Scout Notes – Gameweek 10 – Saturday

Alexis Sanchez continues to look unstoppable as the Gunners overcome Burnley’s resistance at the Emirates. Eden Hazard does his best to direct attention his way with a spot-kick conversion in Chelsea’s laboured win over London rivals QPR, while Raheem Sterling struggles again as Liverpool are humbled by the Newcastle revival. Here’s the notes from Saturday’s action…

Sanchez and Chambers Conquer Clarets

Alexis Sanchez continued his outstanding run of form by collecting his third consecutive double figure haul with a brace against Burnley, fully justifying the huge investment that came his way prior to the deadline. The Chilean now sits top of the FPL overall standings with 70 points and, with 7.8 points per game (ppg), Sanchez has emerged as the latest asset to make claim for “essential” status. Arsene Wenger’s decision to keep him pushed up with Danny Welbeck continues to reap rewards: Sanchez is heavily involved in Arsenal’s attacks from this central role and, while being retained in that position, even his ever-increasing FPL price tag of 10.6 looks to offer value. Sanchez was, however, outscored by defender Calum Chambers in yesterday’s match. The 19-year-old recorded an extraordinary tally of a goal, an assist, a clean sheet and maximum bonus points on his way to an 18-point haul. Arsenal have now registered back-to-back shut-outs and, despite recent uncertainties at the back, Chambers is sure to earn big interest as Fantasy managers look to liberate funds to acquire team-mate, Sanchez.

Sterling Stumbles to Another Blank

A move to the right wing proved detrimental for Raheem Sterling, who failed to register a single shot across the 90 minutes for Liverpool in their 1-0 loss at Newcastle. The England starlet has just one goal in his last seven league appearances and, with Chelsea up next for Brendan Rodger’s outfit, the wealth of sales from the last seven days looks set to continue before the Gameweek 11 deadline. Sterling’s value has dropped to 8.6 in the Fantasy Premier League (FPL) overnight – having been priced at 9.0 at deadline in Gameweek 9. His decline is compounded by the form of rival top bracket midfielders, with both Angel di Maria and Alexis Sanchez emerging to demand investment.

Toon Revival Continues

The revitalised Magpies have notched wins against Spurs, Man City and Liverpool in the last week, as their early-season blues evaporate. Moussa Sissoko grabbed his first attacking returns of the season after being moved to a more advanced central role – the midfielder added an assist to his midweek strike against City, following the recent tactical switch. Ayoze Perez found the back of the net for the second successive Gameweek to give Alan Pardew a selection headache up front: Papiss Cisse seems likely to be back in contention in Gameweek 11, despite being withdrawn early in Saturday’s victory with continued knee problems. Elsewhere, Newcastle’s defence have conceded just once in their last four matches in all competitions and both Paul Dummett (4.0) and Steven Taylor (3.9) are likely to attract investment in the budget bracket ahead of a favourable run of fixtures (wba QPR whm bur).

Hammers Turn to Goal Power

With top scorer Diafra Sakho ruled out of the trip to Stoke with a shoulder injury, Sam Allardyce opted to switch to a 4-3-3 formation – Enner Valencia was the furthest forward, with Stewart Downing flanking him on the right. Both players notched a goal and an assist, with Downing, in particular, emerging as a real prospect for our midfields. West Ham look full of goals, having scored nine in their last four league matches – with just one clean sheet in campaign, the Hammers are being forced onto the front foot. Their kind schedule (AVL, eve, NEW, wba, SWA, sun) certainly suggests that doubling up on their attacking assets appears to be a viable tactic. The prolific Sakho could well return for the Gameweek 11 meeting with Villa, while Downing’s second double figure return of the season has seen him rise to 5.8 in the FPL – only the Arsenal pair – Calum Chambers and Alexis Sanchez – have attracted more transfer interest overnight.

Everton Denied by 10-man Swans

Everton were frustrated by a Swansea rearguard option after Jonjo Shelvey was dismissed for two bookable offences in the second period. Roberto Martinez’ side were unable to break down the determined Swans but, in Fantasy terms were at least able to record another clean sheet with Leighton Baines owners benefitting once more. The Toffees have now conceded just once in their last three, with Baines continuing to hold firm at the top of the FPL defender rankings. Even at the lofty price of 7.2, Baines is looking a key Fantasy figure – the left-back has earned at least a goal, assist or clean sheet in seven of the last eight league outings.

