View from the BaDMaN Boot Room – GW 31

Be honest… Were you actually surprised that Cristiano Ronaldo scored a hat-trick to take Juventus through to the Champions League quarters v Atletico Madrid?

It’s what he does. I would’ve been more surprised if he hadn’t.  

Met him once, y’know. Taller and nicer than you think. And smelt lovely. 

Anyway…

GoalkeeperTotal PtsGW 30 Pts
Alisson (LIV)1430
Defenders  
Robertson (LIV)1691
van Dijk (LIV)1631
Alonso (CHE)1340
Luis (CHE)1242
Midfielders  
Salah (LIV)2035
Sterling (MC)19821
Hazard (CHE)18210
Mane (LIV)17314
Forwards  
Aguero (MC)1655
Aubameyang (ARS)1647

While we’re on the subject of all too predictable outcomes…

There’s no change in the Dream Team. But at least the front six could be bothered to register a few points.h

Raheem Sterling’s hat-trick and a brace from Sadio Mane was enough to put the deadly duo top of the class, although rumours are rife that the latter may miss out this weekend due to injury. The Senegalese star stole the show in Munich to help Liverpool progress to the quarter-final stages of the Champions League.

However, Mane appeared to suffer an ankle knock late on, and his absence from training on Friday sent the fantasy community into meltdown. With a restricted five-game slate, the Reds are the standout pick away at Fulham who are shipping goals for fun, and Mane is the go-to having scored 11 times in his last eleven appearances (all competitions). The in-form African is over £3m cheaper than his club team-mate Mohamed Salah and has averaged more than 9pts per game over the previous five fixtures.

There was no mention of a problem as part of Jurgen Klopp’s pre-match media briefing, although having arrived back late from Germany, those involved were given Thursday off and assessments would be carried out after the press conference on Friday afternoon. But, it isn’t unusual for players to be given an additional recovery day, especially during a busy fixture period and hopefully, this will be the case with Mane who could be working on an individualised programme away from the main group. 

And finally, Harry Kane has hit the ground running following his return from an ankle ligament injury. The Tottenham talisman is back in scoring form (three in four) which puts him on the verge of a return up top having closed the gap on a stuttering Aubameyang who has found the net just four times domestically in 2019.

Nothing more to say except to wish me a happy birthday for Saturday.

Cheers.

Matt Nesbitt