Sunderland have the cheek to expose Chelsea frailties in front of the Stamford Bridge crowd, while Arsenal record a second away win in the space of four days, as Fabregas returns to the scoresheet and the Bonus Points. Here’s Sunday’s Scout Notes…

Sunderland’s outstanding Stamford Bridge victory saw them claim their third clean sheet in their last five. They have recovered from the 5-1 mauling by Newcastle with two strong defensive performances at Spurs and Chelsea. Nedum Onuoha (5.0) will earn all the attention within the back four after his stunning solo goal, but Titus Bramble at 4.7 or Phil Bardsley at 4.3, perhaps offer better value. Craig Gordon is another serious consideration in goal with his 4.5 price tag. The fixture list certainly promotes investment in the Sunderland squad. A home encounter with an Everton side struggling for goals comes next, that’s then followed by a very decent run of opponents, if you see past the trip to Old Trafford on Boxing Day (wol WHM ful BOL mun BLP BLA).

The Black Cats’ attacking assets also deserve consideration. Asamoah Gyan returned another goal – his fourth in three league outings and will deservedly attract the most interest. His priced increased to 7.2 in the FPL overnight and he will surely see a further increase in ownership as the days pass. One factoer here – we’ve yet to see how Steve Bruce incorporates the Ghanian with Darren Bent and that will be key to the potential of both players. The England striker could be back in Sunderland colours in the next couple of weeks following a hamstring injury.

Danny Welbeck scored his first league goal for Sunderland and produced a superb display which surely cements his role in Steve Bruce’s side. Ahmed Elmohamady remains out of position as a result, but unfortunately that position is now at the end of the bench. The Egyptian seems to have little chance of breaking back into the starting lineup given Welbeck’s current form. Currently priced at 5.2 in the FPL, we can expect Elmohamady’ 20% ownership to decline in the next two Gameweeks.

Florent Malouda was replaced by Carlo Ancelotti on 57 minutes, despite looking Chelsea’s most inventive player to that point. The substitution reiterates the rotation threat posed by Salomon Kalou; a factor that’s likely to remain for the rest of the season. That, and alarming form from the early season Fantasy darling, will surely cause another avalanche of FPL sales for the Chelsea man. We examined Malouda’s current form in detail in Foch’s Knee Jerk article last night.

Tim Cahill scored his sixth goal of the season on Sunday – his fourth in seven games. Cahill’s contribution has been key as David Moyes’ side continue to struggle for a cutting edge. They have scored just 6 goals in their last 5 league games with the Aussie contributing a couple in that total. With trips to Sunderland and Chelsea in the next three, Everton won’t find it easy to add to their goal tally and that could well temper any increased interest in Cahill.

Mikel Arteta was sacrificed for Yakubu on 68 minutes as David Moyes chased the game against Arsenal. A surprising move perhaps, but one that emphasises just how disappointing the Spaniard has been of late. While he continues to dictate matters, he tends to patrol deep areas in midfield and is offering little attacking threat. The Arteta vs Tim Cahill debate is a non-argument right now – Arteta’s stock is falling by week on week.

Seamus Coleman was restored to the starting lineup and completed the 90 minutes, shifting to right-back as David Moyes went gung-ho. Coleman’s lively performance which saw him look Everton’s most likely source of creativity in the first-half, should have cemented his role for the time being. That will offer reassurance for his Fantasy owners, although Everton and Coleman may struggle to find returns at Sunderland next time out.

Cesc Fabregas notched his second goal of the season at Goodison with the obligatory 3 FPL Bonus Points following on. That return will likely see further interest in the Gunners skipper with Fabregas is currently owned by just over 10% of FPL Managers. One sidenote that has to be a consideration however – Fabregas picked up his third consecutive booking on Sunday; he is now just one yellow card away from a suspension and it’s Spurs at home next.