Scout Notes – Gameweek 14 – Saturday

Jamie Vardy topples Ruud’s record in a Gameweek that also saw Kevin De Bruyne punish the impatient and Yannick Bolas reward a faithful few. Here’s the notes from Saturday’s encounters…

Unstoppable Vardy Earns Foxes Point

Jamie Vardy carved his name into the annals of Premier League history by extending his scoring streak to 11 matches in a 1-1 draw against Manchester United, surpassing Ruud Van Nistelrooy’s previous record set in 2003.

Thanks to a sublime pass from Christian Fuchs, the former Fleetwood Town hitman now sits four clear of the rest of the field in the race for the Golden Boot on 14 goals.

Much rhetoric has centred around whether the Foxes’ challenging run through to the New Year (swa, CHE, eve, liv, MCI) will stymie the rhythm of both Vardy and Riyad Mahrez; Saturday’s display went some way to suggest that those fears will be unfounded. Vardy again delivered an end product, while Mahrez was a consistent threat with his pace and trickery.

Elsewhere, there are signs that Claudio Ranieri’s side are providing greater defensive stability in recent weeks. Since Gameweek 9, the Foxes have conceded five goals in five matches, earning two shut-outs. Moreover, they’ve allowed just three “big chances” – gilt edged opportunities – to opponents in this window: only Arsenal and Stoke conceded fewer.

De Bruyne Comes Good for City

Manchester City recovered from last weekend’s demolition at the hands of Liverpool with a 3-1 win at home to Southampton. Kevin De Bruyne came back to bite the 80,000 managers that shipped him off in the lead up to this Gameweek, tallying a goal and two assists.

Tracking back to the start of last season, the Belgian orchestrator has now amassed more assists (26) than any other player across Europe’s top five leagues, demonstrating the consistency of his attacking returns. De Bruyne has also either scored or assisted 55.6% of City’s goals whilst he’s been on the pitch.

Alarm bells rung when Sergio Aguero limped off shortly beyond the hour-mark. However, Manuel Pellegrini insisted after the match that the Argentine’s withdrawal was a “precaution”, given that he suffered a kick to his heel. Regardless, his 17% ownership will be nervously awaiting further updates.

Shifting the focus back to the Sky Blues’ midfield troupe, Fabian Delph scored his first City goal, while Raheem Sterling kept his tally, ticking over with an assist. David Silva made a 16-minute cameo in the dying embers of the tie, setting him up for a return to the starting line-up next time out at Stoke.

With Willy Caballero between the sticks, Man City’s rearguard failed to record a clean sheet for their sixth successive home outing. Aleksandar Kolarov – who came close from a free-kick in the early exchanges – was the sole benefactor amongst their back line, drilling a pinpoint strike into the bottom corner for his second goal of the campaign. Kolarov’s attacking prowess would seem likely to see him continue to hold off the challenge of Gael Clichy for league starts, promoting his worth, despite City’s defensive struggles.

Mane The Provider As Saints Slip

Spearheading Southampton’s attack in the absence of the suspended Graziano Pelle, Shane Long bagged his third goal in five starts. Sadio Mane supplied the ammunition via an accurate flighted cross, boosting his assist tally to six for the season. The Senegalese winger shed 60,000 owners prior to the Eithad showdown but looks well placed to exert his influence over three home matches in the next four (AVL, cry TOT ARS).

Southampton’s endeavours to stifle the home team were not aided by Jose Fonte’s early substitution. Although the Portugal international was unable to play on because of a knee laceration, manager Ronald Koeman assured reporters that Fonte will be available for their midweek League Cup clash against Liverpool.

Ighalo and Deeney Deliver Again

Watford survived Aston Villa’s late rally to record a 3-2 win at Villa Park. Yet again, Odion Ighalo and Troy Deeney were factors as they bagged a goal and an assist apiece, cementing the duo as the prime budget forwards.

Ighalo has now been directly involved (seven goal and four assists) in 11 of the Hornets’ last 13 goals, while Deeney boasts four goals in five outings. Both men will fancy their chances of delivering further attacking returns as the Hornets embark on an enticing pair of match-ups (NOR, sun). Inhale was attracting yet more owners overnight, ranking third for FPL transfers in.

Elsewhere in the Watford camp, Ben Watson turned provider for his maiden assist of the campaign, while Heurelho Gomes had to be substituted at the 67-minute mark following a head injury. The Brazilian shot-stopper has since been given the all-clear but remains a doubt for the Norwich meeting having suffered concussion.

Richards Rewards In Another Villa Setback

Aston Villa extended their winless streak to 13 matches, carding their 11^th defeat over that stretch. Micah Richard equalised for the hosts in the 41^st minute with his first goal of the season, rewarding the subset of his 6% ownership that elected to field him in the starting XI.

Although the Villains’ next two fixtures (sou, ARS) harbour minimal clean-sheet potential, it should be noted that their schedule from Gameweek 17 (new, WHU, nor, sun, CRY, LEI, wba) looks more promising. This spell will undoubtedly be cited as a critical period in Villa’s season by Remi Garde.

Jordan Ayew (5.5) is a name who could yet come into consideration during that window of fixtures. He set up a frenetic finish with his quality strike in the 89^th minute. The Ghanaian attacker has now notched three goals in five starts and is emerging as the only real potential source of attacking promise within Garde’s ranks.

