Scout Notes – Gameweek 10 – Sunday

Harry Kane banishes his barren streak with a three-goal haul at Bournemouth. Steven Fletcher grabs a goal and assist as Sunderland triumph in the Wear-Tyne derby. Christian Benteke and Sadio Mane both net as Liverpool and Southampton play out an Anfield stalemate, whilst the Manchester derby proves good for defences after serving up a goalless draw with just two shots on target.

Kane Runs Riot in Spurs Rout

Spurs extended their unbeaten streak to nine matches with a crushing 5-1 victory over Bournemouth. Harry Kane was the hero of the piece, banishing a barren run of one goal in nine starts with a hat-trick on the south coast. Considering that no forward has tallied more shots on target (12) over the last four Gameweeks, Kane – who’s dropped to 9.2 in light of his poor form – is likely to enjoy an upsurge of investment ahead of an alluring home clash against Aston Villa. The Lilywhites’ face a trio of London derbies (ars, WHU, CHE) throughout the remainder of November, but Kane owners will be encouraged by the fact that Chelsea and West Ham are conceding goals freely at present.

Mousa Dembele was rewarded for his excellent display last time out with a starting berth at the number-ten slot, causing Christian Eriksen to shift onto the left flank. The former capitalised on a fortuitous shot-deflection to net Tottenham’s second of the encounter, while the latter racked up his third assist in five starts – underlining his strength as a differential (6% ownership) in the mid-priced bracket. Erik Lamela grabbed his second goal in four appearances, alerting us to his growing presence within Spurs’ forward quartet.

Switching our attention to their defence, Spurs failed to register back-to-back clean sheets but still boast the joint best defensive record (eight goals conceded) with three other clubs. Both Toby Alderweireld and Danny Rose chalked up assists against Eddie Howe’s men, showcasing the potential for attacking returns within the North London outfit’s rearguard. Rose’s marauding instincts render him a fine pick-up at the 5.2 mark as he looks to cement a starting berth ahead of Ben Davies.

Cherries Thrashed Again

Bournemouth got off to a dream start through Matt Ritchie’s clean, near-post strike – which, at 49 seconds, was the fastest goal scored this term – but they ultimately fell to their second consecutive 5-1 defeat. Ritchie now lays claim to two goals and one assist in five starts but is unlikely to welcome many new owners as Bournemouth gear up for a challenging run through to the Christmas period (sou, NEW, swa, EVE, che, MUN).

Charlie Daniels turned provider for his first assist in nine outings, but the equally priced Simon Francis (4.5) remains a more attractive route into Bournemouth’s, admittedly ailing, back line. With Southampton, Swansea, Everton, Chelsea and United in the next six, though, those still holding Bournemouth defensive options may well be looking for a way out.

Fletcher Key to Black Cats Win

At the tenth time of asking, Sunderland secured their first three points of the campaign by way of a 3-0 victory over Newcastle United – representing the first time the Wearsiders have notched three or more goals in a match since last November. Steven Fletcher bagged the assist for their opener, before netting his second goal in three outings in the 86^th minute. Priced at 5.0, Fletcher serves as an alternative to the likes of Odion Ighalo and Ayoze Perez in the budget bracket ahead of a decent quartet of match-ups (eve, SOU, cry, STO).

Adam Johnson converted from the penalty spot to card his first goal of the season, while Yann M’Vila set up Billy Jones for a rare strike to extend the hosts’ advantage. He wasn’t the only Sunderland defender to deliver attacking returns, as Younes Kaboul registered an unlikely assist. Despite the presence of a few sub-4.5 rearguard assets within the Black Cats’ squad, Fantasy managers will be more than a little wary of backing a defence that’s claimed a solitary clean sheet across 10 outings.

Dominant Magpies Fall to Defeat

The Magpies were somewhat unlucky to fall to their sixth straight defeat at the hands of Sunderland, having amassed considerably more attempts (21 compared to nine) and shots on target (eight to three). The visitors bossed the opening exchanges but were crippled by Fabricio Coloccini’s sending off just before the break; the Argentine centre-back saw red for obstructing Fletcher’s path to a through ball and, along with Jack Colback, will now sit out a home tie against Stoke City next Gameweek.

