Scout Notes – Gameweek 7 – Sunday

A Philippe Coutinho long-range special makes up for his Liverpool team-mates’ wastefulness as Roberto Firmino loses his starting spot.

Alexandre Lacazette blanks for Arsenal, while Wayne Rooney’s benching fails to cure Everton’s ills up front.

Here are the notes from Sunday’s matches as we are dragged kicking and screaming into another international break.

Reds trio broken up and blank

The Fantasy decline of Roberto Firmino continues apace.

The Liverpool striker was second only to Sergio Aguero for sales last week, with 266,000 giving him the elbow.

A further 63,000+ have done the same ahead of Gameweek 8 as Jurgen Klopp dropped the Brazilian to the bench for the trip to Newcastle.

His replacement, Daniel Sturridge, fluffed his chance to be given a role on a more permanent basis, and it was left to Philippe Coutinho to paper over the cracks of Liverpool’s continued profligacy in front of goal.

The midfielder’s superb long-range effort was his second consecutive goal in the league and third in all competitions, having also netted against Spartak Moscow in midweek.

Owned by 7.8%, Coutinho has now been involved in three of the Reds’ five league goals since returning to the starting XI in Gameweek 5 and is becoming increasingly influential in their output.

Liverpool lead the way with 75 attempts over that time frame, but have been held to two draws as they struggle to finish teams off.

Mohamed Salah – the top owned midfielder on 34.9% – has scored twice in that period but his owners will be a little concerned by yesterday’s display, with the Egyptian restricted to just a single effort on goal before being replaced late on.

Sadio Mane’s return from suspension also ended in a blank, with the Senegal international managing just two shots.

Those currently doubling up on the Reds’ attack may well be reconsidering such a tactic ahead of back-to-back encounters with Man United and trip to Spurs straight after the international break.

Meanwhile, Newcastle remain a tough team to break down.

Only David de Gea is owned by more managers than goalkeeper Rob Elliot’s 24.7% base, but in the absence of clean sheets – he’s managed just two this season – the Geordies’ defensive strength is starting to count against him.

Elliot failed to provide a save point for the second match running as Liverpool were kept to just two shots on target all match. But the Mapgies stopper perhaps remains the obvious route into their backline, given his 4.1 price point.

Newcastle have now conceded more than one goal in a match just the once this season – and that was when they were reduced to ten men in Gameweek 1, plus they face a favourable run over the next four (sot CRY bur BOU).

Elliot’s stock is also boosted by the new uncertainty surrounding Chancel Mbemba (4.0), with the defender failing to start only his second match this season on Sunday.

The reason for his absence was unexplained, with the consensus being that Rafa Benitez simply decided to hand him a rest. But with Mbemba due to depart for long-haul flights with DR Congo over the break, his recall at Southampton for Gameweek 8 could be in doubt.

At the other end of the pitch, Joselu was fortunate with a ricochet to record his second goal of the season from a Jonjo Shelvey through-ball.

The Spaniard’s 5.5 price tag makes him an attractive third striker option – and one who has fired in more attempts than all but four frontmen this season.

The side’s upcoming fixtures might also play into the hands of a man who has scored in two of his last three home outings.

Newcastle will entertain Crystal Palace, Bournemouth and Watford, and with trips to Southampton, Burnley and West Brom also to come over the next seven Gameweeks, investment in key assets front or back could pay off.

But those pondering Matt Ritchie’s appeal may want to hold fire – the winger has today been withdrawn from Scotland’s squad having picked up a knock in Sunday’s match.

Arsenal assets deliver mixed blessings

It was a nasty week for a host of big-ticket striker owners, so at least Alexandre Lacazette had one thing going for him yesterday – he didn’t get injured.

The Arsenal man had enjoyed a surge in ownership of 265,000 ahead of the match against Brighton. His new managers then endured an uninspiring blank during it as he failed to score at home for the first time this season.

