The Scout Mission – Gameweek 7

Damage limitation at Old Trafford. Bobby Firmino under scrutiny in Wales and Arsene Wenger’s new dream midfield duo in tandem at Turf Moor. These are just some of the subject matters on our Scout Mission hit list ahead of Gameweek 7.

Zlatan’s punishment for the fickle…

After his blank in Gameweek 6 at home to Leicester, we’re almost presuming that Zlatan Ibrahimovic will make amends against Stoke City.

Certainly, the stage looks perfectly set for the Swede.

United head into the encounter buzzing from putting four past the Foxes, exploiting their imposing physicality from set-pieces.

Now they face a defence that has shipped 15 goals to this point, while also displaying a hesitancy and fragility when dealing with dead-ball deliveries.

Ibrahimovic has endured big sales over the past three Gameweeks but even those who have doubted him are expecting returns on Sunday.

We’re anticipating a case of damage limitation for Mark Hughes’ men and those who have sheepishly ushered Zlatan to the exit.

Lukaku and his toe travails….

While Romelu Lukaku turned out at Bournemouth, his blank in Everton’s defeat has immediately raised alarm bells – such is the mistrust of the Belgian as a Fantasy asset.

With Ronald Koeman revealing that Lukaku remains troubled by his recent toe injury, we’re almost gearing ourselves up for further disappointment ahead of tomorrow night’s meeting with Palace.

With a volatile Fantasy Premier League market, Lukaku can’t afford another failure or abject display, even after his recent burst of goals and points.

Firmino under the microscope….

Roberto Firmino will make the trip to Swansea City blissfully unaware that his performance will come under severe scrutiny from Fantasy managers.

Having emerged from Liverpool’s mauling of Hull City at Anfield with nothing to show for his efforts, Firmino’s stock is almost at crisis point, just two Gameweeks on from his brace against Leicester City.

Fail to contribute to another Liverpool victory and it will be tough to turn to underlying statistics, no matter how strong, as evidence that we should keep the faith.

Conte’s defensive solution…

Back to back damaging defeats to top six rivals has brought Chelsea and Antonio Conte crashing back down to earth.

With seven goals conceded in the last three, Conte will be prioritising a new solution at the back.

The potential return of skipper John Terry may not be enough to restore solidity, with Conte likely to be considering a shift to a three-man backline.

It remains to be seen how the personnel fit such a system and whether, as mooted, Branislav Ivanovic could be under threat, with Marcus Alonso drafted in at left wing-back, shifting Cesar Azpilicueta to the right.

Watford’s answer to Monday’s misery…

Two consecutive wins and suddenly expectations of Watford were lifted – perhaps to unreasonable levels.

Certainly, Fantasy managers had high hopes for Hornets’ assets going into Monday night’s trip to Burnley.

Walter Mazzarri’s side had sparkled in the win over Manchester United and, with their next five fixtures falling so favourably, we were lining two, maybe even three of their key assets for the month ahead.

The defeat to the Clarets and the nature of Monday’s performance has now demonstrated a need for caution.

The weekend clash with Bournemouth will be crucial to their early investors and also those on the cusp of looking to Mazzarri’s squad for mid-price profit and a means of freeing up funds.

Bilic’s attempt to halt the slide…

West Ham’s problems are far more severe and perhaps deep set.

The weekend home encounter with Middlesbrough already looks vital for Slaven Bilic, who must attempt to halt an alarming slide following four straight defeats.

In Fantasy terms, we’ve already given up on the Hammers defence with James Collins losing his starting role. It’s not expected that Bilic will turn back to the Welshman to solve the problem.

Instead, we’re now concerned that tactical tweaks could shackle Michail Antonio’s output.

So prolific over the first five Gameweeks, Antonio blanked in the defeat to Southampton and was deployed at right-back for the final quarter as Bilic looked to claw back a deficit.

Antonio may not find himself switched to a defensive role just yet but, with Bilic looking to solve the defensive malaise, we have to wonder if he’ll adopt a more conservative approach and system.

With fierce competition in the 7.0-7.5 price bracket, Antonio’s early season form and strong forthcoming fixtures will only protect him so much.

We need to see an upturn in fortunes for West Ham and a positive outlook heading into matches with Palace and Sunderland after the international break.

Son’s test on the big stage…

Son Heung-min is one of the assets currently threatening Antonio’s status.

The South Korean is in fine fettle having notched five goals in as many matches in all competitions.

With Harry Kane sidelined, Son appears to have accepted the burden of scoring the goals to see Spurs through, with Mauricio Pochettino seemingly raising Son in his midfield pecking order to untouchable status – for now at least.

Sunday’s meeting with Manchester City will represent the sternest test of Son’s credentials so far.

We are aware that Pochettino has options to introduce should Son’s form waver; that remains a nagging doubt that perhaps limits our enthusiasm.

But impress and return against City and Son would appear indispensable to the Spurs cause. That would ensure further transfer traffic over the break and make a case for investment extremely difficult to resist.

City without De Bruyne….

Pep Guardiola’s 100% record as Manchester City manager hit the buffers in Glasgow with Kevin De Bruyne sitting in the stands.

It remains to be seen if that knocks the confidence ahead of a clash with Spurs.

Pep has enough quality in his side to win at White Hart Lane but, having beaten City twice last season, Mauricio Pochettino’s men will fancy their chances against a side arguably missing their top performer.

It will be interesting to see if De Bruyne’s absence will impact on City’s attacking fluidity – certainly, it appears to have dented confidence in Sergio Aguero. The Argentine sits behind both Alexis Sanchez and Zlatan Ibrahimovic in our Gameweek 7 Captain Poll.

Walcott and Sanchez in tandem….

Sunday’s trip to Turf Moor will be a testing encounter, even for a buoyant Arsenal.

The Gameweek 6 performance against Chelsea was a benchmark, followed swiftly by another impressive display against FC Basel.

Having developed a reputation as flat track bullies, that theory will be stretched by Sean Dyche’s men. The Clarets boast an intimidating home record – conceding a mere five goals in their previous 17 league matches at Turf Moor – and come fresh from a convincing Monday night win over Watford.

But Arsene Wenger appears to have settled on an attacking setup that’s getting results.

Alexis Sanchez and Theo Walcott are the vital components, seemingly brimming with energy and attacking intent.

Both are now tempting major Fantasy investment and further returns in another convincing Arsenal win would guarantee further interest over the break.

Austin as the third striker option…

Charlie Austin appears to be winning over Claude Puel and suddenly reminding us of his 18-goal form back in 2014/15 with QPR.

How we’d love for Austin to begin promising such returns two years on.

Priced at just 6.3, Austin would work beautifully with a pair of big-ticket strikers, liberating some valuable funds for midfield signings.

It’s a dream scenario that may just materialise, despite Southampton’s toughening fixtures.

His performance and output at Leicester City will tell us more.