Scout Notes – Gameweek 5 – Saturday

Mesut Ozil and Danny Welbeck grab a goal and assist apiece as Arsenal sweep aside a virus-hit Villa. Papiss Cisse scores twice as Newcastle draw with Hull, Steven Caulker is in the goals for QPR, Burnley deliver a third straight clean sheet and Raheem Sterling grabs Liverpool’s only goal in a 3-1 loss at West Ham.

Welbeck and Ozil Silence the Doubters
The under-fire duo both notched goals and assists as Arsenal recovered from their midweek mauling in Dortmund. Arsene Wenger dropped Alexis Sanchez to the bench as the Gunners put three past a defence that had conceded just once in the first four Gameweeks. While Welbeck’s 7.1 price tag is undoubtedly appealing, the Gunners now face Spurs and Chelsea in the next two, suggesting some may be content to hold until the schedule softens up from Gameweek 8. With a clean sheet also accrued, Callum Chambers also boosted his stock: at just 4.5 in the Fantasy Premier League (FPL) game, with Mathieu Debuchy facing a number of weeks on the sidelines.

Villa Hit By Virus
While nothing should detract from Arsenal’s display, Villa’s chances were hardly helped after a virus swept through their first-team squad. Nathan Baker and Darren Bent were ruled out prior to the match, while Ashley Westwood was initially named in the XI but failed to make it. In addition, Andi Weimann was forced off at the break, and with Fabian Delph also struggling over the 90 minutes, Paul Lambert is set to quarantine the club’s training ground over the next couple of days in order to clear up the problem.

Clarets Back-line Delivers Again
It’s three clean sheets in a row now for Sean Dyche’s side, who continue to offer Fantasy managers excellent value at the back. The Clarets’ goalless draw with Sunderland yesterday follows on the back of shut-outs against United and Palace, and with West Brom, Leicester and West Ham in the upcoming three, the likes of Michael Duff – still at just 4.1 – remain exceptional value.

Black Cats Grab First Shut-Out
Gus Poyet’s side have been slow to rediscover the form that served up three clean sheets in the final four Gameweeks of last season. The goalless draw at Turf Moor was the Wearsiders’ first of the current campaign, however, with three home matches and a trip to Palace in the next five Gameweeks, some may contemplate turning to the likes of Patrick van Aanholt or Vito Mannone with the Black Cats’ schedule suggesting further returns.

Cisse at the Double
The Senegal striker was a surprise inclusion in the Magpies squad, with Alan Pardew going against advice of his medical team to include Cisse in his matchday squad. Emerging from the bench to replace Emmanuel Riviere on 69 minutes, Cisse struck twice to rescue an unexpected point at home to Hull and will surely return to the starting XI if he can prove his fitness for next weekend. Priced at a mere 5.9 in FPL, he could be an intriguing prospect, though now faces three road trips in the next four.

Diame and Jelavic Net Again for Tigers
Mo Diame took his tally to two goals in as many matches at St James’ Park yesterday, while Nikica Jelavic grabbed his third of the season for Steve Bruce’s side. The Hull boss has now retained 4-4-2 for the last two matches, which may spell trouble for James Chester’s owners: he found himself on the bench again and faces a stiff challenge to oust skipper Curtis Davies and new signing Michael Dawson at the back. Further forward, it’s clear that the tactical switch has upped their attacking potential – the Tigers have struck four goals in their last couple of matches compared to three in their first trio of fixtures with the 3-5-2 system.

Wanyama the Saints Hero
Victor Wanyama climbed off the bench to break Swansea’s resilience as Southampton emerged from the Liberty with a third successive win. Up front, Graziano Pelle continues to serve up the points after providing the assist for Wanyama’s winner, whilst at the back, the St Mary’s outfit took their record to just one goal conceded in the last four – Nathaniel Clyne and Ryan Bertrand are now first and fourth for defenders in the FPL game, and with four excellent home fixtures (QPR, SUN, STO, LEI) allied with trips to Hull and Villa in the next seven, major investment looks on the cards with Ronald Koeman’s side seemingly going from strength to strength.

Bony Sees Red
Swansea were hindered by Wilfried Bony’s dismissal, forcing them on to the back foot against the Saints. The Ivorian’s indifferent start to the campaign continued, then, as he endured an early bath for two bookable offences. Bony will face a one-match ban but remains eligible for Swansea’s Gameweek 6 trip to Sunderland as he’ll serve out his ban in the Capital One Cup tie with Everton in midweek.

Caulker Opens His Account
The QPR defender grabbed his first of the season as the R’s ground out a home draw with Stoke. Prior to yesterday’s match, Caulker had registered eight attempts inside the box and finally got his reward after netting QPR’s first goal in the 2-2- stalemate. Harry Redknapp’s decision to roll out a midfield diamond saw Niko Krancjar tucked in in behind Charlie Austin and Eduardo Vargas and the Croatian also scored his first goal of the campaign after firing home a late free-kick to rescue a point.

Crouch Instrumental for Potters
Handed his third straight start as the lone striker, the target man picked up a goal and assist as Stoke frustratingly threw away a lead on two occasions at Loftus Road. Mark Hughes shifted Mame Biram Diouf to the wing in order to retain Crouch up front, with Charlie Adam was handed his first start of the campaign in “the hole”, with Victor Moses wide left. It’s now just one clean sheet in five for the Potters, and whilst some will be deterred from investing in their rearguard, Crouch could well be a budget option at 5.7 in the FPL game: the Potters face home matches against Newcastle, Swansea and West Ham in the next five Gameweeks.

Hammers’ Attacking Ethos Paying Off
After belatedly being credited with a strike against Hull on Monday by the dubious goals panel, new boy Diafra Sakho netted again as the Hammers swept aside their visitors. The Hammers chipped in with attacking returns right across the pitch – Winston Reid, James Tomkins, Mark Noble, Stewart Downing, and Morgan Amalfitano all picked up points as Sam Allardyce’s more attack-minded approach continues to boost his players’ Fantasy potential. West Ham have now scored nine times in their opening five fixtures – a tally bettered only by Chelsea and Arsenal – and bearing in mind they scored just 40 goals over 38 league fixtures last term, Allardyce seems to be reaping early rewards from the change of approach.

Sterling Notches in Reds Loss
The youngster’s owners were treated to a third strike of the season in yesterday’s loss to the Hammers. Having started in his favoured role at the tip of the midfield diamond, Sterling fell victim to a tactical reshuffle, as a first-half switch to a 3-5-2 saw him moved to the right wing-back position. Granted, he still managed to get amongst the goals, but there’s no doubt yesterday’s turn of events is somewhat disconcerting, bearing in mind he was benched for last week’s loss to Villa. With Daniel Sturridge nearing fitness in time for next weekend’s Merseyside derby, though, Sterling could be shifted centrally again as Brendan Rodgers attempts to arrest an alarming run of form which has seen his side lose three of their opening five.