Scout Notes – Gameweek 36 – Saturday

Andros Townsend and Karl Darlow combine to earn Newcastle a precious victory, while Jermain Defoe keeps Sunderland in touch with a late spot-kick. Elsewhere, Troy Deeney is the latest to punish the Aston Villa defence as he claims a late brace to deliver on his promise as a Gameweek differential. Here’s the notes from Saturday’s action…

Townsend & Darlow Seal Toon Victory

Newcastle United clambered free of the relegation spot as they held on for 1-0 win over Crystal Palace.

Andros Townsend provided the decisive strike via a sumptuous free-kick, delighting the 54,000 Fantasy Premier League (FPL) managers that recruited him across the previous two Gameweeks. The former Spurs winger now lays claim to three goals and one assist in five starts, underlining his impact and form as the Magpies prepare for a road clash against an Aston Villa side that’s now shipped 14 goals in five match-ups.

While Townsend sparkled, it was keeper Karl Darlow who put in a man-of-the-match shift, thwarting Yohan Cabaye from the penalty spot to preserve the hosts’ lead. In helping the Toon to earn their second clean sheet in four league ties, the 3.9-priced option amassed a huge 15 points, repaying those who had acquired the stand-in stopper ahead of Newcastle’s Gameweek 34 double.

Defoe On the Spot To Save a Point

Sunderland salvaged a point deep into injury time at Stoke to keep a resurgent Newcastle within reach.

Jermain Defoe left it agonisingly late for his 8% FPL ownership, converting a spot-kick in the 94^th minute. Aside from notching his fourth goal in seven starts, the 5.3-priced striker now ranks third among all players for away goals (11), trailing just Harry Kane (14) and Riyad Mahrez (12).

Defoe’s current form boosts his credentials as a strong captaincy candidate ahead of the Wearsiders’ double Gameweek 37 (CHE, EVE). It’s worth noting, however, that he’s been far from clinical at the Stadium of Light this season, firing 14 efforts on target and converting just three of those attempts into goals.

Deeney Leaves It Late

Watford consigned Villa to their 11^th straight loss courtesy of two goals in the dying embers of the Vicarage Road meeting.

Troy Deeney fired home a quick-fire brace to snatch victory from the jaws of defeat, underlining his potential (6% ownership) prior to Watford’s double Gameweek 37 (liv, nor).

The Watford skipper claimed a spot in our Differential selection this week and has now tallied four goals in his last seven outings across all competitions, confirming the 5.2 acquisition as our favoured route into the Hornets’ attack as Odion Ighalo continues to struggle for form: the Nigerian is now without a goal in 11 league outings.

Noble Brace Ensures Hammers Stroll

West Ham United stretched out their unbeaten run to 10 matches following a comfortable 3-0 road win over West Bromwich Albion.

Mark Noble (5.5) delivered for his 42,000 new FPL owners, recording his second brace in as many starts. Although the Hammers’ skipper is in the midst of an eye-catching purple patch, prospective investors should be wary that’s he’s averaged a shot just once every 95 minutes throughout the entire season, which clearly indicates this period of form as unsustainable. Despite this, Noble has claimed more new owners overnight than any other FPL asset.

Indeed, the Iron’s midfield boasts a wealth of midfield talent, illustrated by Cheikhou Kouyate’s Hawthorns haul as he recorded a goal and an assist in the West Ham win.

Intriguingly, the 5.2 priced Senegal international charts top among his team-mates for shots inside the box (five) and penalty-box touches (19) across their last four outings, suggesting that he could be a viable alternative to Manuel Lanzini and Noble for those shopping for a budget friendly Hammers option ahead of their Gameweek 37 double (SWA, MUN).

Dimitri Payet and Andy Carroll also earned an assist apiece. The former – who has now drawn just three blanks in 10 starts – remains the prime option in West Ham’s squad for Gameweek 37. As for Carroll, having fired five goals and an assist in his last four, his form is undeniable. There are, however, lingering doubts that he will start back-to-back matches over Gameweek 37 given the options available to Slaven Bilic.

At the back, Aaron Cresswell’s 35,000 latest investors profited from the Hammers’ first clean sheet in seven match-ups. Cresswell looks well placed for Gameweek 37 given that opponents Swansea City and Manchester United have totaled just four goals between them in their last three outings.

Gunners Grind Out Unconvincing Win

Arsenal consolidated their top-four berth with a tightly contested 1-0 victory over struggling Norwich City.

Danny Welbeck entered the fray in the 56^th minute and went on to net his first goal in five appearances. The ex-Man United frontman was teed up adeptly by Olivier Giroud, which might just be enough to ensure that the Frenchman keeps his starting berth for the Gunners’ road clash against Manchester City next weekend.

To the frustration of 45% of voters in our Captain Poll, Alexis Sanchez recorded his second consecutive blank. The Chilean also clearly objected to being replaced with 15 minutes remaining, perhaps illustrating his frustration at Arsenal’s season which has petered out with a whimper.

Despite this, the prospect of an Emirates meeting against Villa on the final day should convince owners to retain Sanchez for the remainder of the campaign. In contrast, Mesut Ozil faces an exodus of owners after his eighth blank in nine outings.

Alex Iwobi also registered his fourth straight blank and was hooked at the 55-minute mark. With Santi Cazorla and Jack Wilshere returning to the matchday squad and Welbeck staking his claim for a start, the 4.7-priced enabler now appears to be under real threat for the remaining two outings.

In defence, the Gunners registered their third clean sheet on the bounce. Significantly, with Per Mertesacker suffering a second-half hamstring injury, Gabriel now looks poised to once again present us with a budget route into the Gunners’ rearguard for the remaining fixtures.

Canaries Lack Cutting Edge

Norwich City’s survival bid was dealt another major blow as they slumped to their third successive defeat.

Alex Neil’s men have now tallied five blanks in seven outings and with no clean sheets in four, it’s difficult to pinpoint value in their squad ahead of their double Gameweek 37 (MUN, WAT).

Nathan Redmond (5.0) has struggled for starts of late, but mustered the joint-third-most shots (four) of any midfielder this Saturday, bolstering his case for a sustained run in the side and perhaps promoting him above Robbie Brady (5.4) as the main source of potential points.

Lukaku Benched By Martinez

Everton ran out 2-1 victors against Bournemouth to arrest their seven-match winless streak.

In the wake of five successive blanks, Romelu Lukaku was omitted from the starting XI, affording Oumar Niasse a rare chance to spearhead the Toffees’ attack.

Elsewhere, Tom Cleverley enjoyed his best haul of the season (13 points) by virtue of a goal and assist. Meanwhile, Ross Barkley snapped a run of 10 successive blanks by also claiming an assist. Leighton Baines rolled back the years with the winning strike – his first league goal from open play since January 2013.

As promised, Tim Howard returned between the sticks, replacing budget shot-stopper Joel Robles. Even though the latter is expected to reclaim his starting berth for the Toffees’ upcoming pair of Gameweek 37 road fixtures (lei, sun), his 2% ownership may well be unwilling to take that risk.

Roberto Martinez’ decision to start Howard and drop Lukaku to the bench illustrates that, despite the mounting pressure on his position, he’s willing to experiment for Everton’s final few fixtures. This surely casts further doubt on the Toffees as a source of assured points ahead of Gameweek 37.