Scout Scribbles – Welbeck Fires Gunners to Victory

Danny Welbeck grabs a hat-trick and Alexis Sanchez is also in the goals as Arsenal hammer Galatasaray. Liverpool’s toils continue with a 1-0 defeat at FC Basel. West Brom have concerns up front ahead of their trip to Anfield, Tottenham’s right-back problem continues, while Esteban Cambiasso is available for Leicester this weekend after recovering from a knock.

Welbeck Stars in Gunners Rout

The summer signing from Man United fired a hat-trick against Galatasaray as Arsenal recovered from the disappointment of Sunday’s derby draw with Tottenham. Arsene Wenger made a trio of changes for the Champions League clash and drafted Alexis Sanchez back into the starting XI – the Chilean took up the role on the left of the attacking midfield four, with Santi Cazorla, Mesut Ozil and Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain fielded behind Welbeck. Sanchez grabbed a goal and assist before being forced off with an ankle problem, though Wenger reckons the Chilean“should be alright” for the weekend trip to Chelsea.

The Scout Says: Welbeck’s treble merely strengthens his potential after the upcoming international break. A weekend trip to Chelsea is arguably the toughest match in the fixture calendar for attacking returns and few will be willing to immediately draft him in but one look at the fixtures from Gameweek 8 onwards suggests he’ll be on many a radar. Still priced at a bargain 7.2 in the Fantasy Premier League game, he faces Hull, Sunderland, Burnley, Swansea and West Brom in the subsequent six fixtures, and with no competition for the lone forward role, will be strongly fancied to bring home the points. Sanchez’ withdrawal merely continues his frustrating season. Despite scoring in Gameweeks 3 and 4, he’s been benched in the last two but last night’s display looked to have cemented a starting berth until his ankle knock. With Aaron Ramsey sidelined and Theo Walcott not quite ready, finding a reliable route into Wenger’s midfield is proving more problematic than usual.

Reds Fall to Swiss Defeat

Brendan Rodgers drafted in Jose Enrique and Philippe Coutinho for Alberto Moreno and Adam Lallana for Liverpool’s trip to FC Basel. The Merseysiders continued their poor start to the campaign by slipping to a 1-0 defeat, and with back-to-back matches against Real Madrid to follow, their Champions League adventure is already in danger of ending prematurely.

The Scout Says: The post-Suarez hangover shows little sign of abating as Rodgers’ side continue to look a shadow of the side that racked up 100 goals in last year’s league campaign. Clearly, Daniel Sturridge’s pace and movement have also been hugely missed up front – Rodgers handed Mario Balotelli the lone forward role but the Italian seems incapable of turning his new team’s fortunes around. Certainly, the domestic fixtures, at least, remain in the Reds’ favour, but until Sturridge is back on board, our expectations will be understandably muted. Although Raheem Sterling owners will surely be content to hold ahead of matches against West Brom, QPR, Hull and Newcastle in the next four, further investment in Rodgers’ squad looks risky right now.

Baggies Trio Doubtful for Anfield Visit

West Brom boss Alan Irvine rolled out an early injury update yesterday and revealed Victor Anichebe, Silvestre Varela and Brown Ideye all still have question marks over their weekend availability. The Baggies head to Liverpool looking for a third straight win, though while Irvine remains uncertain over record signing Ideye, he played down the seriousness of the problem:

“Brown didn’t train yesterday but he is making progress, he is improving. I am hoping he has a shout for Liverpool. He has rocked his ankle, it isn’t too bad. These things come down to your pain tolerance levels. There are some players you can strap up and will be OK, there are some who take a little bit longer. Nobody can say how much pain he’s feeling and I am certainly not playing down what he has got in the way of injury – but it isn’t something serious. He hasn’t badly damaged his ligaments, he hasn’t broken his ankle, there’s nothing major going on there. He has rocked his ankle – as he scored the goal their defender landed on his standing foot.”

The Scout Says: It’s fair to say the Nigerian has yet to justify the club’s substantial summer outlay on his services. West Brom have yet to score with Ideye on the pitch and have improved significantly in his absence, registering back-to-back wins over Tottenham and Burnley. Saido Berahino has benefitted from Ideye’s injury – previously fielded on the right, he’s been shifted back into the lone forward role and bagged a brace in Sunday’s 4-0 stroll over the Clarets. Indeed, Berahino has now scored four times from four starts through the middle, but with Liverpool, United, Chelsea and Arsenal in the next seven, few will be willing to invest, despite a favourable 5.5 price tag.

Walker Still Sidelined for Spurs

The Tottenham right-back position continues to be up for grabs, with Mauricio Pochettino admitting he’s uncertain when Kyle Walker will return. Speaking to the press ahead of this evening’s Europa League encounter with Besiktas, the Argentine revealed Walker’s progress from a groin problem will determine whether summer signing DeAndre Yedlin will join up with the club in January or June:

“At the moment it is impossible to give you the date. It is a good recovery at the moment. We are happy but it’s impossible to predict the time when he is maybe ready to train with the team and to start to play…It’s not a moment to decide (on Yedlin’s arrival) as we need to wait for Kyle’s evolution and after we decide yes or no. We need to give time for Kyle to recover from his injury. We have time to decide but it’s impossible now to make a decision now.”

The Scout Says: Yet to feature this season, Walker’s absence afforded Eric Dier one of the season’s first bandwagons after the youngster scored twice in the first five Gameweeks. After being beaten at home by West Brom, though, Dier was dropped to the bench for last week’s visit to Arsenal, with Pochettino handing Kyle Naughton his second start of the new campaign. Whilst upcoming clashes with Southampton and Man City are far from straightforward, Tottenham’s fixtures improve considerably in Gameweek 9, and if he can hold onto the starting berth, Naughton, at 4.4, could well be worth considering in the budget bracket.

Pearson Plays Down Injury Fears

The Leicester boss has allayed any fears over the availability of Esteban Cambiasso and Ritchie De Laet ahead of the weekend home match with Burnley. Both were subbed off during the second period of last Saturday’s loss at Palace but are back in training, whilst Pearson has also revealed Matthew Upson is “making progress” from a back problem.

The Scout Says: The Cambiasso news, in particular, will be a welcome relief for Pearson as his side prepare for a very encouraging run of fixtures. The Argentine notched on his home debut in the epic 5-3 win over United and, at 5.0, has three strong home matches (BUR, WBA, SUN) and trips to Newcastle and Swansea to convince us of his Fantasy potential. De Laet has started all of the opening six Gameweeks but has 4.3-priced Danny Simpson vying for contention at right-back – for the moment, Liam Moore (4.0) is the most budget-friendly option at the back, though it remains to be seen whether Pearson will turn to the more experienced Upson (3.9) once he’s finally available for selection.