Scout Notes – Gameweek 26 – Wednesday

Daniel Sturridge grabs a goal and two assists as Luis Suarez has an off day at Fulham. Emmanuel Adebayor plunders the points against a porous Newcastle. Arsenal’s backline remain defiant in a goalless home draw with United, whilst Peter Crouch notches in Stoke’s home draw with Swansea in a night that saw the weather conditions decimate many Fantasy teams:

Sturridge Outscores Suarez Yet Again as Reds Edge Past Fulham
The Uruguayan drew a blank for the first time since Gameweek 18 at City in Liverpool’s 3-2 win at Craven Cottage. Worryingly, Suarez has now scored just once in the last five Gameweeks – coinciding with a return to action for Daniel Sturridge, whose comeback from an ankle injury has had a hugely detrimental effect on his fellow forward. With Sturridge on the sidelines between Gameweek 13-20, Suarez scored or assisted 18 of the Merseysiders’ 22 goals – since the former Chelsea man’s return, the South American has had a hand in seven of their 20 strikes. Sturridge’s goal and pair of assists and subsequent maximum bonus means he has now outscored Suarez by 59 points to 40 since his return and, whilst few will be willing to part company with the latter, the case for captaining Sturridge grows stronger by the Gameweek.

Gerrard’s Relentless Consistency
The Reds skipper is up to fourth in the midfielder standings after supplementing an assist with a late spot-kick winner. After drawing blanks in the first six Gameweeks, Gerrard has embarked on a run of remarkably consistent Fantasy performances, with a goal or assist in 14 of his last 17 appearances – bizarrely, perhaps due to the fear of overloading on Liverpool players, with many acquiring Suarez and/or Sturridge, Gerrard’s current price of 8.9 is less than his initial starting cost of 9.0. With an ownership under 9%, he looks a strong differential route into Brendan Rodgers’ free-scoring side for those looking to load up on the Merseysiders.

Richardson in the Points as Cottagers Put Up a Fight
Having scored twice at Old Trafford on Sunday afternoon, Fulham once again suggested they are on the rise as an attacking force under Rene Meulensteen. The Cottagers boss named 10 of the same starting XI as the Dutchman looks to roll out a more dynamic side and watched on as Kieran Richardson proved an unlikely goal hero by scoring once and providing an assist in the 3-2 defeat. Few real positives can be taken from another defeat but, given that Fulham had scored three times in six prior to the United match, they may well be ones to watch ahead of games against West Brom, Cardiff and Newcastle in the next four.

Adebayor Runs Riot Against Sorry Magpies
Handed the lone forward role as Spurs went 4-1-4-1 at St James’ Park, the Togo international tore Newcastle apart with yet another devastating forward display. Adebayor’s brace, allied with the maximum bonus, means he has now served up eight goals and four assists over 10 appearances under Tim Sherwood – his average of 7.7 points per game since the departure of Andre Villas-Boas is now on a par with Sergio Aguero’s season average. Despite a price tag of 8.0, he remains in just 10% of Fantasy Premier League (FPL) teams, but with a run of consistency that has harvested points in seven of those 10 matches, he can expect further investment ahead of games against Norwich and Cardiff – the latter match comes in Gameweek 28, when the likes of City are facing a blank.

Midfield Options Increasing for Tottenham
Whilst Christian Eriksen dropped to the bench for last night’s match, Paulinho turned in another strong performance for the north London side to stake a claim for our consideration. The 6.6-priced Brazilian struck for the second time in three appearances since returning from injury – under four matches for Sherwood, he’s already equalled his tally over 16 league appearances for Villas-Boas. Nabil Bentaleb, at 4.5, has now played every minute of the last six and looks a secure budget option – the youngster chipped in with a pair of assists in the Magpies rout, whilst Nacer Chadli emerged from the bench to throw his hat in the ring for a starting berth by bagging his side’s fourth and his first league goal for the club.

Newcastle in Freefall
The Tyneside team already seem to be stuck in limbo, with no fear of relegation and little chance of European spots to fight for. Last night’s 4-0 thrashing means Alan Pardew’s side have now drawn blanks in seven of their last eight matches – a malaise that stretches back beyond Yohan Cabaye’s departure and Loic Remy’s suspension. With the latter now having completed his three-match ban, Newcastle will be a little more optimistic heading into a run of fixtures which sees them play Villa, Hull, Fulham and Palace in the next five but, with morale plummeting and the defence leaking 10 goals in three games (compared to 10 against in the previous 10), few will be willing to invest in the Magpies on current form.

Hernandez Produces Again to Earn Swansea Draw
The Spaniard picked up an assist to earn the Swans a draw on a blustery night at the Britannia. Having been handed a start by Garry Monk at the expense of Jonathon De Guzman, the 5.6-priced winger’s cross for Chico Flores’ headed goal was his third assist in the last two games, and may well hint at a return to the form that earned him an early season bandwagon. Meanwhile, Flores’ goal, cancelling out Peter Crouch’s 17th minute opener, was his second in his last four games, and with a clean sheet and six bonus points also accrued in that time, the Swans’ top scoring defender is beginning to emerge as a feasible differential for our five-man backlines. However, with trips to Liverpool and Arsenal coming up for the South Wales team in their next three, managers should bear in mind that investment in Hernandez or Flores comes with a significant risk.

Defences on Top in Emirates Stalemate
A goalless draw in last night’s headline fixture saw both Arsenal and Manchester United’s defensive assets plunder the points. In a game which saw the likes of Olivier Giroud and Robin van Persie fail to make any sort of impact for their sides, the Fantasy returns were left to both team’s defences, with the home side’s rear-guard faring the better thanks to their superior BPS rankings. Whilst last night’s clean sheet saw Per Mertesacker overtake John Terry into second position for defenders in FPL, it was his partner at centre back who once again proved himself a bonus points darling. Laurent Koscielny, at 0.9 cheaper than Mertesacker, has accumulated nine bonus points in his last seven fixtures, compared to the big German’s comparatively modest total of three, and managers eyeing up a route into the Premier League’s tightest backline will now surely look to the Frenchman as their favoured choice – the Gunners have home games with Sunderland and Swansea, with a trip to Stoke in between, before the schedule take a turn for the worse.