Scout Notes – Gameweek 34 – Saturday

Goals are few and far between in all but one of Saturday’s six fixtures. Jason Puncheon fires Palace to victory, Christian Eriksen’s fine form continues for Tottenham and Romelu Lukaku blanks as Everton edge past Sunderland. Elsewhere, Hugo Rodallega and Juan Cala secure vital wins for Fulham and Cardiff respectively, whilst an Erik Pieters earns Stoke yet another home win.

Puncheon Delivers as Eagles Grind Out Another Shut-Out
Drafted in by over 95,000 FPL managers after last week’s double against Cardiff, the Palace midfielder got his double Gameweek off to the perfect start by firing the only goal of the game at home to Villa. With the maximum bonus points also in the bag, the 5.1-priced Puncheon continued the form that has seen him notch six times in 12 starts for Tony Pulis side since the turn of the year, compared to just two assists in the first five months of the season.

Palace’s backline also delivered the points – earning a fourth clean sheet in the last five matches ahead of a testing trip to Goodison on Wednesday. Form may be on their side but with City and Liverpool still to roll up to Selhurst Park, few will be willing to invest at this point. Nonetheless, with nine clean sheets in 21 matches under Pulis and just 18 goals against, Fantasy managers will have one eye already on Palace’s defence for next term if Pulis can finally clinch their survival.

Rodallega the Cottagers Hero
The Colombian is shaping up to be an unlikely saviour for Felix Magath’s side after grabbing their winner for the second Gameweek in succession. Having climbed off the bench to net against Villa last weekend, Rodallega was handed his third start of the season by the Cottagers boss and vindicated that decision by netting just before the break in a vital home encounter with fellow strugglers Norwich. Back-to-back wins means Fulham are just two points from safety and with momentum on their side, they’ll be optimistic of securing further victories in their final two home games against Hull and Palace, with Rodallega – at just 5.0 in FPL – set to play a pivotal role in their bid to beat the drop.

Cala and Marshall Help Stun Saints
After conceding 12 times in their previous three fixtures, a clean sheet for Cardiff at St Mary’s looked highly unlikely. With David Marshall defying Southampton time and again with a series of saves between the sticks, Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s side were able to repel everything Rickie Lambert and co could throw their way, whilst centre-half Juan Cala – back in the side for the first time since Gameweek 31 – netted a second goal in his last three appearances to hand the Bluebirds a major boost for the final four Gameweeks. Marshall has now made 138 saves this season – an incredible 30 more than any other keeper – and with their number one in such fine form, a home game with Stoke and trips to Sunderland and Newcastle suggest Cardiff are still capable of survival.

On the Southampton front, it was perhaps significant that Mauricio Pochettino turned to Nathaniel Clyne to replace Calum Chambers on falling 1-0 behind. Clyne was back on the bench following a recent injury but saw action on 66 minutes with the Saints boss perhaps feeling that his pace could help provide a route back into the game. Clyne would now seem likely to threaten Chambers’ start for the Gameweek 35 trip to Villa.

Potters Secure Another Win at Fortress Britannia
A 1-0 triumph over Newcastle continued the superb form which has seen Stoke win nine and draw six of their 17 home fixtures under Mark Hughes. The Staffordshire unit have now racked up 33 points in front of their own fans – only the top five have delivered more – and their recent defensive form has also improved at the Britannia, with just a single goal conceded in the last four. Dutch left-back Erik Pieters fired his first league goal for the club, whilst Marko Arnautovic’s recent upturn in form continued – the Austrian supplied the assist and has produced attacking returns in three of the last five Gameweeks. With three of their last four fixtures against relegation candidates – Cardiff, Fulham and West Brom – Hughes’ in-form side could be set for a prosperous run-in.

Bardsley Set for Two-Match Ban
Gus Poyet changed Sunderland’s formation for yesterday’s home encounter against Everton. The Black Cats boss disposed of the recent 3-5-2 set-up and reverted to a 4-3-3, with Adam Johnson and Fabio Borini on the flanks after recent roles in the centre, and Marcos Alonso and Phil Bardsley back in defence. A fifth straight defeat means the Wearsiders have delivered just a single clean sheet in eight matches ahead of Wednesday’s trip to City and their already-slim chances of repelling Manuel Pellegrini’s side took a turn for the worse after Bardsley earned his tenth caution of the campaign against the Toffees; he now misses the second match of their double and next weekend’s daunting trip to Stamford Bridge. With a trio of home games in the final three Gameweeks, though, those who picked up Sunderland’s assets may be tempted to hold.

Lukaku Blanks as Toffees Win Again
Victory at the Stadium of Light was a seventh in succession for the Toffees as they leapfrogged Arsenal into fourth. Those who chose to double up in defence were rewarded by the 1-0 win, as Roberto Martinez’ side picked up a fourth clean sheet in seven, whilst the rotation frustration in midfield was evident again after Kevin Mirallas – drafted in by 115,000 last week – was an unused sub. Those who chose to captain Romelu Lukaku will be desperate for a return to form in Wednesday’s home game with Palace; the Belgian was top of last week’s Captain Poll after scoring three times in the previous four but his unexpected blank, allied with the fact that City have yet to play, perhaps suggests our armband selections could turn out to be more significant than usual this Gameweek.

Baggies Porous Backline Proves Costly
West Brom conceded three goals for the third successive home game as Spurs fought back for a share of the spoils in a six-goal thriller at the Hawthorns. Stephane Sessegnon notched for the second time in five, whilst fit-again Chris Brunt and Matej Vydra also found the net for the midlands outfit, highlighting their recent upturn in attacking output. A trip to City next weekend will deter any immediate investment but Pepe Mel’s side – who have scored three times in each of the last two in front of their own fans – have yet to host West Ham and Stoke and also have a pair of double Gameweek 37 trips to Arsenal and Sunderland remaining.

Post-match, Pepe Mel confirmed that Jonas Olsson’s Achilles injury, which saw him forced off on 77 minutes, will be fully assessed this week prior to their daunting trip to City in Gameweek 35.

Eriksen and Kane Deliver Again
While Emmanuel Adebayor frustrated his owners with a missed penalty, the Dane’s outstanding recent form continued. Eriksen’s last-minute leveller took his tally to four goals and three assists in the last four matches and with the maximum bonus also accrued, he justified the decision of 45,000 FPL managers to acquire him prior to deadline. Eriksen still sits at just 6.7 in FPL, with an ownership of only 6%, but he is surely set for significant investment ahead of next Saturday’s home encounter against Fulham, with Stoke, West Ham and Villa all still to follow. Harry Kane retained his starting berth alongside Adebayor and scored for the second consecutive match – with Roberto Soldado still struggling with a hamstring injury, Tim Sherwood looks set to keep faith with the youngster, who sets you back just 4.4 in FPL.

Gunners into Wembley Final
Arsene Wenger’s side are through to the FA Cup Final after squeezing past holders Wigan on penalties. Per Mertesacker served a reminder of his goal threat from the back by nodding the nodded the Gunners’ equaliser, whilst Aaron Ramsey managed 113 minutes alongside Mikel Arteta in central midfield before being replaced by Kim Kallstrom – encouraging signs of his fitness for any would-be suitors ahead of Arsenal’s kind remaining schedule. Following Tuesday’s home game with West Ham, Wenger’s side have Hull, Newcastle, West Brom and Norwich in their final four, though Olivier Giroud’s remaining owners will be somewhat concerned after he was utilised as a sub yesterday, with Yaya Sanogo selected to lead the line instead.