Gameweek 6 highlights

Martial lights it up

A lot of doubters were converted to believers last weekend after Anthony Martial once again stole the show.  Martial started for the first time for Manchester United and he duly served up a cool brace against Southampton. The way he took those goals with calmness and composure was an eye-opener, considering he’s only 20 years old. Of course, the other question that needs to be answered is whether Wayne Rooney deserves to retain his spot in the starting line-up after putting up yet another non-performance. Sooner or later, it will cost Manchester United, especially when players like Martial and Juan Mata (who is probably the most under-appreciated Manchester United player right now) have an off-day.

Flavour of the week, Anthony Martial

City lose their clean sheet record

It’s such a boost when you get a prediction right, as I did about Manchester City conceding against West Ham. Having said that, with club captain Vincent Kompany absent, City not only conceded but actually proceeded to lose against the Hammers, raising the question of how much they rely on Kompany’s influence at the back. Up front, David Silva’s late withdrawal had a clear effect on Sergio Aguero’s potential goal-scoring and Manchester City’s fluency as a whole. No doubt Kevin De Bruyne is an able player, but Silva and Aguero have that solid understanding gained from years of playing together. City face a stern test of their credentials next week as they face an in-form, if somewhat unspectacular Spurs side who have not conceded in their past 3 Premier League matches.

Sunderland screw up again

Just when I started to think they were finding some solidity, they collapse spectacularly. It’s very obvious that without John O’Shea (who missed the match due to a virus) in the back four, there is no one to marshall the defence with strength and calmness. They take on a rapidly improving Manchester United side in Gameweek 7 at the Theatre of Dreams, and the signs are looking ominous.

 A possible Chelsea revival?

The London derby saw a lot of flared tempers as Diego Costa did what he needed to do to screw around with the heads of the Arsenal defence. Costa may be facing retrospective action though, so hold off on your transfers for now. And while we won’t be picking Zouma anytime soon, Eden Hazard had his best game since the season started. Out of the 5 players I listed in last week’s Who’s Who list, Hazard turned out to be the only one to break his duck.

Will Hazard go on a run?

Leicester can’t keep clean sheets

They may be one of the most exciting teams in the league to watch, but they can’t seem to keep a clean sheet (CS) to save their lives. I picked Robert Huth because of his goal-scoring threat and price, but have yet to gain any dividends when you have other players in the same price bracket that are picking up better points, not to mention the occasional CS.

This week sees the Capital Cup games take centre stage. Since the fantasy game should not be taking any stats from these games into account, we will no doubt be hoping that none of our fantasy players succumb to injuries, or even take the field for these matches to keep them fresh for the weekend. It’s also worth noting that there are 2 teams who will not be participating. These are Watford and Bournemouth, incidentally both newly-promoted sides, which is something to consider as they will be well-rested for the weekend ahead.

See you next time!