A total of 36 goals over 8 Premier League games stamped on any clean sheet prospects and saw a certain Bulgarian record one of the biggest Fantasy Points hauls in memory. Saturday will live with us for some time then – let’s pick it apart with some Scout Notes…
Arsenal spread the profits of the 4-2 victory at Villa Park throughout their lineup, without the dominating influence of Cesc Fabregas in their engine room. Andrei Arshavin contributed his best Fantasy Premier League points haul of the season with a total of 13 gathered from a goal, assist and maximum Bonus. Samir Nasri also maintained his strong form this season with a sixth goal of the campaign. Jack Wilshere, who came into the side for Denilson, and Tomas Rosicky replacing Fabregas, were also in profit with a goal and an assist respectively.
Three home games in four (FUL mun STK CHE) now point to potential from free-scoring Arsenal and, having seen Marouane Chamakh strike his fourth goal in as many league games, Arsene Wenger’s major headache now seems to be how he incorporates Robin Van Persie back into his starting XI. Chamakh’s workrate certainly seems to allow Wenger’s midfield talents to blossom.
Defensively Arsenal are still a cause for concern. Having gone one a run of three clean sheets in four from Gameweeks 9-12, they have since conceded 6 goals in the last 3 games. With Chelsea and United coming up, we shouldn’t expect defensive returns to complement attacking points.
Villa appear to have even more problems defensively. They’ve now conceded in every one of their last 5 league outings, shipping 11 goals in the process – most unlike a Gerard Houllier side. The fixture list is far from their friend over the coming weeks and while Villa continue to offer profit in attacking terms, defensively they certainly look a no-go. It will pay not to be seduced by Ciaran Clark’s double from an “out-of-position” role in midfield then; the young defensive prospect also sits just one yellow card away from a suspension.
Blackpool continue to produce superb attacking performances and this time it was Bolton on the receiving end at the Reebok. Luke Varney and Charlie Adam were once again the protagonists in Fantasy terms – Varney with his fifth goal of the season, while his skipper again grabbed the maximum FPL Bonus for his influence in midfield. Adam has now gathered 19 Bonus Points, more than any other player in the FPL. He remains a prize asset, despite failing to gain any goals or assists in his last 5 league starts.
A couple of caveats to this – Adam is one of several players walking the suspension tightrope. He picked up his fourth booking at Bolton and is now just one yellow away from a one match ban. Blackpool’s fixtures, although showing three home games in four, also see them face United, Spurs and Liverpool in those Bloomfield Road clashes. Then again, Ian Holloway’s side look capable of scoring goals and points against any opposition.
Bolton are another free-scoring side that continue to offer attacking potential. Kevin Davies and Johan Elmander failed to return on investment this week but were certainly prominent performance wise. Instead it was two of Bolton’s fringe players getting in on the act with Mark Davies sub Martin Petrov registering goals. Davies, who came in to the side for thigh injury victim Stuart Holden, also chipped in with an assist. Their impact will now hand Owen Coyle a selection problem, particularly when it comes to Petrov’s perpetual tussle with Matt Taylor for the left-flank role.
Owen Coyle’s side are still without a clean sheet since the opening day of the season but they have scored in every one of their last 5 league outings, amassing a staggering 15 goals. They have only failed to score in one of their league games this season; a comforting stat for Elmander and Davies owners given that they travel to face the City defence at Eastlands next.
Mark Hughes’ options were severely hampered by crippling injuries up front and, as expected, Clint Dempsey partnered Diomansy Kamara. He duly delivered yet again, notching his fifth goal of the season to underline his potential as an “out-of-position” midfielder when pitched up front. Dempsey also earned his owners 2 Bonus Points, with the maximum bizarrely going to John Pantsil who came off the bench to replace the injured Carlos Salcido to play out 67 minutes. The Bonus allocation could well be an admin error from the FPL, although out Gameweek Opta stats do show that Pantsil made a major impact on his arrival.
A sobering statistic regarding future prospects for Mark Hughes – Fulham have four away games in the next six Gameweeks – they have previously scored just a single goal in their last three away outings.
Birmingham conceded their first goal in three games then but defensive resolve was again in evidence at the Cottage. Ben Foster again earned a Save Point for his owners – he has now returned one of more of these in his last 8 matches. At the other end of the field there are still problems for Alex McLeish; he is struggling to find an attacking blend. He started yesterday’s game with Nikola Zigic on the bench as Alexsander Hleb made a return to the starting lineup. Hleb produced the assist for Seb Larsson’s goal – that was Hleb’s first Fantasy contribution in 10 appearances.
West Ham earned Avram Grant a much-needed three points at Upton Park with the 3-1 win over fellow strugglers Wigan. In Fantasy terms it was Scott Parker and Frederic Piquionne who again stood out. The Hammers skipper converted his fourth goal of the season, giving him his best goal haul for five FPL campaigns. Predictably he also gathered 2 Bonus Points, although the maximum went to Piquionne who also gathered 2 assists to justify his inclusion on the Scout Picks bench along with Fulham’s Dempsey. These two will continue to offer potential when fixtures fall kindly for Grant’s side, as the Hammers continue to pose an attacking threat to opponents. With three away games in four to come however, new investment seems unwise.
Wigan continue to offer inconsistent returns at both ends of the field. They have not scored more than one goal in game since Gameweek 8 and have kept just a single clean sheet in that run. Tom Cleverley’s performance was their one bright spark from yesterday’s game and, at just 4.2 in the FPL, he may well gain some interest given that Wigan’s run of opponents over the next six Gameweeks looks fairly favourable with 4 matches at the DW Stadium (STK eve AVL wol ARS NEW).
