Scout Notes – Gameweek 11 – Sunday

Alvaro Morata returns to form at just the right time for a resurgent Chelsea, while no fewer than six Man City assets plunder points as Pep Guardiola’s attackers continue to bewilder us with choices.

Elsewhere, there’s captaincy frustration for Harry Kane’s owners, gloom for Arsenal’s ‘big three’ and some encouragement in defeat for Man United.

Here are the notes from a blistering Sunday of Premier League action.

City’s tyranny of choice

Injuries, a run of bad luck or a large dose of hubris might yet derail Man City’s title bid, but for now it’s a smooth ride to glory.

Things are rather more fraught for us Fantasy managers.

The problem with City is that there’s simply too much choice, with four of the top six scoring Fantasy Premier League midfielders and two of the top five strikers wearing sky blue.

Even Fernandinho, the 5.2-priced defensive midfielder, is at it these days. His assist in the 3-1 win over Arsenal was his second in the last four matches. Over that period, he’s also scored twice and chalked up 27 points.

Sunday’s other contributors were: Kevin De Bruyne, a goal and maximum bonus for 10 points; Sergio Aguero, a goal and two bonus, eight points; David Silva and Raheem Sterling, an assist each for five points; Gabriel Jesus, a goal for five points from just 28 minutes off the bench.

In fact, the only big hitter who blanked against the Gunners was the most popular, Leroy Sane letting down his 24.3% ownership with his worst return since a 12-minute cameo in Gameweek 5.

Such is the confusion over where to find the guaranteed points from City assets that Jesus, who has scored three times in the last four Gameweeks, was sold by over 203,000 ahead of Saturday’s deadline.

More sales may well be forthcoming. The swap from Jesus to Aguero is particularly popular, with more than 160,000 making the change in Gameweek 10 and a further 5,100 going the same route already this week.

It’s easy to see why. Aguero has averaged 8.4 points per match (ppm) and is back at the top of the FPL forward standings, despite missing three of the last five Gameweeks. Jesus, meanwhile, is some way back on 5.4 ppm.

Pep Guardiola will continue to rotate. Our City assets will not always play. Choosing which ones to have and to hold will remain the big question because we just can’t have them all. Two midfield options could be optimal, but for those willing to risk Pep’s potential swaps between Aguero and Jesus, the rewards may well be greater.

Even Guardiola’s defenders produce these days, with two of them in the top ten.

Their most popular and productive, Nicolas Otamendi (20.0% and 56 points), picked up his fifth booking of the season against the Gunners and will now miss the trip to Leicester City that follows November’s international break.

That has prompted immediate sales of close to 70,000, making him the most sold player of Gameweek 12 to date.

With Vincent Kompany close to full fitness again, the Argentine’s owners may now look elsewhere in anticipation of rotation at the back – that’s if his captain can stay healthy, of course.

Wenger breaks up big three

If we knew we couldn’t rely on Guardiola, at least we thought Arsene Wenger would consistently select his ‘big three’ of Alexis Sanchez, Mesut Ozil and Alexandre Lacazette.

And yet the French forward started yesterday’s encounter on the bench for the first time since Gameweek 3 as Sanchez took over striking duties.

Lacazette’s rapidly dwindling ownership – down to 11.1% now – were at least treated to a goal from his 34 minutes of second-half action, whereas Sanchez and Ozil managed just a point apiece and all three were among the six Arsenal players to be booked in a tetchy display.

The take-up on Sanchez (2.9%) and Ozil (1.9%) has been slow and will probably grind to a halt as the Gunners prepare to host Spurs and Man United and travel to Burnley over the next four Gameweeks.

Lacazette’s ownership is also likely to slide some more.

In fact, the only Arsenal asset catching the eye is the mid-priced Aaron Ramsey (7.0), who rewarded his 5.5% fan base with an assist yesterday – he now has two goals and as many assists from his last three starts.

The Welsh international’s consistency has taken him to 54 points now. It’s currently a quality rather lacking in his big-ticket team-mates and also his manager.

