There’s been a fair bit of discussion
lately about Chelsea’s midfield pair of Juan Mata and Eden Hazard and this article reviews their form and fantasy impact to date.
Eden Hazard exploded into life as an FPL
fantasy asset, with 6 assists and a penalty goal in his first 2 games against Wigan
and Reading. Subsequently he saw his ownership
increase to 32% and a price rise from the standard elite midfielder price tag
of £9.5m up to an on-form Van Der Vaart-esque £10.3m. He was the leading pick in Fantasy Football
Scout’s Captain Poll for GW7 and returned this faith with a goal against
Norwich.
Juan Mata, on the other hand saw a drop in
ownership and price due to a withdrawn role, playing in the ‘double-pivot’ position in the
opening games. In this position he pulls
the strings from deep, orchestrating play, but is much less involved in the finishing
off of attacking moves.
Mata vs Hazard (GW1-2) |
It was well documented that following a summer at the the Euros and the Olympics with Spain that Mata was in need of a rest, and he missed out in GW4. On his
return to the Chelsea line-up though, Mata was returned to one of the 3 attacking
midfield roles and his performances have again caught the attention of fantasy
managers with a goal and 4 assists in three premiership appearances on top of 2 Champion’s
League goals.
For gameweek 5 through 7 Mata and Hazard
have returned near identical performances in terms of their underlying data.,
with both registering an average F.SCORE
of 44, Mata slightly edging it by 1 key pass.
Mata vs Hazard (GW5-7) |
Although both players have performed
equally overall It’s worth taking a closer look however at each player's
consistency through this period.
Here’s a look at their F.SCORE for each of their fixtures to date.
It’s quite a limited sample size,
particularly since Mata’s change in position, but there are a few patterns to
pick out here. Firstly Mata’s form and involvement
are increasing game on game, whereas Hazard's is not . Mata looks to be the more consistent of the
two.
SUMMARY
Some words of caution though, Mata’s skill-set may see him pulled back into the deeper playmaker’s role in the absence of either Lampard or Ramires , whereas Hazard is clearly suited to the advanced role, plus looks to be on penalties after Lampard. Also, Hazard is obviously new to this division since a step up from the French League and he may still be finding his feet.
CONCLUSION
Hazard on the other hand appears
more capable of a higher score in any given gameweek, and you can regard him as
the more "explosive" of the two. However,
it’s possible he could be a bit of a flat-track bully, or even a home ground player, only really excelling in the two fixtures so far It’s notable he had
pretty quiet games in tougher fixtures against Stoke and Arsenal.
SUMMARY
Both players are capable of returning FPL
seasons in the 175 point region. Mata is the more consistent of the pair and
the one more likely to return points through a tougher spell of fixtures,
especially with his share of free-kicks and corners.
Hazard is the better pick for easier fixtures and a better captain
option in these circumstances.
It depends on what you are looking for from your elite midfielder. For me, I would expect consistent returns week on week despite the opponent, rather than an occasional big returns against weaker opponents. In this respect Juan Mata would be my pick of the two, especially ahead of the Chelsea’s upcoming fixtures, and at a considerable £1.4m discount.
It depends on what you are looking for from your elite midfielder. For me, I would expect consistent returns week on week despite the opponent, rather than an occasional big returns against weaker opponents. In this respect Juan Mata would be my pick of the two, especially ahead of the Chelsea’s upcoming fixtures, and at a considerable £1.4m discount.
Some words of caution though, Mata’s skill-set may see him pulled back into the deeper playmaker’s role in the absence of either Lampard or Ramires , whereas Hazard is clearly suited to the advanced role, plus looks to be on penalties after Lampard. Also, Hazard is obviously new to this division since a step up from the French League and he may still be finding his feet.
CONCLUSION
Own Mata through a trickier spell of
fixtures or for the longer term but pick
up Hazard when the league’s minnows pay visit to Stamford Bridge.
In my next post I compare both Mata and Hazard to other similarly priced midfielders.
In my next post I compare both Mata and Hazard to other similarly priced midfielders.
Yeh, Hazard did well in game against Newcastle who are a tough side also
ReplyDeleteNewcastle are not the team they were this time last season. http://www.shotsontarget.co.uk/2012/10/6-week-team-analysis-newcastle_3.html Check out my team analysis. I did fudge the data though getting the NEW and RDG games mixed up, and have updated it. Sincere apolgoies, Chelsea and Reading double gameweek has thrown a bit of a spanner in the works of my data. I still maintain that Hazard is less consistent/more explosive. He could prove me wrong very quickly over the next 5 GWs though.
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