Scout Notes – Gameweek 26 – Monday

Liverpool fall flat in the first match of their double Gameweek after a smash-and-grab performance by West Brom at Anfield. Steven Gerrard misses a spot-kick, while Daniel Sturridge misses out entirely in a night to forget for the home side and Fantasy managers alike. Elsewhere, Hatem Ben Arfa could be set to return for Newcastle’s next league game, while Michu plays down fears of an ankle problem and insists he’ll be ready for next weekend.

Reds Attack Draws Blanks
With Daniel Sturridge ruled out with a thigh injury, Steven Gerrard and Luis Suarez carried the hopes of many heading into last night’s match. Gerrard had been acquired by over 160,000 Fantasy managers after scoring or assisting in 10 of his previous 12 and had racked up 45 points in his last four at Anfield. Suarez had been picked up by more than 146,000 after racking up 33 points in his last three home clashes – with both players transferred in for the likes of Gareth Bale and Robin Van Persie by many, plenty was riding on their displays. Gerrard fluffed the chance of producing points for both, missing a spot-kick late on after Suarez was felled in the box; a double blow for those who had both and left Gerrard without a single point. Fantasy owners of the pair can only take solace in their abovementioned form and hope the weekend won’t bring about another dire display in a double Gameweek that has the potential to go down as one of the biggest disappointments in memory.

Reds Defence Capitulates
Again, the same applies to Brendan Rodgers’ backline. Liverpool were subject to significant investment going into the weekend and with every reason, too – they had conceded four goals and registered seven clean sheets in their previous seven games at Anfield. With 10 minutes left on the clock, their backline looked like affording us the one crumb of comfort; Steve Clarke’s side didn’t have a single shot on target until Gareth McAuley opened the scoring with nine minutes remaining. Owners of the likes of Glen Johnson and Jose Enrique will be buoyed by the fact that Swansea have failed to score in five of their last six away matches, though given last night’s result, we clearly won’t be counting our chickens.

Baggies Resilience
With a single clean sheet in their previous 15, it’s fair to say that Fantasy faith in West Brom’s assets was hardly sky-high heading into last night’s match. Given that all five of their clean sheets had arrived at the Hawthorns, Clarke’s outfit seemed incapable of keeping out the Reds but thanks to the heroics of Ben Foster, they registered a crucial win to arrest a run of form which had harvested a single point in the previous six Gameweeks. While Foster’s spot-kick save and two bonus points helped deliver a 14 point FPL haul, Gareth McAuley’s second goal of the season earned the centre-half 15 points as the Baggies turned in a defiant display. With home games against Sunderland and Swansea in the next three, they’ll be hoping to maintain their winning ways.

Lukaku’s Consistency
A run of five straight starts came to an end for the giant Belgian as he dropped to the bench, with fit-again Shane Long leading the line once more. Lukaku highlighted his capabilities as a late sub, though, notching for the third time from the bench this season to take his tally to 10 goals overall. Lukaku has now scored or assisted in five of the last six, despite his side’s recent toils – although last night’s 17 minute cameo served a reminder of his potential for points from the bench, Lukaku has been far more reliable as part of the first XI. He has produced attacking returns in eight of his 11 starts – Long has produced in eight of his 17 starts by comparison.

In Other News
Newcastle are hoping to have both Yoan Gouffran and Hatem Ben Arfa back in contention for their Gameweek 27 home clash with Southampton on February 24. Scans on the former’s leg problem, sustained in the weekend loss at Spurs, have proved particularly optimistic, while his compatriot could also be set for a return, having played once since Gameweek 12 due to a hamstring injury. Speaking to the press yesterday, Alan Pardew revealed:

“You’d like to think with him (Gouffran) on one side, Ben Arfa on the other side and Sissoko and Cissé – blimey, that’s mouthwatering for us. I think there’s a possibility Hatem will be back for the next home game.”

Judging by Pardew’s comments, it also seems he plans to keeps Sissoko in the advanced central role that has harvested two assists and a couple of goals in his first three appearances. With a hugely enticing run of fixtures on the horizon including home games against Southampton, Stoke, Fulham and Sunderland in the next eight, plenty of investment looks to be heading the Magpies’ way, with yesterday’s news merely boosting their potential as Pardew looks to engineer a climb up the table.

Michu has played down any fears over the ankle knock that forced him off towards the end of last weekend’s 4-1 win over QPR:

“I am feeling good right now. I had problems Monday, Tuesday and did not train – but I trained the rest of the week and was OK to play. I felt fine in the game but then with 10 minutes left I had a bang on my ankle. The game was finished so I asked to come off. There’s no problem it was just a precaution. It will not be a problem especially with Dubai to look forward to with good weather and a lot of sun; it will be good to relax, to train and to think about Liverpool and Wembley.”

With another five days before Swansea’s trip to Anfield, the Spaniard certainly has plenty of time to recuperate before another week-long rest take him to the Capital One Cup Final against Bradford. Given Liverpool’s display last night, his Fantasy owners will be confident of further points to come in the Gameweek as Michu looks to add to his current 18 point tally next Sunday afternoon.