Scout Notes

Another Sessegnon warning as Brady recovery drags on

Burnley continue to struggle with injury this pre-season as Robbie Brady suffered another setback in his recovery.

His expected absence should make it easier to predict who will start on the wings for them in Gameweek 1 but questions still remain over their goalkeeper situation.

Elsewhere, there was another stern warning for those invested in Ryan Sessegnon (£6.5m).

ATLETICO BILBAO 1-3 FULHAM | FULHAM 0-0 FIORENTINA

  • Goals: Neeskens Kebano (£4.5m), Aboubakar Kamara (£4.5m), own-goal
  • Assists: Jean Michaël Seri (£5.5m), Ryan Sessegnon (£6.5m)

The trio of goals scored against Atletico Bilbao ended a run of three goalless matches for Fulham as Ryan Sessegnon (£6.5m) finally involved himself in attacking returns this summer. It was his cross that Yeray Álvarez directed into his own net towards the end of the first of two Cup of Traditions matches. However, there was further confirmation that Sessegnon offers much less in terms of attacking potential when playing at left-back. He was used there in the second match of the afternoon, for the second time in pre-season, and had little influence on the game. The 12.1 percent of Fantasy managers who currently own the 18-year-old should make themselves aware of that and keep an eye on new signing Maxime Le Marchand (£4.5m) – any injury or suspension to him could force Sessegnon back into defence this season.

These two matches saw new signing Fabri (£4.5m) make his first appearances in goal, and give us a chance to see whether he could take the number one jersey from Marcus Bettinelli (£4.5m) this season. Of particular note was the former Besiktas man’s distribution, able to easily find his full-backs and get play moving well from the back. According to local press, this is an area that Bettinelli has struggled with in the past which could hand the advantage to Fabri, who also has experience of playing Champions League football too.

In front of him in the first match, we saw Le Marchand, Tim Ream (£4.5m), Denis Odoi (£4.5m) and Cyrus Christie (£4.5m) line up as the back-four for the third time in pre-season. No other combination has been used as often by Slaviša Jokanović during the summer, suggesting – barring any further recruitment – they will start at Craven Cottage when Crystal Palace come to visit on August 11.

Neeskens Kebano (£4.5m) has done his chances of featuring from the beginning in that match no harm after a decent display in these friendlies. The DR Congo international faces competition for a start on the flanks of the front-three from Sessegnon and Andre Schürrle (£6.0m), who made his first appearance for Fulham against Fiorentina, but is currently the club’s top-scorer in pre-season and with more minutes in the bank than Schürrle. However, the German World Cup winner reportedly impressed in his 45-minute spell in the Cup of Traditions final and, as the new signing, is expected to also be in with a strong shout of starting Gameweek 1.

FULHAM XI vs BILBAO (4-3-3): Fabri; Le Marchand, Odoi, Ream, Christie; Johansen, Seri, Cairney; Sessegnon, Kamara, Kebano.

FULHAM XI vs FIORENTINA (4-3-3): Fabri; Sessegnon, Odoi, Ream, Christie; McDonald, Johansen, Seri; Kebano, Kamara, Schürrle.

BURNLEY 0-0 MONTPELIER

  • Goals: None
  • Assists: None

Robbie Brady’s (£5.5m) recovery from injury hit a setback in Burnley’s latest pre-season match, a 0-0 draw with Montpelier. The former Hull City man has been on his way back from a knee injury sustained in December but was forced off with a hamstring problem just before half-time on Sunday. Manager Sean Dyche has sought to ease fears that Brady will be on the sidelines for some time, which should be of interest to Fantasy managers aware of the Irishman’s potential this season.

“It was a very minor thing in his hamstring so we took him off immediately. He’s been out for a while, so we don’t want any secondary injuries if we can help it.” – Sean Dyche

Regardless of how much of a setback this proves to be for Brady, his withdrawal strengthens the case for investment in either Johann Berg Gudmundsson (£6.om) or Aaron Lennon (£5.0m) – the two wingers who started against Aberdeen last week. The Icelandic international has one goal to his name in pre-season and is the key man for set-pieces while Lennon has found the net twice so far this summer and is £1.0m cheaper.

Burnley are still waiting on an update on Nick Pope’s (£5.0m) dislocated shoulder, with him having seen a specialist this week. With Tom Heaton (£5.0m) carrying a calf strain, the prospects of the Clarets’ defence are somewhat up in the air. There is no return date set for either him or Pope yet with Anders Lindegaard the most likely stand-in so far. It may be difficult to invest in £5.0m defenders like James Tarkowski or Ben Mee if there are doubts over the man between the sticks.

