Fantasy Premier League

Ibrahimovic fails to stem FPL sales

By The Scout 13 Feb 2017
Zlatan Ibrahimovic, Manchester United

With no fixture in Gameweek 26, an assist in the win over Watford is not enough for Man Utd striker to calm exodus

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The Bonus Points

Juan Mata's (£7.2m) close-range finish set Manchester United on their way to a 2-0 victory over Watford and earned the Spaniard a fourth maximum Fantasy Premier League bonus haul of the season.

The midfielder was awarded 46 in the Bonus Points System (BPS) having completed 91% of 32 passes, supplying four goalscoring opportunities for team-mates.

Eric Bailly's (£5.3m) performance at centre-back inspired United to a tenth clean sheet of the season, with the Ivorian notching 42 in the BPS to collect two additional points.

Ten clearances, blocks and interceptions (CBI), along with nine recoveries and five successful tackles, provided just a snapshot of Bailly's masterful display in Jose Mourinho's back four.

With a goal and an assist, Anthony Martial (£9.2m) claimed the final bonus point on offer.

The Frenchman recorded a BPS tally of 40, missing out on a bigger total having been tackled on four occasions.

Manchester United v Watford
Eric Bailly (right) claimed two bonus points as Man Utd earned a clean sheet

The ICT Index

While he mustered just an assist from the Hornets win, Zlatan Ibrahimovic (£11.6m) did at least dominate in the ICT Index, producing some impressive numbers.

He claimed the highest tallies for both Creativity (69) and Threat (60) to earn 15.9 overall.

The striker fired in seven efforts on goal, more than any other player in Gameweek 25. He also supplied six chances for others, again the top tally over the weekend's contests, matched only by West Ham United's Robert Snodgrass (£5.8m).

Meanwhile, Martial's Index score of 13.1 was his season-best total.

Making a first start since Gameweek 21, he produced four goal attempts, three of which arrived from inside the Watford penalty area.

Manchester United v Watford
Anthony Martial's 12 points v Watford was his biggest FPL tally of the season

The Scout Notes

Backed by more than 957,000 (22.1%) of FPL managers (the top captain pick for an eighth successive Gameweek) Ibrahimovic disappointed with a modest five-point return.

He has scored just a single goal and 15 points over his last four Gameweeks, which has done little to slow sales of the top-owned FPL asset.

Ibrahimovic had lost over 100,000 owners prior to the Watford victory and that trend has continued with more than 41,000 showing him the door since Saturday's deadline.

With the EFL Cup Final next weekend, he will miss the Gameweek 26 derby encounter with Manchester City, which will be postponed to a later date.

Man Utd v Watford
M'Baye Niang failed to score but now has back-to-back home fixtures

As Man Utd could also make it to the last eight of the FA Cup, Ibrahimovic, currently owned by 40.4%, may also face a further postponement in Gameweek 28.

It is no surprise to see FPL managers transferring out Ibrahimovic and avoiding his United team-mates, then.

Mata and Martial can be considered once we navigate past the potential missing Gameweeks but, for now, interest should be put on ice.

As for Watford, they also face the possibility of a postponement in Gameweek 28, but have back-to-back home matches to come.

Walter Mazzarri's side take on West Ham United and Southampton at Vicarage Road, with in-form strikers Troy Deeney (£6.7m) and M'Baye Niang (£6.0m) worth a look over those fixtures.

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