Scout Notes – Gameweek 16 – Saturday

Eden Hazard decides another Bridge encounter. City keep chase as the injuries mount. Olivier Giroud leads the charge as the Gunners dismiss the Magpies and Stewart Downing sparkles as the Hammers are held by the Black Cats. Here’s our notes from Saturday’s events…

Hazard Dismantles Tigers

Eden Hazard maintained his exceptional home record with a goal and an assist in Chelsea’s comfortable 2-0 victory over Steve Bruce’s Hull. Diego Costa also found the back of the net to end a mini goal drought but it’s Hazard who has undoubtedly proved the stronger captaincy option for the Blues’ at the Bridge. The Belgian has now scored in his last five home league encounters, earning maximum bonus points in four of those four outings. Hazard has, however, registered just two assists on his travels this season and now faces three of the next four away from home. Costa took his tally to 12 goals in 13 league matches but accrued his seventh booking of the season, ensuring that the striker again failed to return bonus points – he has received just two bonus points in his last nine league starts, despite notching five goals in that spell.

Chelsea’s rearguard were also in the points after securing their fourth clean sheet in their last five, though Jose Mourinho disappointed Cesar Azpilicueta’s 10.6% ownership by opting to rest the Spaniard after he played the full 90 minutes in midweek: Filipe Luis retained the left-back role, with Branislav Ivanovic recalled at right-back. This decision from the Blues’ boss certainly reinforces Mourinho’s statement in the week that stressed he intends to rotate his resources across the busy festive period.

Gunners Make Light Work of Magpies Test

Santi Cazorla and Differential pick Olivier Giroud both earned a brace as Arsenal swept aside Newcastle in the evening kick-off. The options amongst the Gunners’ ranks are undoubtedly on the rise, with the two goalscorers supplementing Alexis Sanchez and Danny Welbeck, who were also in the points with assists. Arsene Wenger’s side now face a tricky schedule, with three away fixtures in their next four (liv QPR whm sot), but with a range of in-form assets across the price brackets, we’re still likely to see a trend of investment coming their way in the next few weeks. Wenger was forced to start Mathieu Debuchy in central defence, with Hector Bellerin fielded at right-back. Calum Chambers will return from suspension for the Gameweek 17 trip to Liverpool and, despite Debuchy’s availability, he may retain a starting berth with Wenger indicating post-match that Laurent Koscielny will not be in line to return at Anfield.

City Facing Striker Crisis

Man City look woefully short of resources up front after Edin Dzeko pulled up in the warm-up ahead of the 1-0 win over Leicester. The Bosnian had been due to start for the reigning Champions but Manuel Pellegrini was instead forced to lead with youngster Jose Pozo. Post-match, the Chilean suggested that Pozo could be set for a continued stint in the first XI – Dzeko is thought to be sidelined until the New Year, while Stevan Jovetic missed out against the Foxes with a “minor” muscle injury…

“We are without Dzeko, Aguero and Jovetic , for maybe more than a couple of weeks. We must see how long it takes Jovetic to recover. It is a difficult situation but we will see what is the best way for us to play.”

At 5.0, and with no current competition for the forward role, Pozo has to be a consideration given City’s strong schedule. The excessive injury situation up top will only heap pressure on the Blues’ midfield to perform, though Samir Nasri maintained his midweek form with an assist as Frank Lampard grabbed the winner. David Silva’s return was also a welcome sight for Pellegrini and Fantasy managers alike.

Despite picking up a third clean sheet in their last four league displays, there were also worrying signs in defence for City, with Vincent Kompany limping from the field on 74 minutes. The Belgian appears to have aggravated the hamstring injury that kept him out from Gameweek 14-15, with Pellegrini suggesting that his skipper will also be missing until the New Year. Meanwhile, Pablo Zabaleta was rested for the Foxes clash (firstly from the squad entirely, before he was then brought onto the bench after Dzeko’s late withdrawal) and his owners will now be hoping that this will ensure he can manage a prolonged spell in the side across the Christmas period.

