This Much We Know – Gameweek 16

We cast our eye over the weekend’s nine fixtures this Monday lunchtime to assess the lessons learned. City’s growing crisis up front, Jose Mourinho’s plans to rotate, the burgeoning form of Robin van Persie and Christian Eriksen’s rise to Fantasy prominence are all amongst our lunchtime menu.

Pellegrini needs to get creative to solve City’s striker crisis..
With Edin Dzeko joining Sergio Aguero and Stevan Jovetic on the sidelines last weekend, Manuel Pellegrini is left without a single fit striker ahead of a superb run of fixtures. The City boss has a dearth of options in midfield and could utilise a “false nine” in order to cope with the injury situation – intriguingly, Pellegrini admitted David Silva, Samir Nasri and James Milner will all be given the chance as a deep-lying forward in training over the next few days as he attempts to restructure his XI. With Palace, West Brom, Burnley and Sunderland in the next four, City’s midfield looks a likely source of points over the festive period, whilst a run of three clean sheets in the last four also suggests that the champions are determined to tighten up as they look to deal with a lack of legitimate options up front.

Hazard at home is relentless…
The Belgian notched for the fifth successive match at the Bridge and swept aside Diego Costa’s challenge for the armband in a 2-0 win over Hull. With Sergio Aguero injured, the Chelsea pair were the runaway candidates in last week’s Captain Poll at home to Hull and, whilst both grabbed a goal apiece, Hazard also chipped in with an assist and maximum bonus to rack up 14 points to Costa’s five. The latter is now up to 59% ownership after over 270,000 acquired him as a result of Aguero’s injury but, with a top score of seven points from Gameweek 5 onwards, is offering little to suggest he’s worthy of our armband attentions.

Van Persie is back…
Whilst Costa failed to justify the recent investment, the Dutchman’s renaissance continued in Sunday’s home win over Liverpool. A goal and assist against the Merseysiders, allied with a couple of bonus points, means Van Persie has now racked up three sets of double-figure hauls in the last four Gameweeks – underlining his fast-improving form at a time when Aguero’s absence has us scouring the market for an explosive alternative. Subject to over 116,000 transfers in last week, Van Persie has now climbed to 12.6 in FPL but with his confidence on the up, more investment looks likely.

Giroud is benefitting from a lack of versatility…
The Frenchman continued to build up his match sharpness with a 72-minute run-out at home to Newcastle on Saturday evening. Giroud’s brace against the Magpies took his tally to four goals in 325 minutes for the Gunners – one more than Danny Welbeck has managed in 1,134 minutes by comparison. The most transferred in forward this week, it’s clear that Giroud’s more physical presence up front offers Arsene Wenger’s side a focal point that the likes of Welbeck and Alexis Sanchez simply don’t have. Only a few weeks ago, the latter two were spearheading Arsenal’s attack in a 4-4-2 but with Giroud back in the frame, they were once again shifted to the flanks as the Gunners boss continued with a 4-2-3-1, allowing Giroud the role of lead striker once again.

…whereas Rooney is too adaptable for his own good..
After partnering Van Persie in Monday’s win at Southampton, hopes were high that the United skipper could retain a more advanced berth as Liverpool came calling. Instead, Rooney found himself in central midfield alongside Marouane Fellaini as Juan Mata tucked in behind the Dutchman and James Wilson up front. Granted, Rooney once again grabbed a goal in the 3-0 win and has produced three strikes and an assist in his last four but with Van Persie firing on all cylinders once again and guaranteed a role up front regardless of formation, the Red Devils’ skipper looks less appealing. With Louis van Gaal also having Radamel Falcao as an alternative up front, Rooney’s brief stint as part of the front two already looks to be over.

Rodgers needs Sterling in the middle…
A 3-0 defeat at United was more than a little harsh on Liverpool. As the Reds prepare for a run of three home matches in the next four, Brendan Rodgers will at least take some crumb of comfort in his side’s attacking intentions – Liverpool fired 19 shots and looked far livelier in the final third than they have for some time. Rodgers’ decision to hand Raheem Sterling a starting role as a “false nine”, with Adam Lallana and Philippe Coutinho fielded on the flanks, saw the youngster turn in his most impressive display for a number of weeks. It remains to be seen whether Sterling can retain a role through the middle after Mario Balotelli was introduced at half-time but if Rodgers is to halt his side’s slump, moving Sterling out wide seems a step backwards right now.

Jose is true to his word…
With six matches in all competitions between Saturday’s win over Hull and New Year’s Day, the Blues boss talked up rotation late last week. Ahead of the 2-0 win over the Tigers, Mourinho’s insistence that “I don’t think one player will play these six matches. I think I have to give them one rest,” came to fruition for Cesar Azpilicueta owners after the Spain international dropped out of the XI. Earlier today, Mourinho’s confirmation that Gary Cahill will be rested for the midweek cup clash against Derby backs up his intentions and it seems that even his new batch of “Untouchables” may be briefly taken out of the firing line as the hectic schedule intensifies.

Eriksen’s a slow-burner…
The Tottenham midfielder seems intent on replicating last season’s displays, where he produced just a single assist in the opening 15 Gameweeks before finally finding his form. Slow out the blocks once again this time around, Eriksen is quickly atoning for his sluggish start after climbing into third spot in the FPL midfield rankings with a 13-point haul away to Swansea. Having played every minute of the last five, the 8.1-priced Dane seems to have finally convinced Mauricio Pochettino of his worth and, after months in Nacer Chadli’s shadow, is now suggesting he’s capable of slugging it out with the premium priced big hitters from this point on.

Bony can thrive despite Swans’ form…
A second-half strike against Spurs wasn’t enough to save his side from defeat yesterday. After picking up just four points from their last five matches, Garry Monk’s men are starting to slip down the table as the returns dry up for Gylfi Sigurdsson – whilst the Icelandic international has managed just one assist over that period, Bony has racked up four goals, an assist and four bonus points by comparison. It’s eight goals in his last 10 league appearances now for the Ivorian, yet his FPL ownership still sits at a relatively lowly 14% – with Hull, Villa, Liverpool and QPR up next, Bony looks poised for further festive cheer before departing for the African Cup of Nations next month.