Weekend Scout Notes

Player	Team	Price	Progress	Tonight
Cunha	MUN	8.1m	47.5%	Likely
Calvert-Lewin	LEE	5.8m	94.6%	Likely
Rice	ARS	7.2m	94.8%	Likely
Verbruggen	BHA	4.4m	98.9%	Likely
Hall	NEW	5.2m	78.2%	Maybe
Mukiele	SUN	4.2m	98.0%	Maybe
Alderete	SUN	4.0m	93.1%	Unlikely
Guéhi	CRY	5.3m	89.9%	Unlikely
Gvardiol	MCI	6.0m	82.1%	Unlikely
O'Reilly	MCI	5.3m	82.7%	Unlikely
Truffert	BOU	4.5m	80.9%	Unlikely
Virgil	LIV	5.9m	78.1%	Unlikely
Tarkowski	EVE	5.5m	69.5%	Unlikely
Saliba	ARS	5.9m	73.4%	Unlikely
Heaven	MUN	3.8m	68.4%	Unlikely
Roefs	SUN	4.8m	70.4%	Unlikely
Tete	FUL	4.5m	69.7%	Unlikely
Dalot	MUN	4.5m	31.8%	Unlikely
Pickford	EVE	5.5m	63.8%	Unlikely
Watkins	AVL	8.5m	64.3%	Unlikely
Andersen	FUL	4.6m	66.6%	Unlikely
Cherki	MCI	6.7m	19.5%	Unlikely
Mitchell	CRY	5.0m	61.8%	Unlikely
Dorgu	MUN	4.2m	0.7%	Unlikely
Dúbravka	BUR	4.0m	55.9%	Unlikely
Mount	MUN	5.9m	61.1%	Unlikely
Ekitiké	LIV	9.1m	24.7%	Unlikely
Konaté	LIV	5.4m	54.3%	Unlikely
Schade	BRE	7.0m	47.1%	Unlikely
E.Le Fée	SUN	4.9m	53.1%	Unlikely
Keane	EVE	4.8m	17.2%	Unlikely
Igor Jesus	NFO	5.8m	49.8%	Unlikely
Trossard	ARS	6.9m	52.8%	Unlikely
Rúben	MCI	5.7m	50.6%	Unlikely
Palmer	CHE	10.4m	44.5%	Unlikely
De Cuyper	BHA	4.3m	46.1%	Unlikely
Van den Berg	BRE	4.5m	50.1%	Unlikely
A.Becker	LIV	5.4m	46.2%	Unlikely
Thiaw	NEW	5.0m	39.2%	Unlikely
Smith Rowe	FUL	5.6m	45.9%	Unlikely

Player	Team	Price	Progress	Tonight
Cucurella	CHE	6.2m	101.8%	Very Likely
Barnes	BUR	4.3m	100.5%	Very Likely
Nwaneri	ARS	5.1m	100.3%	Very Likely
Yoro	MUN	4.3m	100.1%	Very Likely
Trafford	MCI	4.6m	100.1%	Very Likely
Adams	BOU	5.0m	97.7%	Likely
Tasker	BHA	3.9m	99.4%	Likely
Bevan	BOU	3.9m	99.5%	Likely
James	LEE	5.3m	100.0%	Very Likely
Mosquera	ARS	5.4m	97.9%	Maybe
Colwill	CHE	4.8m	98.0%	Maybe
Fitzgerald	MUN	4.4m	93.0%	Maybe
Fer López	WOL	5.2m	96.5%	Maybe
Mateta	CRY	7.7m	85.3%	Maybe
Anthony	BUR	5.2m	88.5%	Maybe
Johnson	SUN	3.9m	93.5%	Unlikely
Jair Cunha	NFO	4.3m	96.5%	Unlikely
Hermansen	WHU	4.3m	93.7%	Unlikely
Broggio	AVL	4.5m	90.1%	Unlikely
O.Dango	BRE	5.9m	77.8%	Unlikely
Robertson	LIV	5.8m	90.2%	Unlikely
March	BHA	5.8m	82.4%	Unlikely
Aké	MCI	5.3m	89.6%	Unlikely
Seung soo	NEW	4.4m	87.1%	Unlikely
Benitez	CRY	4.0m	88.8%	Unlikely
L.Guilherme	WHU	4.9m	97.0%	Unlikely
Bellegarde	WOL	5.2m	88.4%	Unlikely
Saka	ARS	10.3m	77.5%	Unlikely
Morgan	BRE	4.4m	84.9%	Unlikely
Reinildo	SUN	3.9m	84.4%	Unlikely
Bruno G.	NEW	7.0m	90.0%	Unlikely
Gibbs-White	NFO	7.3m	90.6%	Unlikely
Bayindir	MUN	4.8m	86.5%	Unlikely
Agbadou	WOL	4.3m	81.6%	Unlikely
R.Gomes	WOL	4.4m	83.0%	Unlikely
Raúl	FUL	6.3m	77.0%	Unlikely
Anderson	SUN	3.9m	81.9%	Unlikely
Sousa	AVL	3.9m	79.4%	Unlikely
Wan-Bissaka	WHU	4.2m	79.3%	Unlikely
Bettinelli	MCI	3.9m	72.5%	Unlikely

