Saturday's Scout Notes - Best FPL Tips, Advice, Team News, Picks, and Statistics from Fantasy Football Scout

Player	Team	Price	Progress	Tonight
Cunha	MUN	8.0m	141.9%	Very Likely
Rogers	AVL	7.3m	115.4%	Very Likely
James	CHE	5.6m	111.2%	Very Likely
Ekitiké	LIV	9.0m	107.0%	Very Likely
Dalot	MUN	4.4m	105.7%	Very Likely
Cherki	MCI	6.6m	95.8%	Likely
L.Miley	NEW	4.4m	100.9%	Very Likely
Lewis-Potter	BRE	4.8m	99.8%	Likely
Mukiele	SUN	4.2m	98.6%	Maybe
Chalobah	CHE	5.5m	96.3%	Maybe
Verbruggen	BHA	4.4m	93.2%	Unlikely
Alderete	SUN	4.0m	89.7%	Unlikely
Truffert	BOU	4.5m	89.1%	Unlikely
O'Reilly	MCI	5.3m	89.0%	Unlikely
Virgil	LIV	5.9m	75.1%	Unlikely
Andersen	FUL	4.6m	73.0%	Unlikely
Guéhi	CRY	5.3m	69.1%	Unlikely
Wirtz	LIV	8.1m	64.4%	Unlikely
Tete	FUL	4.5m	69.6%	Unlikely
Mount	MUN	5.9m	70.0%	Unlikely
Roefs	SUN	4.8m	68.0%	Unlikely
Mitchell	CRY	5.0m	63.3%	Unlikely
Rice	ARS	7.2m	59.7%	Unlikely
Saliba	ARS	5.9m	61.5%	Unlikely
Van den Berg	BRE	4.5m	58.3%	Unlikely
Semenyo	BOU	7.7m	56.8%	Unlikely
Petrović	BOU	4.5m	57.6%	Unlikely
Keane	EVE	4.7m	50.9%	Unlikely
E.Le Fée	SUN	4.9m	55.2%	Unlikely
Trossard	ARS	6.9m	54.9%	Unlikely
Pickford	EVE	5.5m	54.0%	Unlikely
Cullen	BUR	5.0m	54.5%	Unlikely
Heaven	MUN	3.8m	52.6%	Unlikely
Konaté	LIV	5.4m	53.1%	Unlikely
Dúbravka	BUR	4.0m	52.1%	Unlikely
Calvert-Lewin	LEE	5.8m	49.5%	Unlikely
Watkins	AVL	8.5m	48.5%	Unlikely
Smith Rowe	FUL	5.6m	48.0%	Unlikely
Gvardiol	MCI	6.0m	45.8%	Unlikely
Raya	ARS	6.0m	47.8%	Unlikely

