Scout Notes – Gameweek 25 – Saturday

Riyad Mahrez grabs a goal and assist as Leicester stun City at the Etihad. Sergio Aguero scores again, Roberto Firmino produces another double-figure haul, Gylfi Sigurdsson makes it five in six for Swansea, whilst Southampton serve up yet another clean sheet in a home win over West Ham.

Fixture-proof Foxes pass Etihad test

Leicester cemented their spot at the summit thanks to a convincing 3-1 win over second-placed City that has strengthened both their title credentials and Fantasy appeal from this point onwards.

Jamie Vardy may have suffered a blank but Riyad Mahrez’ goal and assist – the first time he’s found the net since Gameweek 17 – served a timely reminder of his talents as the schedule prepares to smile in the league leaders’ favour. Incredibly, the Algerian has now chalked up 14 goals and 10 assists – that’s the same as Eden Hazard managed over each of the last two seasons for Chelsea – though still has 13 matches remaining to rack up the points.

At the back, Robert Huth and Christian Fuchs more than atoned for the lack of a clean sheet. Huth’s brace means he now has three goals and five shut-outs in seven, whilst Fuchs chipped in with a third assist of the season. At 4.4 and 4.8 in FPL, both represent excellent value options for our five-man backlines, with Fuchs’ average of 4.6 points per appearance mirroring Tottenham’s Toby Alderweireld.

Essentially, yesterday’s win strengthens Leicester’s Fantasy potential from back to front ahead of next week’s trip to Arsenal. One look at the fixtures from Gameweek 27 onwards (NOR, WBA, wat, NEW, cpl) suggests a full quota of Foxes looks the way to go, particularly given that their Gameweek 30 fixture is preserved, considering that they and opponents Newcastle are already eliminated from the FA Cup.

Aguero maintains momentum

Once again, the City striker’s late consolation helped justify his selection as top of our Gameweek 25 Captain Poll. Aguero’s strike means he has now scored in five of the last six Gameweeks – a vast improvement on his early-season displays, where he failed to score in successive outings before succumbing to injury in Gameweek 14.

With Kevin de Bruyne injured, though, Aguero owners will be a little concerned by the form of his supporting cast. David Silva has now drawn blanks in 10 of his last 12 appearances and is now struggling with ankle problems once again, whilst Yaya Toure has one goal in seven. With a blank Gameweek 27 just around the corner, the duo’s owners – and those holding City defenders – will be considering their options, with Silva’s injury concern merely compounding their frustration.

Lescott nets again for resurgent Villa

It’s two wins, a pair of draws and three clean sheets in five now for Villa after yesterday’s 2-0 victory over Norwich took them to four points off second-bottom Sunderland.

Once again, Joleon Lescott was amongst the goals for the improving midlands outfit, highlighting his points potential at both ends of the pitch. Impressively, that’s the third time the 4.6-priced defender has found the net in 10 appearances under Remi Garde, equaling his best goal haul since 2010/11.

Elsewhere, Gabby Agbonlahor also notched, whilst Carles Gil and Jordan Veretout chipped in with an assist apiece – the latter has now provided five assists in the last 12 Gameweeks. With Liverpool, Stoke, Everton, City and Spurs in the next five, though, Villa’s severe test of form versus fixtures should prove enough of a deterrent for Fantasy managers.

Firmino bandwagon delivers

Handed the “false nine” role at home to Sunderland again, the Brazilian served up a third double-figure haul in the last five Gameweeks yesterday. Drafted in by over 300,000 FPL managers in the last two rounds of fixtures, Firmino’s goal and assist in the 2-2 Anfield stalemate means that, since establishing himself as a regular in Gameweek 17, he’s played a part in eight (five goals, three assists) of his side’s 12 goals. With a trip to Villa and ye-to-be-scheduled double Gameweek to consider, Firmino looks the standout candidate on offer amongst Jurgen Klopp’s charges, though any would-be suitors will obviously need to take his blank Gameweek 27 into account.

Adam Lallana and James Milner also caught the eye in our early double Gameweek scouting. The former’s strike took his tally to two goals and an assist in three, whilst Milner – who supplied the pass for Firmino’s opener – has a goal and two assists over the same period. At the back, though, matters look less promising. It’s six without a shut-out for Liverpool now and with a blank and home clash with City in the next three, Alberto Moreno owners may decide enough is enough.

Khazri dazzles for Black Cats

Wahbi Khazri turned on the style in his first Sunderland start since arriving from Bordeaux. Afforded a second-half sub appearance against City in midweek, Khazri was unleashed from the first whistle at Anfield and more than vindicated Big Sam’s decision by supplying assists for Adam Johnson and Jermain Defoe as the visitors snatched a vital point.

As mentioned in our Khazri Scout Report, the Tunisian left Ligue 1 sitting second in the assists charts behind Angel di Maria. Having immediately made an impact on Wearside, his price of 6.0 could turn a few heads, though clashes against United, West Ham and Southampton in the next four aren’t exactly favourable. Johnson’s strike means he has one goal and four assists in six – having been utilised as a sub in the last two, he’s now pushing for a return to Allardyce’s XI. Defoe, meanwhile, continues to offer value as a cheap third forward – it’s six goals in as many matches for the 5.1-priced frontman.

Mitrovic wins it for Magpies

Dropped to the bench for Ayoze Perez away to Everton in midweek, the Serbian returned to lead the line and fire the only goal of Newcastle’s 1-0 win over West Brom. Priced at 6.2, Mitrovic’s strike could put him in the driving seat for another start – over the last six Gameweeks, only Sergio Aguero and Harry Kane (13 apiece) have bettered his 11 shots on target. Having scored just twice during that period, and with new boy Seydou Doumbia offering further competition, Mitrovic’s appeal is minimal ahead of a trip to Chelsea and blank Gameweek 27.

