The Double Gameweek 36 analysis concludes with a look at the Fantasy Premier League (FPL) talking points from Leicester City v Liverpool.
All the numbers you see in this article are taken from our Premium Members Area, where you can access Opta player and team data from every single Premier League fixture after full-time in each game.
A comfortable 3-0 victory for Liverpool intensifies their relentless hunt for a top-four finish but leaves feeble Leicester in 19th place with just two games to go. Curtis Jones’ (£4.9m) quickfire first-half double was sealed later on by a magical Trent Alexander-Arnold (£7.7m) free-kick, as the Foxes only mustered four shots all night.
TRENT STUNNER CONTINUES STREAK
The newly-inverted right-back has FPL returns in eight successive matches, doing so in two ways here. After a spirited Leicester began with good intentions, the clean sheet soon became obvious and Alexander-Arnold took himself up to 13 points by curling a brilliant set-piece into the top right corner.
It’s Liverpool’s third consecutive shut-out and they suddenly look likely to land a Champions League spot over one of Newcastle United or Manchester United. All they need to do is beat Aston Villa (h) and already-relegated Southampton (a), whilst hoping for a slip-up from above.
ABOVE: Total defensive returns since Gameweek 30
Alexander-Arnold has six assists since moving centrally in Gameweek 30 whilst no other defender exceeds three.
HAT-TRICK OF ASSISTS FOR SALAH
Yet his 54 points during this period are still less than team-mate Mohamed Salah’s (£13.1m) 68, as the Egyptian king bagged his third successive double-digit haul by setting up a trio of goals.
They were his first assists since the 7-0 demolition of Man United in Gameweek 26 but, by missing a big chance when put through one-on-one in the 79th minute, it denied Salah of any bonus points.
He has the most penalty area touches and expected goals (xG) since Gameweek 30, with 12 goals and six assists in his last 15 starts – alongside two missed penalties!
ABOVE: Mohamed Salah is far ahead for penalty area touches since Gameweek 30
Only 2.86% of the top 100k put their captain’s armband on Salah but perhaps this red-hot form could tempt a bigger proportion in Double Gameweek 37, even though Liverpool only play once.
BITS AND PIECES
Elsewhere, Diogo Jota (£8.7m) was restricted to a cameo appearance for the third time in four matches, as fellow forward Darwin Nunez (£8.6m) missed out completely due to a minor toe injury.
“Yesterday we trained and he looked OK and then after training he said he feels something in his foot, in his big toe. No, I don’t think [it will end his season], the session didn’t look like that but after the session he felt it more than before and so we have to assess that in more detail.” – Jurgen Klopp on Darwin Nunez
Those thinking of punting on an attacking Leicester asset for their final match versus West Ham United may be concerned at their lack of attacking ideas here. They were simply woeful and seem to be lacking the late momentum of Nottingham Forest and Everton. The Foxes are two points off survival and have a better goal difference but are without a clean sheet in a staggering 21 outings.
Their tricky trip to Newcastle might now be deemed a must-win for the 2016/17 champions.
GAMEWEEK 36 LINE-UPS
Leicester City XI: Iversen; Ricardo (Thomas 67′), Faes, Evans (Souttar 89′), Castagne; Soumare, Ndidi (Tete 61′), Tielemans; Maddison, Vardy, Barnes (Daka 61′)
Liverpool XI: Alisson; Alexander-Arnold, Konate, van Dijk, Robertson; Henderson (Milner 74′), Fabinho, Jones (Carvalho 84′); Salah (Elliott 88′), Gakpo, Luis Diaz (Jota 74′)
