AllAboutFPL-Gameweek 12 review

The end of game week 12 has marked the beginning of the last international for the next four months and there was no shortage of action for the fans this week. Just like every week here the 5 eye catching incidences and games for the last game week.

Chris Wilder and Sheffield are here to stay:

Saturday was a day with many mind blowing events and fabulous performances and the one that really caught the eye was Sheffield’s performance against Spurs at North London. The newly promoted blades sides and making huge strides and sitting comfortably at the top half of the table in sixth position with the possibility of European Football next season. The team is tactically well set up and is proof that keeping possession of the ball more than your opponents doesn’t mean you will get the three points.

Who ever saw the game may it be a Spurs fan or a Sheffield fan will say that Tottenham where lucky to get a point from that game. The away side played with high levels of confidence and closed down Spurs higher up the pitch to win possession and create chances.

Lunderstam was almost on the score sheet again as he hit the post from a well worked set piece in the first half.
John Lunderstam in that first half against Spurs
Most tackles won 5
Most Shots on target 4
Another player that deserves a special mention is David McGoldrick who was very unlucky during the game as his goal was disallowed controversially when John Lunderstam’s foot was almost an inch off side.
Sheffield United VS “Big Six”
2-2 draw vs Chelsea
1-0 loss vs Liverpool
1-0 victory vs Arsenal
1-1 draw vs Spurs and they face Manchester United at home after the break.

Jamie Vardy is on Fire!

Jamie Vardy is on fire and scored again this week against one of his favorite opponents Arsenal. As his goal pushed Leicester into second position after an impressive 2-0 win during a rainy night at the King Power.

It was obvious going into the game that Arsenal where the underdogs and they where the team that was struggling for form, this did not have any effect on the Foxes as they where on top of Emery’s men from the blow of the first whistle. To make things worse for himself and his team Emery played a totally different formation with at three at the back which shifted into a tight 5 when they did not have possession. A tactical decision that will provide high cover at the back but nullify their attacking threats.
Due to this decision and Arsenal’s mentality to play out from the back saw them loose possession at crucial parts of the pitch giving huge advantages and spaces for Roger’s men to capitalize.
But, due to poor finishing and lack of sharpness in the final ball the firs half ended 0-0.
Johnny Evans made 3 interceptions in the first half more than any player on the pitch.

But, the second half saw Leicester’s midfield come into the game more as they looked to put pressure on the deep line of Arsenal. Their one touch interactions and perfectly weighed pass by Tielemans to Vardy saw them take the lead in the second half.

A low fizzer from Maddison found its way into the back of the net giving the Arsenal keeper Leno no chance. After the game, the team selection and tactical changes left the North London supporters questioning the tactical prowess of their Head Coach Unai Emery.
James Maddison’s game by numbers vs. Arsenal:
88% pass accuracy
9 ball recoveries
4 shots
2 on target
4 fouls suffered
3 chances created
3 tackles won
1 goal

Frank wins his first derby:
Chelsea fans are happy and bouncing as Manager of the Month Frank Lampard won his first London Derby at the Bridge. With a comfortable 2-0 victory over Crystal Palace the blue began their fight for bragging rights over London.

It was multi generational battle as Roy Hodgson England’s oldest manager took on the England’s youngest in Frank Lampard. Roy Hodgson was the manager who presented Frank his 100th national cap.
The game started slowly as expected as Crystal Palace sat deep and defended very well in crucial areas. Chelsea midfield which saw the return of Ngolo Kante into his favorite Centre Defensive Midfield position was finding it difficult to break the Eagles down as the first half ended at a stalemate.

The first goal came in from Chelsea’s highly rated striker Tammy Abraham, the English goal scorer closely controlled the ball inside Palace’s half and slotted it past their Goalkeeper. Since the start of the season Tammy has been involved in 12 goals (10 goals and 2 assists)
After this breakthrough Chelsea increased the tempo of the game and pushed for the second goal, which made the likes of the Townsend and Zaha to comeback and help their full backs. As a result of their great effort Chelsea scored the important second goal to kill the game off with the help of their American Hero Pulisic. The new signing has been involved in 7 goals (5 goals and 2 Assists) after a slow start to the season.