Player	Team	Price	Progress	Tonight
Welbeck	BHA	6.4m	130.6%	Very Likely
Van Hecke	BHA	4.6m	121.0%	Very Likely
Cucurella	CHE	6.2m	102.3%	Very Likely
De Ligt	MUN	5.0m	102.6%	Very Likely
Pedro Porro	TOT	5.3m	102.0%	Very Likely
Udogie	TOT	4.4m	101.5%	Very Likely
Nørgaard	ARS	5.2m	100.8%	Very Likely
James	LEE	5.3m	100.0%	Likely
McAtee	NFO	5.1m	99.3%	Maybe
L.Guilherme	WHU	4.9m	96.7%	Maybe
Colwill	CHE	4.8m	97.6%	Maybe
Jair Cunha	NFO	4.3m	96.7%	Maybe
P.M.Sarr	TOT	4.6m	96.2%	Maybe
Yoro	MUN	4.3m	96.2%	Maybe
Trafford	MCI	4.6m	96.0%	Maybe
Nwaneri	ARS	5.1m	96.0%	Maybe
Bevan	BOU	3.9m	95.2%	Maybe
Mosquera	ARS	5.4m	94.9%	Maybe
Gibbs-White	NFO	7.3m	94.2%	Unlikely
Hannibal	BUR	4.8m	94.0%	Unlikely
Tasker	BHA	3.9m	93.4%	Unlikely
Fer López	WOL	5.2m	93.8%	Unlikely
Barnes	BUR	4.3m	93.1%	Unlikely
Enzo	CHE	6.5m	90.3%	Unlikely
Fitzgerald	MUN	4.4m	91.2%	Unlikely
Adams	BOU	5.0m	88.4%	Unlikely
Robertson	LIV	5.8m	88.4%	Unlikely
Hermansen	WHU	4.3m	88.3%	Unlikely
Benitez	CRY	4.0m	87.5%	Unlikely
Aké	MCI	5.3m	87.4%	Unlikely
Johnson	SUN	3.9m	87.1%	Unlikely
Bayindir	MUN	4.8m	87.4%	Unlikely
Broggio	AVL	4.5m	86.4%	Unlikely
Bellegarde	WOL	5.2m	85.9%	Unlikely
Odobert	TOT	5.3m	85.0%	Unlikely
B.Fernandes	MUN	9.2m	81.5%	Unlikely
Bruno G.	NEW	7.0m	83.3%	Unlikely
Eze	ARS	7.6m	76.5%	Unlikely
Seung soo	NEW	4.4m	81.8%	Unlikely
R.Gomes	WOL	4.4m	81.6%	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	8.0m	141.9%	Very Likely
Rogers	AVL	7.3m	115.4%	Very Likely
James	CHE	5.6m	111.2%	Very Likely
Ekitiké	LIV	9.0m	107.0%	Very Likely
Dalot	MUN	4.4m	105.7%	Very Likely
Cherki	MCI	6.6m	95.8%	Likely
L.Miley	NEW	4.4m	100.9%	Very Likely
Lewis-Potter	BRE	4.8m	99.8%	Likely
Mukiele	SUN	4.2m	98.6%	Maybe
Chalobah	CHE	5.5m	96.3%	Maybe
Verbruggen	BHA	4.4m	93.2%	Unlikely
Alderete	SUN	4.0m	89.7%	Unlikely
Truffert	BOU	4.5m	89.1%	Unlikely
O'Reilly	MCI	5.3m	89.0%	Unlikely
Virgil	LIV	5.9m	75.1%	Unlikely
Andersen	FUL	4.6m	73.0%	Unlikely
Guéhi	CRY	5.3m	69.1%	Unlikely
Wirtz	LIV	8.1m	64.4%	Unlikely
Tete	FUL	4.5m	69.6%	Unlikely
Mount	MUN	5.9m	70.0%	Unlikely
Roefs	SUN	4.8m	68.0%	Unlikely
Mitchell	CRY	5.0m	63.3%	Unlikely
Rice	ARS	7.2m	59.7%	Unlikely
Saliba	ARS	5.9m	61.5%	Unlikely
Van den Berg	BRE	4.5m	58.3%	Unlikely
Semenyo	BOU	7.7m	56.8%	Unlikely
Petrović	BOU	4.5m	57.6%	Unlikely
Keane	EVE	4.7m	50.9%	Unlikely
E.Le Fée	SUN	4.9m	55.2%	Unlikely
Trossard	ARS	6.9m	54.9%	Unlikely
Pickford	EVE	5.5m	54.0%	Unlikely
Cullen	BUR	5.0m	54.5%	Unlikely
Heaven	MUN	3.8m	52.6%	Unlikely
Konaté	LIV	5.4m	53.1%	Unlikely
Dúbravka	BUR	4.0m	52.1%	Unlikely
Calvert-Lewin	LEE	5.8m	49.5%	Unlikely
Watkins	AVL	8.5m	48.5%	Unlikely
Smith Rowe	FUL	5.6m	48.0%	Unlikely
Gvardiol	MCI	6.0m	45.8%	Unlikely
Raya	ARS	6.0m	47.8%	Unlikely

