Scout Notes – Gameweek 38 – Sunday

Olivier Giroud grabs a hat-trick as Arsenal leapfrog Spurs into second. Sadio Mane delivers a goal and assist as the Saints clinch a place in Europe, Newcastle thrash Spurs at St James’ Park before dropping into the Championship, whilst United’s home clash with Bournemouth is rescheduled for tomorrow evening.

Giroud trebles secures second spot for Gunners

Owing to Tottenham Hotspur’s capitulation at St James’ Park, Arsenal secured second place with a 4-0 home victory over Aston Villa.

Olivier Giroud delivered a welcome parting gift for over 100,000 new owners by recording a hat-trick, while Captain Poll favourite Alexis Sanchez – who was moved onto the left flank – failed to pick up the points. Conversely, Mesut Ozil ended a run of four blanks with his 19th assist of the campaign, ensuring that he breached the 200-point for the first time in the Fantasy Premier League. Elsewhere in the Gunners’ midfield, Alex Iwobi’s owners were left frustrated as Arsene Wenger elected to start Jack Wilshere ahead of the Nigerian on the right.

Arsenal’s full-back starters, Hector Bellerin and Nacho Monreal, finished off with an assist apiece and benefited from the North Londoners’ fourth clean sheet in five outings. No team has registered more shut-outs (18) than Wenger’s men this term, so one would expect the above-mentioned duo to receive price hikes to around the 6.0-mark next time around.

Drinkwater earns Foxes a point

Leicester City capped off their title-winning campaign with a 1-1 draw on the dethroned champions’ home turf.

Danny Drinkwater netted on his return from suspension, meaning he posted a solitary blank in his last five appearances. Jeffrey Schlupp entered the fray in the second period and went on to grab his third assist in five outings. Claudio Ranieri handed Demarai Gray his first league start at the expense of Marc Albrighton, perhaps hinting at the greater chance of rotation on the left flank, in particular, next term.

Riyad Mahrez’ disappointing end to the season continued as he delivered a sixth blank in seven outings – nonetheless, the Algerian ended with a 29-point lead (240) at the summit of the FPL Player Standings. Jamie Vardy – who fell just one goal short (24) in his quest for the Golden Boot – ranks joint-second alongside Harry Kane (both 211) following a solid performance that harvested four attempts and two shots inside the box.

Fabregas nets in Blues’ stalemate

Chelsea extended their winless streak to four matches and slipped into 10th place following the stalemate at Stamford Bridge.

Cesc Fabregas (Nemanja Matic assist) opened the scoring from the penalty spot and earned a couple of bonus points to bring home nine points in the final league match before Antonio Conte takes the helm. The former Arsenal playmaker amassed 19 assists last term but failed to replicate that influence during the Blues’ title defence, notching five goals and seven assists en route to 133 points. Despite that, he finished just two points shy of Willian’s 135 at the top of the Chelsea standings.

Toffees end on a high note

In the wake of Roberto Martinez’s dismissal, Everton played with renewed confidence and ran out 3-0 victors over relegated Norwich City.

Assigned to spot-kick duty, Leighton Baines scored his second goal in four starts and enjoyed Everton’s second clean sheet since Gameweek 26. Although the Toffees stalwart has endured a torrid, injury-riddled campaign, his late flourish hints at a return to Fantasy relevancy under new management next season.

Rounding off the Merseysiders’ output, James McCarthy and Kevin Mirallas (two goals in three) found the target, while Romelu Lukaku and youth right-back Jonjoe Kenny claimed assists. Ross Barkley, Joel Robles and Tom Cleverley had to settle for bench duty at Goodison Park.

Relegated Magpies run riot

In a stunning turn of events, Newcastle United systematically dismantled Tottenham Hotspur in a 5-1 thrashing.

After serving up a goal and assist in the first half, Aleksandar Mitrovic went from hero to villain upon receiving his marching orders at the 67-minute for a dangerous challenge on Kyle Walker. Georginio Wijnaldum, meanwhile, delivered a 15-point return as the Magpies extended their unbeaten home run to five matches under Rafa Benitez.