Elsewhere, the decision to preserve Romelu Lukaku on the bench underlined the continued doubts over his fitness – Lukaku had recorded back-to-back goals going into Saturday’s clash but, clearly, his potential is being curtailed by ongoing knocks. Antolin Alcaraz is a bigger concern for the Everton boss – he suffered a shoulder injury in yesterday’s stalemate and is set for a prolonged period of absence. With John Stones also sidelined for the Toffees, it remains to be seen if this latest setback brings Sylvain Distin back in from the cold.

Chelsea Midfield Deliver On Costa’s Return

Eden Hazard’s coolly taken spot-kick took his goal tally to three for the season with the Belgian slowly chipping away at Cesc Fabregas’ lead in the midfield standings. The two are now separated by just seven points, though they differ in ownership by almost 40%, with Hazard continuing to simmer as the differential pick. With Oscar scoring the Blues’ first in the 2-1 win, it proved a profitable day for the Chelsea midfield. The Brazilian is another asset to consider within Jose Mourinho’s ranks: at 8.3 in the FPL, Oscar has started the last five league outings, notching three goals, an assist and seven bonus points in that spell. Like Hazard, he’s a ready-made differential with just 3.6% ownership.

Up until his recent injuries, Diego Costa’s form has provided ample cover for Chelsea’s midfield returns. However, the striker ended Saturday’s 2-1 win with a blank on his return to the team sheet. Mourinho hooked Costa on 77 minutes with Costa visibly tiring, much to the frustration of the army of Fantasy managers who handed him the Gameweek armband.

Austin In Bloom

A cheeky back-heel at the Bridge took Charlie Austin’s total to four goals and an assist in his last five outings. The striker is now up to sixth in the FPL forward rankings, though still has an ownership of under 1%, with few managers willing to take a punt on the R’s assets whilst their schedule remains tough – Harry Redknapp’s side face champions City at Loftus Road next. The fixture list does, however, brighten signficantly from Gameweek 13 onwards with Leicester, Burnley and West Brom due to visit West London before Christmas. Austin looks set to challenge Diafra Sakho and Saido Berahino as the budget forward option, then.

Southampton Tame Tigers

The Saints registered their sixth clean sheet of the campaign against Hull – they’ve now conceded just three league goals in their last nine. The Tigers managed just one shot on target the entire game, with Victor Wanyama’s long-range strike proving enough to earn the Saints victory. Ronald Koeman’s men now face Leicester at home before travelling to Aston Villa in Gameweek 12, and owners of their rearguard assets will be confident of further returns before the schedule toughens up from Gameweek 13 onwards. Elsewhere, Sadio Mane was kept on the bench by Koeman, despite returning to fitness, with Shane Long retaining his starting role. Mane was introduced on the hour-mark and will be backed for a starting role against Leicester.

Baggies Overcome Faltering Foxes

West Brom’s form is demanding attention, with three wins and two draws in their last six propelling them into the top half of the table. Saido Berahino has reached the 20% FPL ownership level, despite serving up a blank for the first time Gameweek 5 in the win at Leicester. However, the 6.0 valued forward will now need to prove his “fixture proof” credentials to maintain his recent scoring run: his side’s next four opponents are all in strong form (NEW, che, ARS, WHM).

Ruthless Pearson Looks for Answers

Nigel Pearson made four changes to his lineup for the visit of West Brom, dropping Fantasy assets Leonardo Ulloa and Liam Moore to the bench in an attempt to reverse recent fortunes. Ulloa was without a goal in four appearances before yesterday’s encounter and has suffered a steep decline in FPL ownership following his outstanding start to the campaign which brought him five goals in as many games. The Argentine’s start for the trip to Southampton is now in doubt, along with defender Moore who lost his place to Marcin Wasilewski. Priced at 4.0, Moore has proved a popular enabler but could now suffer sales as Fantasy managers turn to the aforementioned Dummett and Taylor at Newcastle to provide their budget cover at the back.