Scout Notes – Boxing Day

A cast of big-hitters deliver the points in a Boxing Day Bonanza. Wayne Rooney grabs two goals and an assist for Man United, whilst Diego Costa, Alexis Sanchez and David Silva all serve up a goal and assist apiece. Yaya Toure, Raheem Sterling and Gylfi Sigurdsson also find the net, whilst budget duo Charlie Austin and Harry Kane maintain their fine festive form.

Rooney Steers United to Magpies Win

Utilised once again in central midfield, the United skipper turned in a performance which suggests we may have been a little premature in writing off his prospects. Rooney played a part in all three of the hosts’ goals against Newcastle, notching twice before teeing up Robin van Persie for the third – he’s now racked up five goals and two assists in his last six ahead of back-to-back road trips to Spurs and Stoke.

With Angel Di Maria ruled out through an injury sustained in training, Juan Mata earned another start and picked up an assist in the 3-1 win, whilst Radamel Falcao also chipped in with an assist as Louis van Gaal’s main attacking threats all delivered. Van Gaal is awaiting further prognosis on the Argentine, who picked up a pelvic problem during the club’s final training session, with another period of absence likely to cement Mata’s role in the XI.

Cisse Spoils the Red Devils’ Shut-Out

United welcomed Newcastle on the back of a defensive record which had seen them concede just once in the previous four at Old Trafford. Once again, though, Papiss Cisse showed that, despite being afforded limited minutes by Alan Pardew, he is still a force to be reckoned with. Emerging from the bench in the second-half, his late spot-kick consolation took the Senegal striker’s tally to eight for the season in just 564 minutes. Pardew still has reservations over the striker’s knee injury, however, and seems reluctant to extend his pitch time for fears of another long-term absence.

Ramirez Key for Tigers

Handed a second successive start in the support role behind a lone striker, the Hull midfielder was instrumental in earning his side a much-need win at Sunderland. With the Tigers having scored just twice in the previous nine, Steve Bruce started with both Nikica Jelavic and Abel Hernandez on the bench as Ramirez tucked in behind Sone Aluko. The Uruguayan’s goal and assist helped Hull to their first victory since Gameweek 7, and with the likes of Leicester, West Brom and Newcastle in the next five, Ramirez, at 5.4 in the Fantasy Premier League (FPL) game, has the fixtures to strengthen his budget appeal.

Johnson Strike Not Enough for Sunderland

Whilst the Black Cats defence let down a number of new investors after shipping three at home to Hull, their in-form winger maintained his recent resurgence. Buoyed by last week’s winner at local rivals Newcastle, Johnson took his tally to two goals and an assist in three by firing the Wearsiders’ opener yesterday afternoon – with three road trips in their next four (avl, mcy, LIV, tot), however, few will be willing to invest in an attack that has scored once in their previous trio of away matches.

Siggy Back in the Points

Omitted from last week’s win over Hull, the Swansea playmaker was transferred out by over 155,000 FPL managers and dropped 0.2 in price prior to a home encounter with Villa. It’s fair to say that Sigurdsson’s recent output has been far from convincing, though; he’d collected just one assist in his previous five matches before returning to form with a stunning set-piece strike to help seal a 1-0 win over Villa.

Nonetheless, his 44% owners will be concerned by back-to-back trips to Liverpool and QPR, bearing in mind he hasn’t managed a goal or assist on his travels since Gameweek 1. With showdowns against West Ham and Chelsea following on from their Loftus Road trip, the short-term fixtures still look testing, whilst Wilfried Bony’s imminent departure for the Africa Cup of Nations also looks set to test Garry Monk’s attacking options.

Silva Dazzles in False Nine

The champions continued their superb winter form by racking up a seventh straight league win at West Brom yesterday. David Silva was again the chief tormentor for Man City – having bagged a brace in the weekend win over Palace, he served up a goal and assist before Manuel Pellegrini made the smart move of protecting his playmaker by replacing him just after the hour mark. Snapped up by over 126,000 FPL managers last week, Silva now has back-to-back home clashes with Burnley and Sunderland over the next five days to weave his magic once more.

Elsewhere for City, Yaya Toure owners were treated to another converted penalty as the Ivorian continues to prosper from dead-ball duties in the absence of Sergio Aguero. Whilst the likes of Fernando and Jesus Navas earned attacking returns, Samir Nasri failed to deliver – he hasn’t played a part in any of City’s six goals since they moved to a false nine system. Post-match, Pellegrini confirmed Silva and Toure were withdrawn early to afford both a rest ahead of the busy schedule. He also confirmed that Stevan Jovetic could make a return to the starting XI for Sunday’s Etihad meeting with Burnley having been fit enough to make the bench at Hawthorns.

