Scout Notes – Gameweek 30 – Saturday

Harry Kane and Olivier Giroud maintain their relentless goal rush to underline the struggles of Sergio Aguero. The Manchester City striker drew another blank in a 3-0 win over West Brom, in a match that saw David Silva continue to boost his stock amongst the pack of midfield heavy-hitters. Here are the notes from Saturday’s Gameweek 30 events…

The Silva Service Continues

David Silva notched his fourth goal in five league starts as Manchester City cruised to a 3-0 home win over West Brom. In light of the sporadic returns from the likes of Alexis Sanchez and Eden Hazard in recent weeks, the Spanish playmaker has now firmly established himself as a prime pick among the top-bracket midfielders.

While City’s form has stuttered of late, Silva has been an irresistible force and a reliable source of Fantasy points. He’s now returned goals or assists in nine of his last 14 league starts (along with 16 bonus points), displaying a level of consistency which has left both Hazard and Sanchez in his wake in 2015. Home ties against West Ham and Aston Villa in City’s next four (cry, mun, WHU, AVL) provide further encouragement for Silva’s 25% ownership.

Sergio Aguero was again put in the shade. Deployed in a 4-4-2 with Wilfried Bony, Aguero returned a blank and has now gone five outings in all competitions without a goal – he’s blanked in seven of nine league starts since his return from injury in Gameweek 21. The Argentinian marksman again had his fair share of opportunities – fashioning nine attempts throughout the 90 minutes – but he was denied by Baggies’ stopper Boaz Myhill on four occasions.

Aguero’s limited returns in recent weeks will be of great concern to his 28% ownership, with Olivier Giroud, Diego Costa and even Wayne Rooney surpassing his recent output. Not surprisingly, Aguero has suffered more sales than any other player in the Fantasy Premier League (FPL) overnight.

Elsewhere, Manuel Pellegrini named four changes from the team that lost to Burnley at Turf Moor. Eliaquim Mangala, Frank Lampard, Fernando and Bony were all handed starts as Edin Dzeko, Fernandinho, Martin Demichelis and the injured Yaya Toure dropped out.

Bony opened the scoring with his first goal for the club since signing in January, whilst Fernando supplied the assist for the Ivorian’s strike and scored a goal himself, earning three extra bonus points for his contribution to City’s victory.

Baggies Wronged As Foster Is Ruled Out

West Brom take credit from restricting the champions to three goals after Gareth McAuley was wrongly sent off in the second minute. It’s expected that Craig Dawson will now be handed a one-match ban as a result of Neil Swarbrick admitting his error following yesterday’s match.

Boaz Myhill – who replaced the injured Ben Foster in nets – made an astonishing 13 saves, providing an early return for those who had him ready on their FPL bench to replace first-choice Foster. Myhill is priced at just 4.0 in the FPL and is now set to claim a starting berth for the remainder of the season with the confirmation that Foster has been ruled out for six months after damaging cruciate knee ligaments against Stoke in Gameweek 29.

Renlentless Kane Fires Hat-Trick

Having ranked neck-and-neck with Sergio Aguero in our captain poll this Gameweek, Harry Kane vindicated the 34% of Fantasy Football Scout readers that backed him by netting his first league hat-trick in Spurs’ 4-3 victory over Leicester City.

Kane has now notched 11 goals in his previous eight starts and looks indispensable in light of his 6.3 FPL price tag and Tottenham’s run-in – they face only one top-five side (MCI) in their last eight, with five bottom-12 clubs (bur, AVL, new, HUL, eve) remaining on their schedule.

Mauricio Pochettino named an unchanged side from the XI that fell to a 3-0 defeat at Old Trafford last time out. Nacer Chadli – who skied two clear-cut chances – and Andros Townsend flattered to deceive for the second week running; they now look prone to rotation with Mousa Dembele and Erik Lamela waiting in the wings. Meanwhile, Christian Eriksen registered his second assist in four starts, having drawn blanks against QPR and Manchester United.

Much to the frustration of Fantasy managers that recruited Danny Rose for Tottenham’s double Gameweek, Spurs failed to keep a clean sheet for the seventh fixture in succession, although Rose did bag an assist for Kane’s penalty. Any hopes of Spurs keeping out Leicester were dealt a huge blow in the third minute when Hugo Lloris was forced off after a collision with team-mate Kyle Walker. The French shot-stopper suffered a lacerated knee, which could rule him out of the Lilywhite’s trip to Turf Moor that follows the international break.

Foxes Impress In Another Pointless Display

Following two unproductive Gameweeks in front of goal, Leicester returned to scoring ways in emphatic style at White Hart Lane as once again an encouraging performance went unrewarded. David Nugent and Jamie Vardy each tallied a goal and an assist, while Matt James whipped in the cross for Wes Morgan’s equaliser. Vardy had the beating of right-back Kyle Walker all day and looks set to be rewarded with a run of starts as Leicester’s campaign reaches its climax.

Nigel Pearson made three alterations to the Foxes outfit that drew with Hull City, drafting in Kasper Schmeichel, Leonardo Ulloa and David Nugent for Mark Scwharzer, Riyad Mahrez and Andrej Kramaric. Despite lining up in a 5-4-1 formation, the visitors adopted a 3-4-3 shape for the majority of the encounter, with Jeffrey Schlupp and Ritchie de Laet pushed forward, almost as wingers.

Leicester were dwarfed by Tottenham in terms of possession (66% to 34%) yet fashioned more attempts at goal (14 to 10) and more attempts on target (five to four) than the Champions League hopefuls. With a double Gameweek and four decent fixtures on the horizon (WHU, WBA, SWA, BUR), the Foxes’ low-priced attacking contingent remain worthy of consideration in the short-term.