Kane endures another Wembley blank

Captaining Harry Kane at home to Premier League minnows can look a no-brainer, but it’s producing no joy.

A blank in the 1-0 win over Crystal Palace was his fifth in six home starts. Spurs might be able to put European aristocracy intent on progressive football to the sword, but relegation battlers looking to spoil and scrap are another matter entirely.

It was left to Son Heung-min to end Palace’s dogged resistance yesterday as Spurs laboured without the injured Dele Alli.

That was a nasty surprise for his 21.0% ownership, although Mauricio Pochettino’s post-match assessment was Fantasy music to the ears.

“Dele suffered a minor injury in his hamstring after the game against Real. It’s not a big issue, but he’s not available (for England).”

An injury that basically gives a player a fortnight off is possibly worth the pain of a one-match no-show, particularly as Alli should be fit and fresh for a north London derby against a vulnerable Arsenal and then five further obliging fixtures.

How Son fits into that schedule remains to be seen, but he’s certainly settled in nicely at Wembley. The South Korean has started Spurs’ last five home matches and scored in the last two of them.

Kane, however, continues to impress on the road – he’s scored twice in each of his last three away days – and those forthcoming fixtures include visits to Arsenal, Leicester and Watford.

The home matches, against West Brom, Stoke City and Brighton, hand him further chance to end the idea that he’s unable to break down the bus parkers.

Wing-back woe from Pochettino

Spurs continue to offer returns from their defenders – they’ve kept three clean sheets in their last five matches – but their wing-backs are increasingly not worth the bother.

Pochettino went with Serge Aurier and Danny Rose yesterday, which was a huge blow for the 102,000+ who’d brought in Kieran Trippier on the basis of the ex-Burnley man having started all of Spurs’ league home matches of the season.

The coach then trolled the 19.9% of us with Ben Davies in our sides by handing him an injury-time run-out – the Welshman has now failed to start any of his side’s last four at home in the league.

Davies’ ownership peaked at over 1.3 million in Gameweek 8. He’s played just 91 minutes since and it would be a surprise if his base remains over seven figures by the end of the international break.

Instead, the smart money seems to be on Jan Vertonghen (6.0).

He’s played every single minute of the league campaign to date and brought in nine points from a clean sheet and maximum bonus against the Eagles.

As for the visitors, it was a case of what might have been if the excellent Wilfried Zaha had not missed an open goal with the score still at 0-0.

The midfielder continues to be used by Roy Hodgson up front, and his 4.4% ownership is likely to stay in place as Palace prepare for four favourable home matches (EVE STK BOU WAT) and trips to Brighton and West Brom.

However, given his failure to convert at Wembley and the suggestion that Christian Benteke could return for Everton’s visit, Zaha may well be restored to his more familiar role on the flank very soon.

Defensively, the Eagles are moving in the right direction and have conceded just one goal against both Chelsea and Spurs since moving to a 4-4-2.

Julian Speroni has now started the last four matches and, at just 4.0, is currently the cheapest regular goalkeeper in the game, while Scott Dann (4.7) is the pick of the back four, not least for his attacking threat – he forced a fine save from Spurs’ stand-in keeper Paulo Gazzaniga and has scored 14 goals across his Premier League career.

Chelsea excel from back to front

Chelsea were good value for their 1-0 win over Man United, with the return of N’Golo Kante providing shape and solidity to a side so clearly lacking in both during the 3-0 debacle at Roma last week.

Alvaro Morata scored his first goal in five matches as he finally came back out of his shell following a hamstring issue in Gameweek 7.

The provider, once again, was Cesar Azpilicueta. The Spaniard has set up five of his compatriot’s seven league goals now, and a clean sheet and maximum bonus brought in 12 points to take him to the top of the defenders’ scoring charts, with 67 points.

One defender who might not be making much of a mark on that particular table could be David Luiz.

The Brazilian was left out of the squad yesterday amid rumours of a row with Antonio Conte, with the coach in typically forthright mode post-match when asked whether Luiz still had a future at the club.