Notwithstanding the Toon’s setback, Fantasy managers who’ve recruited from Newcastle’s squad will take heart from the nature of their performance in the North-East derby. Certainly, the attacking contingent showed enough to suggest they can cause myriad problems during a favourable upcoming quartet of fixtures (STO, bou, LEI, cry).

United Batten Down the Hatches

Manchester United held their arch-rivals to a 0-0 stalemate in a pitiable showdown at Old Trafford. The Red Devils mustered just six shots and one attempt on target throughout the 90 minutes, with Chris Smalling (two) notching more efforts than any of Man United’s forward players. Anthony Martial continued in his wide role and failed to register a single shot, raising serious doubts over his value as a 8.3-priced forward in the Fantasy Premier League. Nonetheless, a fair portion of Martial’s 28% ownership might be willing to sit tight as Louis van Gaal’s troops embark on a sustained streak of favourable fixtures (cry, WBA, wat, lei, WHU, bou, NOR, sto).

Their paucity of goal threat aside, Man United will be delighted with a third shut-out in four matches. Considering that Matteo Darmian is now a serious rotation risk (Antonio Valencia occupied his berth on the weekend), Phil Jones (5.3) is shaping up to be the value route into their rearguard – he’s carded two successive starts since his return from injury and looks likely to retain that spot over Daley Blind in the coming Gameweeks.

City Stutter in Derby Bore

The Sky Blues suffered from the same lack of attacking thrust, also tallying six attempts and just one shot on target in a turgid affair that saw the visitors fail to score for the first time this season. Manuel Pellegrini opted to beef up their midfield by dropping Jesus Navas to the bench and playing Fernando alongside Fernandinho in the double pivot, triggering Yaya Toure’s advancement to the number-ten slot. With the lesser opposition of Norwich City (home) and Aston Villa (away) next on the agenda, one would imagine that the Chilean boss will refrain from repeating the experiment.

Vincent Kompany’s reintroduction to the starting line-up engendered Man City’s first clean sheet in five outings; in fact, they’ve earned shut-outs in every match that the talismanic Belgian has started, highlighting how crucial he is to their defensive resolve. Elsewhere in the Sky Blues’ rearguard, Bacary Sagna was favoured to Pablo Zabaleta at right-back, given that the latter had a torrid time against Sevilla in the Champions League and looked desperately short of fitness.

Benteke Stakes a Claim

Christian Benteke came on after the break and grabbed Liverpool’s solitary goal in a 1-1 home draw against Southampton. The Belgian frontman replaced Divock Origi and will be hoping to nail down a starting berth on the back of yesterday’s display, given that Daniel Sturridge is now set for knee scans. In saying that, only Watford and West Bromwich Albion (both eight) have scored fewer goals (nine) than the Reds this campaign, illuminating their absence of bite in the final third.

Elsewhere for the Reds, James Milner’s (6.7) fine form continued with an assist and two bonus points. The summer signing from City has now produced a goal and three assists in the last four Gameweeks – blanking only once – and has overtaken Philippe Coutinho as the Reds’ top scoring midfielder in the Fantasy Premier League game.

Mane Strikes Again

Southampton remain undefeated on the road this term following a late comeback against the Merseysiders. Sadio Mane rescued a point with a close-range finish (Gaston Ramirez assist) four minutes from time, marking his third goal in four matches sa he moved up to ninth in the midfield standings. The jet-heeled winger then went on to receive his marching orders for two bookable offences in stoppage time, putting a dampener on his crucial contribution. That being said, Mane’s 8% ownership will be relieved to discover that he’ll serve his one-match ban when Saints host Villa in the Capital One Cup next Wednesday, meaning he’ll be available for Bournemouth’s visit next Gameweek. That showdown is also set to heighten Graziano Pelle’s appeal, despite the fact that the Italian has netted just once in the last four by comparison.