Player	Team	Price	Progress	Tonight
Welbeck	BHA	6.4m	130.6%	Very Likely
Van Hecke	BHA	4.6m	121.0%	Very Likely
Cucurella	CHE	6.2m	102.3%	Very Likely
De Ligt	MUN	5.0m	102.6%	Very Likely
Pedro Porro	TOT	5.3m	102.0%	Very Likely
Udogie	TOT	4.4m	101.5%	Very Likely
Nørgaard	ARS	5.2m	100.8%	Very Likely
James	LEE	5.3m	100.0%	Likely
McAtee	NFO	5.1m	99.3%	Maybe
L.Guilherme	WHU	4.9m	96.7%	Maybe
Colwill	CHE	4.8m	97.6%	Maybe
Jair Cunha	NFO	4.3m	96.7%	Maybe
P.M.Sarr	TOT	4.6m	96.2%	Maybe
Yoro	MUN	4.3m	96.2%	Maybe
Trafford	MCI	4.6m	96.0%	Maybe
Nwaneri	ARS	5.1m	96.0%	Maybe
Bevan	BOU	3.9m	95.2%	Maybe
Mosquera	ARS	5.4m	94.9%	Maybe
Gibbs-White	NFO	7.3m	94.2%	Unlikely
Hannibal	BUR	4.8m	94.0%	Unlikely
Tasker	BHA	3.9m	93.4%	Unlikely
Fer López	WOL	5.2m	93.8%	Unlikely
Barnes	BUR	4.3m	93.1%	Unlikely
Enzo	CHE	6.5m	90.3%	Unlikely
Fitzgerald	MUN	4.4m	91.2%	Unlikely
Adams	BOU	5.0m	88.4%	Unlikely
Robertson	LIV	5.8m	88.4%	Unlikely
Hermansen	WHU	4.3m	88.3%	Unlikely
Benitez	CRY	4.0m	87.5%	Unlikely
Aké	MCI	5.3m	87.4%	Unlikely
Johnson	SUN	3.9m	87.1%	Unlikely
Bayindir	MUN	4.8m	87.4%	Unlikely
Broggio	AVL	4.5m	86.4%	Unlikely
Bellegarde	WOL	5.2m	85.9%	Unlikely
Odobert	TOT	5.3m	85.0%	Unlikely
B.Fernandes	MUN	9.2m	81.5%	Unlikely
Bruno G.	NEW	7.0m	83.3%	Unlikely
Eze	ARS	7.6m	76.5%	Unlikely
Seung soo	NEW	4.4m	81.8%	Unlikely
R.Gomes	WOL	4.4m	81.6%	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

There’s a ninty minute demolition at the Riverside, as Kalou and Malouda have a party. A forty five minute demolition at Old Trafford, as Rooney continues his hot streak. And a big big frustration at Anfield, as Zaki proved his fitness by bagging a brace. So far, he’s making Steve Bruce look like a genius and any fantasy manager without him, look just a little bit silly.

Six clean sheets and big wins for Chelsea and United – potentially this was a decent scoring Saturday for us all then. Did it turn out that way for you? Let’s take a closer look with the notes…

Middlesbrough 0 Chelsea 5

Southgate made a couple of changes to his lineup, one of them forced with Hoyte carrying a groin injury. He was replaced by Taylor who returned at left back, allowing Grounds to shift to right back. The other change saw Ales drop to the bench with Aliadiere playing up top with Mido who was passed fit. Johnson came in to fill the right midfield role.

Scolari went into this game with plenty of injury doubts but had Terry and Bosingwa fit in his defence. Alex returned in the centre, which meant Ivanovic dropped to the bench. Bridge came in for the injured Ashley Cole. Belletti came into the midfield for Ballack, while Kalou replaced Joe Cole. Deco returned from injury to take a place on the bench.

Chelsea were imperious. The simply powered past an incredibly limp and spiritless Boro, taking control from the word go and never relinquishing control of the game.

