Scout Notes – Gameweek 14 – Tuesday

Christian Benteke claims the points for Villa with a late header at home to Reading helping Paul Lambert’s men climb out the drop zone. Harry Redknapp’s first match in charge at QPR ends in a goalless draw at Sunderland, boosting the latter’s appeal ahead of their double Gameweek 16…

Benteke the Villains’ Hero
We handed the Belgian a Scout Picks starting role and he vindicated our faith by nodding home the winner as Villa edged their way up the table. Benteke went into last night’s game with attacking returns in two of his last three home games and although Villa are finding it hard to find the net with any regularity, his contribution is vital – he has had a hand in four of their five goals from Gameweek 9 onwards. The fixture list gets tricky from Gameweek 17 but upcoming games against QPR and Stoke will offer optimism for those eyeing up his acquisition.

Villa’s Improving Backline
Granted, Paul Lambert’s side have shipped three and five to City and United respectively in recent matches but on either side of those displays, Villa have produced three clean sheets. The front lines of Sunderland, Arsenal and, last night, Reading have all been kept at bay, suggesting that Lambert’s side may offer us possibilities at the back. In terms of popularity, Ciaran Clark is their top-owned defender with 2.1%, while, perhaps surprisingly, their 4.5 priced right-back Matt Lowton has accrued just four less points than United’s Rafael, highlighting his cut-price potential.

Royal Backline Rotation
Brian McDermott made the surprise decision to drop Kaspars Gorkss to the bench, with Adrian Mariappa partnering Sean Morrison in the heart of defence for the Sunderland trip. The Latvian’s owners will be a little concerned by last night’s omission – he had previously played every minute of the season and has received 60,000 transfers in since Gameweek 11. The Reading boss also freshened up the right-back area as Shaun Cummings was selected for the first time since Gameweek 9, with Chris Gunter dropping out. Nicky Shorey looks the only nailed-on option now and has started the last 10 at left-back; allied with his constant source of creativity from the flank, he looks the worthiest contender for our Fantasy attention amongst Reading’s defence heading into their double Gameweek. Certainly Brian McDermott’s comments post-match indicated that he could maintain his new centre-back partnership…

“I thought Morrison and Mariappa handled him [Benteke] really well. Morrison looks like a good prospect, he’s only 21 and with Mariappa – an international – the combination was fine.”

QPR Defensive Resolve
Prior to last night, the Loftus Road outfit had failed to pick up a clean sheet in seven away matches but Harry Redknapp managed that feat in his first match in charge. Taking Sunderland’s scoring woes into consideration, it’s a little early to be too optimistic over QPR’s defensive assets but Redknapp’s side will be buoyed by their display at the back – they had a single clean sheet in 13 matches overall heading into the Stadium of Light encounter. With a kind fixture list up next (AVL, wig, FUL) on their short-term agenda, 4.0 priced Ryan Nelsen’s 5% FPL owners may be a little more confident of handing him a starting role, while Clint Hill (4.3) has come back into favour at centre-half following the departure of Mark Hughes at the back. Stephane Mbia – classified as a defender – seems to be preferred in central midfield by Redknapp.

Cesar Worry for Redknapp
Post-match, the QPR boss revealed Julio Cesar is set for scans after being subbed off injured at half-time against Sunderland. Rob Green climbed off the bench and was afforded some encouragement by his manager – if Cesar is ruled out, the former West Ham stopper will be hoping to improve upon a record of nine goals conceded in his first three starts at the club early on this season:

“Julio looks like he’s done a groin. We’ll send him for a scan on Thursday, once the swelling goes down a bit, and see what the extent of the injury is. We’re lucky that we’ve got two top goalkeepers. Rob is an England international keeper and made a fantastic save when he came on. He didn’t have a lot to do apart from that save, but when he was called into action he was fantastic.”

Sunderland Defence Back on Radar
The Black Cats also showed an upturn in resilience after Saturday lunchtime’s 4-2 home mauling at the hands of West Brom. With a trip to Norwich preceding home games against Chelsea and Reading in the double, Simon Mignolet climbed to fourth in the FPL keeper rankings with an eight point return, while Carlos Cuellar’s 4.5 price tag looks enticing. John O’Shea and skipper Lee Cattermole were both given last minute fitness tests – the latter was the only one passed fit but he lasted a mere seven minutes and both could well be doubts ahead of double Gameweek 16.

Black Cats Stutter Again
Ahead of the double Gameweek 16, Stephane Sessegnon and Steven Fletcher have received plenty investment in light of their recent returns but the pair’s failure to find a way past QPR will cause some concern. With a tricky trip to Norwich now on the cards, it’d be no real surprise to see the duo draw blanks again this weekend; a scenario that may well see the transfers in slow down prior to the double.

In Other News
While much of Rafa Benitez’s press conference centred around Fernando Torres yesterday, the new Chelsea boss also took time to speak of the importance of his defence. While the Spaniard’s debut in the Bridge dugout harvested a first clean sheet since Gameweek 5, it was also the first time the London outfit have failed to score at home this season, denting confidence in Eden Hazard and Juan Mata a little:

“If you are strong in defence, you can regain the ball easier, you will have more chances as you will have more possession, so that’s the idea. We will try to improve the shape of the team but keep their quality and mobility. The main thing now is to find a balance. Defensively we will continue working and we will improve because normally defence is easier than attack. In attack we have players with talent; we have players with quality, so we have to find this balance. Defending well and giving the ball to the attacking players to create is our main issue now.”

Benitez also discussed Cesar Azpilicueta’s display at right-back. The 5.6 priced FPL defender has now started the last four league matches but his manager’s words suggest Azpilicueta not be a guaranteed starter, once he has a fully-fit squad to choose from:

“When a player isn’t playing every week you are expecting something, but I am not the type of manager who expects a player to come in and be perfect. Everybody can make mistakes, but the main thing for me was his attitude and intensity. We were looking for him to get forward, we didn’t have Terry or [Gary] Cahill, so he was a good option for us.”