Teams, Games and
Players to Look Out For:
Teams
West
Ham
The
Hammers have not lived up to expectation this season and have been very poor,
especially on the defensive front. This was evidenced in the FA Cup 3rd
Round, where they were thumped 5-0 at home by Manchester City. In fact, this is
not the first time West Ham have conceded 5 at home this season. They conceded
5 at the Olympic Stadium to Arsenal, as well as 4 to Watford and 3 to
Southampton. In addition they have also lacked goals and a genuine striker.
Now, if speculation comes to fruition and Dimitri Payet leaves the club, they
will also not have a top level playmaker. At the present, it seems that there
is a lack of harmony in the West Ham squad, with results not going their way
and Bilic chopping and changing his line up each week. In GW21, West Ham face
an attack minded Crystal Palace side in a very important game. A win could see
them jump into the top half, but a loss could see them drop to 16th,
just two places above the relegation zone.
Therefore, it is imperative for West Ham to ‘turn up’ this GW, and not
allow Crystal Palace to just be another statistic in their poor season.
Arsenal
Arsenal
are not having a good time with injuries at the moment. Due to injuries to
Cazorla and Coquelin and AFCON ruling Elneny out, the Gunners are left with
only Xhaka and Ramsey in central midfield. However, this lack of options could
do a world of good for Aaron Ramsey. He will be allowed to play centrally
instead of on the wing, and will be allowed more influence on the game. Also,
if Giroud continues up front, Ramsey’s stocks should rise even more, as Arsenal
will be forced to turn to a quick passing game and Ramsey, with his penetrating
runs into the box, could benefit from this. However, the absences of Coquelin
and Elneny, the two true defensive midfielders in the squad, may reduce the
likelihood of clean sheets over the coming weeks, perhaps reducing the appeal
of Bellerin and Koscielny. Furthermore, Wenger has a plethora of attacking
players at his disposal, which could mean that we begin to see rotation in the
attacking midfield positions and up front. In fact, Wenger stated in a recent
interview, that his team sheet will not be consistent, but dependent on the
opposition his side are facing. As a result, the only nailed on attacking
players in the Arsenal squad are Sanchez, Ozil and Walcott, evidenced by the
fact that all three have started every game this season when available.
Subsequently, taking a punt on Giroud or Iwobi may come back to bite some FPL
managers.
Leicester
With
Mahrez, Slimani and Amartey out due to the AFCON, Leicester have lost three of
their best players this season. To rub salt into the wounds, King and Vardy are
now ill and Ulloa picked up a thigh injury in the FA Cup tie. As a result, Ranieri’s
options are diminished at the moment. However, this could provide a chance for
two players who have not been given many opportunities this season to stand out
– Demarai Gray and Ahmed Musa. Both players have shown glimpses of their
quality this season but a consistent run of starts could see them become viable
FPL options. In the FA Cup game against Everton, Musa played at CF and bagged 2
goals (4 shots). This means that in his past 3 starts in English competitions
(PL and FA Cup), he has netted 4 goals. Such effectiveness in front of goal
could see Musa flourish if given more opportunities. Additionally, Gray is
another player who could become a viable FPL option if given a chance. In his 6
starts this season in all competitions, he has averaged 3 shots per game, which
is on par with Theo Walcott and better than Lukaku, Alli, Hazard, De Bruyne,
Mahrez and Vardy. If these two players can combine and play the role of Vardy
and Mahrez from last season, suddenly everything will be looking up for
Leicester. Moreover, the return to fitness of Danny Drinkwater (2 assists in FA
Cup vs Everton) and the signing of Wilfred Ndidi should sure up the Foxes
midfield. All these factors should help to reduce the inconsistencies in
performance between European/domestic competitions we have seen this season
from the reigning PL champions.
Games
Everton
vs Manchester City
This
game poses an interesting prospect. Both sides have played well recently, but have
also been unconvincing at times and quite inconsistent. Therefore, this game
seems like it will be very close. However, delving into the form of individual
match winning players, Everton could have the edge. After a 4 game run of blanks,
Romelu Lukaku has returned to top form recently. Over his past 7 starts (all
competitions), he has managed a shot frequency of 1 every 27.39 minutes (just
under 4 per game) and returned 5 goals and 1 assist. In addition, Kevin
Mirallas (1 shot per 24 mins/3.8 per game), Ross Barkley (1 shot every 24.85
mins and 1 chance created every 29 mins) and Leighton Baines (10 chances
created over past 7 GWs as well as 2 goals, 2 assists and 11 bonus) are all in
superb form at the moment. But, Everton will be without Idrissa Gueye, who is
leading the competition for tackles made this season, which may make it easier
for City to breach their defence. In contrast, Manchester City’s only in-form
player at the moment is Raheem Sterling (1 goal and 4 assists in past 5 GWs). Although
Aguero scored last GW and again in the FA Cup midweek, we must remember that he
was dropped for GW20 due to poor form, and has looked well off the pace since
returning from suspension. Similarly, De Bruyne has not returned a double digit
haul since GW6, and has only recorded 2 assists in the last 8 GWs. Therefore,
although Man City have bigger name players, they are not necessarily favourites
due to form. As a result, it will be interesting to see if the Everton players
continue their good form, or if the Man City heavy hitters kick into gear in
this game and lead their side to victory.
Manchester United vs Liverpool
Last
time these sides met, it was built up as the game of the season, but it ended
in a bore 0-0 draw. However, this time it could be different. Earlier in the
season, Mourinho sent his side out to defend at Anfield and not let The Reds
win at their home ground. Subsequently, there was not much attacking play in
the game, with only 16 shots in total. It could be different this time as it is
at Old Trafford and Mourinho will no doubt want a win. As a result, he will
allow the game to be more open as he will hopefully give his team licence to
attack. This should bring Ibrahimovic (4 shots per game over past 3 GWs), Pogba
(1 shot every 16 mins and 1 chance created every 36 mins over past 4 games in
all competitions) and Mkhitaryan (1 shot every 28 mins and 1 chance created
every 18 mins over past 4 games) into consideration for FPL managers. Also,
it’s not Liverpool’s style to go out and defend, so Klopp will no doubt roll
out another attacking squad selection, with the aim of picking up all three
points. Thus, the fixture proof Daniel Strurridge (1 shot every 12 mins in 4
appearances since returns from injury), Roberto Firmino (1 shot every 23 mins
and 1 chance created every 39 mins over past 4 GWs) and Adam Lallana (4 goals
and 2 assist in past 7 GWs) are brought in play for FPL managers. Therefore, it
is clear that this game has the potential to be a high scoring and entertaining
one.
Stay tuned for Part 2, where I will discuss my top
captain picks, give my score predictions and reveal the GW21 Star Picks XI.
It will be published tomorrow.