Giroud The Executioner Once More

Olivier Giroud was on target for the fifth successive league clash and netted his sixth in five outings in the 2-1 victory over Newcastle United. The Gunners’ man of the moment was in a clinical mood at St James’ Park, finishing two of his three attempts on goal.

With 13 strikes in just 1252 minutes of pitch time, Giroud is arguably matching the goalscoring exploits of rival north London counterpart Kane. Yet despite his rich vein of form, Giroud ranks sixth with regards to ownership among the FPL forward roster, with only 14% of managers finding a place for him in their squad.

Saturday’s brace is sure to trigger an upsurge in investors: he’s already attracted over 15,000 FPL transfers in overnight – more than any other player. Having said that, Arsenal and Giroud do have the blank fixture in Gameweek 33 looming, leaving the Gunners facing an unattractive next four (LIV bur [BLANK] CHE).

Mesut Ozil and Theo Walcott made way for Santi Cazorla and Danny Welbeck in Arsenal’s three behind Giroud, with the pair both notching assists on Tyneside. Elsewhere, in defence, Calum Chambers and Gabriel Paulista were handed starts ahead of Hector Bellerin and Per Metesacker. Much to the frustration of Bellerin’s 4% ownership, the Spanish right-back was introduced late into the match for a two-minute cameo.

Long Strike Keeps Saints Ticking

Shane Long netted his first goal since November 8 as Southampton ran out 2-0 winners over Burnley. Manager Ronald Koeman opted for a 4-2-3-1 formation, deploying Long on the right flank behind the out-of-form Graziano Pelle who earned a recall.

The Saints’ fourth clean sheet in seven delivered more points to their heavily backed defence, with Nathaniel Clyne and Ryan Bertrand both picking up assists to complement their shut-out bonuses.

The Saints did, however, suffer a potentially major injury blow as Fraser Forster was rushed to hospital after twisting his knee after just 14 minutes. The results of the subsequent scan will afford us a clearer picture, yet Koeman admitted that his prognosis was “looking bad”. The injury brought Kelvin Davis into the fray and, with Forster possibly missing the remainder of the season, the 4.4-priced FPL option now comes onto the radar as cover of a Southampton rearguard that’s now kept 14 clean sheets.

Over in the Clarets’ camp, star man Danny Ings drew a blank for the fifth consecutive week, only mustering two goal attempts against Southampton’s organised back line.

Sakho delivers cruel blow to Black Cats

Hammers hitman Diafra Sakho left it late to consign new Sunderland manager Dick Advocaat to defeat in his first match in charge, ending West Ham’s seven-game winless streak in the process. Sakho scored his second goal in five starts with his fourth effort of the night, turning in a deft flick from Mark Noble.

As expected, Advocaat named national compatriot Patrick van Aanholt in the starting line-up, plumping for a 4-3-3 set-up that saw Steven Fletcher and Conor Wickham provide width for central striker Jermain Defoe. Adam Johnson made an 18-minute cameo after his club suspension was lifted earlier in the week.

Gomis inspires Swans late show

After threatening to score on several occasions last Gameweek, Bafetimbi Gomis tallied just his third goal of the campaign in a 1-0 victory at Villa Park. Gylfi Sigurdsson had an uneventful afternoon by his standards, mustering just a solitary goal attempt and penalty area touch throughout his 64-minute appearance.

The Swans recorded their eleventh shut-out of the season at Villa and now embark on a pair of winnable home ties within an obliging run over the next five (HUL EVE lei new STK). This could provide a platform for further defensive returns with Kyle Naughton, at just 4.3 in FPL, likely to be a prime target. Sigurdsson and Gomis can also be cited as potential differentials during this five-game spell. Jefferson Montero’s impressive display off the bench may also nudge Garry Monk to reconsider his starting line-up and formation over the forthcoming run.

Villa’s disappointment was compounded by an injury to striker Christian Benteke. He was forced off with 15 minutes remaining with a hip problem and will be assessed over the international break.

Murray and Zaha Combine For Eagles Win

Glenn Murray and Wilfried Zaha struck the goals to earn Alan Pardew’s side the points in the Potteries: the Eagles have now recorded wins in four of their last five away matches. Murray notched his fourth goal in as many outings for the London club, while Zaha recovered from a hip complaint in time to score for the second game in succession from Murray’s flick.

Yannick Bolasie picked up where he left off against Queens Park Rangers, using his pace and trickery to influence proceedings and earn a penalty for the visitors. It’s now three assists in two starts for the DR Congo winger, as the Eagles’ wide men continue to torment opposing full-backs. Meanwhile, Jason Puncheon recovered from injury to start but drew a third consecutive blank. The performances and output of Zaha and Bolasie have now blurred the picture when it comes to selecting a mid-price differential from the Eagles midfield options.

Palace now have three home ties in their next four, with City, West Brom and Hull all due at Selhurst Park next. Pardew’s side have, however, won just one of their last four on home turf.

Hughes Shuffles Potters Backline

Despite taking the lead after 14 minutes through Mame Biram Diouf (his third goal in five appearances), Stoke couldn’t record a third successive home win, having not conceded in their previous two Britannia Stadium clashes. Victor Moses sat out the encounter with a knock and there were further changes of note at the back.

Phil Bardsley was left on the bench with Geoff Cameron getting the nod at right-back. Meanwhile Philipp Wollscheid returned to the squad but only made the bench as Hughes kept faith with Marc Wilson alongside skipper Ryan Shawcross. It remains to be seen if Wollscheid earns a recall for the trip to Chelsea in Gameweek 31.