“I don’t know. He has to work really hard otherwise they are on the bench or in the stands.”

Luiz, at 5.9, was one of the cheaper routes into the Chelsea defence and had the added allure of being occasionally played out of position as a holding midfielder.

If the 12.9%-owned defender is now the past, the future could well be Andreas Christensen, who was handed his fifth league start yesterday.

The young Dane is priced at just 5.4 – a steal if he becomes a regular in a defence that has now kept back-to-back clean sheets in the league for only the second time this season.

The return to fitness of Kante is paramount to Chelsea’s defensive prospects.

They have conceded two goals in the last six league matches that the Frenchman has started – without him, they shipped four in three (against Palace, Watford and Bournemouth) over Gameweeks 8-10.

And his impact can also be felt further up the pitch thanks to a change of formation. With the midfield battler back on back, Conte’s switch to a 3-5-1-1 allowed Eden Hazard to move off the left flank and occupy the central role behind match-winner Morata.

Chelsea’s schedule, a Gameweek 13 trip to Liverpool aside, is superb all the way through to the New Year.

Gloom but not doom for United

Jose Mourinho’s men have now lost two of their last three league matches, but their future looks rather brighter than David Luiz’s.

A tough four-match run that involved Liverpool, Spurs and Chelsea is now behind them, and although Arsenal and Man City loom in Gameweeks 15 and 16, the rest of their schedule from now until late January is decidedly favourable.

That should ease the worries of the 48.1% still clinging to Romelu Lukaku through a barren spell in which he’s failed to score in seven matches in all competitions.

The Belgian was the most sold player of Gameweek 11, but those 224,000 managers might rue their decision if he fires in upcoming back-to-back home matches against Newcastle and Brighton.

Those fixtures look like excellent opportunities to hand Lukaku the armband. And they also offer solid chances for clean sheets, with the 5.4-priced Phil Jones still the best all-round pick at the back despite his one-point return at Stamford Bridge.

The centre-half continues to be rested by Mourinho in midweek matches and comes in at a chunky 1.3 cheaper than United’s highest-scoring defender (by a mere two points over Jones) this season, Antonio Valencia.

Despite a pair of one-point returns in the last three, Jones is again the number one defender for transfers-in since the weekend – only Mohamed Salah has earned more owners ahead of Gameweek 12.

Mad match, not so much to ponder

Everton’s 3-2 victory – from 2-0 down – was a bona fide thriller.

But in Fantasy terms, we learned little.

The Toffees remain in flux, with David Unsworth’s future role as unclear as their best XI.

Dominic Calvert-Lewin grabbed a goal but had to come off the bench to do it, with his run of five straight league matches coming to a productive end. Fellow budget forward Oumar Niasse was handed just a second start of the season and also scored to complicate matters up front.

With Wayne Rooney subbed off midway through the second-half, Fantasy stalwart Leighton Baines dispatched the decisive penalty, but resides in a defence that hasn’t kept a clean sheet since Gameweek 1, and Everton’s schedule might be promising but the team’s make-up is just too shrouded in doubt.

Those on Goodison can only hope that the matter of this comeback win may finally give Everton’s failing season the shot in the arm they so desperately need.

There’s no doubt about Watford’s prime asset, however.

Midfielder Richarlison is in 17.0% of all FPL squads and his strike at Goodison Park took him to four goals and as many assists this season.

The 6.4-priced Brazilian is now in the top eight among FPL midfielders – only Brighton’s Pascal Gross is cheaper in that list – and he would have been even more productive yesterday had Tom Cleverley not missed the penalty Richarlison had earned for his side.

Watford have to face Man United and Spurs in Gameweeks 14 and 15, but their fixtures are otherwise set fair until the end of the year and the midfielder has so much potential for more points.

Only Harry Kane can better Richarlison’s shot output – 59 to 39 – and he also sits fourth for shots in the box with 30, just one fewer than Romelu Lukaku.