Scout Notes – Gameweek 27 – Sunday

Daniel Sturridge and Wilfried Bony both bag a brace as Liverpool squeeze past Swansea in a seven-goal thriller at Anfield. Loic Remy returns from suspension to fire Newcastle’s winner against Villa, whilst Robert Snodgrass propels himself onto Fantasy radars by helping Norwich get the better of Spurs:

Sturridge Steals Limelight from Suarez
Boasting a goal or more in every Premier League game since his return to Liverpool’s starting XI, with 31 points in his last two and only three blanks this entire season – Daniel Sturridge is on fire. A 16-point haul against Swansea on Sunday brought his average to almost 11 Fantasy Premier League (FPL) points per game over the last seven Gameweeks, eclipsing Luis Suarez’s returns by some 30 points over the same period. Perhaps he still has some way to go to reach the lofty heights of his ‘SAS’ counterpart’s early season form, but with the Uruguayan failing to breach the five-point barrier in his last four Gameweeks, Sturridge is making his own case for ‘essential’ status and the captaincy armband, while Suarez’s titanic ownership is beginning to slip.

Charitable Liverpool Defence Under Fire
With another three goals shipped at home to strugglers Swansea following the two conceded in their previous outing at Fulham, Liverpool’s defence is looking a far cry from the one which saw them register three consecutive 1-0 wins at the start of the season. Given the Reds’ upcoming blank in Gameweek 29, investment in their rearguard was always looking unlikely. Perhaps the tactic is to invest in opposing sides’ attackers; Southampton and United welcome the Merseyside outfit in Gameweeks 28 and 30 respectively and Liverpool’s defensive frailties will certainly stir up some optimism for owners of the likes of Rickie Lambert and Robin Van Persie with those fixtures in mind.

Bony Bags a Brace on the Road
In scoring a brace against Liverpool, Wilfried Bony registered his first league goals for Swansea outside of Wales since joining from Dutch side Vitesse. With three strikes in his last three games for the Swans, and some long-awaited away goals to his name, confidence will be high ahead of an appealing set of home fixtures which see the Welsh side welcome Crystal Palace, West Brom and Norwich to the Liberty Stadium in their next three home ties. The Ivorian striker seems to flourish with home support, but with Sturridge and Suarez accounting for two of most sides’ desired three forwards, competition is exceptionally high for strikers looking to make that third spot in our attack.

Lively Remy Returns as a Differential
Newcastle went into their mid-table clash with Aston Villa in dreadful form, having blanked in all but one of their league games in 2014. The return of another differential striker, Loic Remy, would be central to any turnabout in attacking form and the Frenchman didn’t disappoint when he coolly despatched the Magpies’ injury time winner. With his seven efforts at goal bettered only by Nikica Jelavic of all strikers for the Gameweek, and some promising fixtures surrounding Newcastle’s Gameweek 29 blank (hul, (blank), ful, CPL, sot), Fantasy managers may see the 8.0-priced Remy as an emerging differential ahead of the season’s run-in.

Snodgrass On the Radar
With a turbulent set of Gameweeks quickly approaching, Fantasy managers will have been delighted to see Robert Snodgrass’s return to FPL form. His match winner and maximum bonus points against Spurs took the Scot’s average to almost six points per Gameweek over his last five appearances, including two goals and an assist, while he placed third in our ICT rankings behind Santi Cazorla and Eden Hazard over the past 6 Gameweeks. The winger, now available at just 5.9 in FPL, faces a trip to Villa Park in Gameweek 28 followed by a home tie against Stoke, offering Fantasy managers an in-form, budget-friendly option as they look for players to fill out their fixture-starved squads.

Norwich Defence Primed for Investment
Chris Hughton’s side maintained their 100% home clean-sheet record for 2014 with a 1-0 victory over Tottenham at Carrow Road on Sunday – a fact made all the more impressive given that Spurs had scored in each of their last 10 consecutive Premier League fixtures. The Canaries have an enviable run of fixtures which place them top of our Season Ticker over the next six Gameweeks (avl, STO, sot, SUN, swa, WBA) and with several options below 4.7 in FPL, including 4.3-priced Martin Olsson, Norwich present an excellent, budget friendly solution for our defences through the blanks and beyond.

Spurs’ Midfield Minefield Faltering
Tottenham manager Tim Sherwood again chose to keep Christian Eriksen on the bench for the full 90 minutes, despite losing Etienne Capoue to an early injury and withdrawing Paulinho just after the hour mark against Norwich. Be it rest, risk or rotation, Nabil Bentaleb is now the only Tottenham midfielder to have played 90 minutes with any real regularity over the past few Gameweeks and with tough fixtures following their home match against Cardiff in Gameweek 28 (che, ARS, SOT, liv), Sherwood’s behaviour looks set to be mirrored by Fantasy managers as the Spurs midfield makes way for more stable investments.