“The shoulder joint definitely came out and (went) back in so it just depends on the damage along the way. We’ll see what the specialist says tomorrow. When you look at the incident it was a freaky incident. I’ve seen the stills and it is just a freak moment in a game. It went back in pretty quick, so it depends on the disruption in the shoulder. We’ll find out more tomorrow.” – Sean Dyche

Jeff Hendrick (£5.5m) was the only member of the starting XI that faced Aberdeen to feature from the beginning in this match, as Dyche largely used either second-string options or players on their return from injury problems. Ashley Barnes (£6.0m) was one of the latter, his involvement against Montpelier the first since the opening match of pre-season. The former Plymouth Argyle striker managed 60 minutes before being replaced by Nakhi Wells (£4.5m). Sam Vokes (£5.5m) started alongside him after coming off the bench to equalise for Burnley at Pittodrie.

BURNLEY XI (4-4-2): Legzdins; Taylor, Dunne, Long, Bardsley; Brady (McNeil 42’), Hendrick (Goodridge 60’), O’Neill, Walters; Barnes (Wells 60’), Vokes (Agyei 70’).

Read more with Scout

Visit our PRE-SEASON PAGE to get the latest pointers from pre-season friendlies and read scout reports on new players by CLICKING HERE.

Pick your FPL team for 2018/19 using our list of best available players, sorted for your convenience by position and price:

Goalkeepers | Defenders: Budget | Defenders: Mid-Price and Premium | Midfielders: Budget | Midfielders: Mid-Price | Midfielders: Premium | Forwards: Budget

Also check out our detailed statistical analysis articles on every team comparing data for the last two seasons to highlight the players to sign and the players to avoid:

Arsenal | Bournemouth | Brighton & Hove Albion | Burnley | Cardiff City | Chelsea | Crystal Palace | Everton | Fulham | Huddersfield Town | Leicester City | Liverpool | Manchester City | Manchester United | Newcastle United | Southampton | Tottenham Hotspur

Read them all in one place

Become a Member and access our data

Memberships for the 2018/19 campaign are now available for the pre-season price of just £12.50. This will increase to the regular price of £15 after the first Gameweek of the season.

Join now to get the following:

  • Plot your transfer strategies using the fully interactive Season Ticker.
  • Get projections for every Premier League player provided by the Rate My Team statistical model.
  • Use Rate My Team throughout the season to guide your selections and transfers.
  • Get access to over 130+ exclusive members articles over the season.
  • Analyse our OPTA-powered statistic tables specifically tailored for Fantasy Football Managers.
  • Use our exclusive tool to build custom stats tables from over 100 OPTA player and team stats.
  • View heatmaps and expected goals data for every player.
  • Use our powerful comparison tool to analyse players head-to-head.

CLICK HERE TO BECOME A FANTASY FOOTBALL SCOUT MEMBER

1,900 Comments Post a Comment
  1. Velocity
    • Fantasy Football Scout Member
    • 13 Years
    5 years, 8 months ago

    Hi

    Anyone know Arsenal's first choice CB pairing?

    1. Heskey Time
      • 9 Years
      5 years, 8 months ago

      At the moment mustafi and sokratis but think at the moment bellerin is the better option

      1. boozybaz
        • 10 Years
        5 years, 8 months ago

        Must have Sokratis.Lol

  2. Kristobal
    • 12 Years
    5 years, 8 months ago

    Dele Alli. Thoughts about him for 9.0?

    1. Heskey Time
      • 9 Years
      5 years, 8 months ago

      Not at the start of the season will be rested

      1. Kristobal
        • 12 Years
        5 years, 8 months ago

        Probably. I am a bit tempted. Nailed on and surely want to better his last season.

  3. Heskey Time
    • 9 Years
    5 years, 8 months ago

    Am I right in saying that the best 4.5 options in defense at this time are:
    Cedric, Duffy, kabasele, boly/doherty, and Tomkins ?

    Becoming increasingly less interested in Cedric though just think Southampton won’t be that great

    1. rhino
      • Fantasy Football Scout Member
      • 10 Years
      5 years, 8 months ago

      holebas

      1. La Vida Latte
        • 14 Years
        5 years, 7 months ago

        .

  4. Kristobal
    • 12 Years
    5 years, 8 months ago

    A) Alisson & Mendy

    B) Ederson & Robbo/VVD

    1. Udo
      • 6 Years
      5 years, 8 months ago

      I am on B, who's ur 2nd GK may I ask?

      1. Kristobal
        • 12 Years
        5 years, 8 months ago

        Ok. I read on WhoScored and compared Alissons and Edersons stats and Alissons were really good. So I don’t know really. Mendy can come really good this season bearing in mind that the previous was ruined by injury. BUT Robbo seems to be destined to do a great season also. And round and round it goes..

        1. Udo
          • 6 Years
          5 years, 8 months ago

          I just think that Ederson is a very safe/ not to expensive way into City's def, and price wise is Robbo/ VVD a likewise good Liv's def.

          1. Kristobal
            • 12 Years
            5 years, 8 months ago

            I agree. VVD or Robbo?

          2. Kristobal
            • 12 Years
            5 years, 8 months ago

            Is Robbo nailed on or is Moreno to steal minutes?

