Scout Mission – Gameweek 29

There may only be five fixtures on the weekend agenda but, as always, there’s plenty for us to keep an eye on. United’s frustrated front man, the fitness of Fulham’s new Greek acquisition, the Stoke defence and the game time of a trio of midfield options will be keenly under observation:

Van Persie’s Performance
The popular belief is that the Dutchman is feeling fidgety. Certainly his post-match comments following the defeat to Olympiacos were not the words of a content striker – Van Persie venting his frustration and citing tactical naiveties as the cause behind his current inability to win matches for United. Fantasy managers have, somewhat reluctantly, been drawn to David Moyes’ charges this week due to their double fixture in Gameweek 31, with Van Persie currently sitting second in our Captain Poll. It remains to be seen if he can repay that faith with a Hawthorns points haul, though; we’ll be watching his level of performance and body language with great interest.

The Mitroglou Mystery
Konstantinos Mitroglou arrived at Craven Cottage in the form of his life, having scored 17 goals in 19 appearances for Olympiacos. With Fulham struggling to plug the gaps in defence, the Greek hitman looked key to their survival hopes by providing a cutting edge at the other end. Strangely, however, we’re yet to see him start a match. Felix Magath handed Mitroglou a debut from the bench against West Brom but, a week later, declared him unfit to feature against Chelsea. Later, the Fulham boss was to suggest that the Greek was already struggling to adapt to Premier League demands, hinting he was not yet up to speed with his new defensive responsibilities. So, is Mitroglou fit and available or is there more to this situation? His appearance for Greece last night would suggest the latter. Fulham fans will certainly be keen to see their would-be saviour unleashed on a leaky Cardiff defence, while Fantasy managers have yet to see if Mitroglou can emerge as an unlikely end of season differential.

Zaha’s Return to Bluebirds’ Lineup
A shift to 3-5-2 saw Wilfried Zaha excluded from Cardiff’s starting lineup at Spurs last weekend. Ole Gunnar Solskjaer has already revealed his “horses for courses” approach to team selection and while that may see the United loanee make way for tough away trips, he’ll surely be expected to earn a recall at home to Fulham – a must-win game for Solskjaer. Identified as a key figure only this week, the Bluebirds’ boss will likely look to Zaha to provide the spark – the moment of brilliance to light up what could be an edgy affair, littered with misplaced passes and defensive mishaps. Fantasy managers will be watching and waiting for an explosion of points from the winger – something to suggest he could yet figure in our seasons.

Puncheon’s Pitch Time
Charged and fined by the FA this week for comments made against Neil Warnock on Twitter, the Palace winger was strangely omitted from the match day squad for last weekend’s trip to Swansea. Tony Pulis reportedly indicated that the winger was rested – a strange decision given that Puncheon had looked by far Palace’s most threatening player in recent weeks. It remains to be seen if Pulis hands Puncheon a recall now that the FA charge is resolved. His absence against former club Southampton this weekend would suggest that there has been off-field issues that would force Puncheon’s Fantasy owners to plan an exit route.

The Canaries Recovery
Thrashed by the brute force and ruthless finishing of Christian Benteke, a bruised Norwich City will take to the Carrow Road turf to face Stoke in a must-win encounter. The pressure on Chris Hughton will be immense and he’ll be looking to an improved performance from a defence that has kept four consecutive clean sheets at home. Fantasy managers will have invested this week in the hope that the rearguard can recover, whilst Robert Snodgrass returned to training today after recovering from a wrist injury and will be expected to provide the creativity and dead-ball delivery to put Stoke to the sword.

Stoke’s Potential Without Adam
The loss of Charlie Adam to a three-match ban will sting the Potters and threatens to derail a recent recovery which has seen Mark Hughes’ men climb to giddy mid-table heights. Adam’s absence won’t be a major concern to us given that Fantasy managers are now unlikely to consider their attacking assets – it’s the defence that interests us. Stoke have some favourable fixtures to come, including a run of Britannia matches that offer strong potential for defensive returns. We’ll be watching to see how the rearguard repels a determined Norwich, with an eye on investment in the month ahead.

Eriksen’s Return and the 4-5-1
Ruled out with a back problem against Cardiff, Christian Eriksen could well return to the starting lineup at Stamford Bridge with Tim Sherwood expected to shift to a 4-5-1 against the league leaders. It’s a tricky scenario for the Spurs boss who will be reluctant to drop Roberto Soldado to the bench but, at the same time, mindful that Chelsea could dominate midfield areas. A like-for-like approach would seem sensible and, in Emmanuel Adebayor, Sherwood has a striker who can lead the line having scored superbly on his last trip to the Bridge.