Luis Suarez draws a blank against the Black Cats as Liverpool’s double gameweek gets off to the worst of starts. Frank Lampard begins in “the hole” as Chelsea continue their winning ways under Roberto Di Matteo, Everton and Sunderland’s defences maintain their strong home form, while Junior Hoilett proves the difference as Blackburn record a crucial win at Wolves.
Luis Suarez
With a double gameweek for Liverpool, the controversial striker has the hopes of many Fantasy managers resting on his shoulders. Despite scoring just twice in his last fourteen league starts, Suarez leapt 0.2 in price prior to this weekend, with over 117,000 drafting him in. The Uruguayan even topped the captain poll, edging Robin Van Persie into second but, with Tuesday’s Merseyside derby to follow, he’s sitting on just 2 points after failing to fire at Sunderland. With Everton arriving at Anfield on a seven-match unbeaten run, Suarez looks to have his work cut out if he is to reward the faith of so many but, in truth, the same can be said for all Liverpool’s assets, with the 1-0 defeat at the Stadium of Light a huge let down for the plenty that chose to invest in Kenny Dalglish’s side.
Nicklas Bendtner
It’s two goals in two games for the big Dane since returning from injury. His opener in last week’s 1-1 draw with Newcastle was followed with the only goal in the 1-0 win over Liverpool yesterday, proving there’s more to Sunderland than just Stephane Sessegnon up front. Bendtner was partnered with Fraizer Campbell as Martin O’Neill rolled out a 4-4-2 and, with Blackburn and QPR up next, the 6.1 forward looks likely to have further opportunity to produce the Fantasy returns, although there are concerns about an injury sustained in yesterday’s game. Bendtner was stretchered from the field with a knee problem which is due to be assessed this week, prior to the FA Quarter Final with Everton.
Simon Mignolet
Despite missing the ball-winning abilities of Lee Cattermole in midfield, the Black Cats backline produced the goods yet again at the Stadium of Light. While O’Neill’s outfit have returned a single clean sheet on the road since his installation, the 1-0 win over Liverpool was their fourth clean sheet in the last five home games. Despite changes in the backline –with Kieran Richardson’s absence affording Wayne Bridge a full debut at left-back- 4.4 Simon Mignolet is proving strong value in front of his own fans and has averaged 5.5 points per game under the Irishman’s guidance, with a total of 55 only four less than James McClean.
Ryo Miyaichi
The on-loan Arsenal man proved pivotal in his first home start for Bolton. There’s been plenty interest on the boards surrounding Miyaichi and he justified the recent faith by providing the assist for Ivan Klasnic’s winner over QPR with just five minutes left on the clock. The 2-1 triumph stopped an appalling run of form that had seen the Trotters pick up a single point from their previous eight matches and, with (avl, BLA, wol, FUL) to follow, interest may well increase in the 4.9 midfielder. With his fair share of set-piece duties also in the bag, Miyaichi looks a decent short-term prospect as Owen Coyle attempts to steer his side to safety.
Djibril Cisse
Back after a three-match suspension, the Frenchman was amongst the goals again for Mark Hughes’ side. Cisse’s equaliser at the Reebok was his second in just three games since moving to Loftus Road this January but, with (LIV, sun, ARS, mun) up next, his chances may be few and far between over the next few gameweeks. The London outfit have now dropped into the bottom three and with a single point in their last five fixtures, Hughes looks up against it in his quest for survival.
Andreas Weimann
The youngster has been racking up the goals in the Villa reserves of late, with a couple of hat-tricks a fortnight ago followed by a goal in the second string’s midweek 4-0 win over Newcastle. Weimann was afforded a single minute by Alex McLeish at Blackburn last week but, coming on as a sub with 20 minutes remaining against Fulham, notched the winner as Villa chalked up their first home win since Gameweek 11. With Darren Bent likely to be sidelined for the rest of the season, Weimann looks set to pick up more game time and, with McLeish full of praise for his performance post-match, a chance in the first XI doesn’t look too far away:
I discussed that with the coaches beforehand and said somehow we’ve got to work this boy into the team if it’s 0-0 or we are a goal down because he is a goalscorer. It is just trying to fit him into the team at the right time. He was competing against guys like Darren Bent and Gabriel Agbonlahor. Now there are a couple of injuries to key players and Andreas had deserved his moment.
Di Matteo The Shape Shifter
Chelsea’s interim boss sprung a major surprise at the Bridge, dropping Juan Mata to the bench for the visit of Stoke. Di Matteo drafted in the old guard, having rested the likes of John Terry, Frank Lampard and Didier Drogba in the midweek FA Cup win at Birmingham but again started with a 4-2-3-1, with Lampard handed a chance in the hole behind the Ivorian. A straight red card for the Potters’ Ricardo Fuller saw Raul Meireles sacrificed, with Mata coming on as the Blues then moved to 4-1-4-1.
The Spaniard -in his first sub role since a Gameweek 3 debut- provided the assist for Drogba’s only goal, as Di Matteo chalked up back-to-back wins with no goals conceded. Ramires- who, intriguingly, has started wide right in both games for the new boss- dropped into central midfield later on, as Daniel Sturridge’s introduction saw the host side finish out the game in their orthodox 4-3-3 system.
Gary Cahill
The former Bolton man started alongside John Terry at the back for Chelsea and, following on from his 90 minutes in midweek, is the only defender to feature in the entirety of Di Matteo’s first two games. Granted, the likes of Terry and Ashley Cole have been nursing injuries but Cahill was given the nod over David Luiz yesterday, suggesting he may be prominent in Di Matteo’s thinking; at 5.3, he’s likely to see more Fantasy investment if his first-team place looks further assured. Luiz was handed a second-half opportunity, coming on at the break in place of Branislav Ivanovic as the new boss gave him a chance to impress at right-back.
Junior Hoilett
Playing in the hole behind Yakubu, the young Canadian grabbed both goals in Blackburn’s crucial win at Molineux. Classified as a forward by Fantasy Premier League (FPL) despite playing mainly on the wing, Hoilett has attracted just 0.5% ownership, with Yakubu the obvious option for Rovers up front. Yesterday was just the second time he’s started behind a lone striker, though, and with such a strong performance, his attacking potential could be set to increase if Steve Kean continue to play him more centrally.
Leighton Baines
With a trip to Anfield still to come, the left-back is now just 10 points behind Benoit Assou-Ekotto as the top scoring defender. In attacking terms, Baines has produced just 3 goals and 2 assists to date but, with the Toffees defence continuing to produce the Fantasy returns at home, he now sits on 107 points, just one behind Ryan Taylor in second. Yesterday’s 1-0 win over Spurs was Everton’s third Goodison clean sheet in a row- the fact that the previous two were against City and Chelsea is an indication of the Merseysiders’ recent resilience in front of their own fans.
Nikica Jelavic
The January signing from Rangers was afforded his first start by David Moyes and indicated his potential with a superb finish to see off Spurs. Jelavic was given the nod ahead of Denis Stracqualursi up top and, given the substantial outlay for his services, looks a likely starter for the Toffees over the remainder of the season. With Moyes’ men once again producing their customary strong second half to the season, Jelavic –with a share of free-kicks also in his locker- looks a decent differential, with Swansea, Norwich and West Brom to follow in the next four gameweeks.