            1. Udo
              • 6 Years
              5 years, 8 months ago

              Thats a very good question! I went for VVD because of it.

              1. Kristobal
                • 12 Years
                5 years, 8 months ago

                Sounds good. He is nailed on.

        2. boozybaz
          • 10 Years
          5 years, 8 months ago

          Man City are playing Arsenal GW 1 so I would not put Ed in for that game.

      2. Kristobal
        • 12 Years
        5 years, 8 months ago

        2nd goalie is Stekelenburg.

        1. Udo
          • 6 Years
          5 years, 8 months ago

          Yeah, I prefer a playing GK, went for Ryan. But the 0.5 would help in other positions!

          1. Kristobal
            • 12 Years
            5 years, 8 months ago

            Good point! Thinking of that too.

  5. A.T
    • 13 Years
    5 years, 8 months ago

    I’m planning an early wildcard to take advantage of the great differentials on offer before the players return late from pre season, but some of my options haven’t been added to the game yet! I do hope fpl don’t leave this to the last minute otherwise I’m not going to have time to plan properly. Come on fpl, get it sorted please.

  6. Sponc
    • 8 Years
    5 years, 8 months ago

    Hey guys

    Still looking for an FPL draft league? Come join this one:

    165760-42662

    Classic, min 5 teams, max 10 teams, trades and draft starts tomorrow 2 pm London time.

    Hope to see you soon!

  7. InvertedWinger
    • 8 Years
    5 years, 8 months ago

    Best MID or FWD option 7.5m and below will be?

    1. falafel
      • 6 Years
      5 years, 8 months ago

      Zaha

  8. drfc_matty
    • 7 Years
    5 years, 8 months ago

    RMT 3-52

    Emerson (4.0)

    Roberton mendy stones (wan bissaka) ( bednarek)

    Salah mane hazard Ramsey richarlison

    Zaha king (kamara)

    1. Stupendous
      • 11 Years
      5 years, 8 months ago

      Tbh? 3 or 4 out of 10

      The front line is shocking
      Ramsay hurt today
      Is that TRIPLE city def with Ederson or is there an emerson?
      Bednarek likely wont get mins unless im wrong

  9. Stupendous
    • 11 Years
    5 years, 8 months ago

    Morata is so crap!!!!

  10. dashdriver
    • 8 Years
    5 years, 8 months ago

    442 with

    Fabianski
    Robertson / Mendy / Keane / Cedric
    Salah / Eriksen / Richarlison or Maddison / Gudmundsson
    Aguero / Aubameyang

    Boruc / Stephens / Kamara / Wan-Bissaka

    or 343 with

    Ederson
    Robertson / Coleman / Cedric
    Salah / Eriksen / Mkhitaryan / Richarlison or Maddison
    Aguero / Arnautovic / Zaha

    Boruc / Tompkins / Stephens / Wan-Bissaka

    1. dashdriver
      • 8 Years
      5 years, 8 months ago

      343 team leaves 0.5 ITB.

      1. Pulisic 4 President
        • Fantasy Football Scout Member
        • 9 Years
        5 years, 8 months ago

        Always 3-4-3 over a 4-4-2

        That said I like both (have 8-10 of same players currently)

        Been getting Coleman out, Everton defense has been leaky. May be good to have Pickford for the save chances + easy schedule cover.

        1. Pulisic 4 President
          • Fantasy Football Scout Member
          • 9 Years
          5 years, 7 months ago

          Pickford also allows you to switch Coleman for say.... Mendy!

  11. Mitch3ltje
    • 6 Years
    5 years, 8 months ago

    Hi, what do you guys think of my team? Feedback would be nice!

    Lloris (Fabianski)
    Tomkins - Doherty - TAA (4m - 4m)
    Salah(C) - Cairney - Richarlison - De Bruyne (4.5m)
    Firmino - Kane(V) - Arnautovic

    Thanks in advance!

    1. how now brown cow
      • 9 Years
      5 years, 8 months ago

      Too much money spent on keepers. Defence too light.

      Nice to see a different pick up front if Kane is ready to start.

  12. Tiki Takka
    • 8 Years
    5 years, 7 months ago

    RMT would be massively appreciated.

    Ederson, Stekelenbutg

    Robertson Shaw Holebas David Luiz Wan-bissaka

    Bsilva Sanchez Pedro Mane Stephens

    Morata Aubameyang Arnautovic

    Thanks Guys

  13. onceuponatyne
    • Fantasy Football Scout Member
    • 10 Years
    5 years, 7 months ago

    RMT please guys.

    Pickford/Ederson
    Schlupp/PVA/Trippier/Cedric/Daniels
    Salah/B.Silva/Jota/Richarlison/Kenedy
    Wood/Kane/Zaha

    I know Kane and Trippier may not start straight away... I'll go with Aguero if so (few days before).
    Kenedy has a rough run of fixtures (but he will be taking Toon set pieces).

    Any thoughts welcome.