We all have read about ‘momentum’ in our physics books. It’s very crucial in the world of science, connected to our daily lives and holds utmost importance in football as well as in FPL. And none other than Matheus Cunha knows it better.
The Brazilian forward got his rhythm early in the season and when we approached the halfway-mark, he was almost chasing Salah for the golden boot with as many as ten goals in his pocket. He also had four assists going into GW19.
Then, as it happens in life, your acts are not buried in the ground forever. They resurface, follow and haunt you at times.
Cunha scored a goal against Ipswich Town in GW16. But Wolves lost the match and Cunha lost his cool. After enjoying a record-breaking season, the Brazil international ended up breaking the pair of glasses of an Ipswich security guard.
It was a misfired shot that cost him a suspension of two games right after GW20, which was later reduced to one. Since his second coming into the Fantasy Premier League 2024-25, Cunha appears a different breed.
The Wolves talisman who was in every one out of four FPL teams before bowing out due to the suspension, has now blanked in the last three games. It is important to note that he didn’t even start the game against Newcastle in GW21.
Therefore, with Cunha becoming a depreciating asset — his ownership has fallen to 8.3% from 25% and price has slumped to £6.9m from £7.1m, ‘to sell or not to sell’ has turned into an unputdownable question. But is it so plain and simple? Not in life and certainly not in FPL.
Wolves had a really tough run of games in the last three weeks — two away games against Newcastle and Chelsea, followed by a home encounter against Arsenal. All of them are in the top six at the moment. Prior to that in GW20, they faced Nottingham Forest who are currently in the top four. And Wolves lost all four.
However, in the last three gameweeks, Cunha’s cumulative xG and xGI were 0.78 and 1.03 respectively. Definitely not up to the mark but he could have bagged home an attacking return.
If we have a close look at the Wolves frontman’s stats this season, we will notice that barring Chelsea in the reverse fixture, he doesn’t really have any attacking returns against any of the top six sides.
It seems that Cunha is quite lethal against low-block teams as well as teams who leave half-spaces in their defensive third. Going forward, Wolves have a really exciting list of games. Apart from Liverpool in GW25, there is not a single red mark in the FDR (Fixture Difficulty Rating) till GW35.
Particularly, from GW28 to GW31 things will get absolutely crazy — Everton, Southampton, West Ham, and Ipswich. And in the following gameweek they face 15th-placed Spurs.
Hence, a change of fortunes may be in line for Vitor Pereira’s side as well as for the erstwhile FPL popular-pick Matheus Cunha, who is now having a hazy view through the ‘broken’ looking glass which derailed his momentum.