The Clarets Produce At Both Ends

Danny Ings was amongst the points once again, grabbing the assist for Ashley Barnes’s winner against Southampton – the 5.8 priced striker has now scored or assisted in four of his last five appearances. Meanwhile, Tom Heaton’s spot-kick save earned Burnley their fifth clean sheet of the season and took the keeper to the top of the Fantasy Premier League (FPL) goalkeeper rankings. However, with the fixture list looking so poor for Sean Dyche’s men (tot, LIV, mci, new), Heaton’s appeal and Ings’ potential now look questionable.

A Bad Day at the Office for Koeman

Graziano Pelle’s “revival” after his goal against United on Monday proved short-lived after the Italian served up another blank and picked up his fifth booking of the season at Turf Moor. He will, however, see out the one-match suspension in the Capital One Cup in midweek and be available for the Saints’ clash with Everton in Gameweek 17. Dusan Tadic was the real villain for the Saints – his missed penalty took his goalless run to eight league games. Short of form and confidence, the Serb is looking a shadow of the figure who rose to prominence with a 23-point haul back in Gameweek 8 – Tadic has provided just one assist since.

Bolasie Continues To Impress

Yannick Bolasie vindicated our decision to hand him a spot in our Scout Picks by notching his fifth assist for the season in Crystal Palace’s 1-1 draw with Stoke. The winger has now beaten his tally for the entire 2013/14 season and is clearly vital to the Eagles’ prospects. However, with three away matches in Palace’s next four (mci, qpr, avl), the 5.5-priced midfield option may find it difficult to prosper further. A lack of firepower is not helping his cause – Neil Warnock’s side have scored just two goals in their last four outings, despite the impressive performances from Bolasie and fellow winger, Wilfried Zaha.

Back-to-Back Goals For Crouch

Peter Crouch kept his starting role for the Selhurst Park trip and found himself on the scoresheet for a second consecutive fixture. Crouch is now likely to remain in the Potters’ XI across their upcoming schedule and, like Jon Walters (whose assist yesterday took him to three goals and three assists in his last six outings), provides a viable option in their ranks. Mark Hughes’ side now face a daunting schedule, however, with Chelsea, Everton, Man United and Arsenal lying in wait over their next five.

Fletcher Kept In Reserve

Gus Poyet’s decision to preserve Steven Fletcher on the bench against West Ham proved ill-advised, as his replacement Jozy Altidore bungled a gilt-edged opportunity for the winner from four yards out before eventually being replaced just after the hour mark. Patience with Altidore from the Stadium of Light faithful certainly seems shot, though with Fletcher’s fitness clearly still a concern ahead of the hectic Xmas schedule, we could see Poyet turn to Connor Wickham to adopt a more central position.

Downing’s Influence Key Once More

Sam Allardyce dropped Enner Valencia to the bench to partner Andy Carroll with Diafra Sakho up top against the Black Cats, though it was Stewart Downing who came away from the encounter with the points for the Hammers. The east Londoners kept their midfield diamond with Downing at the tip and the former Liverpool man bagged his side’s only goal of the game, as well as creating five chances for his teammates. Downing earned the maximum bonus points and has now fetched supplementary points in four of his last five league starts – only Alexis Sanchez can match Downing’s 17-point bonus tally over the season. Having earned over 100,000 new owners last week, and with the upcoming schedule shining kindly on the Hammers, Downing looks destined for further investment before next weekend’s deadline: only Olivier Giroud attracted more FPL acquisitions overnight.

Baggies Hold 10-Man Villa

West Brom’s 1-0 victory over rivals Villa earned them back-to-back clean sheets: an upturn in defensive form that has coincided with Gareth McAuley’s return at centre-back. Andre Wisdom continues to hold onto his starting berth at right-back, and, thanks to his lowly 4.3 price tag, remains the standout option in the Baggies rearguard who are up against QPR next. Further forward, Saido Berahino was benched once again by Alan Irvine, who instead handed the forgotten figures of Silvestre Varela and Brown Ideye the chance to impress; neither managed an attempt on target, however, suggesting that the window is still there for Berahino to force his way back into favour.