There were impressive performances for Aleksandar Mitrovic and Andrew Robertson on international duty on Monday night.
That may be of encouraging news to their owners currently worried about whether to start them for difficult fixtures in Gameweek 5.
All that and more Fantasy Premier League talking points from another night of international action in this latest Scout Notes article.
SERBIA 2-2 ROMANIA
Aleksandar Mitrovic (£6.7m) – 90 minutes
Nemanja Matic (£5.0m) – 19 minutes
Aleksandar Mitrovic continued his blistering start to the season by adding another two goals to his tally. The Fulham man has now found the net six times in the first five matches of 2018/19 with two assists to boot, one of his club and one for his country. In his last 30 matches in all competitions he has scored 23 goals.
Such form should ease any concerns among Mitrovic’s 19% ownership about starting him in Gameweek 5 when he faces a trip to Manchester City. The champions remain without a clean sheet in their first two home matches of the campaign while Fulham have registered more big chances than either of the sides to have already scored at the Etihad Stadium in 2018/19.
SCOTLAND 2-0 ALBANIA
Andrew Robertson (£6.1m) – 90 minutes
Kevin McDonald (£4.5m) – 45 minutes
Stuart Armstrong (£5.3m) – 45 minutes
Scott McTominay (£4.4m) – 11 minutes
Andrew Robertson was a standout performer for Scotland as they recorded a much-needed win over Albania. The Liverpool man has recently been handed the captain’s armband and he led by example at Hampden Park. Much of the play went down the left side of the pitch and it was Robertson’s cross for Steven Naismith that created Berat Djimsiti’s own-goal.
There was disappointment for the 6% of Fantasy managers invested in Bournemouth winger Ryan Fraser (£5.6m) as it was revealed he picked up a knock in training with Scotland and missed the match with Albania. He is now a doubt for Gameweek 5.
Robert Snodgrass (£5.5m) and Callum Paterson (£5.3m) were unused substitutes for Alex McLeish’s Scotland side.
PORTUGAL 1-0 ITALY
Rui Patrício (£4.5m) – 90 minutes
Rúben Neves (£5.2m) – 90 minutes
Bernardo Silva (£7.6m) – 90 minutes
Jorginho (£5.1m) – 90 minutes
Emerson Palmieri (£5.3m) – 16 minutes
There was a positive update on Bernardo Silva after he played the full 90 minutes for Portugal as they beat Italy in their UEFA Nations League debut. The Manchester City man had revealed last week that he came out of a friendly match at half-time with a groin complaint, but his run out on Monday night allays any injury fears ahead of Gameweek 5.
Rui Patrício got another 90 minutes under his belt, which should come as no surprise. But there was another full appearance for his Wolves colleague Rúben Neves who appears to be slowly establishing himself in the international picture. Southampton’s Cedric Soares was an unused substitute again.
Jorginho was the only Premier League player to play the whole match for Italy. Chelsea teammate Emerson Palmieri made his debut for the Azzurri while Davide Zappacosta (£5.2m) was not in the matchday squad.
SWEDEN 2-3 TURKEY
Victor Lindelöf (£4.9m) – 90 minutes
Caglar Söyüncü (£5.0m) – 90 minutes
Cenk Tosun (£7.0m) – 90 minutes
Everton striker Cenk Tosun played his part in a dramatic comeback Nations League win for Turkey on Monday night. He provided the assist for Emre Akbaba’s first goal of the night, an 88th-minute equaliser.
Elsewhere there was a second full appearance of the campaign for Leicester new boy Caglar Söyüncü as he builds up his match fitness. Watford’s Ken Sema (£4.9m) was an unused substitute for Sweden.
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