Leicester 1-2 Fulham
- Goals: Harvey Barnes (£6.9m) | Ademola Lookman (£5.0m), Ivan Cavaleiro (£5.3m)
- Assists: Jamie Vardy (£10.2m) | André-Franck Zambo Anguissa (£4.5m), Bobby Decordova-Reid (£5.3m)
- Bonus points: Cavaleiro x3, Anguissa x2, Lookman x1
KING SOUR STADIUM
Jamie Vardy‘s (£10.2m) lacklustre home form reared its ugly head yet again as Leicester suffered a 2-1 defeat to relegation-threatened Fulham in Gameweek 10.
As has often been the case at the King Power Stadium this season, the Foxes’ front-man was unable to have much influence on the game, faced with yet another home game where the opposition dropped deep throughout.
He did show some smart play when he knocked down a second-half cross for Harvey Barnes (£6.9m) to fire into the top corner but, apart from that, Vardy never got a chance to stretch his legs.
A five-point score will feel somewhat anti-climactic for over one-million Fantasy Premier League managers who captained Vardy, especially considering it was against Fulham who, up until now, have boasted one of the division’s worst defences.
But his struggles at the King Power Stadium are nothing new, as has been well documented this season. Across his four Premier League home appearances this season, Vardy has averaged just 3.3 points per game.
Such information is likely to cast doubt on Vardy’s Fantasy credentials for upcoming home meetings with Brighton (Gameweek 12) and Everton (Gameweek 13), especially if he could not even buck his home-trend against Fulham.
Thankfully for his 28.7% ownership, Gameweek 11 takes Vardy into a much more favourable scenario: a trip to Sheffield United.
80.3% of his points have come on the road this season, an average of 10.6 points per away game, while the Blades are the only Premier League team without a clean sheet in 2020/21.
BARNES DOOR
The 4.1% invested in Barnes were among the rare winners of Leicester’s defeat to Fulham as he scored the Foxes’ only goal of the game.
Finding the net, the former West Bromwich Albion loanee certainly sent a message to manager Brendan Rodgers who left him out of the starting XI initially, despite a strong performance midweek.
Neither James Maddison (£7.0m) nor Dennis Praet (£5.5m) provided much support for an isolated Vardy as Rodgers went with a 3-4-2-1 formation which lacked the width to really stretch Fulham’s deep block.
It was in the second half that the hosts were able to make some limited progress, as Barnes and Cengiz Ünder (£5.9m) came on for Praet and wing-back Luke Thomas (£4.3m) respectively, allowing for a slight improvement in the fluidity of their attack.
TAKE A LOOK
By contrast, Fulham went about Monday night’s encounter with a cut and thrust that Leicester could not replicate.
The result itself might have been a surprising one but it was a fully deserved win for the visitors, especially considering Scott Parker made the bold decision of benching key players in Aleksandar Mitrović (£5.7m) and Tom Cairney (£5.3m).
Ivan Cavaleiro (£5.3m) was handed the centre-forward role and, despite his embarrassing penalty miss last time out, was brave enough to step up for the latest Fulham spot-kick and slammed it past Kasper Schmeichel (£5.5m). That ensured the Cottagers did not become the first Premier League team to miss three penalties in a row.
“I asked him yesterday, ‘are you ready to take this penalty if we get one?’ and he looked me dead in the eye and said ‘yeah, I’m ready’. The courage, the bravery to step up there, they’re things that we need.” – Scott Parker
There was also a strong showing from Ademola Lookman (£5.0m) who has also responded well to his recent penalty woes.
Since sending a stoppage-time spot-kick into Lukasz Fabianski‘s (£5.0m) arms at West Ham, the Fulham winger has gone on to get himself a goal and assist across the last two matches, going close with some direct free-kicks too.
Matches with Manchester City (away) and Liverpool (home) over the next two Gameweeks are likely to ward off any Fantasy interest but as Fulham’s fixtures turn more positive in Gameweek 13, Lookman’s propensity to shoot could mean he finally fulfils his potential as a budget midfield option.
“He came in for a lot of stick when he did the penalty, rightly so, you need to take your medicine after that. What is going to determine, like anyone Cavaleiro – last week he slips for the penalty. I’m not on Instagram but I can only imagine what was being said, the jokes for everyone to see and Cav would have seen that. Ade’s performance tonight, earned the right to score a goal.” – Scott Parker
Leicester City XI (3-4-2-1): Schmeichel; Fuchs, Evans, Fofana; L Thomas (Ünder 46′), N Mendy (Iheanacho 70′), Tielemans, Justin; Maddison, Praet (H Barnes 46′); Vardy.
Fulham XI (5-4-1): Areola; A Robinson, Adarabioyo, Andersen, Aina, Decordova-Reid; Lookman (Bryan 90′), Zambo-Anguissa, Reed, Loftus-Cheek (Lemina 77′); Cavaleiro (Mitrović 87′).
Lessons Learned from FPL Gameweek 10
- Crystal Palace 0-2 Newcastle United
- Brighton and Hove Albion 1-1 Liverpool
- Manchester City 5-0 Burnley
- Everton 0-1 Leeds United
- West Bromwich Albion 1-0 Sheffield United
- Southampton 2-3 Manchester United
- Chelsea 0-0 Tottenham Hotspur
- Arsenal 1-2 Wolves
- Leicester City 1-2 Fulham
- West Ham United 2-1 Aston Villa
3 years, 9 months ago
Who do you guys think are the Top5 captaincy options for this week other than City assets? For me it is
1) Werner
2) Fernandes
3) Grealish (If Newcastle situation looks bad)
4) Salah
5) Vardy/Kane