	Player	Club	Factors
No Change	Raya Martin	ARS	B
Up	Pickford	EVE	B, Vs
Down	Alisson	LIV	C, Vs
Down	Donnarumma	MCI	B, Vs, Sus
No Change	Kelleher	BRE	B, Vs
No Change	Dubravka	BUR	C, £

	Player	Club	Factors
No Change	van Dijk	LIV	C, Vs
No Change	Jurriën Timber	ARS	C
Up	Keane	EVE	Vs
No Change	O’Reilly	MCI	B, Vs
No Change	Marc Guehi	CRY	A
No Change	van den Berg	BRE	C, Vs
No Change	Thiaw	NEW	C
Down	Andersen	FUL	C
No Change	Milenkovic	NFO	C, Sus
No Change	van Hecke	BHA	A
No Change	Mukiele	SUN	C, £

	Player	Club	Factors
No Change	Saka	ARS	A
No Change	Foden	MCI	A, Vs
Up	Matheus Cunha	MUN	A
No Change	Semenyo	BOU	A
Up	Wirtz	LIV	B, Vs
Up	Grealish	EVE	B, Vs
No Change	Bruno Guimarães	NEW	B, Sus
No Change	Schade	BRE	C, Vs
Down	Minteh	BHA	C
No Change	Anderson	NFO	C, £

	Player	Club	Factors
No Change	Haaland	MCI	A, Vs
Up	Ekitiké	LIV	A, Vs
Up	Bowen	WHU	B, Vs
Down	Thiago	BRE	C, Vs, Inj
No Change	Mateta	CRY	C
No Change	Woltemade	NEW	B, Rest

Player	Team	Price	Progress	Tonight
Cunha	MUN	8.1m	47.5%	Likely
Calvert-Lewin	LEE	5.8m	94.6%	Likely
Rice	ARS	7.2m	94.8%	Likely
Verbruggen	BHA	4.4m	98.9%	Likely
Hall	NEW	5.2m	78.2%	Maybe
Mukiele	SUN	4.2m	98.0%	Maybe
Alderete	SUN	4.0m	93.1%	Unlikely
Guéhi	CRY	5.3m	89.9%	Unlikely
Gvardiol	MCI	6.0m	82.1%	Unlikely
O'Reilly	MCI	5.3m	82.7%	Unlikely
Truffert	BOU	4.5m	80.9%	Unlikely
Virgil	LIV	5.9m	78.1%	Unlikely
Tarkowski	EVE	5.5m	69.5%	Unlikely
Saliba	ARS	5.9m	73.4%	Unlikely
Heaven	MUN	3.8m	68.4%	Unlikely
Roefs	SUN	4.8m	70.4%	Unlikely
Tete	FUL	4.5m	69.7%	Unlikely
Dalot	MUN	4.5m	31.8%	Unlikely
Pickford	EVE	5.5m	63.8%	Unlikely
Watkins	AVL	8.5m	64.3%	Unlikely
Andersen	FUL	4.6m	66.6%	Unlikely
Cherki	MCI	6.7m	19.5%	Unlikely
Mitchell	CRY	5.0m	61.8%	Unlikely
Dorgu	MUN	4.2m	0.7%	Unlikely
Dúbravka	BUR	4.0m	55.9%	Unlikely
Mount	MUN	5.9m	61.1%	Unlikely
Ekitiké	LIV	9.1m	24.7%	Unlikely
Konaté	LIV	5.4m	54.3%	Unlikely
Schade	BRE	7.0m	47.1%	Unlikely
E.Le Fée	SUN	4.9m	53.1%	Unlikely
Keane	EVE	4.8m	17.2%	Unlikely
Igor Jesus	NFO	5.8m	49.8%	Unlikely
Trossard	ARS	6.9m	52.8%	Unlikely
Rúben	MCI	5.7m	50.6%	Unlikely
Palmer	CHE	10.4m	44.5%	Unlikely
De Cuyper	BHA	4.3m	46.1%	Unlikely
Van den Berg	BRE	4.5m	50.1%	Unlikely
A.Becker	LIV	5.4m	46.2%	Unlikely
Thiaw	NEW	5.0m	39.2%	Unlikely
Smith Rowe	FUL	5.6m	45.9%	Unlikely