Kalou and Malouda had a riot – the later cashing in a goal and two assists, Kalou returning two goals and an assist. Elsewhere, Belletti offered great value for those who took a punt by blasting a superb effort to put Chelsea two up, while Lampard got his customary goal with a smart header. At the back meanwhile, Chelsea were so, so comfortable and recorded a fifth clean sheet.

Boro’s form is a real worry for Southgate. I can’t imagine that’s a concern for fantasy managers, except those few Wheater owners that remain. I can’t see things getting any better given their forthcoming fixtures which only go to offer both City and Villa decent attacking returns in the coming weeks.

As for Chelsea – they look formidable. Defensively Chelsea have conceded just three goals, including just one goal away from home. In attacking terms meanwhile, it’s nineteen goals over the eight games.

Bosingwa and Lampard continue to be essential fantasy players for me – such is their consistency. Although the supporting cast of Kalou and Malouda did exceptionally well today, their starts are still far from certain in the long term, making them risks as fantasy purchases. Deco’s return from injury today, and Joe Cole’s eventual return to fitness will threaten them. The same goes for Belletti and Alex who will likely lose his place to Carvalho on his return, possibly next weekend.

Scolari’s side have just two of the next six at home, and a trip to Liverpool comes next. Investors in Scolari’s side shouldn’t fear that though – the goals and clean sheets should keep pouring out of the blue machine.

Lineups
Middlesbrough: Turnbull, Grounds (J Johnson 54), Wheater, Riggott, Taylor, Aliadiere, Shawky (Digard 65), O’Neil, Adam Johnson (Alves 65), Downing, Mido.
Subs Not Used: Jones, Emnes, Bennett, Walker.

Chelsea: Cudicini, Bosingwa, Terry, Alex, Bridge (Ferreira 65), Belletti, Lampard (Deco 73), Mikel, Kalou, Anelka (Sinclair 78), Malouda.
Subs Not Used: Hilario, Ivanovic, Mancienne, Stoch.

Arsenal 3 Everton 1

Wenger was forced into changes after picking up a string of injuries during the international break. Silvestre came in for his debut for Gallas, while Song moved to right back to cover for the loss of Sagna. Eboue and Nasri came into the wide roles in midfield with Walcott rested.

Moyes went with a 4-5-1 as expected. That saw Rodwell replace Saha who was benched. Neville wasn’t considered fit enough to make a return but Osman and Pienaar both started after recent injuries. Baines kept his place at left back with Yobo out with flu.

Arsenal came from behind then after falling behind after just nine minutes. That’s four consecutive games without a clean sheet, as Arsenal’s defensive value continues to drop. In attacking terms however, they remain strong with Nasri again showing his potential as a mid-price midfield option with the equaliser, before Van Persie and Walcott sealed the win.

Silvestre, Diaby and Fabregas earned the assists – another slight return for Fabregas with no FPL bonus to back it up. I’m a great admirer of his but with Ronaldo and Lampard both scoring – he really needs goals to justify his selection over that pair in your lineup. Similarly, Adebayor drew a blank and his recent returns will be a major concern for his owners. With Zaki again excelling for Wigan, I can see plenty of impatient Adebayor sales this week.

The next three for Arsenal see them take on West Ham, Spurs and Stoke – all defences that should hand Arsenal 10-12 goals. That makes it a bad time to lose patience with any of Arsenal’s attacking players if you’ve kept them to this point. After those game however, Wenger’s men enter a horrible run of games from gameweek 12-15 (check out the season ticker here). That would be the time to look elsewhere if form continues to lag behind the alternatives.

As for Everton – this was a predictable blank for Arteta and Yakubu and another game without a clean sheet. It’s United next time out but after that, things get a lot easier. Take a look again in gameweek 10 then.

