Jermain Defoe is at the double as Spurs register their first win under Andre Villas-Boas at the fourth attempt. Gareth Bale opens his account for the season in a 3-1 win at the Madejski, though the visitors’ clean sheet is ruined late on thanks to a strike from Hal Robson-Kanu…
Jermain Defoe
A fourth start of the season saw the striker score twice to earn the points for Spurs. In spite of Tottenham’s toils, Defoe has now provided three goals and an assist for his Fantasy owners and is the top scoring Spurs player in FPL with 22 points; his strong start looks to have kept him in pole position for the lone forward role right now, with Emmanuel Adebayor left to warm the bench. Many had expected Adebayor to automatically be installed into the first XI as soon as his fitness is fine but, at the moment, it seems like the spot is Defoe’s to lose – with four home games in the next six, including (QPR, AVL, WIG) he could well be set to plunder the points once again.
Spurs Midfield
Having drawn blanks in each of his first three Gameweeks, Gareth Bale had been sold in huge numbers across the Fantasy games. To date, the Welshman has been transferred out by 185,000 FPL managers and dropped 0.2 in price already but his goal against Reading proved a bitter blow to those who chose to ship him out. While Gylfi Sigurdsson continues to struggle and with Clint Dempsey earning game time from the bench, Bale is currently the only one of Spurs’ highly-priced midfield trio looking capable of producing during the above-mentioned run of fixtures.
Aaron Lennon picked up his second assist of the season yet continues to fly under the radar, with less than 4% ownership. His acquisition could appeal to those who fancy a punt on Spurs but are not quite willing to spend over the odds – at 7.0 in FPL to Bale’s 9.3, for example, he’s been the better value so far. Moussa Dembele was handed his first start and looks to have immediately settled alongside Sandro in the double-pivot. While many were hoping for a more attacking role, it seems the Belgian will be tasked with his share of defensive duties in the current 4-2-3-1.
Benoit Assou-Ekotto
The Cameroon international could be set for a shprt-term spell on the sidelines, according to Villas-Boas…
“Benoit has a small fragment in his knee that makes it swell a lot. He has played through pain in the last couple of games. His knee may have to be washed out and if that happens we are looking at a four-week absence.”
If Assou-Ekotto is indeed sidelined, Kyle Naughton looks set to benefit. The youngster filled in at left-back yesterday and offers a cut-price route into the Tottenham defence – priced at 4.5 in the Sky Sports game and 4.4 in FPL (compared to Kyle Walker’s 6.5 in the latter game) he could be a real differential at the back for those willing to take a real punt.
Reading Tactics
Brian McDermott once again rolled out a 4-4-1-1, with Danny Guthrie tucked in behind lone frontman Pavel Pogrebnyak. With his side a goal down at half-time, however, the Reading boss tinkered with his formation – a move to 4-4-2 saw Guthrie drop deeper into the midfield four as Adam Le Fondre climbed off the bench to partner the Russian up top. Le Fondre’s introduction cancelled out the Spurs clean sheet late on, after he teed up Hal Robson-Kanu for a consolation. While Guthrie’s starting role in “the hole†adds to his appeal, it’s clear that McDermott is willing to change his position when chasing games – a position Reading are finding themselves in frequently right now.
Adam Federici & Alex McCarthy
Declared fit and available by Reading after pulling out of the Australian squad in the week, Brian McDermott revealed post-match that Adam Federici was in fact still being troubled by a knee problem. Subsequently dropped in favour of Alex McCarthy in yesterday’s match, the Reading boss has revealed that Federici will also miss the trip to West Brom next weekend before he can return to compete with McCarthy for the number one jersey.
“I decided to make a change and put Alex in, it was a tactical decision but Adam has also got an issue with his knee so we need to have a real good look at that and get it sorted. He could be out for a little while, he has to recuperate and when he comes back he’ll be challenging for that position…He certainly won’t be playing at West Brom, like I said I don’t know how long it will be, it’ll be a while”
The Federici-David De Gea combination was a popular one at the start of the season but the duo have failed to feature over the past two Gameweeks – a hugely frustrating situation which is currently being addressed, judging by the transfers in so far. Meanwhile, Alex McCarthy has emerged as a potential new budget candidate. Currently there are no active 4.0 keepers in the FPL – McCarthy is the first to make a full appearance this season and, if he can cement a run of starts, he could offer those seeking to free up funds a new route.
