West Ham and Man United play out a goalless draw that is a big help to some and bad news for others which, as it turns out, is a neat summary of Double Gameweek 37 in its entirety.
Jose Mourinho reacted to last Friday’s 1-0 loss at Brighton by making eight changes for the Hammers trip, with only David De Gea, Chris Smalling and Paul Pogba retaining their places.
A second straight attacking blank ensued, but the clean sheet helped many Fantasy Premier League (FPL) managers end Gameweek 37 with a final burst of points.
Chief among them were the 45.3% who own De Gea – United’s most popular player – and Smalling’s 11.7% backing.
The centre-half was the Gameweek’s most bought defender, with 133,000+ turning to him. Handed a fifteenth straight start last night, he’s produced six clean sheet and three goals in that period for a profitable late-season run.
De Gea, meanwhile, was the side’s most captained player (61,000+), and he claimed his 18th shutout of the season to secure the Golden Glove award.
The Spaniard was also United’s top scorer over the double, with nine points.
The match was a generally turgid affair, which goes much of the way to explaining the allocation of the bonus points – West Ham keeper Adrian took the maximum (he made six saves), while United defenders Luke Shaw and Phil Jones were awarded two and one point respectively.
That was bad news for Pogba’s owners.
The French international was second only to Raheem Sterling for Gameweek 37 transfers-in (147,000) among midfielders, but managed just four points across the two matches as United joined Swansea City as the only side to draw blanks in both their matches.
At least Pogba was on the pitch.
Mourinho’s sweeping changes returned Marcus Rashford and Anthony Martial to the bench, which was a big blow to the 68,000+ managers who had brought in the Englishman in the hope that he would be the direct replacement for the injured Romelu Lukaku.
But at the London Stadium, Mourinho opted for three centre-halves, wing-backs and a role up front for Alexis Sanchez, who had been rested at Brighton, all of which meant Rashford delivered just three points from 106 minutes of Gameweek 37 action.
With second place now secure after picking up a point, further change will be the way of things for United’s Gameweek 38 home match with Watford, as Mourinho detailed post-match.
“David De Gea will be rested, so it gives a chance for Sergio Romero to play. I can make changes. Marcus and Anthony played against Brighton. Today it was for Alexis and Lingard to play and Sunday is again for Martial and Rashford.”
The coach’s candid comments give us all plenty of advanced warning ahead of Sunday’s transfer deadline, although worrying about replacing goalkeepers is not the standard fare of final Gameweek management.
Then again, if managers don’t have solid cover for De Gea, his chunky 5.9 price tag could at least go some of the way to enabling purchases further up the pitch.
How many other changes Mourinho makes – Michael Carrick, for instance, will definitely start against Watford – could yet prove vital at the weekend.
Fantasy managers are clearly torn over how to read Mourinho’s mind, with Pogba, Smalling and Rashford all in the top 30 for transfers-in, and the Frenchman joining Sanchez and Lukaku in the transfers-out table as well.
Given the standard of fare on show last night, steering well clear may be the best bet.
Hammers nail defence
While Man United were busy failing to score over Double Gameweek 37, West Ham emerged as the only side to keep two clean sheets.
Chief beneficiary of all that parsimony was the 4.0-priced Adrian, who brought in 19 points – second only to Arsenal’s Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang (23) across the two fixtures.
Five Hammers defenders also delivered double-digit scores, as did midfielders Mark Noble and Joao Mario, who both scored in Saturday’s 2-0 win at Leicester City.
That double helping of points again highlighted the all-round charms of full-back Aaron Cresswell. The 2.7%-owned defender brought in 11 points from Gameweek 37 and has now produced a goal, an assist and two clean sheets over his last five starts.
Things were rather less productive for the side’s most popular regular starter, Marko Arnautovic (6.7%).
The midfielder-turned-striker had been bought by 58,000+ for the Double Gameweek, but produced just the one assist and eight points in total from the two matches.
West Ham’s win at Leicester secured their Premier League safety, although David Moyes is unlikely to allow his key players an early start to the summer.
The Hammers host Everton in Gameweek 38, which presents the coach with a chance to remind a former club of his managerial pedigree.
Based on the popularity Toffees boss Sam Allardyce – a former West Ham manager himself – has on Merseyside at present, both sets of fans might well be singing Moyes’ name on Sunday.
But for a dead rubber, the match does at least have a touch of spice about it, which could well mean strong sides are therefore selected.