Lineups
Arsenal: Almunia, Song Billong, Toure (Walcott 46), Silvestre, Clichy, Eboue, Fabregas, Denilson, Nasri (Diaby 83), Van Persie, Adebayor.
Subs Not Used: Fabianski, Vela, Ramsey, Gibbs, Hoyte

Everton: Howard, Hibbert (Vaughan 80), Jagielka, Lescott, Baines, Arteta, Osman, Rodwell, Fellaini (Saha 74), Pienaar, Yakubu (Neville 80).
Subs Not Used: Nash, Nuno Valente, Gosling, Wallace.

Injuries and Bans
Toure suffered an injury and was subbed on 45 minutes. Nasri also picked up a knock and was replaced on 82 minutes.

Aston Villa 0 Portsmouth 0

O’Neill, so consistent with his team selection to this point, shook things up for this one. Young and Shorey dropped to the bench, with Cuellar coming in at right back and Barry shifting to left back. Milner took Barry’s place in midfield and played wide right, with Reo-Coker coming in to central midfield.

Harry also made changes, although most of those were forced. With Diarra and Hughes injured it was Davis and Diop who took the central midfield roles. It was 4-4-2 with Traore again on the left of midfield and Little given another start on the right. Belhadj was dropped to the bench however – a little surprising. Pamarot came into the defence.

Not too much to take from the game itself. A strong Portsmouth performance defensively that will only see increased interest in Traore. He continues to offer terrific value – striking the woodwork today – more evidence that even without clean sheets, attacking points are on the cards.

James and Johnson could also see a resurgence of interest as a result of this improved Pompey defensive form. They’ve now conceded just one goal in the last three Premiership games. In attacking terms, Little could see some interest as a budget option after an encouraging display today but Kranjcar’s return to fitness in a fortnight, will surely threaten him.

As for the home side, it was a rare clean sheet which might be enough to see O’Neill stick with the same lineup going forward. That will disappoint Barry owners, who now see the midfielder shifted to left back and of course, owners of Luke Young and Shorey who were both benched. In attacking terms, it was a frustrating day for owners of Ashley Young, Carew and Agbonlahor but their fixtures over the next four are so strong, there is sure to be better days soon.

Lineups
Aston Villa: Friedel, Cuellar, Davies, Laursen (L Young 88), Milner, Reo-Coker, Petrov, Barry, A Young, Agbonlahor, Carew.
Subs Not Used: Guzan, Sidwell, Harewood, Knight, Shorey, Gardner.

Portsmouth: James, Johnson, Campbell, Distin, Pamarot, A Traore (Belhadj 78), Little (Utaka 71), Davis, Diop, Defoe (Mvuemba 82), Crouch.
Subs Not Used: Ashdown, Hreidarsson, Thomas, Kanu.

Injuries and Bans
Sean Davis will serve a one match ban for picking up a red for two bookable offences. He will miss the game with Fulham next weekend.

Bolton 0 Blackburn Rovers 0

One change from Megson, with Taylor replacing Gardner on the left of midfield. As for Rovers, Ince brought back Simpson at right back but left Ooijer in the side at left back. That meant that Warnock continued his role in midfield. Fowler made his first start in the Premiership, with Derbyshire dropping to the bench. Roberts replaced the injured Santa Cruz up front.

Again, little to say on this one. Bolton at the Reebok are always strong defensively and so it proved against a Rovers side robbed of Santa Cruz through injury. Megson’s side failed to match their defensive resolve with any attacking flair. Taylor on his return to the side was the chief attacking threat, striking a post at the end of a great Bolton move. He could be worth a look if Bolton can develop up a more potent goal threat. As it is, there are better options in his price bracket in midfield, so it will take very kind fixtures and strong form for him to prove popular.

Little to report from the Rovers camp – Warnock’s midfield role could make him a worth a look as a short term option with kind fixtures. Owners of Santa Cruz meanwhile will be losing patience having missed this one. With Zaki offering a value option and Rooney on fire up a bracket, it’s hard to justify holding on to him at the moment.

Lineups
Bolton: Jaaskelainen, Steinsson (J O’Brien 77), Andrew O’Brien, Cahill, Samuel, McCann, Davies, Nolan, Muamba (Gardner 69), Taylor (Riga 86), Elmander.
Subs Not Used: Al Habsi, Hunt, Smolarek, Shittu.