Jonjo Shelvey provided the assist Serbian’s winner – that’s his second in four appearances since arriving from Swansea. At the back, Steve McClaren’s patched-up defence produced a first clean sheet in 10 attempts. This was mainly down to the Baggies’ dire attack – Tony Pulis’ side failed to register a single shot on target and have now scored just once in the last four Gameweeks.

Alli keeps ticking over

Having recovered from the illness that forced him off at Norwich in midweek, Deli Alli demonstrated his value for money once more by teeing up Kieran Trippier for the only goal of Tottenham’s 1-0 win over Watford. Alli now has two goals and three assists in the last trio of Gameweeks, though somewhat surprisingly, his threat in the final third mainly deserted him yesterday – although Tottenham fired 26 shots on goal, the 5.9-priced midfielder didn’t have a single attempt on goal.

Harry Kane’s owners were left bitterly disappointed after he drew a blank against the Hornets. Snapped up by 178,000 FPL managers last week, the Spurs top scorer had looked the main captaincy rival to Sergio Aguero this week but came up short and managed just two attempts. Leicester’s result at the Etihad suggests a trip to City won’t deter his 41% owners next weekend, though.

At the back, Spurs’ tenth clean sheet of the season was helped by a abject display from Watford. Similar to West Brom, the Hornets failed to manage a single shot on target – yesterday’s loss means that Odion Ighalo has now scored just once in the last six Gameweeks.

Toffees cruise at the Britannia

With Romelu Lukaku passed fit to lead the line, Roberto Martinez named the same attacking three midfielders – Tom Cleverley, Ross Barkley and Aaron Lennon – behind the Belgian that helped see off Newcastle in midweek.

Sold by a massive 397,00 FPL managers due to injury concerns and a loss of form last week, Lukaku netted for the first time since Gameweek 19 – also against Stoke – as the Toffees chalked up a second successive 3-0 victory. With the Merseysiders starting to get their act together, the upcoming schedule (WBA, (blank), avl, WHU, sun) affords plenty of optimism for those who chose to retain his services.

In midfield, Cleverley’s pair of assists means he has now earned 19 points in the last two Gameweeks, whilst Lennon’s goal (his third in his last four appearances) took his tally to 21 points over the same period. Given the nature of their recent displays, the duo look in the driving seat for the left and right-flank berths at present.

At the back, successive clean sheets have coincided with the absence of both John Stones and Tim Howard, handing Martinez food for thought ahead of the weekend clash with West Brom.

Siggy’s scoring streak continues

A 13th-minute opener at home to Palace means the Swansea playmaker has now scored in five of the last six Gameweeks. Sigurdsson has netted three of his side’s four goals since new manager Francesco Guidolin took the helm and, with eight bonus points also accrued, has brought home 28 points with the Italian on board. Both the Icelandic international and fellow midfielder Andre Ayew fired five efforts apiece in the 1-1 draw, though the latter was somewhat unfortunate – four of his efforts were inside the box, whereas all Sigurdsson’s efforts were from distance. With a home clash against Southampton’s defence preceding trips to Spurs and Arsenal, though, our enthusiasm is somewhat curbed.

Dann does it again for Eagles

Palace’s five-match losing streak finally came to an end with a 1-1 draw at the Liberty. Although Emmanuel Adebayor failed to score in his first start for Palace, Alan Pardew had the reliable Scott Dann to thank for saving a point after the centre-half bagged his fifth goal of the season early in the second period. Despite managing just six clean sheets thus far, Dann’s eye for goal continue to see him flourish as a Fantasy option – he’s now up to second in the defender standings, just nine points behind Toby Alderweireld.

Another clean sheet for Southampton

A 1-0 win over West Ham took the Saints’ run to five straight shut-outs in yesterday evening’s clash at St Mary’s. Tellingly, Ronald Koeman reverted to a three-man backline after Arsenal had fired 20 shots inside the Southampton box in midweek. With Matt Targett injured, Ryan Bertrand was fielded at left wing-back, allowing Maya Yoshida a rare opportunity within the three-man defence. The Japan international bolstered his chances of retaining that spot, though – after bagging the only goal of the match, his display placing question marks over Targett’s pitch time once he overcomes a minor knock.

Victor Wanyama supplied the assist for Yoshida’s goal before receiving his marching orders for a horror challenge on Dimitri Payet. As this was his third dismissal of the season, the Kenyan is now set for a whopping five-match ban – with his side already out of the FA Cup, he won’t be available until Gameweek 31.

Up front, it seems that Charlie Austin will continue to be eased into the equation. Despite being passed fit from the knock that forced him to miss out in midweek, the winter signing had to settle for another late second-half sub appearance, with Graziano Pelle returning to the first XI instead for the first time since Gameweek 17.

Payet blanks again

Yesterday’s 1-0 loss was only the second time this season that West Ham have failed to score in a league match that Dimitri Payet has started. Slaven Bilic moved from 4-3-3 to 4-2-3-1 at St Mary’s and switched Payet from the flank into a central support role, with Victor Moses and Michail Antonio stationed out wide.

Despite playing against ten men from the 54th minute, Payet failed to register a single attempt on goal and has fired just six efforts in as many appearances since returning from an ankle problem. Also taking his pre-injury performances into consideration, Payet has now managed just a single goal and assist (both against Bournemouth in Gameweek 21) in his last eight league outings, blanking on seven occasions – prior to that, he’d scored or assisted in eight of his first ten for the Hammers.