriksen’s performance merely heightens our dilemma as we look for the best route into Mauricio Pochettino’s midfield – to sum it up, the Dane has 32 points from Gameweek 29 onwards, Alli 37 and Son 38.

Yet it’s Eriksen who has emerged as the most popular target of the three since last weekend – he’s claimed 54,000+ new owners, leaving Alli (19,000+) and Son (16,000+) in his wake.

Encouragingly for his new backers, over those last four matches, Eriksen is joint-top for both shots (14, level with Son) and key passes (eight, level with Alli) for the north London side.

However, his threat remains mainly confined to long-range – only three of those efforts arrived in the box, far less than Son’s 12.

Crucially, Eriksen has missed just one league match this season – against Southampton in Gameweek 24 – due to illness and has played all but four minutes of the last 16 league outings he has been available for.

Even with a FA Cup semi-final against Brighton on his agenda, then, Eriksen – along with Alli – looks an assured starter from this point onwards. Son, arguably, less so, though his 167.8 minutes per goal, compared with Eriksen (268.6) and Alli (328.9), illustrates what the South Korean can achieve with less pitch-time.

With a superb schedule to end the season following a blank Gameweek 35 (WAT wba & NEW LEI), Eriksen looks well-placed to maintain his current form.

Nonetheless, with Kane potentially stealing free-kicks off him around the box in his quest for the Golden Boot, and Son excelling at Wembley Stadium, in particular, there’s arguably a case for trebling up on the Spurs attack for the run-in.

The Team

Similar to Spurs, Manchester United approach their pair of Double Gameweeks in fine fettle.

The very nature of their second-half fight-back at the Etihad Stadium, coming from two goals behind to win and deny City the title, has persuaded many managers to reconsider the Red Devils.

Until recently, Romelu Lukaku seemed the one viable pick in Jose Mourinho’s attack – he went into the derby with three goals and two assists in four.

Since then, Paul Pogba’s brace has made him the most wanted midfielder ahead of Saturday’s deadline, while Jesse Lingard’s recent form – more so for England – adds an option in the mid-price bracket.

We must also re-assess Alexis Sanchez.

A pair of assists against Pep Guardiola’s side helped last season’s top scoring FPL player to a second successive double-digit haul. Owned by 3% to Lukaku’s 29% and costing 11.5 to 11.6, the Chilean could emerge as a powerful differential for showdowns with West Brom and Bournemouth’s dodgy defences.

His propensity for explosive returns could hold the advantage over Lukaku when it comes to the captaincy – the latter has managed one set of double-digits since Gameweek 5 and a total of three from 31 starts.

Indeed, that tendency for single-figure hauls could be a factor for those mulling over the Kane v Lukaku dilemma – the Spurs man has hit 10+ points in eight of his 29 starts.

However, the flat-track bully theory is to Lukaku’s advantage – all but one of his 15 league goals have been scored against teams outside of the top eight.

At the back, Chris Smalling’s Fantasy popularity continues to grow in light of Sunday’s derby winner.

The number one defender for transfers in this week, he has now started each of the last ten Gameweeks and fired the winner against City – his third goal of the season.

Although it seems that Smalling and Eric Bailly are the first-choice central defenders, we only have to look back to Gameweek 32 – when the Ivorian was benched at home to Swansea with one eye on the derby – as an indication that we can’t take Mourinho’s teamsheets for granted.

Wednesday’s trip to Bournemouth could potentially be the rotation hotspot – that takes place three days before United face Spurs in the FA Cup semi-final the following Saturday.

Given that they will have 24 hours less to prepare for the fixture, it wouldn’t be unlike their manager to freshen up his options, if only to make a point.

The Talking Point

Liverpool’s shock first-leg performance against Man City in the Champions League has already had a major impact on how we assess Mohamed Salah’s Fantasy potential over the remainder of the season.

Should the Reds defend their three-goal advantage tonight and book a place in the semi-finals, there’s a fear that Jurgen Klopp could manage the Egyptian’s domestic minutes.

That’s hardly the ideal scenario for his 59% owners at a point where the likes of Spurs, United, Chelsea and Leicester’s big-hitters all have two Double Gameweeks to come.

Indeed, over 302,000 have already parted company after he limped off early against City last week, while more than 63,000 have sold Salah since Saturday’s deadline – more than any midfielder.

Yet after being left out of the goalless draw at Everton, the winger is back on the teamsheet for Liverpool’s return trip to the Etihad this evening, having shrugged off a minor groin complaint.

Arguably, should Salah be subbed early, a start at home to Bournemouth this weekend looks on the cards. Klopp’s men have already put four past the Cherries at the Vitality this term and Salah’s ability to deliver huge hauls at Anfield is peerless – nine of his 15 home starts have harvested double-digits.

However, the Champions League semi-final schedule could impact on Klopp’s thinking.

The first and second legs are played in the midweeks after Gameweek 35 (wba) and Gameweek 36 (STK), while the Reds face a trip to Chelsea in Gameweek 37, at a point where 12 teams will play twice.

Selling Salah this week for a midfielder with two doubles, then bringing him back temporarily with the Free Hit chip in Gameweek 35, could now be viewed as a viable tactic. Dare we risk it, though?

With the Golden Boot still up for grabs, a visit from Brighton in Gameweek 38, the case for holding is equally convincing.

Tonight’s events could change everything, and we’ll have a Burning Question on this very subject later in the week as we firm up Double Gameweek plans.