Stanilas Leads Cherries Fight Back

Eddie Howe’s men displayed incredible resolve to secure a 3-3 draw at home to Everton, courtesy of a 97^th-minute equaliser from Junior Stanislas.

Making just his fifth appearance of the season, the winger grabbed a brace at the Vitality Stadium, illustrating the latent value of Bournemouth’s rejuvenated midfield contingent. On that same note, Joshua King – much to the delight of his 1600 new owners – earned the assist for Stanislas’ first effort.

King and Stanislas, along with Dan Gosling, continue to make convincing auditions for the fifth midfield slot in our squads. Valued at just 4.2, Stanislas has started the last three league outings but his role on the left flank will come under threat from Marc Pugh on his return from injury.

Of the three names mentioned, Gosling (4.4) is the most secure option and has recently benefited from a more attack-minded role in recent weeks. However, a hamstring injury to Harry Arter (4.7) in yesterday’s encounter may well force Howe to tweak his midfield setup for the trip to Chelsea in Gameweek 14.

At the other end of the pitch, Adam Smith opened his account with a howitzer of a strike, while Charlie Daniels posted his first assist of the term. Elsewhere, Adam Federici is set to be ruled out for the “foreseeable future” with an ankle injury. Given that the Cherries first-choice keeper Artur Boruc is currently nursing a groin complaint, Ryan Allsop (4.4) will face a baptism of fire when they travel to Stamford Bridge next weekend.

Toffees Goal Power Not Enough

Everton’s vulnerable back line was exposed as they surrendered a two-goal lead on the south coast. Nonetheless, Romelu Lukaku underlined his status as one of the league’s form forwards, netting his fifth goal in four outings. The 8.9-priced marksman has already matched his tally (10 goals) from the previous campaign and will be chomping at the bit to face off against the likes of Crystal Palace, Norwich, Leicester City and Newcastle in the coming Gameweeks.

Ross Barkley (7.1) proved to be the Toffees’ star man for the second week running, chalking up a goal and an assist. Barkley now comes in at 0.8 more expensive than the 6.3-priced Gerard Deulofeu (who picked up an assist) but is justifying that additional outlay with four goals in five starts. Barkley enjoyed more new FPL owners than any other player overnight, as his price increased again by 0.1.

Although Everton’s back line was unable to snuff out Bournemouth’s late assault, Ramiro Funes Mori (goal) and Seamus Coleman (assist) came up trumps in the final third. Roberto Martinez’s charges lay claim to just one clean sheet in eight match-ups, yet their above-mentioned favourable run could yield better results in that respect.

Coleman has now returned back-to-back assists as he contributes to Everton’s strong attacking form. The Toffees have scored 14 goals in their last four matches, with the fixtures suggesting that they could maintain such form right up until the turn of the year.

Bolasie Brace Fires Eagles

Crystal Palace ran out resounding 5-1 victors against Newcastle, marking the first time they’ve racked up five goals in a Premier League encounter.

Yannick Bolasie was the standout performer as he punished the visitors with a goal in either half: Bolasie has now matched his goal tally from last season. The 6.1-priced wing wizard has long been maligned for a lack of end product, but Saturday’s showing and recent output suggests that he can begin to emerge as a consistent attacking prospect.

Having said that, Bolasie has been involved (scored or assisted) in 26.7% of Palace’s goals this season, an almost identical level of involvement compared to last season (26.3). This would indicate that, for now, we should show caution and perhaps base interest in the DR Congo attacker based on Palace’s likely goal output over forthcoming fixtures.

Whilst Palace have three away trips in the next four (eve SOT stk bou), Alan Pardew’s men have been effective on their travels – a factor which perhaps promotes further interest in Bolasie as a midfield option. However, goals at Everton and Stoke won’t come easy, whilst Southampton’s defence was ranked amongst the best away from home up until yesterday’s defeat at the Etihad.

Elsewhere, Wilfried Zaha graced the scoresheet for the second time this campaign, alerting us to his budget potential ahead of decent batch of fixtures (eve, SOU, sto, bou, SWA). Unfortunately, the former Manchester United recruit received his fifth domestic booking so will sit out the Eagles’ trip to Goodison Park.

In his second start since returning from injury, Connor Wickham notched a brace of assists – likely ensuring that Marouane Chamakh remains rooted to the bench. To the jubilation of almost no one, the 0.2%-owned James McArthur scored an unlikely double, while Damien Delaney figured from another effective Palace set-play to register his first assist in nine appearances.

Black Cats Keep It Clean

Buoyed by Ryan Shawcross’ red card at the start of the second half, Patrick van Aanholt and Duncan Watmore both netted in the space of three minutes to grant Sunderland a vital 2-0 win over Stoke City.

The Black Cats have now accrued three wins in six outings under Sam Allardyce, matching their victory count during Dick Advoaat’s 17-game reign. Moreover, a haul of 18 attempts against the Potters was Sunderland’s biggest this term, which – irrespective of their one-man advantage – bodes well on the attacking front.

As for the Wearsiders’ facilitators, DeAndre Yedlin and Adam Johnson carded the assists. Considering that Sunderland have recorded three clean sheets in their previous five matches, the likes of Van Aanholt and Yedlin now begin to factor into our thinking.

Costel Pantilimon is also coming to the fore as an option in goal – he’s recorded 31 points in his last five outings, including five bonus points and seven points from saves. Given Sunderland’s brutal schedule across the next five Gameweeks (ars, WAT, che, mci, LIV), the giant Romanian stopper may well be the only viable option in their back line for now.