Scout Notes – Masterful Mahrez Turns Heads

Riyad Mahrez continues his rich form as Huddersfield struggle away from home yet again, while big-name Liverpool players miss the trip to Burnley, allowing Sadio Mane to remind us all of his Fantasy credentials.

Leicester City manager Claude Puel made minimal changes to the side that lost at Liverpool, although a minor groin injury meant Jamie Vardy missed out after 21 successive league starts – a blow to the 176,000+ Fantasy Premier League (FPL) managers who had made him one of the top ten acquisitions of Gameweek 22.

Islam Slimani replaced him and scored, but the undoubted star – of both the match and Leicester’s recent upturn in form – was Riyad Mahrez.

The midfielder was signed by 117,000+ FPL managers going into the Gameweek and his 9.1% ownership were treated to a goal, assist and maximum bonus for a season-high 14 points that took him to just two behind third-placed Kevin De Bruyne (125) in the midfield standings.

Mahrez has now produced returns in eight of the last nine Gameweeks, with five goals and four assists in that run.

Small wonder that he is second only to Man United’s Jesse Lingard as Gameweek 23’s most popular buy, even though the Foxes travel to Chelsea next.

Their schedule is set fair after that, a Gameweek 27 trip to Man City the only major test in a seven-match run (WAT eve SWA mci STK BOU wba) that will surely see the 8.5-priced midfielder’s ownership increase well beyond its current differential status.

Marc Albrighton continued his own decent run of form with a goal and assist against the Terriers – he’s now produced exactly half of his season’s output of two goals and six assists from the last four Gameweeks.

And even Leicester’s porous defence prospered with a first clean sheet in seven Gameweeks, perhaps unsurprisingly as Huddersfield have failed to find the net in eight of their 11 away fixtures.

One player to miss out on those points was Wes Morgan. He limped off with a groin problem and is now an early doubt for Saturday’s FA Cup third round tie at Fleetwood Town and, possibly, the trip to Stamford Bridge.

Salah and Coutinho miss out

Those not in attendance were of as much concern to Fantasy managers as the players on the pitch for Burnley’s home match with Liverpool.

Of the Reds’ three most popular FPL assets, only Roberto Firmino (37.0%) even made it to Turf Moor, with coach Jurgen Klopp citing injuries for the absence of both Mohamed Salah (50.7%) and Philippe Coutinho (15.7%)

“Phil are Mo are injured, not massively but enough for today [to be] no chance. And a doubt, at least a doubt, for Everton.”

Salah’s groin issue was well-known, prompting more than half a million managers to make him the most sold player going into Gameweek 22.

But Coutinho’s thigh injury was more of a surprise as rumours of an impending move to Barcelona were only strengthened by Nike’s over-eager promotion of the Brazilian’s prospective Barca shirt on their website.

The pair are currently top of the transfers-out table for Gameweek 23, when Man City will travel to Anfield, although both are highly likely to start – should Coutinho’s shirt not make an officially-sanctioned reappearance on Nike’s website by then, that is.

Firmino was benched in favour of Dominic Solanke today, the Brazilian’s owners having to make do with a one-point second-half cameo after previously reaping the rewards of four goals and two assists from five straight starts.

Only the 6.7% still clinging to Sadio Mane enjoyed profit from Liverpool’s “fab four” as he followed up an assist against Leicester City with the opening goal in the visitors’ 2-1 win.

If Coutinho does move on to sunnier climes, Mane would hope to be used rather more regularly again after starting only six of the last nine matches, while Klopp’s midfield options were also boosted by the return of Adam Lallana.

The England international started his first match of the season and was typically lively, firing in five shots on goal from range.

Klopp shuffed his pack at the back, with Ragnar Klavan recalled alongside Dejan Lovren as Joel Matip dropped to the bench and Joe Gomez replaced Andrew Robertson at left-back.

Klavan responded by scoring the winner – his first goal of the season – from a Lovren assist, adding maximum bonus for an 11-point haul.

Trent Alexander-Arnold provided the other assist, while Johann Berg Gudmundsson scored for the Clarets from substitute Sam Vokes’ assist.

Seagulls can’t keep it clean

A four-goal tear-up involving Brighton and Bournemouth was hardly ideal for those Fantasy managers looking to tap into the Seagulls’ current taste for clean sheets.

The visit from the Cherries looked a good bet for Chris Hughton’s men to record their fourth shut-out in five Gameweeks, only for goals from Steve Cook and Callum Wilson to ruin that particular scenario.

Shane Duffy and Lewis Dunk had their net ownership boosted by 18,000+ and 11,000+ respectively ahead of Gameweek 22, but patience is a virtue worth trying on Brighton’s backline as their schedule (wba CHE sot WHU stk SWA) suggests more good defensive times still to come.

Further up the pitch, Glenn Murray scored his first goal since Gameweek 15 – his ownership has almost halved to 117,000 in that time – but the stand-out performer was midfielder Jose Izquierdo.

The Colombian recorded his first two assists of the campaign, although for a player who likes to cut inside and shoot rather than look for the cross, it was fitting that his first assist was actually an attempt on goal.

He had five shots, three from inside the box, in total, while Brighton’s most owned player, Pascal Gross (17.7%), created four chances but came away emtpy-handed – that’s now just one goal and no assists in ten Gameweeks for the German.

Anthony Knockaert scored the other goal for Brighton – his first return since Gameweek 11 – while popular Bournemouth defender Charlie Daniels (6.7%) returned to the starting line-up after a three-match absence and underlined his attacking credentials with three shots and a further three chances created.

The Cherries’ immediate schedule (ARS whu che) doesn’t exactly encourage short-term investment, however.