Player	Team	Price	Progress	Tonight
Cucurella	CHE	6.2m	101.8%	Very Likely
Barnes	BUR	4.3m	100.5%	Very Likely
Nwaneri	ARS	5.1m	100.3%	Very Likely
Yoro	MUN	4.3m	100.1%	Very Likely
Trafford	MCI	4.6m	100.1%	Very Likely
Adams	BOU	5.0m	97.7%	Likely
Tasker	BHA	3.9m	99.4%	Likely
Bevan	BOU	3.9m	99.5%	Likely
James	LEE	5.3m	100.0%	Very Likely
Mosquera	ARS	5.4m	97.9%	Maybe
Colwill	CHE	4.8m	98.0%	Maybe
Fitzgerald	MUN	4.4m	93.0%	Maybe
Fer López	WOL	5.2m	96.5%	Maybe
Mateta	CRY	7.7m	85.3%	Maybe
Anthony	BUR	5.2m	88.5%	Maybe
Johnson	SUN	3.9m	93.5%	Unlikely
Jair Cunha	NFO	4.3m	96.5%	Unlikely
Hermansen	WHU	4.3m	93.7%	Unlikely
Broggio	AVL	4.5m	90.1%	Unlikely
O.Dango	BRE	5.9m	77.8%	Unlikely
Robertson	LIV	5.8m	90.2%	Unlikely
March	BHA	5.8m	82.4%	Unlikely
Aké	MCI	5.3m	89.6%	Unlikely
Seung soo	NEW	4.4m	87.1%	Unlikely
Benitez	CRY	4.0m	88.8%	Unlikely
L.Guilherme	WHU	4.9m	97.0%	Unlikely
Bellegarde	WOL	5.2m	88.4%	Unlikely
Saka	ARS	10.3m	77.5%	Unlikely
Morgan	BRE	4.4m	84.9%	Unlikely
Reinildo	SUN	3.9m	84.4%	Unlikely
Bruno G.	NEW	7.0m	90.0%	Unlikely
Gibbs-White	NFO	7.3m	90.6%	Unlikely
Bayindir	MUN	4.8m	86.5%	Unlikely
Agbadou	WOL	4.3m	81.6%	Unlikely
R.Gomes	WOL	4.4m	83.0%	Unlikely
Raúl	FUL	6.3m	77.0%	Unlikely
Anderson	SUN	3.9m	81.9%	Unlikely
Sousa	AVL	3.9m	79.4%	Unlikely
Wan-Bissaka	WHU	4.2m	79.3%	Unlikely
Bettinelli	MCI	3.9m	72.5%	Unlikely

	Player	Club	Factors
No Change	Raya Martin	ARS	B
Up	Pickford	EVE	B, Vs
Down	Alisson	LIV	C, Vs
Down	Donnarumma	MCI	B, Vs, Sus
No Change	Kelleher	BRE	B, Vs
No Change	Dubravka	BUR	C, £

	Player	Club	Factors
No Change	van Dijk	LIV	C, Vs
No Change	Jurriën Timber	ARS	C
Up	Keane	EVE	Vs
No Change	O’Reilly	MCI	B, Vs
No Change	Marc Guehi	CRY	A
No Change	van den Berg	BRE	C, Vs
No Change	Thiaw	NEW	C
Down	Andersen	FUL	C
No Change	Milenkovic	NFO	C, Sus
No Change	van Hecke	BHA	A
No Change	Mukiele	SUN	C, £