Blackburn: Robinson, Simpson, Nelsen, Samba, Ooijer, Emerton, Villanueva (Derbyshire 62), Kerimoglu, Warnock, Fowler (Andrews 74), Roberts (McCarthy 78).
Subs Not Used: Brown, Grella, Khizanishvili, Treacy.

Fulham 0 Sunderland 0

Hodgson brought Johnson back into his lineup as expected – Dempsey dropped to the bench to make way. Keane meanwhile, shuffled things again, bringing in Leadbitter after his goal against Arsenal, with Yorke dropping out after his international travels. Chopra came in for a start up front with Reid droppign to the bench.

The third 0-0 of the day, although Sunderland were so unfortunate not to come away with the points. Richardson inspired Keane’s men all day and was so unlucky with a pair of free kicks – the first hitting three posts, the second harshly disallowed. Cisse also struck the bar as Fulham rode their luck.

In truth, Fulham are struggling. They are tight at the back but five goals in seven games tells the tale. It’s just one goal in the last four Premiership matches for Fulham. Zamora is short on confidence and Johnson just hasn’t clicked. They need them both to find form and quick, particularly while Fulham’s fixtures are kind.

Indeed, both these sides are devoid of attacking fantasy talent right now, but do present decent budget options defensively. The return of Kenwyne Jones, possibly next weekend, could change that from Sunderland’s perspective.

Lineups
Fulham: Schwarzer, Pantsil, Hughes, Hangeland, Konchesky, Davies, Murphy, Bullard, Gera (Dempsey 73), Zamora, Johnson.
Subs Not Used: Zuberbuhler, Nevland, Gray, Andreasen, Kallio, Baird.

Sunderland: Gordon, Chimbonda, Ferdinand, Collins, McCartney, Malbranque, Leadbitter (Reid 62), Whitehead, Richardson, Cisse (Murphy 84), Chopra (Healy 69).
Subs Not Used: Fulop, Bardsley, Tainio, Diouf.

Injuries and Bans

Liverpool 3 Wigan 2

Rafa was forced into changes with Skrtel and Torres out. In came Agger at the back then, while Pennant surprisingly earned a start on the right, which pushed Kuyt up with Keane. Mascherano missed out with the Champions League in mind, having been on international duty with Argentina.

Bruce restored Scharner to the starting lineup, dropping Boyce to the bench. Zaki was passed fit and started but Heskey missed out with a back injury, allowing De Ridder to come into the side as Bruce shifted to 4-5-1.

Liverpool kept up with Chelsea’s pace then but were made to fight all the way by Wigan. Zaki stole the headlines for Bruce’s men again with another two goals – the second a superb overhead kick. Personally, having hit a brace here against a recognised top four defence, albeit without Skrtel, I just can’t see how you can justify not having this guy in your side. With funds required for the likes of Lampard and Ronaldo in midfield, Zaki looks a must-have.

There are other attractions in the Wigan lineup, particularly when you consider that after the Villa home game next week, their fixtures look strong. Scharner’s restoration to the defence make him worth considering, although Figueroa offers better value. Then there’s Valence in midfield – unlucky to see red today. He’ll miss the Villa game but will return for Wigan’s decent run of fixtures.

Moving on to Liverpool, and it was Kuyt who stole the show in fantasy terms with a brace and three FPL bonus points. He’s classed as midfielder in that game, making him a decent alternative to the likes of Young and Wright-Phillips. The main issue with Kuyt of course, is that he’s normally deployed wide right rather than up front as he was today. As a short term option while Torres is out – he is a consideration for the Chelsea and Pompey games.

Defensively, Agger was badly at fault for the first Wigan goal but partially redeemed himself with the assist for Kuyt’s equaliser. Long term though, he is certainly worth a look given the length of Skrtel’s absence and Liverpool’s forthcoming fixtures, which are very strong after the Chelsea game next weekend.