United Rise to Seventh:
An early Kickoff game on Sunday saw Manchester United take on Potter’s Brighton at Old Trafford. On paper it was supposed to be an easy win the Red Devils but their recent inconsistencies had laid a doubt in everyone’s mind. The game ended with a comfortable 3-1 win for the twenty time English Champions as Graham Potter’s team played right into their hands. United led Brighton into their half and countered with the blistering pace of James, Rashford and Martial.

Antony Martial the Frenchmen has a wonderful game as he managed to set up two goals for his team mates with his outstanding linkup play and he ball holding skills with back to goal. His linkup play, close control and an eye to pick the right pass inside the box has improved the attacking output of the team.

It is safe to say that Ole Gunnar’s men have turned a corner and are starting to create chances for their forwards again. The midfield of Fred and McTominay (Mcsauce) played a double pivot breaking the play and picking early passes for their front three to run on to. Fred according to many people had his best game in a United Shirt and is looking the player for whom United paid 50 million to get from Shakhtar.
United fielded the youngest side for this game week as the Old Trafford faithful saw one of their academy graduates get his first full start in the form of Brandon Williams at left back to replace the highly criticized Ex-Winger Ashley Young who now plays as a Left Back. The youngster had another special performance which may now give his Norwegian manager selection problems when they face Sheffield after the break with Shaw expected to return and Young suspension free.

Another exhilarating affair at Anfield:

The last game of the week was at Anfield as the leaders took on the injury struck Champions in a race to the tittle. Injuries and unlucky performances saw City come into this game being six points behind the European Champions.
Klopp fielded an unchanged eleven that came back 1-2 to win against Aston Villa last week. The centurions city where forced to play their second choice keeper Bravo (who was highly rated by Pep himself in 2016)
The game was off to the shaky start as the teams weighed each other out for the first five minutes.

The drama started when a ball chipped by Silva hit the hand the Liverpool right Alexander Arnold inside the Liverpool penalty box. The claim for penalty was denied by the referee Micheal Oliver (who according to us had a terrible game). Things took a turn to the worse a Liverpool went on to score at the other end thanks to screamer by the Brazilian Fabinho. Liverpool led City 1-0 within the first 15 minutes of the game which means now city had to come out and attack. This played perfectly into Liverpool’s hands as they countered with high levels of intensity. One such play saw Moh Salah knock the ball past Bravo to make it 2-0 for the leaders within the first half of the encounter.
As the second half started City started to pile on pressure down the right hand side of Liverpool the link play for between Sterling and Angelino created chance after chance but Pep’s side couldn’t capitalize.

The game was killed off as Mane who was criticized by Pep during the week scored another headed goal thanks to a delightful cross by the Liverpool captain Jordan Henderson. Even tho City managed to pull one back the game ended 3-1 giving Liverpool a 9 point lead over the blue side of Manchester.

Weekend in numbers:

• Lys Mousset has contributed to 46% of Sheffield United’s goals, just playing 351 minutes in the league.
• 3 out of the 4 assists for Andy Robertson have come against the top six this season.
  A– Man United
  A– Man City
  A– Chelsea
• Sadio Manè has scored 12 headed goals for Liverpool, as many as Andy Carrol (3) and Peter Crouch (9) combined.
• Jamie Vardy has managed to score 9 goals against Arsenal making them his most favorite opponents.
• Salah has seven attacking contributions at home in the this season (six goals and one assist) That’s two more than Mane and the second-most of any midfielder in the game
• From Gameweek 8 onwards, Foster has only been scored past on three occasions, racking up 22 saves in the process, at a rate of 4.4 per game.
• FPL’s second most-popular asset John Lundstram (41.0% ownership) had more shots in the box than any other defender in GW12 (three)

ALLABOUT FPL Dream Team

The AllAboutFPL dream team consists of players outside the BIG6 based on GW12 performances

Cheers for reading the GW 12 review, stay tuned for lot more content over the international break as we will be covering fpl team reviews, fixture congestion and much more, also we are tying up with flashscore.co.uk to provide wholesome fpl content.

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