	Player	Club	Factors
No Change	Saka	ARS	A
No Change	Foden	MCI	A, Vs
Up	Matheus Cunha	MUN	A
No Change	Semenyo	BOU	A
Up	Wirtz	LIV	B, Vs
Up	Grealish	EVE	B, Vs
No Change	Bruno Guimarães	NEW	B, Sus
No Change	Schade	BRE	C, Vs
Down	Minteh	BHA	C
No Change	Anderson	NFO	C, £

	Player	Club	Factors
No Change	Haaland	MCI	A, Vs
Up	Ekitiké	LIV	A, Vs
Up	Bowen	WHU	B, Vs
Down	Thiago	BRE	C, Vs, Inj
No Change	Mateta	CRY	C
No Change	Woltemade	NEW	B, Rest

A tricky week all in all. Rotation, frustration and just the one goal from Ronaldo. With just five games and Premiership managers “using their squads” it could be time to pan unfamiliar streams for fantasy gold. Could a revitalised Newcastle, a resurgent Sunderland and a Brazilian-boosted Boro provide the vital points to round off the fantasy season? Read my notes on the weekend and make up your own minds.

Team Notes

Arsenal
The game is surely up for Wenger’s side – one win in 7 is not the form of Champions and with United dropping points at Boro, a draw at home to a second-string Liverpool surely signals the end of Arsenal’s title ambitions. Wenger himself made changes for this one – Hoyte, Toure, Gilberto, Bendtner and Walcott all got starts with the Tuesday’s Champions League reunion in mind. Following this game, Arsenal travel to Old Trafford next weekend for the final showdown. Anything but a victory there really will signal the end of the title push. In terms of fantasy potential, only Fabregas has managed to prolong his appeal, as Adebayor struggles to regain form and points output, while the defence has just a single clean sheet in the last 7 games.

Liverpool
Rafa’s lineup at the Emirates left us in no doubt as to his priorities. Gerrard, Torres, Babel and Kuyt all rested then with Benayoun, Crouch, Pennant and young French midfielder Plessis, drafted in. This heavy rotation appears to be a sign of things to come should Liverpool progress past Arsenal on Tuesday. If they make it to the semi-finals then the fantasy potential of both Gerrard and Torres must surely take a hit, despite Liverpool’s fixtures being kind going into the last five. A Liverpool defender – Carragher or Skrtel in particular, looks a better bet if you do fancy their run-in. Rafa seems reluctant to rest the pair and there does look to be at least a couple of clean sheets in those final 5 games.

Man United
The United defence looks in trouble. It’s clear from today’s game at Boro that the absence of Vidic is clearly going to be a factor in the closing games. The solidity he brings with Ferdinand at the back was lacking and, with Rio himself suffering a knock here, the United rearguard is in trouble. Arsenal next weekend and 3 away games in 4 could well limit opportunities for clean sheets if Ferdinand is an absentee. Looking at this situation from another angle, a possible lack of clean sheets will only go to promote the attacking points that United will generate. Ronaldo, Rooney and Tevez will need to find goals to win games and Ferguson willl be far less likely to rest his key attacking players if he feel his defence is fragile.

Chelsea
Grant’s side came under pressure in spells at Eastlands but held firm and could have won by a larger margin had Hart not denied them on several occasions. Chelsea made changes as expected – Belletti returned at right-back with Essien shifting into midfield. Alex came in for the rested Carvalho while Wright-Phillips and Kalou came in for Malouda and Joe Cole. Up front Anelka got to stretch his legs with Drogba benched.

The changes were made with Tuesday’s Champions League tie in mind of course and, like Liverpool, should Chelsea progress we can expect the rotation to continue. The resting of Joe Cole as perhaps the most significant and unexpected move. Until this weekend he had started the last nine games and had been immune to Grant’s rotation. Clearly though, when a vital game looms, even Cole is under threat. In case you missed it , Chelsea are forced to travel to Everton on April 17, just three days after they host Wigan next Monday. That is likely to see Grant wary of recalling the likes of Cole and Drogba for the Wigan game with Goodison in mind.