Wolves defied their recent injury problems with a vital victory over Sunderland that leaves them now just two points from safety. As the only team in the league not to notch a clean sheet so far this season, Mick McCarthy dropped keeper Marcus Hahnemann, replacing him with Wayne Hennessey, though Wolves had to rely on a late Sylvain Ebanks-Blake clincher to win by the odd goal in five. Defender Kevin Foley (3.9) grabbed his second home goal in succession and practically all the Wolves midfield got amongst the points; fit-again Stephen Hunt grabbed a goal, Matt Jarvis again bagged an assist and playmaker Nenad Milijas was awarded all 3 Bonus Points.
Sunderland’s central-defensive woes proved to be their downfall in the visit to Molineux as Steve Bruce‘s side lost for only the second game in thirteen. Having kept a clean sheet at Stamford Bridge, the Black Cats defenders looked primed for some serious Fantasy investment but the absence of Titus Bramble (and now Michael Turner) at the heart of the back-four has seen them ship five goals in the subsequent two games, as Anton Ferdinand and John Mensah prove less-than-adequate back-up. Darren Bent scored on his second game back after a hamstring injury, as did young Danny Welbeck, for the third game on the trot.
Matthew Etherington may not have supplied any assists for Stoke since Gameweek 7, but his injury-time goal against Man City was his second in succession, as the winger’s performance saw him awarded the 3 Bonus Points. Tony Pulis’ side are now on a four-match unbeaten run and with (wig, BLP) up next, they surely have a decent chance to extend that sequence. The Potters are performing well at the back, too, conceding one goal in their last three matches.
Man City’s emphatic win at Fulham last week was quickly a distant memory, as Roberto Mancini’s side once again struggled for any real fluidity at The Britannia. Mario Balotelli replaced Jo up front and James Milner took Yaya Toure’s place in midfield, but it was Micah Richards, starting at right-back, who grabbed the side’s only goal. This was City’s third draw in four games and perhaps more worryingly for Carlos Tevez owners, he has failed to score in five of his last six City appearances. Tevez has hit double figues four times in Fantasy Premier League (FPL) but, in spite of that, his Fantasy consistency falls victim to City’s tactics time and again. The booking for Tevez yesterday also put him on the suspension tightrope, one yellow card away from a ban.
Everton made three changes to the side that drew with Sunderland last Monday, but in the end were embarrassed at home by West Brom. Yakubu started up front as Louis Saha dropped out, a knee injury to Phil Neville mean Tony Hibbert started at right-back, and the return to fitness of Victor Anichebe seems to be another nail in the Fantasy coffin of young Seamus Coleman. A straight red for Mikel Arteta means he’ll miss the next three games for David Moyes’ side, whose only positive was yet another goal from Tim Cahill.
The Australian has netted four in the last five and his longest run without scoring has been a mere two games this season. Given the current woeful finishing of Jermaine Beckford, Cahill’s Asian Cup absence in the New Year will be a huge blow for the Merseysiders, who have one win in their last six. That’s two home defeats in a row for Moyes’ side, who will be hoping their form on the road makes up for those poor performances at Goodsion Park. However, the next two away trips are at Man City and Chelsea.
West Brom travelled to Goodison with one point from their last five games, but managed to replicate the early season form that saw them win at the Emirates and draw at Old Trafford by clinically putting Everton to the sword. Paul Scharner replaced Pablo Ibanez at centre-half and opened the scoring for Roberto Di Matteo’s men. Talisman Chris Brunt returned after missing last week’s trip to Stoke and grabbed a fantastic free kick and an assist in a line-up that also significantly saw Graham Dorrans start for the visitors. Youssuf Mulumbu’s two yellows means he will miss the club’s next game and on the strength of his performance yesterday, his absence will be sorely missed; the midfielder picked up an assist and all three Bonus Points. Chris Brunt is now also just one booking away from joining him on the suspended list.
Sir Alex Ferguson admitted last midweek that his chopping and changing has been detrimental to Dimitar Berbatov’s form, and the Bulgarian -having not even made the bench last week against Wigan- was joined up front by Wayne Rooney, as Gabriel Obertan and Fedrico Macheda dropped out against Blackburn. Anderson replaced the injured Darren Fletcher in the middle of the park as Rafael Da Silva had another 90 minute outing at right-back, further-suggesting the position is now his to lose.
While Berbatov’s five-goal haul (and subsequent 25 point FPL points) will, quite rightly, grab the headlines, Rooney looked sharp alongside him and Nani -once again- put in a great display that sees the winger become the first player to hit the 100 point mark in FPL this season, as United reached the top spot for the first time this season.
Sam Allardyce must draw a line under Blackburn’s 7-1 mauling at Man United and move on quickly. Luckily for Big Sam, he has the perfect opportunity to do so; one look at Rovers’ next five fixtures (WOL, bol, WHM, STK, wba) shows they have the kindest run of any team over those gameweeks. On-form Morten Gamst Pederson missed out through injury but he was not the only one; Allardyce, in apologising to Blackburn fans for the performance, claimed possibly as many as seven of his first-team were absent. A slight embellishment of the situation, perhaps, but there is no doubt Rovers were not at full strength for their Old Trafford visit. Chris Samba’s consolation meant there was no clean sheet for Man United, though Nemanja Vidic’s Fantasy owners got their six points as a result of the Serb being subbed on on the 63rd minute before Samba struck.
