Ryan Fraser (£5.7m) has turned heads after his 18-point haul for Bournemouth on Saturday afternoon.
He is the focal point of our next Scout Notes article, which looks at the Cherries win over Leicester and Crystal Palace’s win at Huddersfield.
That was where we had further confirmation of the importance of Wilfried Zaha (£7.0m) and James Tomkins (£4.4m) to the Eagles.
BOURNEMOUTH 4-2 LEICESTER CITY
Goals: Ryan Fraser x2 (£5.7m), Adam Smith (£4.5m), Josh King (£6.3m) | James Maddison (£6.6m), Marc Albrighton (£5.3m)
Assists: Fraser, Callum Wilson (£6.3m), King | Ricardo Pereira (£5.1m), Kelechi Iheanacho (£5.9m)
Ryan Fraser (£5.7m) took advantage of a return to a 4-4-2 formation and naive Leicester City full-backs to register a monster haul in Gameweek 5. The Scottish winger scored his second and third goals of the season and added a second assist.
Fraser was helped by the positioning of Ricardo Pereira (£5.1m) for both of his strikes. The Foxes right-back was caught out high up the field on multiple occasions, and the equally advanced role of Ben Chilwell (£5.0m) on the opposite flank left Harry Maguire (£5.5m) and Wes Morgan (£4.5m) horrendously exposed.
It is somewhat interesting that Fraser’s underlying numbers coming into Gameweek 5 were weighted more towards creativity than goal threat. That and the fact that Leicester’s tactics played right into his hands does suggest that, while Fraser looks like a key target, 18-point hauls are unlikely to be the norm. He had just two shots in the match, both of those finding the back of the net. Also, his highest goal tally in a Bournemouth season is six, which means he’s just two off that already if you count the EFL Cup.
Nevertheless, Fraser looks the best route into Bournemouth’s attack as they face a trip to Burnley in Gameweek 6. He clearly has an eye for goal and, as we mentioned, has been one of the most creative players in the division so far this season. Furthermore, no side has conceded more shots than the Clarets so far in 2018/19 and the Cherries fixtures look very appealing over the next five weeks. Fraser’s next challenge will be to deal with more attention from defenders, starting in Gameweek 6, according to manager Eddie Howe.
“Last season he did well for us but didn’t quite get the goals and the headlines he is getting now. Goals will naturally bring headlines and I’m pleased he’s getting them because he is defining matches for us. Finding consistency, especially when you are a marked man and people know about you, is his next challenge to overcome. Certainly, he has the ability to do it.” – Eddie Howe
There were a number of Fantasy managers who opted to either bench or sell Fraser ahead of Gameweek 5 after he picked up a knock on international duty. The player himself revealed the process behind him eventually starting the match.
“It was 50-50 whether I was going to play. I came through my first day on Friday. Me and the gaffer made the decision that it was worth taking the risk. It was an important game and the risk paid off.” – Ryan Fraser
Callum Wilson (£6.3m), while slightly more expensive than Fraser, still looks a great asset too. He has registered attacking returns in all but one match since Gameweek 1 and remains top of the pile for shots inside the penalty area. However, with Fraser representing a cheaper investment, Josh King (£6.3m) very much still on penalties, and a host of forwards in Wilson’s price bracket also in good form, he may be overlooked by some.
Defensively, Bournemouth remain in the better half of the table when it comes to big chances conceded. However, the Cherries could not add to their clean sheet count despite being 4-0 up and cruising at one point on Saturday. They have now conceded seven goals this season, averaging out at 1.4 per game. While not terrible, it is a trend that could indicate that, as has been the case in previous years, they are not to be trusted for defensive returns. After all, lapses in concentration have often been their Achilles heel, which shows up in the data as a low big chances conceded count but no translation into clean sheets.
Jamie Vardy (£8.9m) did not particularly enjoy his return to action following suspension and failed to have much impact on proceedings. Despite leading the line, three of his team-mates received more passes in the final third than him.
However, he should still have penalties in his locker long-term. James Maddison (£6.6m) took the 88th-minute spot-kick won by Pereira but that was only because Vardy had been replaced by Jonny Evans (£4.9m) shortly before the goal.
The former Manchester United man was introduced after captain Wes Morgan was sent off for a second bookable offence. The centre-back will miss the Gameweek 6 visit of Huddersfield but should be back in the side for a Gameweek 7 trip to Newcastle. Evans seems the more likely to fill in for him with Caglar Söyüncü (£5.0m) yet to make a first-team appearance and a poor performance with the Under 23s last week. Manager Claude Puel leant his support to Morgan after the match.
“(Wes Morgan) started the season well with good games and good intensity, good strength. He conceded the sending off but I felt it was harsh to concede the sending off today. I don’t have a problem with Wes. I think we have had also a difficult decision against us. The first foul for me is from the opponent. He pushed Wes and he took his first yellow in this situation. After I think he tried to recover the ball and touched the ball.” – Claude Puel
Leicester have just one clean sheet so far this season and their defensive frailties were exposed in a big way at the Vitality Stadium. Their biggest problem was, as already mentioned, the forward-thinking of their two full-backs. Pereira was caught of position on several occasions, including for the first two goals, and Chilwell played Fraser onside for one of them. Pereira definitely operates like a winger who has been converted to a full-back, a change conducted by Puel when the two worked together at Nice. With his defensive weaknesses clear for all to see, there could be a case for either dropping him or pushing him back higher up the pitch. He has played in midfield twice this season but moving him there would mean dropping new signing Rachid Ghezzal (£5.3m). Alternatives in the right-back position include Daniel Amartey (£4.5m) or the more defensively-minded Danny Simpson (£4.3m)
However, Puel seems committed to players like Pereira, judging from these quotes before Leicester’s defeat to Bournemouth.