So, while, Chelsea’s remaining fixtures are decent enough, there remains a doubt hanging over their players – with Terry, Lampard and Cech, on his return, looking the safest bet should you wish to invest. Even they could be under threat given Chelsea’s fixture list.

Newcastle
Three wins on the spin with 9 goals in those games for Keegan’s men. Given form and fixtures their players are certainly worth considering then. Geremi looks certain to maintain his role in midfield, making him instantly appealing as a defensive option. The front three meanwhile – Owen, Viduka and Martins – also seem set to stay course in terms of Keegan’s selection and are all in fine form. All present mid-to-high price options and as such suffer from the competition in that bracket provided by Defoe, Yakubu and Santa Cruz. Aside from Defoe however, form looks to be with the Newcastle players and they do present an option to differentiate your lineup.

Middlesbrough
An outstanding performance by Southgate’s men, particularly as they fell behind early to the inevitable Ronaldo goal. Before today, they had earned just a single win in 7 games and had only scored twice in match on one occasion in the last 16. Alves soon fixed that, more on him later on.

The factor to consider with Southgate’s side is the effect of today’s performance and the games they have remaining. Fixtures look strong. Next weekend’s trip to White Hart Lane is tricky but after that it’s 3 of the remaining 4 at the Riverside – Bolton, Portsmouth and Man City provide the opposition and there’s also a trip to Sunderland in between. Those games should certainly renew interest in Wheater as a mid-price defensive option and maybe Downing in midfield.

Sunderland
Three Premiership wins on the trot for Keane’s men – along with Newcastle, they are the new form team. I mentioned him in last week’s notes, but again Reid is central to Sunderland’s current run. Yesterday’s 2 FPL bonus was his 11th in 4 games and, together with the reinvigorated Jones (more on him in a bit) , he surely warrants attention over the last five. Fixtures look fairly strong, particularly over the next 4 games – Man City, Newcastle, Boro and Bolton are games that should all bring goals and points for the Sunderland pair.

Aston Villa
Yesterdays 4-0 win over Bolton came out of nowhere. Going into the game the form was miserable but as it turned out, Megson’s beleaguered Bolton provided the perfect opposition to help regain Villa’s form. The game saw a first clean sheet in 18 games for the Villa defence, a first goal in 12 for Agbonlahor. Young inevitably got amongst the assists – his 16th of the season, but it was Barry with 2 goals and 2 assists that stole the show. More on him later.

Going forward Villa deserve renewed attention. Their fixtures over the last 5 are strong with Derby and Birmingham next – Everton, Wigan and West Ham to follow. Three of these are away from home but form away from Villa Park has been strong, so this shouldn’t be a factor. Barry, together with Young and Agbonlahor, could still be worth a flutter if you’re looking to differentiate your side from the pack over the closing fixtures.

Everton
Hardly convincing against relegated Derby today, there will be continuing concerns at both ends for fantasy managers. It’s just 3 goals in the last 5 for Everton – a stat that will do little for Yakubu’s popularity going into the final furlong. He has just a single goal in the last 5 after drawing a blank against Derby.

The fact is, Moyes’ side are stumbling over the finishing line in pursuit of fourth place. They remain tight at the back but the decision to drop Jagielka to the bench brings some concern that Moyes will shuffle his pack in defence. The forthcoming fixtures are patchy – the trip to Birmingham could be another low scoring encounter and while they face 3 of the remaining 4 after that at Goodison, the opponents in those games Chelsea, Villa and Newcastle – are certainly no mugs.

Player Notes

Cesc Fabregas
His popularity with fantasy managers may plummeted but since gameweek 29 – a week in which 50,000 FPL managers got rid – he has notched 5 assists in 4 games and earned 6 bonus points. Those of held on to the midfielder, who dazzled early in the season, have seen some steady rewards at a time when the likes of Gerrard and Bentley have stuttered a little. He could be worth persevering with over the final run in with Wenger unlikely to rest him – he won’t be on many shortlists to transfer in though.