At the back, Pellegrini’s rotation policy proved frustrating for Pablo Zabaleta’s raft of new owners. The Argentine and Aleksandar Kolarov were replaced by Bacary Sagna and Gael Clichy for the Baggies clash, though a late strike from Brown Ideye denied the champions a fourth consecutive shut-out. Zabaleta owners will at least be far more confident of a start at home to Burnley on Sunday, as the right-back looks to carry on the form that has produced a goal and assist in his last three.

Sanchez the Hero as Giroud Sees Red

The Chilean turned from villain from hero as Arsenal overcame QPR in the final match of the Gameweek. After his feeble first-half spot-kick was repelled by Rob Green, Sanchez recovered to grab a goal and assist in the 2-1 win, thus vindicating his spot at the top of our Gameweek 18 Captain Poll.

Friday’s events offered further encouragement for Sanchez, after Olivier Giroud was dismissed for violent conduct. The Frenchman will miss the next two Gameweeks and the upcoming FA Cup clash with Hull, suggesting Arsene Wenger will be forced into a reshuffle up front – Sanchez owners will be hoping he can reprise a central role once again for testing trips to West Ham and Southampton. Post-match, Wenger confirmed that the Chilean was meant to be behind Santi Cazorla in the penalty pecking order and, after yesterday’s effort, he seems unlikely to be stepping up from the spot anytime soon.

Austin’s Exploits Continue

Snapped up by over 185,000 FPL managers last week, the R’s top scorer netted his twelfth of the season with a converted penalty at the Emirates. Austin has now scored or assisted 13 of his side’s last 16 league goals and is set for a run of fixtures which brings him three home matches (CPL, SWA, MUN) and a trip to Burnley in the next four. Bearing in mind that Harry Redknapp’s side have scored at least twice in each of their last seven at Loftus Road, that upcoming schedule looks very promising.

Costa Comes Good as Chelsea Ease Past Hammers

Having struck just once in his last four starts, Diego Costa returned to the scoresheet and claimed the assist for Chelsea’s opener on his way to two FPL bonus points. These were Costa’s first bonus points since Gameweek 11 and it was his first double-figure haul since Gameweek 4. While Costa suffered an ownership loss going into the Gameweek, he has now scored 13 goals in 15 league starts; a level of consistency that has him established as second in the FPL forward rankings. Elsewhere, Eden Hazard failed to score at the Bridge for the first time in five home league matches, providing a single assist to compensate his owners. The Belgian now faces three away trips in the next four Gameweeks, having claimed just three assists on the road all season.

John Terry was, once again, Chelsea’s other key man, prodding Chelsea in front and claiming yet another clean sheet. The Chelsea skipper has claimed two goals, three clean sheets and seven bonus points in the last three Gameweeks, tallying a total of 37 points over those matches. Terry now joins Branislav Ivanovic on 86 points with the pair ranked joint-second with Nathaniel Clyne in the FPL defender rankings. Jose Mourinho’s defence has kept six clean sheets in their last seven, conceding just two goals in that run. While that record will inevitably tempt investment in Terry and his defensive team-mates, the Blues have back-to-back trips to Southampton and Spurs – both sides who have rekindled strong form of late.

Big Sam Preserves Song and Sakho

The Hammers suffered a first league defeat since Gameweek 11 and, while threatening for spells, they were largely second best to the league leaders. Sam Allardyce made two notable omissions from his team sheet, resting both Alex Song and Diafra Sakho to the bench. Post-match, the Hammers boss stated that he had concerns over both players in the light of recent injuries:

“Alex has just got back from a problem with his knee and Sakho a problem with his back, so two games in that short space of time would have been very difficult. I’m sure they’d have played very well today, but come picking them on Sunday, it might have been very difficult when we considered how they felt.”

This would indicate that both Song and Sakho will return to the starting XI for Sunday’s visit of Arsenal. However, it remains to be seen if Allardyce considers them for a further rest ahead of the Gameweek 20 encounter with West Brom three days later. That could be Sakho’s last appearance for the Hammers before he departs for the Africa Cup of Nations with Senegal. Song, however, has been omitted from Cameroon’s provisional squad.

