Latest on Antonio, Lingard and Soucek as Masuaku enjoys advanced role at Wolves

WOLVES 2-3 WEST HAM

• Goals: Leander Dendoncker (£4.6m), Fábio Silva (£5.2m) | Jesse Lingard (£6.3m), Pablo Fornals (£5.8m), Jarrod Bowen (£5.9m)
• Assists: Adama Traoré (£6.0m), Pedro Neto (£5.7m) | Vladimir Coufal (£4.6m), Arthur Masuaku (£4.3m), Lingard
• Bonus points: Lingard x3, Dendoncker x2, F Silva x1, A Traoré x1

JESS SAYIN’

Jesse Lingard (£6.3m) continued his impressive run of form with a ninth and tenth attacking return of the season in West Ham’s 3-2 win at Wolves.

The Manchester United loanee has enjoyed quite the renaissance since his Hammers debut in Gameweek 22, already amassing 18.2% ownership worldwide.

During that time no Premier League player has been involved in more goals than Lingard (10), who has produced four double-digit hauls, a total of 68 points in eight appearances (8.5 points per game).

“It’s just consistency I think. I’ve obviously not played for the past two years, I think. So to play week-in, week-out and keeping up form but the team has helped me tremendously.” – Jesse Lingard

The question facing Fantasy Premier League managers not in possession of the England international is whether or not he can sustain this form, especially with Leicester and Chelsea two of West Ham’s next three opponents.

After Monday night’s win at Molineux, there are two factors to consider here.

The other factor is what happens elsewhere in the West Ham team, considering Michail Antonio (£6.7m) went off injured against Wolves…

MICKY PLEASE BE FINE

David Moyes is waiting to assess potential damage to Antonio’s hamstring after he was forced off 36 minutes into West Ham’s Gameweek 30 outing.

The player has a history of muscle injuries, especially in recent seasons, hence the manager’s concern.

As things stand, West Ham’s doctors need to take a closer look before confirming whether or not he will miss the Gameweek 31 meeting with Leicester.

“We’re not sure yet. We’ll assess it tomorrow. He doesn’t feel too bad just now but we’ll check it tomorrow and see what it is. It looks as if he’s felt his hamstring, so we’ll need to check it out.” – David Moyes

“Mick felt his hamstring a little bit and we’ve just got to hope it’s nothing too bad, but if you’re a West Ham supporter know you all about Mick’s hamstrings, so we’ve got to be really wary of it.” – David Moyes

Antonio played a key role in Lingard’s impressive solo goal against Wolves, making a clever run to distract defenders and open up space for him to run into.

While Jarrod Bowen (£5.9m) scored as the centre-forward’s replacement, the former Hull man naturally offers less physical presence up-top compared to Antonio.

Therefore, owners of Lingard, or potential suitors, will need to keep an eye on how West Ham’s number 30 develops fitness-wise between now and Friday’s FPL deadline.

Meanwhile, there were also mild injury concerns about Lingard himself, who appeared to be struggling in the late stages of Monday’s win.

However, it has since been confirmed that he was suffering nothing more than cramp after a coming together while Tomas Soucek (£5.3m) got a cut on his ankle. We understand neither player required further assessment on Tuesday morning.

“Tomas (Soucek) has a cut in the ankle and Jesse (Lingard) got raked, but unfortunately we are just getting a few injuries.” – David Moyes

AND I SAY HEY

Monday night was a match for the formational-change purists as both West Ham and Wolves were forced into new shapes on the back of recent injuries.

Owners of Aaron Cresswell (£5.9m) perhaps have the most cause for frustration as his 28.6% backing watched him take on a more conservative role at Molineux as the Hammers often moved into a back-five when out of possession.

One of the reasons for that shift was Arthur Masuaku‘s (£4.3m) return to the team for a first start since Gameweek 11.

Prior to his injury, Cresswell would often play as the left-sided centre-back in a three-man defence with Masuaku and Vladimir Coufal (£4.6m) taking up wing-back duties.

Fantasy managers should certainly keep an eye on how that situation develops as they consider the best way to invest in West Ham’s defence between now and the end of the season.

Meanwhile, Wolves were forced into two late defensive changes in Gameweek 30.

Jonny (£5.4m) is now out for the season after sustaining an anterior cruciate ligament injury in training while Willy Boly (£5.4m) was ruled out on the morning of the game by a positive coronavirus (COVID-19).

“Jonny had a difficult injury on the right knee. It requires surgery so he will be missing the rest of the season. It’s tough, especially for him, besides he’s an important player and an important member of the squad.” – Nuno Espirito Santo

At such a late hour, and with other defensive shortages this season, Nuno did not have the option to revert to Wolves’ traditional three-man defence, and had to field Rayan Aït-Nouri (£5.0m) at left-back while Romain Saïss (£4.9m) had a poor game in a two-man central defensive pairing with Conor Coady (£4.8m).

Wolverhampton Wanderers XI (4-2-3-1): Patrício; Aït-Nouri (Hoever 90′), Saïss, Coady, Semedo; Neves, Dendoncker; A Traoré, Podence (F Silva 46′), Neto; Willian J (Vitinha 72′).

West Ham United XI (3-4-2-1): Fabianski; Cresswell, Diop, Dawson; Masuaku (B Johnson 67′), Noble, Soucek, Coufal; Lingard, Fornals (Benrahma 78′); Antonio (Bowen 36′).

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