Having failed to score in each of the previous 15 league encounters, the Dutchman bagged a brace to take his tally to 11 strikes for the season – all of his strikes have arrived at St James’ Park, which is more than any midfielder managed in front of their own supporters.

Moussa Sissoko (brace of assists), Rolando Aarons (goal and assist) and Daryl Janmaat (goal and assist) also got in on the action, but Andros Townsend – despite mustering three attempts and four key passes – came up short for his 2% ownership as the Tyneside team now prepare for life in the Championship.

Spurs humbled on Tyneside

Spurs disintegrated against 10-man Newcastle to end an otherwise successful campaign in farcical fashion.

Erik Lamela fuelled hope of a comeback with a goal right on the hour, marking the fifth time in six outings that he’s produced attacking returns (two goals, four assists). Considering that Dele Alli is set for a significant price hike next season, Lamela might well serve as a relatively budget-friendly route into the Spurs attack.

Once again the absence of Mousa Dembele was felt. Mauricio Pochettino’s men tasted defeated once in the 27 leagues ties the Belgian started in but lost five of the 11 matches that he missed. That doesn’t bode well for the start of the 2016/17 campaign when you consider that Dembele still has four matches remaining on his suspension. Furthermore, Harry Kane’s blank at St James’ means he scored just one goal in the 11 matches that the Belgian failed to make the first XI this season.

Mane in the points again

Southampton cemented a Europa League berth with a resounding 4-1 victory over a depleted Crystal Palace outfit. Jason Puncheon netted the only goal for the visitors, who rested a quartet of key players (Yohan Cabaye, Scott Dann, Connor Wickham and Yannick Bolasie) ahead of the FA Cup final.

Sadio Mane – who was amongst our Differential picks– perpetuated his purple patch with a goal and assist. By virtue of an eighth goal in as many outings, the Senegalese winger matched his tally (11) from the previous campaign, with a 13-point haul enough to take him into tenth spot in the midfield standings, three ahead of team-mate Dusan Tadic. Drafted in by over 184,000 FPL managers last week, the latter was unable to maintain the form that delivered two goals and six assists in his previous four outings.

Shane Long also drew an untimely blank, while Steven Davis recorded his third goal in two starts. Elsewhere, Graziano Pelle climbed off the bench in the second period to produce a goal and assist – much to the frustration of the 10,000+ FPL managers who sold the Italian prior to this weekend.

Ryan Bertrand (goal) and Cuco Martina (assist) rewarded managers that plumped for Saints’ full-backs. Only three defenders chalked up more key passes than Martina (10) across their last six starts, which hints towards the Curacao international’s potential to evolve into an alluring Fantasy asset if he remains ahead of Cedric Soares in the back-four. Bertrand’s strike – a converted penalty – suggests he’s climbed up the penalty pecking order under Ronald Koeman. Granted, the incident did occur after first-choice taker Tadic had been replaced but it’s worth noting that James Ward-Prowse – who was thought to be second in line – was already on the pitch when the spot-kick was awarded.

Antonio nets Hammers’ consolation

West Ham United succumbed to a 2-1 defeat at the Britannia Stadium in the final chapter of their campaign. As reported prior to kick-off, Dimitri Payet suffered a foot injury and was unavailable for selection against Stoke City, resulting in James Tomkins’ reinstatement and Michail Antonio’s reversion to a right wing role.

Back in his preferred advanced position, Antonio struck first (Winston Reid assist) for the Hammers and has now netted in four of his previous five starts as a wide man, suggesting that, providing he is moved back onto the flank next time out, the former Forest flier will be one to watch in 2016/17.

Diouf seals Stoke win

The Potters’ triumph against West Ham represented their first win in seven match-ups. Giannelli Imbula bagged his second goal since arriving in the winter transfer window, whilst sub Mame Biram Diouf – who has started only one of the final eight league fixtures – graced the scoresheet, with Charlie Adam turning provider for the Staffordshire outfit’s second goal.

Marko Arnautovic drew a final day blank but finished as the league’s joint-fourth-top scoring midfielder (11) and Stoke’s premier goal threat.