That came as a particular blow to the 4.56% who captained him, making him the third most popular armband choice of Gameweek 7, and he was eventually hooked for Olivier Giroud after 70 minutes.

Lacazette has been involved in all seven league matches this season, but has lasted longer than 80 minutes in only two of them.

Arsene Wenger clearly views him as a work in progress. But at 10.4, we could be excused for expecting rather more of a finished article.

Alexis Sanchez is most assuredly that, and he made it back-to-back assists in a busy display that included eight shots and six key passes.

The signs of a return to form are starting to shine, though, although his 11.9 price tag demands rather more than 11 points from a promising couple of Gameweeks. On the upside, Watford, Everton and Swansea in the next three hands him the chance to build on this busy display.

Alex Iwobi (5.1) started for the second match in three and scored his first goal of the season. His price is eye-catching, but Mesut Ozil waits in the wings.

At the back, Arsenal made it four consecutive clean sheets, with Hector Bellerin adding an assist and two bonus points for his 10.4% ownership.

But the star of the show was Nacho Monreal, who opened the scoring and claimed maximum bonus on the way to a 15-point haul.

The Spaniard has now raked in 38 points over the last four Gameweeks, earning at least one bonus point per match along the way. He’s also played every single minute of the league season for the Gunners thus far – not bad for a man whose 5.4 price tag makes him one of the cheapest ways into a currently resilient Arsenal backline.

As for Brighton, they gave a good account of themselves, particularly considering the absence of the suspended Tomer Hemed up front.

Midfielder Izzy Brown was used as the lone striker, with veteran Glenn Murray given 14 minutes as he continues to look for match fitness, but Pascal Gross remains the Seagulls’ most potent pick ahead of a good run of fixtures.

In defence, Lewis Dunk now looks the cheapest secure starter at 4.4 after the similarly-priced Markus Suttner dropped to the bench for the first time this season.

Toffees still coming unstuck

Everton’s woes continued as they slammed into the brick wall that is Burnley away from home.

The Toffees fired in 23 shots, but scored with none of them, and Nick Pope continued to channel his inner Tom Heaton in the Burnley goal, picking up save points for the third time in four matches since the England keeper was injured.

Pope also bagged two bonus points, but the bonus king remains Stephen Ward, who now has seven of them over the same time frame.

His maximum yesterday, and an assist for Jeff Hendrick’s winner, helped him to 41 points for the season – enough for third place in the Fantasy Premier League defenders’ chart.

And with all for just 4.6, it’s no surprise to see that Ward is among the top five for transfers in over the last 24 hours.

Potential differentials further up the pitch, Robbie Brady (2.2%) and Chris Wood (2.7%) both blanked, but Burnley’s next three home matches – West Ham, Newcastle and Swansea City – offer the promise of better days, while a trip to Southampton should also hand the defence a chance to flex their away muscles once again.

Incredibly, Burnley’s total of eight points away from home is already more than they managed in 2016/17. And that’s all the more impressive when you consider that their four road trips have consisted of visits to Chelsea, Spurs, Liverpool and the Toffees – four of the five teams for points accrued in front of their own supporters in the previous campaign.

Clearly, despite the loss of Michael Keane to Everton and Heaton to injury, Sean Dyche’s side are made of sterner stuff this time around.

Beleaguered Everton coach Ronald Koeman dropped the well-owned Wayne Rooney to the bench in a bid to add more pace to his attack, with Oumar Niasse, Dominic Calvert-Lewin and Nikola Vlasic all starting.

The home side were certainly more dynamic than of late, but their lack of a cutting edge grows more apparent by the week and Rooney, at 7.4 and with five straight blanks in the league, has become a costly mistake for many.

At 11.5% ownership, he remains their most popular player but the exodus is picking up pace, with over 22,000 parting company since the weekend.

The Toffees lost just twice in the league at Goodison Park last season. They’ve managed to equal that in four matches this time around.

Their schedule is excellent, their prospects anything but.