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WEST BROMWICH ALBION 0-1 TOTTENHAM HOTSPUR
- Goals: Harry Kane (£ 11.0 million)
- Attend: Matt Doherty (£ 5.8 million)
- Cousin: Kane, Doherty x3, Sergio Reguilon (£ 5.6 million) x1
Harry KaneThe owners (£ 11.0m) will recall their late header that briefly sent Tottenham Hotspur to the top of the table, but it was a forgettable match at the Hawthorns that seemed destined for 0-0 mediocrity.
Spurs were unconvincing in this Sunday lunchtime clash – a combination of exhaustion from their Europa League trip to Bulgaria midweek and a tough West Brom unlucky enough to have a point cruelly snatched away. .
Reflecting on the game, José Mourinho said:
It was one of those matches with all the ingredients to lose a couple of points: difficult opponents, they want to stop you, they analyze you, they see where you are strong, they try to close all possible doors, and they succeeded.
Kane was calm, but all he needed was a cross in the 88th minute for Matt doherty (£ 5.8 million), rising to top the Irishman’s home delivery.
That was the England forward’s eighth goal in as many games against the Baggies and his 150th strike in the Premier League overall, holding the Spurs’ 100% away record.
KANE IS ABLE
More than two million FPL managers captained Kane this week, no doubt hoping for another loot after the Spurs’ three previous victories produced a combined score of 12-3. But things were much more difficult here against a team struggling to escape the relegation zone.
Despite all the talk about Kane essentially playing as a midfielder, he still provides the goals to accompany his newfound creativity. Last season’s two assists have already been eclipsed by eight this time around and he entered the weekend with a number of chances created (14) and great chances created (9) well above the next best of a forward.
Similar to how Roberto Firmino (£ 9.2m) acts as a false nine for Mohamed salah (£ 12.4 million) and Sadio mane (£ 12.0m) to play as two forwards, Kane was apparently sitting deep during a Son Heung-min (£ 9.6 million) and Gareth Bale (£ 9.5m) attack force. However, it is the England captain who takes the points home, while Son disappointed many by failing to continue his streak of double-digit away sets.
SON STOP SHINING
Clearly, it is not possible to get 24, 18 or 11 points each time, but Son missed a great opportunity in the first half. Passed by Tanguy ndombele (£ 5.9m), Son seemed hesitant to pull the trigger as West Brom’s defenders raced back to catch up. He finally took a shot but missed.
A second successive blank will affect their 60% ownership, especially considering the accessory change that now awaits José Mourinho’s team.
His first six games after the international break include meetings with Manchester City, Chelsea, Arsenal, Liverpool and Leicester City. In a classic FPL debate on form versus accessories, what will the many who have doubled down with both Kane and Son do about this difficult streak? Particularly when the premium assets in Manchester City and Manchester United are about to start a hot streak.
Neither player is to blame as they are at the top of the FPL game as the top scorers thus far. They have accumulated 15 goals and 10 assists between them in just eight games, truly phenomenal numbers. In a crazy season that has produced great surprises, great comebacks, many goals and little sense, it is perhaps too logical to assume that Kevin De Bruyne (£ 11.5 million), Bruno fernandes (£ 10.5 million) or Raheem Sterling (£ 11.5 million) are the way to go.
The team news was led by Bale as he started his first league game since returning to Spurs on loan from Real Madrid. Against Brighton he came off the bench to score a late winner, such drama is becoming a habit in recent weeks, replacing the big wins from before, and it was felt that he was ready to form a fearsome in front of the three alongside Kane. and they are. In truth, it was ineffective, almost reaching a center early in the second half, but it produced nothing else.
REGUILON CONTINUES ATTACK
Left side only Sergio Reguilon (£ 5.6 million) provided any threat of attack as the match progressed. Long-range shots in the 59th minute were saved and then fired again, with a subsequent effort blocked in the way of Young Lo Celso (£ 6.9 million). Had the substitute scored, it would have been Reguilon’s third assist in five league appearances.
Besides a clean sheet, Reguilon certainly passed the sight test – crossing to Carlos Vinicius‘(£ 7.0 million) low left-foot shot that produced a wonderful save of Sam johnstone (4.5 million pounds sterling). And yet it was Doherty on the other flank who provided Kane’s assistance.
Wolves’ £ 15 million firm was initially heavily backed by the FPL community but has been phased out, dropping the price twice because it had not posted attack returns and was rotated twice with Serge aurier (£ 5.2 million)
WIRELESS BAGS
In his program notes, under pressure Slaven Bilic demanded that his players be “smarter, more mature and dirtier in the game.” He got what he asked for, with West Brom arguably the best team for most of the match.
Baggies boss said after the full time:
My message to the players was that this should be our standard now. We have to act like this at least every minute of every game. It’s really hard to be confident in a loss because the best way to be confident is to win games and climb the league. But you can also have confidence in the performances and today was an example of that.
Bilic was forced to make changes to his side after Matheus Pereira (£ 5.9 million) and Branislav Ivanovic (£ 4.5 million) tested positive for coronavirus. He took this opportunity to change the system, choosing a 5-4-1 winger formation with the return Kyle bartley (£ 4.5 million) and Dara O’Shea (£ 4.3 million) in the middle half.
Karlan Grant (£ 5.9 million) somehow missed a free header from six yards after a brilliant Darnell furlong (£ 4.5m) cross, before a taunt Callum robinson (£ 5.5 million) decreased delivery Hugo Lloris (£ 5.5 million) and was headed by Eric Dier (£ 4.9 million). The second half saw Conor Gallagher (5.5 million pounds) hit the post from afar and Furlong’s header forced Lloris into an acrobatic save.
However, they have not yet won. Apart from the substitute goalkeeper David button (£ 4.0 million), no West Brom player owns more than 2%. Their players are relatively intact but if you are looking for a differential it might be worth considering that their next home games are against Sheffield United, Crystal Palace, Aston Villa and Leeds.
The Baggies have been better at the back lately than they have been up front and Johnstone is one of the cheapest starting goalkeepers out there, ranking third in saves among high-level blockers.
Given Aston Villa’s favorable schedule, Emiliano Martinez (£ 4.8 million), however, it will remain the preferred option for many.
West Bromwich Albion XI (5-4-1): Johnstone; Furlong, Bartley, Ajayi, O’Shea, Townsend; Krovinovic, Livermore (Edwards 89 ‘), Gallagher, Robinson (Diangana 67’); Grant (Phillips 84 ′).
Tottenham Hotspur XI (4-3-3): Lloris; Doherty, Alderweireld, Dier, Reguilon; Hojbjerg, Ndombele (Lo Celso 64 ′), Sissoko (Carlos Vinicius 79 ′); Bale (Lucas Moura 78 ′), Son, Kane.
Lessons Learned from FPL Gameweek 8
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