Iheanacho form continues

Manchester City did just enough to safeguard their Champions League spot as they grabbed a 1-1 draw at the Liberty Stadium.

Kelechi Iheanacho emerged as our second successful differential selection, bagging his fifth goal in four starts. The Nigerian marksman lays claim to a goal frequency (one every 105.9 minutes) that can only be bettered by Sergio Aguero (101.8) amongst all players this season, so his playing time under Pep Guardiola will be under close scrutiny from the Fantasy community next time out.

Sergio Aguero earned the assist for Iheanacho’s effort but failed to find the net with his five shots inside the box. Given that Alexis Sanchez (64% of vote in Captain Poll) drew a blank, managers who entrusted Aguero with the captain’s armband were likely content with the Argentine’s relatively modest showing.

Ayew nets again

Swansea completed a trio of impressive results with a resilient performance against the Sky Blues. Andrew Ayew scored (Leon Britton assist) with the hosts’ only accurate shot of the encounter, boosting his tally to 12 for the season. Nearly 40,000 new owners relished the Ghanaian winger’s fourth goal in three outings and eighth double-figure haul of the campaign.

The result means that the Swansea defence was breached just four times in seven home matches with Francesco Guidolin at the helm. Ahead of next year, it’s worth noting that they did not concede more than a single goal in any of those Liberty clashes, with three clean sheets also accrued.

Lens helps Black Cats to a point

Despite naming nine changes to their starting line-up – which saw Jermain Defoe drop to the bench and Patrick van Aanholt rested – Sunderland ground out a spirited 2-2 draw at Vicarage Road.

Jeremain Lens scored (Duncan Watmore assist) and teed up Jack Rodwell on his return to action. The Netherlands international enjoyed an auspicious start to the season – posting attacking returns (one goal, three assists) in his opening four starts but slipped down the pecking order soon thereafter. Yesterday’s showing suggests he could be another to monitor over the summer if he can find a way back into Big Sam’s XI.

Deeney notches in Hornets’ stalemate

Watford twice came from behind to salvage a point in Quique Sanchez Flores’ final match in charge.

To the jubilation of his 10,000 new owners, Troy Deeney converted his sixth penalty (Jurado assist) of the season – the most of any player. Due to his strong haul of attacking returns (13 goals, nine assists) and affordability, the 5.3-priced forward charted joint-second, behind Mahrez, in the FPL value rankings, illustrating his worth as a budget third striker.

Elsewhere, Sebastian Prodl netted his second goal (Adlene Guedioura assist) in three starts, alerting us to his Fantasy prospects in the next campaign.

All square at the Hawthorns

Planning ahead for the Europa League final, Liverpool rested their full complement of first-teamers for a 1-1 draw at West Bromwich Albion.

Jordon Ibe (Jon Flanagan assist) recorded his maiden league goal for the Reds, but Christian Benteke flattered to deceive as our final differential pick, managing zero shots on target. In light of Divock Origi’s rise to prominence and Danny Ings’ return from the treatment room, the robust Belgian looks set to remain on the periphery of our thinking if he doesn’t seek a transfer away from Anfield after the Euros.

Salomon Rondon (Jonathan Leko assist) scored for the Baggies and proved to be a thorn in Liverpool’s side, racking up the most attempts (nine) and shots inside the box (six) of any forward on Saturday.

New date for United clash

Upon the discovery of a suspect package at Old Trafford, Manchester United’s home tie against Bournemouth was postponed. In terms of the FPL ramifications, the rescheduled fixture will now take place tomorrow night at 8pm.

Given that Man City’s result has effectively ensured that the Red Devils can now only finish fifth at best, in addition to the fact that United will now have two days’ less recovery time to prepare for next weekend FA Cup final, it remains to be seen whether yesterday’s events will have any effect on Louis van Gaal’s team sheet.

With silverware on Saturday a priority, there’s a chance that the Red Devils’ boss could opt to take no chances with his key players in order to alleviate fatigue ahead of their Wembley head-to-head with Palace.