Sterling Provides Pool Cutting Edge

Deployed in the central striker role once again, Raheem Sterling notched his first league goal since Gameweek 5 at Burnley – matching his 10-point from that Gameweek. Sterling provided the finishing touch to Philippe Coutinho’s lofted pass as the Brazilian, singled out in this week’s Differentials, followed up his Gameweek 17 goal with further returns. Both players now face consecutive home matches against Swansea and Leicester in the space of five days – a pair of fixtures that should provide the platform for further returns.

Brendan Rodgers once again deployed a 3-4-3 system from the off at Turf Moor but shifted to a back-four at half-time after watching his side toil against the Clarets. Emre Can’s introduction for Kolo Toure provided a shift in tactics and the basis for Sterling’s winner. It remains to be seen if this tweak will see Rodgers revert to a four-man defence for the pair of Anfield encounters and whether this will see full-backs Alberto Moreno and Javier Manquillo return to contention.

Rodgers would seem likely to be forced into one change against the Swans with Brad Jones an injury doubt with a thigh problem sustained in the first-half which forced him off on 16 minutes. Simon Mignolet looks set to be handed a reprieve and a return to the starting XI.

Mane Central To Saints Victory

Ronald Koeman deployed Sadio Mane in a central striking role at Crystal Palace and the Senegalese duly returned a goal, assist and maximum FPL bonus points. Mane was given the role alongside Graziano Pelle in attack and fetched his first double-figure haul since Gameweek 9. The move saw Shane Long relegated to the bench alongside Dusan Tadic – the Serb failed to earn a recall to the starting XI, having missed out in the 3-0 win over Everton. While Mane, a 6.5 midfielder in FPL, will doubtless attract some interest ahead of home matches with Chelsea and Arsenal, it should be noted that he will likely depart for the Africa Cup of Nations from Gameweek 21 onwards. James Ward-Prowse came out of the victory with a pair of assists as his dead-ball delivery came to the fore – the 4.8 midfielder has returned three assists in his last two league outings and now has five in just six league starts over the campaign.

Elsewhere, Ryan Bertand notched his second goal of the season to take him to 88 points to top the FPL defender rankings. Bertrand and Nathaniel Clyne have now returned four goals, three assists and 15 bonus points between them and, should Koeman persevere with the 3-5-2, the two wing-backs will be expected to maintain their output. Clean sheets against Chelsea and Arsenal in the next two appear a stretch – Bertrand is ineligible to face his parent club Chelsea on Sunday.

Toffees Lick Their Wounds

Everton slipped to their third defeat in the last four as Stoke snatched the points with a controversial spot-kick converted by Bojan. More significantly, Robert Martinez is counting the cost of a string of significant injuries ahead of the trip to St James Park on Sunday. Both Tim Howard and Phil Jagielka are expected to miss the Magpies clash according to the Toffees boss’ post-match update…

“Tim [Howard] has pulled his calf and we’ll have to assess him in the morning. I think it is unlikely he’ll be available for Newcastle. Phil Jagielka has had an incident with his ankle where I’d say he’s stretched his ligaments. We’ll take a look but I think he will also miss Sunday.”

Those defensive casualties will hardly help their cause ahead of the Newcastle clash: Martinez’ side have gone eight league matches without a shut-out, conceding 11 goals in the process. Leighton Baines is without a return in six matches, whilst in attack, Romelu Lukaku has registered just a single assist in his last four league outings.

Martinez also revealed that both John Stones and Kevin Mirallas suffered knocks and, presumably, they will need to be assessed ahead of Sunday’s encounter.

Kane And Eriksen Deliver Once Again

Strikes by Harry Kane and Christian Eriksen at Leicester took the pair to five goals, two assists and 11 FPL bonus points over Tottenham’s last three league matches. Kane has now scored in his last three starts as he continues to outperform his 5.2 price tag to offer outstanding value. Eriksen’s superbly taken free-kick took him to seven league goals, a tally that’s second only to Arsenal’s Alexis Sanchez amongst FPL midfielders. Like Kane, the Dane is also providing strong value given his 8.2 price tag.

Mauricio Pochettino’s men have now won their last three and have a trio of White Hart Lane fixtures over the next four Gameweeks – a factor that will surely encourage further investment in both Kane and Eriksen. Nacer Chadli could also gain renewed attention – the 6.4-priced Belgian was named in the starting line-up once again and returned a second consecutive assist; he has returned 5.1 points per game this season compared to Eriksen’s 5.2.