TIMING is everything.
Hugo Ekitike (£4.5m) was guilty of a few subdued outings heading into Saturday’s game against West Ham but he delighted Dream Team managers with an extra useful 15-point haul at Anfield.
Back among the goals (and points)Credit: EPA
Liverpool’s No22 opened the scoring via a helpful deflection that seemed to wrong-foot Mads Hermansen (£2.8m) but it was no less than the Frenchman deserved for his overall performance.
Ekitike also provided two assists, the first a nice cushion for Alexis Mac Allister (£4.3m) as the Reds took full advantage of the Hammers’ set-piece weaknesses, and the second a simple pass to Cody Gakpo (£3.8m) who did the rest.
Gaffers expected big things from the 23-year-old this Gameweek and three goal involvements from the first of two fixtures is the perfect start.
Ekitike needs five points against Wolves in midweek to equal his best haul for a single Gameweek this season.
Liverpool beat West Ham 5-2 at AnfieldCredit: EPA
Due a scheduling quirk, Tuesday night’s trip to Molineux will act as a precursor to Gameweek 27.
This is because Liverpool are due to face Rob Edwards’ side again on Friday night in the FA Cup.
Arne Slot may opt to rotate his squad between fixtures but if Ekitike finds joy against Wolves in the league then more than a few Dream Team bosses may consider him a worthy captain for a potential repeat a few days later.
Liverpool are also scheduled to face Galatasaray in the Champions League round of 16 in Gameweek 27, a relatively favourable double header all things considered, although they did lose to the Turkish side in Istanbul back in September.
Captain material?Credit: AP
With an ownership of 34.7%, Ekitike is already among the most selected players in the game and his popularity is set to rise further this week.
At the time of writing, he’s the most popular recruit ahead of Friday’s deadline.
Erling Haaland’s (£7.2m) unexpected absence at Elland Road has left gaffers scrambling around for a premium striker and Ekitike is an obvious replacement as the best-performing forward of the current Gameweek with the schedule in his favour.
Ekitike has now scored 15 goals in all competitions this season, plus six assists.
Given Alexander Isak’s (£5.5m) injury and Mohamed Salah’s (£6.5m) reduced effectiveness, the France international has emerged as Liverpool’s central goal threat this campaign.
Eze Chidiebere Paul
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