Wayne Rooney bags a brace as United sweep six points clear of City at the top in an explosive Manchester derby. Clint Dempsey picks up the points again but Everton bounce back to see off Spurs, while Brendan Rodgers reveals Jose Enrique was subbed off with a hamstring problem as no more than a precautionary measure…
Rooney Continues to Thrive
While many expected Wayne Rooney to drop deeper in a 4-5-1 for the trip to City, Sir Alex Ferguson opted for a two-man forward line, affording him the chance to prosper alongside Robin Van Persie. Rooney’s superbly taken brace means he has now notched twice in back-to-back Gameweeks and, as we discussed in last week’s Digest, he is looking a real alternative to Van Persie up top – prior to bonus, they are now neck and neck for points accrued over their nine starts together. Granted, Van Persie doesn’t have to worry about being shifted deeper when Ferguson opts for a diamond formation and is the more consistent of the pair but a 2.0 FPL price difference bolsters Rooney’s appeal substantially. A mere 8% ownership is surely set to rise as some even contemplate ways of fielding both United men ahead of a hugely enticing schedule that sees United host Sunderland, Newcastle and West Brom in addition to travelling to Swansea and Wigan in the next five.
Rafael Back in the Points
Subbed off on 30 minutes in last week’s win at Reading, over 50,000 FPL managers had shipped out the Brazilian ahead of the Manchester derby but he returned to form with a pair of assists at City. Having failed to produce in the previous five and with Phil Jones and Chris Smalling both returning from injury to offer competition at right-back, his potential had taken a dent but, having been rested for the midweek Champions League clash with Cluj, Rafael maintained his starting berth at the Etihad. The above-mentioned schedule could well afford Rafael the chance to add to his two goals and four assists so far but with four Gameweeks over the space of a fortnight from December 23 onwards, rest and rotation may yet blight his prospects over the festive period.
United Defence in Flux
Elsewhere in the United back line, Jonny Evans hobbled off early in the second half with what was later rumoured to be a hamstring complaint: details remain sketchy on this. It’s fair to say that, with Nemanja Vidic’s return seemingly imminent, finding security in the United rearguard looks tricky, just as they are about to enter a potentially prosperous run of fixtures. The goalkeeper situation also remains unresolved. David De Gea started between the sticks at City, with Anders Lindegaard absent to attend the birth of his child. The Dane had started the previous four league outings at De Gea’s expense. Again, rotation over the Christmas programme would seem likely.
Kompany Worry for City
A 3-2 home defeat not only dented the champions’ title hopes, it left them with doubts over Vincent Kompany after the centre-half was subbed off on 20 minutes with a groin injury. Roberto Mancini’s side went into yesterday’s match with just three goals conceded in their last nine as their backline finally started to deliver the clean sheets – any possible absence for Kompany would looks likely to dispel any doubt over Matija Nastasic’s starting role at the heart of Mancini’s backline, though there’s no doubt their appeal is somewhat dented if the Belgian is ruled out over a festive schedule which looks potentially prosperous (new, REA, sun, nor, STO) for clean sheets.
Post-match, Roberto Mancini described Yaya Toure’s injury as “just a kick” but stated that Kompany’s injury was “different”, indicating that he feared a setback for his skipper.
Tevez Benched Again
Handed the full 90 minutes in the midweek Champions League clash at Dortmund, Carlos Tevez dropped to the bench for yesterday’s Manchester derby. Having started 11 of City’s first 12 matches, Tevez’s appeal has lessened of late – he has featured in the first XI just once in the last four, though yesterday’s immediate impact will surely have boosted his chances of a starting role next weekend. Climbing off the bench to replace the ineffectual Mario Balotelli, Tevez needed just 39 minutes to assist both the hosts’ goals and take his tally to 100 FPL points for the campaign. Bearing in mind City’s other three forwards have scored just 128 points them, Mancini can perhaps ill afford to utilise the Argentine as a sub, given the lack of form elsewhere up front for City.
Mancini’s faith in Mario Balotelli will still be a concern for owners of both Carlos Tevez and Sergio Aguero, however. Post-match, Mancini seemed defiant on his decision to start the Italian striker…
“Mario didn’t do what we wanted him to do today, but he has incredible ability and I love him as a person and a player, but he needs to produce that talent during games. He is young and has talent and I thought he could cause United a lot of problems. I don’t want him to waste all the talent he has.”
Dempsey Showing Consistency
Last season’s top scoring FPL midfielder continued his recent upturn in consistency by firing the opener at Everton yesterday. Dempsey has now produced the goods in four consecutive Gameweeks – having provided an assist in each of his previous three, he is starting to suggest he has finally settled at the Lane, after a poor first few months. With decent form and a strong set of fixtures on the horizon for Spurs, Dempsey could well move onto Fantasy radars as a decent differential but Andre Villas-Boas’ tactics may yet prove his undoing. The Spurs boss rolled out a 4-4-2 yesterday as Emmanuel Adebayor returned from suspension to join Jermain Defoe up top – the same formation utilised the last time Adebayor was available for domestic duty, against Arsenal in Gameweek 12. While Dempsey can certainly expect to keep his place on the left flank until Gareth Bale recovers from his hamstring injury, it remains to be seen whether he will continue in the first XI when the Welshman returns – Villas-Boas may well choose the current shape and do away with the 4-2-3-1 system which has afforded Dempsey plenty game time in “the hole” behind Defoe.
Rare Blank for Fellaini
Marouane Fellaini’s first blank since the Gameweek 7 draw at Wigan afforded a couple of Everton’s faltering stars a chance to steal the Fantasy headlines. Nikica Jelavic’s late winner was only his second goal since Gameweek 7, while Steven Pienaar’s strike was his first attacking returns since the same match – a damning set of statistics that highlight just how disappointing the pair have been in recent months. With Leighton Baines only producing one assist over his last seven, Everton went into yesterday’s match without a win in their previous nine and had failed to score more than once since Gameweek 11 – David Moyes will be looking for more than just Fellaini to step up if his side are to kick on from yesterday’s morale-boosting comeback win.
Johnson Stakes a Claim
While Jose Enrique limped off with a hamstring injury, Glen Johnson hammered home his first goal of the season as Liverpool clinched victory at West Ham. Johnson had offered plenty of attacking threat all season without quite finding his eye for goal but his strike could well have propelled him onto Fantasy radars ahead of the Reds’ strong run of fixtures. With just one goal conceded in their last five at home, the Reds backline look an enticing option and, with Villa, Fulham and Sunderland all paying visit in the next five, investment in the Reds defence is expected to step up heading into the weekend’s home game with Villa. Although Enrique’s out of position appeal seems to have all but vanished after shifting from the front three back into defence in the last few weeks, his owners will be pleased by Brendan Rodgers’ post-match prognosis, which revealed the left-back was withdrawn as no more than a precautionary measure:
“He was just a wee bit tight. He’s just come back into the team and played during the week against Udinese. And given all the travel, he was very stiff yesterday but we gave him a go and he just couldn’t quite move the same.”
Nolan Misfires Again
Yesterday’s 3-2 home defeat by Liverpool saw West Ham take their tally to five goals in the last two Gameweeks at Upton Park, yet Kevin Nolan once again failed to play a part. Having had a hand in six of the Hammers’ 12 goals in the first eight Gameweeks, Nolan has now scored or assisted just one of his side’s nine goals in the following eight games, with a particularly tricky fixture list halting his Fantasy appeal in recent weeks. While the next three games look tricky, the following schedule may afford Nolan the chance to produce the goods from Gameweek 20 onwards – enough to persuade many of his 22% owners to hold firm in the meantime.
