…Cause we’ve got Salah, do do do do do do…
There is one reason and one reason only that we saw some really nice green arrows last week and it’s because of that Egyptian magician! He was our very own Beyonce to Destiny’s Child. Justin Timberlake to NSync! The rest of our team were mere backing singers whilst Salah took the armband and broke us into the top 50k.
Back to back weeks of greens have moved us up to 46k, our highest overall position this season. With all chips intact ready for the upcoming blanks and doubles I’m feeling confident we can keep this march going
Nick Pope followed up his 11pts in GW25 with an impressive 5pt score against City. I’d be lying if I said I expected anything other than 1pt here but 6 saves and a bonus point were a pleasant surprise.
We had a back 3 scoring a combined 3. With Phil Jones and Marcos Alonso missing out we had Angelo Ogbonna and Christopher Schindler come into our XI, joining Andrew Robertson. All 3 were part of teams conceding at least 2 so points were scarce. Following 3 clean sheets in 3 games against Chelsea, Arsenal and Stoke, Ogbonna has now gone 8 games straight without one. West Ham appear to have reverted back to their early season form so I’m not sure I really want any part of that back line now.
Our midfield reverted back to a 4 and as you are already aware it was the Mo show. Salah led the captain vote (thanks readers) and scored a huge 30pts. Both his goals in the crazy 2-2 draw with Spurs looked so easy, showing that he has no intention of ending this incredible run of form. With 12 GW’s left he has already broken the 200pt mark. He’s got a little way to go to match Luis Suarez’s record 295pt haul in 2013/14 but I certainly wouldn’t be betting against it. With me lauding up Mo it would be easy to ignore Xherdan Shaqiri’s 8pts. Stoke may have lost but the Swiss midfielder scored his first goal in 12 games. Much needed for us. Raheem Sterling and Heung Min Son both blanked, which was the first time both have both blanked in the same week since GW12 in November.
Up top it was looking rather bleak as Harry Kane saw his late penalty saved. Thankfully he got the opportunity for redemption and buried his injury time spot kick. 4pts was a relief given that he was looking at a big fat zero. Roberto Firmino and Callum Wilson both returned 2pts.
59pts against an average of 43pts was great especially as we didn’t use a transfer. With 2 free this week I have decided to only use 1 for some minor defensive maintenance.
Ogbonna (OUT) – Mee (IN)
In a nutshell, if your defence can concede 3 to Brighton I want no part of it. It’s nothing personal Angelo.
Nick Pope starts in goal again but he’s up against a resurgent Swansea. Since the appointment of Carlos Carvalhal the Welsh outfit have been nothing short of superb, especially at home, where they have beaten Liverpool, Arsenal and notched 8 in midweek against Notts County. A clean sheet will be a big ask.
At the back we start Marcos Alonso and Phil Jones in the hope they both return to their respective line ups. Both have favourable matches so fingers crossed. They are joined by Andrew Robertson who will be looking to improve on 1 clean sheet in his last 5 games.
Our midfield is unchanged. Heung Min Son starts us off in a much anticipated North London Derby tomorrow lunch time. He looked in fine form midweek so hopefully he can deliver an attacking return following 3 straight blanks. Xherdan Shaqiri and Raheem Sterling also feature on Saturday with fairly appealing home games. Shaqiri faces Brighton whilst Sterling is playing Leicester in the late kick off. Mo Salah plays Sunday as Liverpool travel to Southampton. Fixture wise I think we have potential for some decent points.
Up front is the usual 3. Harry Kane, like Son, is involved in the early kick off. There are only 4 certainties in life. Death, taxes, me sending questionable texts when drunk and Harry Kane scoring in London derbies. I fancy this to be a bit of a goalfest so I hopeful of a goal or two from the Spurs man. He’s joined by Roberto Firmino away at Southampton and Callum Wilson away at Huddersfield. Both were in fine form prior to last week so hopefully they can get back on track.
Time to make it 3 weeks of greens in a row. I like our line up and feel there’s favourable enough matchups to be looking at another 50pt+ week. There looks to be a few genuine options for the armband so please feel free to vote below for our GW26 captain. A repeat of last week will be much appreciated.
[polldaddy poll=9935665]
Thanks for reading and good luck to you all!
Written by FPL Guru (@FPL_Guru)