“We try to play a game to play forward and use the full-backs to participate in our attacking play and I think it is important to have variation in our play and to try to cause problems to the opponents. For example, like Chilwell and like Amartey. It is a new position for him but he develops a lot. He has all the attributes to take the space and to make a good defender. Christian Fuchs is a very good left foot and he can give good service, and he can shoot and score. Ricardo can also. He is a former winger. He can attack and defend. I think for me they are modern full-backs. I like this and it is important to our style of play.” – Claude Puel
Puel laid some of the blame for the defeat at the door of the international break. Whether or not he was right to do so, there was a large number of their players involved for their countries. It may be worth keeping that in mind the next time Leicester play after an international break, a trip to Arsenal in Gameweek 9.
“Perhaps it was difficult to prepare for this game after 15 days break, and the international players came back just the day before the game. We had 13 players away, but we know the difficulty and we have to correct this for next time, for the next international break. Perhaps some players did not have enough freshness and concentration because they were a little tired with their travels. It is not an excuse but I think we lacked some concentration, focus, desire and the mentality, but the positive attitude was always present here. It is my responsibility to look perhaps at different players if they are tired but the player wants to play all the time of course. I need to have a good mind and think about this. This is my responsibility” – Claude Puel
BOURNEMOUTH XI (4-4-2): Begovic; Rico, Cook, Ake, Smith; Fraser, Lerma (L Cook 78′), Gosling, Brooks (Francis 68′); Wilson, King (Mousset 85′).
LEICESTER CITY XI (4-2-3-1): Schmeichel; Chilwell, Morgan, Maguire, Pereira; Mendy, Ndidi; Gray (Iheanacho 61′), Maddison, Ghezzal (Albrighton 61′); Vardy (Evans 84′).
HUDDERSFIELD TOWN 0-1 CRYSTAL PALACE
Goals: Wilfried Zaha (£7.0m)
Assists: Jordan Ayew (£5.9m)
Wilfried Zaha (£7.0m) scored on his return to the Crystal Palace side to further complicate the debate over which budget forwards are the most effective. The Ivory Coast international has found the net in all but one of his appearances so far this season, the only time Zaha failed to do so was against the impressive Liverpool backline. Only one player has registered more shots in the penalty area than him in Gameweek 5.
Zaha played on the left flank in a 4-3-3 formation and worked very well alongside centre-forward Jordan Ayew (£5.9m). The former Swansea City man came in for the injured Christian Benteke (£6.4m) and got an assist for Zaha’s solo goal. Manager Roy Hodgson was suitably impressed and there’s every chance he’ll hold on to his place ahead of potential alternative option Alexander Sørloth (£5.0m).
“I thought (Jordan Ayew) was excellent, really, really good. He must be delighted with his performance and I am sure the fans – and they were great the fans, and there were a lot of them making constant noise – I should think they will go home thinking we have found a centre-forward here because that’s certainly our thoughts at the moment.” – Roy Hodgson
It should come as no surprise that Crystal Palace recorded a clean sheet upon James Tomkins‘ (£4.4m) return to action. He missed Gameweeks 4 and 5 with a muscle strain and Palace were worse for his absence. Without him in the side, they averaged two goals conceded per game, compared to just 0.67 when he is present. That number, of course, includes Liverpool’s visit to Selhurst Park, a level of opposition they are unlikely to face on a regular basis. The combination of Tomkins and centre-back partner Mamadou Sakho (£5.0m) was also incredibly effective last season too. Only Liverpool kept more clean sheets than Palace between Sakho’s return from injury in Gameweek 30 and the end of the campaign.
“(Tomkins) was very good. To be fair, two players of that quality (Tomkins and Zaha), if we are going to have the season we would like to have, you need quality players, and when you don’t have them, you do miss them.” – Roy Hodgson
Huddersfield continue to look like a team in relegation form. They cannot find a way to shut up shop defensively and have still found the net twice in five matches, and not once from open play. For those reasons, it’s very hard to consider any of their players for inclusion in our Fantasy squads.
The Huddersfield Examiner decided to take a page out of Fantasy Football Scout’s book over the weekend and did some interesting statistical analysis on the Terriers. It does not make for good reading.
David Wagner’s side currently have the lowest record for turning possession into shots. They have had 40 shots, the joint-worst of any Premier League outfit to have played five games, with an average possession of 45%. That averages out a shot every 5.1 minutes that the Terriers are on the ball, the worst in the league.
HUDDERSFIELD TOWN XI (3-4-2-1): Lössl; Kongolo, Schindler, Zanka (Depoitre 78′); Löwe, Billing, Mooy, Hadergjonaj; van La Parra (Mbenza 78′), Kachunga (Diakhaby 68′); Mounié.
CRYSTAL PALACE XI (4-3-3): Hennessey; van Aanholt, Tomkins, Sakho, Wan-Bissaka; Kouyate, Milivojevic, McArthur; Townsend, Ayew, Zaha.
READ MORE GAMEWEEK 5 SCOUT NOTES
- Spurs 1-2 Liverpool
- Bournemouth 4-2 Leicester
- Chelsea 4-1 Cardiff
- Huddersfield 0-1 Crystal Palace
- Man City 3-0 Fulham
- Newcastle 1-2 Arsenal (coming soon)
- Watford 1-2 Man United (coming soon)
- Wolves 1-0 Burnley
- Everton 1-3 West Ham
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