Gareth Barry
Barry’s problem is that he always looks a safe, unspectacular bet in midfield – offering fairly consistent but modest rewards over the season. Yesteday’s performance however, demonstrated that he can have big point games to rival the likes of Lampard and Gerrard and underlined what an excellent season it’s been for the Villa captain. Mentioned in my scout picks round-up, I foolishly followed a hunch with Barton rather than opt for Barry – the safe bet. He then weighed in with a clean sheet, 2 goals and 2 assists plus an FPL bonus point. Villa’s form was poor going into the game, but Bolton’s, it turned out, were in a far worse state. I’ll put this down to another lesson learned and move on.

Dimitar Berbatov
A goal and 3 FPL bonus points proved that the Spurs man can produce the goods away from the Lane. Many fantasy managers have given up on the classy Bulgarian but he will remain top of my striker rankings over the last five games. His fixtures look very strong with Boro, Wigan, Bolton and Reading to come before the end of season show-piece against Liverpool at home. I can see him ending the season strongly and with Adebayor faltering and Torres under threat from rest and rotation while Rafa keeps his sights on Champions League progress – Berbatov seems a very strong alternative in the same price bracket.

Ryan Taylor
While I’ve outlined his potential many times in previous notes, I overlooked him for the scout picks this week with a slight worry over his fitness (he’d been subbed on 50 and 66 minutes in the previous two) and the threat of being rested as a result. Those concerns didn’t materialise and low and behold, Taylor had his most profitable game of an injury-hit season.

Two goals and a couple of FPL bonus points made him an excellent purchase this week. That kind of form should see him maintain a starting role, even with Koumas due to return after next weekend. Be warned though, Wigan’s remaining fixtures are tricky even though they have 3 of 5 at the JJB. They face Chelsea, Spurs and United before the season is out and their other fixtures see them take on Villa and Reading who both have goals in them. There doesn’t look likely to be many clean sheets for the Wigan defence but with Taylor’s goal threat and delivery from set-pieces, Scharner owners in particular, will be looking at Taylor in a straight swap despite the Austrian’s maximum FPL bonus against Birmingham.

Kenwyne Jones
When Sunderland are performing, Jones gets points. It’s a simple equation that has rung true throughout the season. With three wins in a row, Jones is flourishing again. Those managers who lost patience with the big striker should certainly consider taking another look – he’s back on top of the strikers value chart in the FPL with 7 goals, 10 assists and 15 bonus. Still priced at 5.5 in that game, he’s a absolute bargain considering that Sunderland’s remaining fixtures and form are strong. He’s an early one to look for next season too – if Keane get his £50 million and Jones progresses as he should, he should be high on many a pre-season shortlist.

Matt Taylor
Employed at left-back for Bolton at Villa – a very strange decision from Megson given that Taylor had hit a brace from his advanced midfield position last time out. With Gardner sidelined with a rib injury and Samuel clearly not fancied, Taylor could well find himself stationed at left-back again, as Megson looks to push Helguson or Rasiak up with Davies. That possibility, together with Bolton’s dreadful run of form, could sound the death knell for Taylor’s fantasy potential – just as he was on the up.

Alfonso Alves
As I expected, Southgate handed Alves the stage on which to prove himself – nobody could really anticipate how well he’d take his opportunity though. Two goals against the strongest defence in the Premiership sent the signal out to fantasy managers that at last, it could be time to take a look at Boro’s £12 million signing. Attractive as a mid-price option in most fantasy games, another factor to consider are the remaining games for Boro, as mentioned earlier. With confidence high, there are surely goals to come for Alves in the remaining five games. Another temptation for those managers looking for that X-factor to help them close gaps.

Injuries

Rio Ferdinand limped off after 69-minutes with a knock. He’s likely to be a doubt for the Champions League tie on Wednesday and could be rested with the Arsenal game in mind.

John Carew again picked up an injury and was replaced on 76-minutes against Bolton.

Nedum Onuoha suffered what looked like a serious injury for City against Chelsea after 58 minutes.

Birmingham’s Martin Taylor picked up a knock and was replaced on 71-minutes.

Derby’s Sterjovski picked up a knock and he was subbed after 49-minutes against Everton.

Suspensions

Birmingham’s Damian Johnson was dismissed for “serious foul play” against Wigan. He’ll now serve a 3-match ban, missing the games against Everton, Villa and Liverpool.

Download the FFScout app

FPL GW19 Scout Picks - Final Selection

Fantasy EFL Gameweek 22

Price Change Predictions

Watchlists

FPL Fixture Ticker