Scout Notes – Gameweek 1 – Saturday

Christian Benteke kicks off his double Gameweek with a brace at the Emirates. Robin Van Persie scores twice as David Moyes opens his United tenure with a win, Seamus Coleman supplies a goal and assist in Everton’s draw at Norwich, Daniel Sturridge opens his account for the season as Liverpool edge past Stoke, Southampton’s defence show their steel at the Hawthorns, while the injury worries pile up for Arsene Wenger to compound a miserable weekend.

Van Persie Quick Off the Mark
It didn’t take him long. For some, 14.0 was a little too steep for last season’s top scorer but Robin Van Persie’s brace at Swansea already has some Fantasy managers working out ways to fit him into their squads. The most popular player in the Fantasy Premier League (FPL) game, the Dutchman was also the most captained option heading into Gameweek 1 – despite Chelsea and Villa’s double. A two-point bonus haul means he opened the season with 12 points to his name and with the transfers in already picking up, a hike in price looks on the cards; non-owners will be hoping upcoming games against Chelsea and Liverpool temper his goal-getting form before perhaps re-assessing the situation in Gameweek 4.

In a surprise turn of events, Van Persie was outshone by Danny Welbeck in last night’s win at the Liberty. Retaining the support role behind the Dutchman again, Welbeck (7.5 in FPL) also found the net twice and has, incredibly, already doubled his tally for the previous campaign. While his performance was impressive, any would-be suitors may be wary after Wayne Rooney climbed off the bench to supply a pair of assists; if the latter gets his mooted move to Chelsea, though, Welbeck may be a viable proposition if he can hold off the challenge of Shinji Kagawa.

Laudrup Rotates The Troops
Perhaps he had one eye on Thursday’s Europa League game against Petrolul Ploiesti. Alternatively, it may have been down to Wilfried Bony’s late arrival back from international duties after Ivory Coast faced Mexico in New Jersey in the early hours of Thursday morning. Either way, Michael Laudrup’s decision to field Michu as the lone forward role and shift Jonjo Shelvey into “hole”, with his summer signing rested to the bench, backfired against the champions. On as a sub at the break, Bony grabbed the Swans’ consolation to highlight his eye for goal but Laudrup’s rotation will cause concern for Fantasy managers – more so, perhaps, if the Welsh side make the Europa League group stages, as he utilises the depth of his squad over all competitions.

Sharp Sturridge Proves His Fitness
There were concerns over whether he would last the full 90 minutes against Stoke after being sidelined for virtually all the summer. Daniel Sturridge not only played from start to finish, he once again proved the Reds’ goal hero with a stunning long range effort enough to earn the points. The narrow margin of victory was mainly down to Asmir Begovic’s heroics for the visitors – Sturridge’s owners will be quietly content with his opening day strike in what was a display brimming with attacking menace from the hosts. Intriguingly, a change of formation proved beneficial to Iago Aspas. The Spaniard was expected to start on the right of a 4-3-3 but Brendan Rodgers switched to 4-2-3-1 and brought Jordan Henderson in to cover the flank, allowing Aspas to shift to “the hole” behind Sturridge – as a result, the summer signing supplied the assist for the Reds’ goal.

Mignolet Saves the Reds
Having racked up 16 clean sheets under Rodgers last time out, Liverpool’ were quick off the mark once again. Up against a Potters side that scored just 13 goals on the road last season, the Reds have Simon Mignolet to thank after the Belgian marked his debut with a last-ditch spot-kick to deny Jon Walters – at 5.5 in Fantasy Premier League (FPL), the summer signing is already the most popular keeper with over 27.1% ownership. Yesterday’s exploits is likely to see him rise further, though with a trip to in-form Villa and home game against United up next, many may hold fire until after the international break.

