Scout Notes – Swans Keep Salah In Check

Mohamed Salah endures a frustrating night at the Liberty Stadium as Swansea City spring a surprise and put Gameweek 24 to bed with a 1-0 win over Liverpool.

Handed the armband by 13.8% of Fantasy Premier League (FPL) managers and 19 of the top 100, the Egyptian was second only to Harry Kane in the Gameweek 24 captaincy race.

As expected, Salah boasted the Merseysiders’ main goal threat on south Wales but, for once, his finishing let him down, with just of one five goal attempts on target.

In a sense, the Egyptian was a victim of his own relentless consistency last night – a failure to get among the points was only the second time in his last 14 league appearances that he’s served up a blank.

For all the disappointment, showdowns against Huddersfield, Southampton, West Ham and Newcastle in the next five Gameweeks, his 54.8% ownership will be confident of a quick return to form.

Roberto Firmino backers will be a little more concerned, though, with last night’s blank a third in four appearances.

Granted, one of those was an outing off the bench at Burnley but with many now looking to acquire Sergio Aguero up front, the Brazilian – who was drafted in by a hefty 275,000+ managers for the Swansea encounter – is already among the top five players for transfers out over the last 24 hours. That is somewhat typical of the fickle market when it comes to forwards this season.

Again, you’d expect Firmino to profit from that upcoming batch of fixtures, though last night’s result will perhaps give many managers food for thought when considering doubling on the Reds’ attack.

Swansea may well have revealed the template tactics to counter a Coutinho-less Liverpool, and David Wagner will obviously be well versed in coping with Jurgen Klopp’s pressing game when they face off in Gameweek 25. It remains to be seen if the Huddersfield defence – which has faltered badly of late – can be as successful as the Swans.

Van Dijk shows intent

Virgil van Dijk’s league debut didn’t quite go to plan after his attempted header from a corner eventually led to Swansea’s winner.

Yet the Dutchman’s impact on the Reds’ play was easy to see. With the home side sitting deep, he was afforded space to forage forward and made an eye-catching 113 successful passes at the Liberty.

His influence in the final third caught the eye.

While the likes of Salah and Firmino struggled to step up in their first away match since the departure of Philippe Coutinho, it was Van Dijk who turned chief creator – he laid on two big chances only for his new-mates to spurn both.

In terms of goal threat, only Salah bettered him for shots (five to three) and efforts in the box (three to two), underlining his attacking potential for the Merseysiders.

While Van Dijk posed a major threat, the same can’t be said for Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain.

Another popular trade for Gameweek 24, he earned over 110,000 transfers in after recording a goal and assist in the 4-3 win over Man City.

Although he retained his starting role last night, the former Arsenal man fired two long-range efforts, both off-target, before being replaced midway through the second-half.

On a positive note for his owners, he shared corners with Salah with Coutinho out of the picture – the pair took four apiece.

Fabianski shows value

The Welsh side continue to build momentum under new manager Carlos Carvalhal, claiming a second win in four matches since his appointment.

Having lost 5-0 at Anfield in Paul Clement’s fixture in Gameweek 20, Swansea’s clean sheet – their seventh of the season – was all the more surprising and suggests that their bid to beat the drop has some substance to it.

After combing for the hosts’ goal, central defensive pair Alfie Mawson and Federico Fernandez were the big winners, returning 15 and 11 points respectively.

Between the posts, though, Lukas Fabianski can count himself a little unlucky not to claim the maximum bonus.

Benched by over 284,000 of his 7.4% owners, the Pole made four saves and 14 recoveries for a score of 31 in the Bonus Points System (BPS), top for keepers in Gameweek 24.

He delivered an eighth successive save point and has now made a stop every 23.2 minutes, quicker than any keeper with more than one start this season.

Priced at just 4.6, Fabianski is now second only to David De Gea among FPL keepers, level with Man City’s Ederson on 100 points. Indeed, in terms of points per million, the Swansea stopper is now the number one value player in FPL, with 21.7.

While clashes with Arsenal, Leicester and Burnley could deter many to invest, the Swans’ schedule turns far kinder in Gameweek 28 and could yet bring them into contention.

They face Brighton, West Ham, Huddersfield, Southampton, West Brom and Everton over a run of seven Gameweeks that looks vital to their survival plight.