Gerrard’s returns continue to be a concern for his fantasy managers after another blank in this one. He is currently owned by 17% of FPL managers – something I find surprising with Lampard and Ronaldo offering stronger potential. One goal and one assist so far this term isn’t good enough for an outlay of 11.4. He will need to make the most of Liverpool’s strong fixtures to avoid a significant drop in ownership.

Lineups
Liverpool: Reina, Arbeloa (Benayoun 79), Carragher, Agger, Dossena (El Zhar 78), Pennant, Gerrard, Alonso, Riera, Keane (Hyypia 90), Kuyt.
Subs Not Used: Cavalieri, Leiva Lucas, Insua, Ngog

Wigan: Kirkland, Melchiot, Scharner, Bramble, Figueroa, Valencia, Cattermole, Palacios (Koumas 90), Kapo (Brown 82), De Ridder (Kilbane 79), Zaki.
Subs Not Used: Pollitt, Taylor, Boyce, Camara.

Injuries and Bans
Valencia will serve a one match ban for his two yellow cards today. He will miss the game against Villa next weekend.

Man United 4 West Brom 0

Ferguson sprung a surprise by starting with Rafeal at right back with Neville and Brown left on the bench. Elsewhere, Giggs started in central midfield with Fletcher, while Park was restored out wide. Tevez was left out after his international exploits. Berbatov and Rooney started again and, along with Ronaldo, continue to look untouchable.

Mowbray made just one change, restoring Brunt to his midfield as expected with Miller dropping to the bench.

United swept the Baggies aside then, despite a spirited display by the visitors in the first half. Rooney was magnificent and is in one of his purple patches. He brought in two goals and three FPL bonus points in this one. The question is, can he maintain this form and fantasy returns?

Berbatov arguably offers a stronger long term alternative. He scored his second Premiership goal for United today and clearly has plenty more goals in him. The fact that he is available for a considerably cheaper price in the FPL, makes him a stronger option in that game, despite Rooney’s form.

The problem with both these options is simple – Ronaldo. In my view, Lampard is a must-have and Ronaldo is already showing signs to justify similar status. Those two take priority over Rooney and Berbatov for me .

Again tonight, there was evidence that Ronaldo is clearly rusty but despite this, he has already brought in two goals and two assists since his return from injury. Berbatov and Rooney might be taking FPL bonus from him right now, but that will surely only continue in the short term. Stronger form and big returns look just around the corner for Ronaldo in my opinion.

Defensively, United earned their fourth clean sheet of the season and with Everton away, and West Ham and Hull at home over the next three, there’s surely more to come. Evra’s hamstring injury will be a concern and, with the right back situation even more confused by Rafael’s selection, it makes Ferdinand, Vidic and Van der sar the only real options in the short term. With the United defenders currently struggling for bonus and attacking points, it appears that the latter is the best option right now.

As for West Brom, to their credit, they tried to play their slick brand of football but were just overpowered in the second half. As usual, they just lacked the penetration up front. With home games with Hull and Blackburn and a trip to Newcastle, in the next three, things will get easier though. The likes of Bednar, Olssson and Morrison could offer some budget options in the next fortnight then.

Lineups
Man Utd: Van der Sar, Rafael (Neville 65), Ferdinand, Vidic, Evra (O’Shea 36), Ronaldo, Fletcher, Giggs, Park (Nani 70), Berbatov, Rooney.
Subs Not Used: Kuszczak, Brown, Evans, Gibson.

West Brom: Carson, Zuiverloon, Donk, Olsson, Robinson, Morrison, Koren (Moore 72), Borja Valero, Greening, Brunt, Bednar (Miller 53).
Subs Not Used: Kiely, Hoefkens, Cech, Barnett, MacDonald.

Injuries and Bans
Evra picked up a hamstring and was subbed after 36 minutes – robbing his owners of the clean sheet. He is a major doubt for the Champions League clash with Celtic on Tuesday and will also be a doubt going into the trip to Everton next weekend.

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