Benteke at the Double
Having won each of their last four pre-season fixtures, Villa arrived at the Emirates in confident mood. With seven strikes over five summer appearances, Christian Benteke had served notice of his form ahead of the double Gameweek and the Belgian carried on the relentless displays that produced 14 goals in his last 17 matches of 2012/13 by grabbing a couple of goals against Arsene Wenger’s side – despite missing a second-half spot-kick. Although both were registered from spot-kicks, Benteke will take early confidence from the strikes and Villa, as an attacking force, already look buoyant. The Belgian showed last term he was more than capable of racking up the goals in spite of his side’s struggles – if Villa can push on from yesterday’s display, he could easily rack up 20+ goals this time out, more than justifying his 9.0 starting value.

Villa’s victory would have surely delighted Paul Lambert who singled out Gabby Agbonlahor for praise:

“The way he [Agbonlahor] performed at the end of the last season allied to how he started this season, if he keeps that up I think he’s definitely worth a shout for maybe the England squad. I’m not telling Roy Hodgson how to do his job but it’s as good as I have seen him play.”

The only downside for Villa was the ankle injury sustained by Nathan Baker. The 4.0 million priced defender is owned by 20% of FPL managers and will be assessed prior to the midweek trip to Stamford Bridge.

Injury Worries Pile Up for Gunners
Arsene Wenger’s side went into the Gameweek without Mikel Arteta, Thomas Vermaelen and Nacho Monreal, while Santi Cazorla only made the bench after a lack of pre-season allied with a late flight from Ecuador with Spain late in the week. The Gunners were dealt a blow midway through the second period after Laurent Koscielny was dismissed for two yellows – he will now sit out the trip to Fulham – and after the game, Wenger revealed he had further issues in defence, with concerns over his first-choice full-backs after both Bacary Sagna and Kieran Gibbs were withdrawn against Villa. When asked to comment on injuries, the Arsenal boss also listed a trio of midfielders as potential problems ahead of Wednesday’s trip to Fenerbahce – with an away game at Fulham and north London derby at home to Spurs on the horizon, the problems are quickly racking up:

“Oxlade-Chamberlain, Gibbs, Sagna. Gibbs has a deep cut. Sagna and Rosicky have problems. Wilshere – I don’t know how he will respond after the full 90 minutes. Ramsey has a problem after a kick at his ankle. On that front, we have done quite well.”

Coleman Cuts the Mustard
The Everton right-back had found himself in many a pre-season squad around these parts, with a potential move to midfield in light of Roberto Martinez’s arrival boosting his appeal. While the Toffees boss still seems reluctant to roll out a 3-4-3, Coleman nevertheless managed to deliver from his berth on the right of the back-four by grabbing a goal and assist at Carrow Road. Granted, Martinez’s attacking approach may initially see clean sheets hard to come by but Coleman’s right flank raids already look key; priced at 5.0 in FPL (compared to Leighton Baines’ 7.5), the bandwagon is firmly up and running.

Barkley On the Radar
With Darron Gibson failing to recover from a knee problem, the youngster was handed the chance to impress in a three-man central midfield alongside Marouane Fellaini and Leon Osman. In terms of Fantasy interest, most of the Everton midfield attention was on Kevin Mirallas after the Belgian scored four times in pre-season but he was hauled off after 70 minutes without picking up any returns. Instead, the plaudits went to Barkley after he grabbed the visitors’ first in a 2-2 draw – at 4.5 in FPL, he’s already picked up early investment as managers look for a cut-price midfielder but it remains to be seen if he can hold down a starting berth upon Gibson’s return.

Roberto Martinez was full of praise for Barkley in his post-match comments but underlined the 19-year-olds inexperience, a factor that will cast doubt over his security of start…

“I have seen throughout pre-season that he [Barkley] is ready to help the team. Many people will speak about the quality of his goal but that’s what he does all the time in training. But I am more impressed with his overall contribution to the team. His performance was full of understanding, full of hard work and the goal fitted with that performance. It is raw talent and we need to keep helping him.”

