Scout Notes – Gameweek 1 – Wednesday

It was a tale of two Belgian forwards last night as Chelsea edged out Villa at the Bridge. Christian Benteke notched his third goal of Gameweek 1, while compatriot Romelu Lukaku was benched once again as Jose Mourinho opted for Demba Ba up front. Frank Lampard and Oscar proved decent midfield differentials to Eden Hazard, in spite of the latter’s somewhat contentious assist award for Chelsea’s opener.

Benteke Is Untoppable
In retrospect, many will argue he was an obvious choice for our three-man frontlines. Despite the tricky away trips to Arsenal and Chelsea, there was never any doubt Christian Benteke would be afforded starts in each of Villa’s matches – the same could hardly be said for the Blues’ attacking options. Having finished the previous season with 14 goals in his last 17 appearances, Benteke warmed up for the 2013/14 campaign by firing seven strikes over five matches in the summer; a deadly double against Arsenal on Saturday was followed by yet another goal last night as he maintained an outstanding scoring record that has many Fantasy managers frantically scrambling to acquire his services. Up next, a home game against Liverpool will hardly deter Benteke after he bullied Brendan Rodgers’ backline into submission last time around, and despite the blank Gameweek 3 just around the corner, the tide of investment is picking up speed, with a price rise in the Fantasy Premier League (FPL) looking imminent.

Lukaku On Bench Duties Again
Surely, we thought, he’d be guaranteed a start against Villa last night. Having been dropped to the bench for the weekend clash against Hull, Romelu Lukaku was hotly-tipped to return to the first XI as the midlanders rolled up to the Bridge. Having scored five goals across the summer, the Belgian was by far Chelsea’s in-form player yet he seems to be unable to convince Jose Mourinho of his worth, with Demba Ba surprisingly getting the nod this time around. With the Chelsea boss still in hot pursuit of Wayne Rooney, Lukaku’s game time is clearly under huge threat, just a couple of fixtures into the season. Certainly, a trip to United and blank Gameweek 3 makes the decision to sell a relatively straightforward one but, given his barnstorming displays for West Brom last term, it’s somewhat disappointing that we could be deprived of the Belgian as a legitimate Fantasy option.

After the game, Mourinho discussed the situation up front and also gave Juan Mata’s Fantasy owners a heads-up by admitting the Spaniard is not yet fit enough to last an entire match, after only just recovering from a minor thigh problem:

“Sometimes you can have two strikers on the bench but this game I needed a different balance on the bench because I may have to play Azpilicueta because he is very fast, maybe I need Mikel’s experience, I needed options in wingers and I know Mata cannot play for 90 minutes at this moment. I try to give my three strikers time on the pitch and this time Fernando stayed out but Lukaku can say he is the only one that hasn’t started a game.”

Ivanovic Repays the Faith
The Serbian entered the Gameweek as the most popular defender in the Fantasy Premier League (FPL) game, with over 28% of managers snapping him up ahead of the double. Ivanovic served notice of his attacking potential in Sunday’s clash against Hull, registering three efforts on goal from inside the box – while he drew a weekend blank, the Chelsea right-back more than atoned last night by heading home the match-winner to break Villa’s resolve. His aerial ability already looks key to the Blues’ set-pieces and corners over the season and could easily see him replicate last term’s five-goal haul – many owners will even be considering handing him a starting role at Old Trafford on Monday evening, given the attacking threat on show so far.

Villa’s Able Supporting Cast
As mentioned in our Villa Scouting the Doubles piece, Gabby Agbonlahor had finished the previous season strongly – six goals and three assists over his final nine appearances, yet Benteke’s endeavours ensured he received little attention heading into the pair of fixtures. Less than 2% of FPL managers took a punt on the 7.0 priced forward but, with an assist in each of the trips to Arsenal and Chelsea, he is clearly thriving on the left of Paul Lambert’s front three: his pace on the flank looks vital to Villa’s counter-attacking style away from home. With Andreas Weimann chipping in with an assist over the two games and missing numerous opportunities to score, it’s apparent that Benteke won’t be the only Villa frontline option picking up points over the campaign.

Blues Midfield Options
Ahead of the double, Eden Hazard was head and shoulders above any option in our Captain Poll but the Belgian struggled to repay the show of faith and stumbled to an eight-point haul. Hazard’s initial shot was saved by Brad Guzan but rebounded off Antonio Luna into the Villa net to earn him a dubious, and somewhat belated, assist, though he still found himself behind Frank Lampard and Oscar, who both registered 13 points apiece. While Mourinho rolled out the same back-four and keeper in each of the two matches, further up the field there are real rotation issues for Fantasy managers. The Blues boss gave eight midfielders game time over Gameweek 1; a clear indication of the problems we may have as the season unfolds as the Chelsea manager attempts to keep all of his squad involved ahead of next year’s World Cup.

In Other News
Arsenal’s injury worries eased for the trip to Fenerbahce last night after Kieran Gibbs and Bacary Sagna recovered from the problems that forced them both off against Villa at the weekend. Tomas Rosicky also shrugged off a knock to start in Turkey as the Gunners registered a superb 3-0 away win in the first-leg of their Champions League play-off match. Gibbs, Aaron Ramsey and Olivier Giroud grabbed the goals for the visitors, while Theo Walcott provided a pair of assists – intriguingly, Giroud seems to be on spot-kick duties in the absence of Mikel Arteta, after he slotted home the third following a foul on Walcott in the box. Laurent Koscielny was subbed off with a cut eye after receiving a kick to the face but is suspended for the weekend trip to Fulham; Sagna is expected to move to centre-half, with Carl Jenkinson covering at right-back.

Post-match, Arsene Wenger had plenty to say. The Gunners boss conceded his side now have “no chance” of signing Luis Suarez and also gave an update on Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain’s knee injury, admitting the youngster is out for “six to 12 weeks”. Wenger also revealed Koscielny’s head wound could be potentially worrying:

“Laurent Kosielny’s [injury] has opened very deeply the skull and we had to take him to hospital. I was not happy with the kick because I feel always that you can ease a bit off. Only the player in the end will know what he did. We are concerned because we had to send him to hospital to see if he has not broken a bone. We are waiting for him to come back now. We are waiting for information to find out if he can fly home with us.”

Jan Vertonghen and Aaron Lennon have both been omitted from the Tottenham squad which faces Dinamo Tblisi in the Europa League play-off first-leg game this evening. Fantasy owners will be relieved, however, after Andre Villas-Boas revealed their absence is merely precautionary, with both set to be available for Sunday’s home showdown against Swansea:

“With Jan, bearing in mind his injury in Asia, we decided to leave him out to have a full recovery and treatment on the ankle. We’ve decided it would be difficult for him to complete both matches, Dinamo Tbilisi on Thursday and Swansea on Sunday. Aaron Lennon has been complaining of pain in his foot. He was okay for the game against Palace and will be okay for the game against Swansea. It’s one of those situations where rest is vital for the recovery.”

Swansea also have a couple of concerns ahead of their own Europa League game tonight. Nathan Dyer has been ruled out with a hamstring injury sustained towards the end of Saturday’s home defeat by United, while Jonathan de Guzman may miss out once again as he recovers from the head wound picked up during training for Holland last week. Michael Laudrup has admitted question marks still hang over the Dutchman’s availability, though the midfielder is optimistic he will be ready for the weekend trip to Spurs if he fails to make it in time for tonight’s showdown.