Scout Notes – Gameweek 5 – Sunday

Leicester overcome a two-goal deficit to get the better of Villa, with Riyad Mahrez the chief architect yet again. Jack Grealish and Carles Gil grab their first strikes of the season for Tim Sherwood’s side. Elsewhere, Ryan Mason’s strike earns Spurs a first win of the campaign and sends Sunderland to the bottom of the table.

Mahrez Sparks Foxes Comeback

Riyad Mahrez’s dream start to the campaign continued apace with his fourth double-figure haul in five outings. The Algerian bagged a brace of assists as Leicester recovered from 2-0 down to emerge 3-2 victors over Aston Villa – maintaining their five-match unbeaten streak. Mahrez now lays claim to four goals and two assists and has contributed to nine Foxes goals in his previous eight starts. Although Mahrez (6.2) has experienced a 0.7 price rise since Gameweek 1, non-owners will doubtless be clamouring to recruit the in-form midfielder ahead of a largely favourable run of fixtures (sto, ARS, nor, sou, CRY, wba, WAT, new) leading up to Gameweek 14.

Jamie Vardy – one of our three Differential picks this Gameweek – notched his second goal in as many starts. Priced at 6.1, the English striker ranked joint-top among forwards for attempts (five) this weekend, while none of his counterparts chalked up more shots inside the box (five). Vardy is thriving as part of an attack that’s placed joint-first – alongside Manchester City – for goals (11) this term, rendering him strong competition for Callum Wilson (5.8) in that price bracket.

Right-back Ritchie De Laet opened the scoring with his second Premier League goal and first of the campaign. His rare strike was rewarded with three bonus points, resulting in a ten-point haul – the best tally of any defender so far this Gameweek. Danny Drinkwater delivered his first attacking returns in the top flight, assisting Vardy’s equaliser.

Nathan Dyer netted an unlikely header on his debut, rounding off the scoring for the East Midlands club. The Swansea City loanee replaced Shinji Okazaki at the break, prompting a shift to a 4-2-3-1 set-up, with Dyer operating on the right and Mahrez moving into the number-ten berth. Considering how successful that change in system proved to be, Claudio Ranieri might be tempted start the next match in a similar fashion.

Villa Capitulate at the King Power

The Villains were left to lament what could have been after relinquishing a two-lead and leaving the King Power Stadium with nothing to show for their efforts. Tim Sherwood’s side are now without a win since Gameweek 1, having posted four defeats on the trot. Only Chelsea (ten) have conceded more goals than Villa (eight) since that trip to Bournemouth, underlining their troubles at the back.

Jack Grealish got Villa off to a strong start, curling in from just outside the 18-yard box after 39 minutes. The 5.4-priced midfielder certainly harbours the potential to be a top pick in the budget-midfielder bracket, having commandeered his side’s attack with authority in the first half. Carles Gil then bagged his debut goal for the club, doubling the visitors’ advantage at three minutes past the hour.

Micah Richards (4.6) and Gabriel Agbonlahor both claimed an assist, with the latter remaining the prime route into Villa’s rearguard in spite of new recruit Joleon Lescott (4.9) joining him in central defence. Richards is well backed (9.6% ownership) and could deliver precious shut-out points as the West Midlanders gear up for two promising home ties over the next three Gameweeks (WBA, liv, STO) – only Newcastle United have recorded fewer goals (three) than the Potters and Baggies (both three) so far this season.

Mason Wins it for Spurs

At the fifth time of asking, Tottenham Hotspur secured their first win of the campaign, extending their unbeaten streak to four matches. Ryan Mason scored eight minutes from time to claim just his third goal in 46 outings for the north London club, with substitute Erik Lamela delivering the decisive through ball. Mason did, however, suffer a heavy knock to the knee from the onrushing Sunderland keeper, Costel Pantillimon, and is set to be assessed early next week.

Only three sides have conceded more goals that the Lilywhites this term, following their second consecutive clean sheet. Further shut-outs in the coming Gameweeks could be hard to come by, though, with a challenging quartet of fixtures (CRY, MCI, swa, LIV) next on the agenda.

Eric Dier (5.0) is arguably the prime route into their rearguard, having turned out a man-of-the-match performance in the double pivot against the Black Cats. The former Sporting Lisbon centre-back offers out-of-position potential and has been the most prolific shooter among Spurs’ back line (five attempts) – only three defenders across the league have managed more shots.

Harry Kane failed to build upon his pair of goalscoring performances during the international break, carding his fifth successive blank. Over 400,000 Fantasy managers have sold the 9.4-priced striker in the build-up to the past three Gameweeks and – off the back of another disappointing display – his 22% ownership looks certain to diminish further.

Sunderland ended the week in 20^th position following their 1-0 defeat to Spurs. The Wearsiders are now without a league win in eight matches, having lost four and drawn four over that stretch. That being said, Dick Advocaat’s outfit more than held their own at the Stadium of Light, notching just three fewer attempts (12 compared to 15) than the visitors and arguably boasting the better quality chances throughout the encounter.

As expected, Ola Toivonen’s impressive cameo last time out triggered a switch to a 4-2-3-1 formation for Advocaat, facilitating the Swedish midfielder’s deployment in “the hole”. Fabio Borini earned a start on the left flank, while Jeremain Lens excelled on the right – Alexis Sanchez and Theo Walcott (both eight) were the only midfielders to fashion more shots than Lens (four) over the weekend. Despite previously suggesting that Jermain Defoe couldn’t operate as a lone striker, Advocaat tasked the diminutive poacher with leading the line, enhancing his Fantasy prospects at the 5.6 mark ahead of clashes with Bournemouth, West Ham, West Brom and Newcastle in the next five.