Whittaker Stakes a Claim
Chris Hughton’s decision not to risk Seb Bassong at centre-half caused a defensive reshuffle for the Canaries. Regular right-back Russell Martin showed his versatility by slotting in alongside Michael Turner at the heart of the back-four, affording Steven Whittaker the chance of a start – the Scot grabbed his chance with both hands after producing a goal and assist against Martinez’s side. Favourably priced across the Fantasy games, Whittaker’s display will no doubt be targeted by some early wildcarders but Bassong looks near to a comeback after completing 60 minutes for the reserves last Monday, with Martin still seeming the likeliest to nail down the role on the right.

Elsewhere for the Canaries, Robert Snodgrass’ owners were dealt a blow after the playmaker picked up a groin problem prior to the match. A 6.5 starting price in FPL has seen over 17% managers acquire the Scot – the fifth most popular midfielder in the game – but with his manager confirming he was “touch and go” for yesterday’s match, a quick return to action is anticipated.

Ruiz Warms the Cottagers’ Bench
With new loan signing Darren Bent only fit enough for the bench, many expected Martin Jol to continue with his regular front pairing of Bryan Ruiz and Dimitar Berbatov for the trip to Sunderland. The Costa Rican was surprisingly omitted from the Fulham XI as Jol made the unexpected decision of handing Pajtim Kasami the role in “the hole” behind the Bulgarian and the former vindicated his manager’s decision by heading home the only goal of the game. Similar to Barkley, Kasami also comes in at just 4.5 in FPL but question marks must surely be raised over the likelihood of him nailing down a regular role – the expectation is for Berbatov to drop deep behind Bent, with Ruiz and Adel Taarabt taking up the flank roles.

The victory was somewhat soured by a couple of injury problems at the back for Fulham, though. Kieran Richardson lasted less than 20 minutes before pulling up with a leg complaint, while new keeper Maarten Stekelenburg was forced off in the second period due to a shoulder injury – any potential time off for the Dutchman will bring David Stockdale into contention as a budget option between the sticks.

Saints Defensive Resilience
While Rickie Lambert hogged the headlines for the second time in the last few days with a last-gasp spot-kick winner, the Southampton defence continued from where they left off last time out. Despite missing Nathaniel Clyne and Maya Yoshida at the back, Mauricio Pochettino’s side maintained the resilience which saw them concede just nine times in the last 10 Gameweeks of 2012/13 – with four favourable home games (SUN, WHM, CPL, SWA) and a trip to Norwich in the next six Gameweeks, the likes of Artur Boruc and Luke Shaw (both 4.5) are bound to pick up some extra suitors after their weekend displays, with the latter returning 12 points courtesy of an assist and maximum bonus points.

Clyne was fit enough for the bench but saw 18-year-old Callum Chambers convince at right-back. However, despite the display, Pochettino hinted post-match that Clyne would seem likely to earn a recall for the Sunderland encounter next weekend:

“Chambers has adapted perfectly well to the squad but, at the same time, he is a young player so, in my experience we have to careful, we have to be cautious with young players…we need to be cautious with his progression.”

Hammers Midfield in the Points
Ahead of the home opener with Cardiff, much of the pre-season hype had surrounded Ravel Morrison after the youngster netted six times over the summer. The former United man was nowhere to be seen, though, as Sam Allardyce opted for Mark Noble and Momo Diarra alongside Kevin Nolan in the middle of the park, while Matt Jarvis and Joe Cole patrolled the flanks as new boy Stewart Downing made a late appearance from the bench. Having signed off with a hat-trick against Reading in the final match of the previous campaign, Nolan got off the mark yesterday by netting with 15 minutes remaining, while Cole was also in the goals – with Jarvis and Noble picking up an assist apiece, Allardyce’s side overcame the absence of Andy Carroll to register a comfortable win. The Morrison bandwagon, albeit brief, looks already derailed while Downing may need to wait his turn to earn a starting berth in light of yesterday’s display.