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Lobos 2-0 Crystal Palace
- Goals: Rayan Aït-Nouri (£ 5.0 million), Daniel Podence (£ 5.5 million)
- Attend: Pedro Neto (£ 5.5 million)
- Extra points: Aït-Nouri x3, Nelson Semedo x2 (£ 5.5 million), Net x1
HOWLING WOLF
Fantasy Premier League managers finally got a definitive clue on Nuno Espirito Santo’s long-term plans for his defense this season in a 2-0 win over Crystal Palace.
And, to the dismay of the 22.4% in possession of Romain Saïss (£ 5.3m), the best-scoring FPL defender in 2020/21, we get confirmation that his role is diminishing.
The return to fitness Marçal (£ 4.9m) and the arrival of Rayan Aït-Nouri (£ 5.0m) had been sneaking up on Saïss for the past few weeks as he positioned himself on the left back.
But the appearance of Max kilman (£ 4.2 million) has caught him between a rock and a hard place, considering that they have now taken his old job too. Crucially, against Palace, Saïss stayed on the Lobos bench. Helpful for avoiding single-point cameos, but increases the need for nearly a quarter of managers to turn to their bank.
Of the FPL advocates, only Trent Alexander-Arnold (33.2%) and the injured Tyrick mitchell (25.7%) came to Gameweek 7 with more owners than Saïss, who actually became the most popular in that position among the top 10,000 managers on Friday night.
The fact that it no longer has a guaranteed start could mean that a large number of coaches already have a transfer booked for Gameweek 8, especially those who feel they cannot bank a non-playing asset at £ 5.3 million. Interestingly, 8.2% of all managers own both Saïss and Mitchell, although it is easier to keep the latter in the bank for a few weeks.
Consequently, we could see a blitzkrieg from the Wolves man in the coming days, especially as his team’s upcoming games are now getting worse from a defensive perspective anyway. The Wolves will travel to Leicester, Arsenal and Liverpool between now and week 11 of the game.
RAYAN ADVENTURES
Meanwhile, Aït-Nouri and Kilman’s fantastic performances against Crystal Palace dashed any hope that Saïss could somehow fight his way back to being a left-back or center-back.
Considering he is a natural left back, it should come as no surprise that Aït-Nouri offered a much better balance next to the Wolves than Saïss. It was also available to exploit Cheikhou Kouyaté(£ 5.0m) first half clearance at bottom corner of Vicente Guaita(£ 5.0 million) to give the Wolves a well-deserved lead.
Bombarding forward with intent and energy, the 19-year-old matched what Nelson Semedo (£ 5.5m) offered to the right and as a result Crystal Palace struggled to cope with the breadth of the field.
“(Aït-Nouri) is brilliant. You have entered and learned the role from the inside out. It’s really sharp. He turns you around with his bag of tricks. Tonight, I thought it was brilliant. “- Conor Coady
“(Aït-Nouri) played well. Has a lot of talent. There is a lot to improve in the defensive aspect and in the form of the team. But scoring on your debut is great. “- Nuno Espirito Santo
DEAR PODENCE
Arguably the main beneficiaries of Aït-Nouri’s impact on the Wolves team were Daniel Podence (£ 5.5 million) and Pedro Neto (£ 5.5 million), each of which got their third attacking comeback of the season on Gameweek 7.
Each winger took forward positions and offered energy and enthusiasm to go back, although it is true that Aït-Nouri was not as good at that part of the job as Semedo (which Nuno took up, based on the quote above). In general, the extra pace in these areas allowed the two wingers much more freedom to move forward and cause problems against Palace.
Podence was particularly lively in the early stages, as the Wolves finally rediscovered how to start games on the front foot. Tellingly, Aït-Nouri’s goal in the 18th minute was the first in the first half since matchday one.
So after teeing Leander dendoncker (£ 4.5 million) for a header effort in the seventh minute and seeing Guaita ward off a curved punch in the 10th minute, Podence finally rewarded the patience of his 3.6% ownership with a first attacking comeback since Gameweek 2.
Scoring his first goal since this very meeting last season, the former Olympiacos player ghostly entered the back post to get under Guaita after Neto found space behind. Patrick van Aanholt (£ 5.4 million) for a cross.
IN THE INSTANT
The 482,570 Fantasy managers who signed Wilfried zaha (£ 7.3 million) for Gameweek 7 were naturally disappointed to see him win just one point at Wolves.
The fact that Nuno’s men have kept four clean sheets out of a possible seven now arguably makes his rather calm display feel more like an anomaly, considering he averaged 10 points per away game before Friday night.
With Leeds (home), Burnley (away), Newcastle (home) and West Bromwich Albion (away) next, there are still plenty of reasons to be positive about Zaha’s credentials.
Especially since he could go back to penalties later Luka Milivojevic(£ 5.7 million) short-lived comeback to the Crystal Palace side.
During the absence of the club captain, Zaha has been responsible for shooting from the point. But, when the Eagles got one in the first half at Molineux, it was unsurprisingly Milivojevic who prepared to take it.
In the end, the penalty was ruled out for an offside in preparation, but the fact that the Serb picks up the ball and stands still says it all.
However, Zaha’s owners received a kind of pardon as Milivojevic was expelled for violent conduct in the final stages. Currently, his penalty lasts for three games, which of course would be ideal for anyone who wants Zaha to receive more penalties.
That said, it would be worth keeping an eye on whether Palace decides to appeal the decision and attempt to shorten the suspension.
“I am disappointed by the red card. Personally, I thought it was a fair challenge from Luka Milivojević. But the referee, unfortunately, had a different opinion ”. – Roy Hodgson
Wolverhampton Wanderers XI (3-4-3): Patrick; Kilman, Coady, Boly; Aït-Nouri, Neves, Dendoncker, Semedo; Neto (Moutinho 76 ′), Jiménez (F Silva 90 + 1 ′), Podence (Traoré 76 ′).
Crystal Palace XI (4-4-2): Guaita; van Aanholt, Dann, Kouyaté, Clyne; Schlupp (Eze 65 ‘), Riedewald, Milivojevic, Townsend (Ayew 72’); Zaha, Batshuayi (Benteke 84 ′).
LESSONS LEARNED FROM FPL GAMEWEEK 7
- Lobos 2-0 Crystal Palace
- Sheffield United v Manchester City
- Burnley v Chelsea
- Liverpool v West Ham United
- Aston Villa v Southampton
- Newcastle United v Everton
- Manchester United v Arsenal
- Tottenham Hotspur v Brighton and Hove Albion
- Fulham v West Bromwich Albion
- Leeds United v Leicester City
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