BURNLEY 1-0 SHEFFIELD UNITED
- Goal: Ben Mee (£4.9m)
- Assist: Robbie Brady (£5.0m)
- Bonus: Mee x3, James Tarkowski (£5.3m) x2, Erik Pieters (£4.3m) x2
TINKER, TAYLOR, SOLDIER, DYCHE
Charlie Taylor (£4.6m) suffered a hamstring injury after just eight minutes against Sheffield United on Tuesday night.
The left-back has had two £0.1m price rises since Gameweek 14 as FPL bosses invested in the Burnley defence.
After the match, Sean Dyche reported:
“Charlie Taylor is a hamstring injury. We will wait and see but we are stretched again. We are stretched and we can only hope these injuries stop coming and we can get everyone fit. There was a foul which the referee doesn’t give and then [Charlie] pulls it stretching. If [the referee] had blown for a foul, I don’t think he would have stretched it. We will see how it looks.” – Sean Dyche
James Tarkowski (£5.3m) also went down on the Turf Moor in the first half but soldiered on to play the full 90 minutes.
SHEFFIELD OF NIGHTMARES
Aaron Ramsdale (£4.7m) saved two gilt-edged Burnley opportunities in the opening half of a hard-fought contest.
The Blades keeper kept out Ashley Barnes‘ (£6.0m) close-range effort after just 56 seconds when Chris Wood (£6.2m) knocked the ball down for his strike partner.
Ramsdale then denied a Wood header on 31 minutes from seven yards out, though the shot-stopper was beaten from the resulting corner.
Ben Mee (£4.9m) rose highest in the Sheffield United area to convert Robbie Brady‘s (£5.0m) dead-ball delivery. On Burnley’s performance, Mee remarked:
“We dug in at the end and the strikers defended really well from the front. We are getting back to where we want to be. We are tough to beat and that will get us up the table. We are moving in the right direction.” – Ben Mee
It is now three clean sheets in the past five gameweeks for the Clarets, with Nick Pope (£5.4m) only conceding two penalties in that time.
The biggest threat to Burnley’s shut-out came on 28 minutes as Rhian Brewster (£4.5m) saw a header from a corner cleared off the line by Josh Brownhill (£4.9m).
Dyche’s troops are scheduled to face Fulham at home in Gameweek 17 before a Double Gameweek 19 consisting of trips to West Ham and Liverpool.
The Clarets have a Blank Gameweek 18 ahead of their double helping of fixtures in Double Gameweek 19.
Sheffield United are winless in their 16 Premier League games this season – equalling Queens Park Rangers’ Premier League record of longest winless run from the start of a campaign (16 in 2012/13).
Well-owned FPL assets Wilfried Zaha (£7.4m) and Callum Wilson (£6.5m), along with Spurs pair Harry Kane (£11.0m) and Heung-min Son (£9.7m), are all set to face the Blades’ defence over the next three Gameweeks.
On the 1-0 defeat to Burnley, Chris Wilder lamented:
“The year we had last year was a perfect storm for us, we took big moments and found that bit of quality. This time we don’t find that bit of quality and it marries up with the results. It is a big arm wrestle and a big struggle for us.” – Chris Wilder
Burnley XI (4-4-2): Pope; Taylor (Benson 8′), Mee, Tarkowski, Lowton; Pieters, Westwood, Brownhill, Brady; Wood, Barnes (Stephens 78′).
Sheffield United XI (3-4-3): Ramsdale; Robinson (Fleck 56′), Egan, Basham; Stevens, Osborn, Ampadu (Norwood 66′), Baldock; McGoldrick, Mousset (Burke 62′), Brewster.
BRIGHTON 0-1 ARSENAL
- Goal: Alexandre Lacazette (£8.2m)
- Assist: Bukayo Saka (£5.2m)
- Bonus: Rob Holding (£4.4m) x3, Alexandre Lacazette (£8.2m) x2, Pablo Mari (£4.4m) x1
BOOM SAKA LACA
Alexandre Lacazette (£8.2m) gave Arsenal the lead immediately after being introduced from the bench on 65 minutes, his first touch controlling a Bukayo Saka (£5.2m) pass before his second was fired past Robert Sanchez (£4.4m) in the Brighton goal.
“[Alexandre] Lacazette is in a good moment. He’s full of confidence. We wanted to change the team in the second half and give it some freshness.” – Mikel Arteta
Sanchez had already saved a big chance from Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang (£11.4m) shortly into the second period.
Saka was also the creator of that opportunity, with the midfielder popping up on the left and right of Arsenal’s attack.
Since the start of last season, Saka has registered 15 assists in all competitions for Arsenal; more than any other player for the club.
While the budget midfielder is one of few Arsenal assets presently on the Fantasy radar, Saka did require on-pitch treatment late in the game with what looked like an ankle issue.
The winger continued before jogging off when substituted in the 82nd minute. Post-match, Mikel Arteta stated when asked if Saka has a serious injury:
“Hopefully not. He was limping but I think he took a strong challenge there. Hopefully he will be fine.” – Mikel Arteta
On Saka’s performance, Arteta added:
“In the second half, the moment we started to play different balls and attack in a different way [we] found more freedom, more space and more capacity to unlock the situations and the [Brighton] block. We created four or five big chances and he [Saka] was involved in most of them.” – Mikel Arteta
After a poor first-half showing, Arsenal dominated the second period as Lacazette’s introduction saw Aubameyang move out to his customary left-wing position.
“We weren’t threatening in certain areas. In the second half we looked much more confident and we were playing more forward. The best medicine is wins. It’s a different world and a different story. The picture looks much better.” – Mikel Arteta
LAMP DOWN
Having said that Tariq Lamptey (£4.7m) “is going to be a few days, maybe weeks” after Brighton’s 2-2 draw at West Ham in Gameweek 16, Graham Potter’s latest update will not inspire any confidence in fantasy terms.
“Tariq [Lamptey] is not far away and Danny Welbeck had a slight feeling in his knee. Adam [Lallana] is an outside chance for Wolves [in Gameweek 17].” – Graham Potter
Lewis Dunk (£4.8m), meanwhile, is now teetering on the suspension tightrope, having picked up his fourth yellow of the season on Tuesday.
Brighton have won just one of their last 14 Premier League games, drawing seven and losing six.
“We are suffering a bit at the moment. We have to play better, we have to do everything better.” – Graham Potter
Brighton & Hove Albion XI (3-5-1-1): Sanchez; Burn, Dunk, Webster; Bernardo, Gross, Bissouma, Propper (March 68′), Veltman; Jahanbakhsh (Trossard 74′); Mac Allister (Maupay 67′).
Arsenal XI (4-2-3-1): Leno; Tierney, Mari, Holding, Bellerin; Xhaka, Elneny; Martinelli (Lacazette 65′), Smith-Rowe (Maitland-Niles 88′), Saka (Ceballos 81′); Aubameyang.
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