Our latest Scout Notes piece focuses on the match at Turf Moor on Saturday as Burnley managed to overcome Claudio Ranieri’s Fulham side despite not one of their players getting on the scoresheet.
We’ll round up the main Fantasy talking points from the game in Lancashire, which includes analysis of Fulham’s slightly less porous backline.
Burnley 2-1 Fulham
- Goals: Joe Bryan (£4.8m) own-goal, Denis Odoi (£4.4m) own-goal | Andre Schurrle (£5.6m)
- Assists: Jeff Hendrick (£5.2m) x2 | Denis Odoi
Fulham’s luck deserted them on Saturday as they managed to lose to Burnley without conceding a shot on target to their hosts.
The Cottagers also struck the Clarets’ woodwork through Calum Chambers (£4.2m) and saw a Luciano Vietto (£5.4m) effort superbly cleared off the line by James Tarkowski (£4.7m).
Claudio Ranieri hailed his side’s efforts at full-time:
We started very well and we scored a great goal, and then they suddenly score twice with two own-goals, and it is unbelievable.
We had the chance to draw the match in the first half, but we hit the crossbar.
In the second half, we tried our best and put them under pressure. We moved the ball very well and we played so well, and they save the ball on the line, which is unbelievable.
We play well, we deserve minimum a draw.
Sean Dyche, meanwhile, conceded that luck played a huge part in his side’s victory:
I didn’t think we played as well today as we did in the previous two wins, but the mentality to come back from a goal down for the second game in a row was terrific and I thought we grew into the game and ended up being the more progressive side.
We got a scratch of luck, but I’m not going to cry that one in because I don’t think we’ve had our share this season.
And towards the end James (Tarkowski) does what we maybe weren’t doing enough of at the start of the season, by making an absolutely fantastic block to make sure we go and win the game.
They threw caution to the wind in the second half and why wouldn’t you? They haven’t won away all season and they are trying to get a foothold in an important game, so they went very expansive, but I don’t remember them opening us up too many times.
The resilience, character and energy is back in the side and we are doing all the details better.
Earlier in the season we were conceding a lot of soft goals. We have to continue, of course, but what it does is provide a mental shift.
Over 70,000 Fantasy Premier League managers were lured into buying Ashley Barnes (£5.7m) ahead of the Gameweek 22 deadline after the budget forward delivered three attacking returns in the previous four league matches.
Barnes had also impressed on the underlying attacking statistics front but this one of those afternoons where the former Brighton striker and Burnley in general failed to really ignite going forward: Barnes, indeed, failed to register a single shot on goal though did supply three chances for his team-mates.
The best of the Clarets’ opportunities fell to Chris Wood (£6.2m) but Barnes’ strike partner headed against the outside of the post from a Phil Bardsley (£4.2m) cross with the home side still one-goal down.
With Johann Berg Gudmundsson (£5.6m), Aaron Lennon (£4.9m) and Robbie Brady (£5.4m) all either injured or suspended, budget midfielder Dwight McNeil (£4.4m) was given another run-out on the left flank and impressed his manager in the opening 45 minutes.
Dyche said:
He keeps going, he was tiring today as you would expect, but first half I thought he was absolutely outstanding. The number of crosses he got in, good crosses, he’s learning, he’s improving – very, very good young player. We want him to continue.
No player on show delivered more crosses or created more chances than the teenage winger, which potentially bodes well for future returns given the height the Clarets posses up front and at set-piece situations.
How long McNeil has in the Burnley starting XI remains to be seen, however, with Lennon’s knee problem not a long-term one and Brady returning from suspension in Gameweek 24.
Gudmundsson, meanwhile, ought to be fit for the trip to Watford next weekend with Dyche revealing the Icelandic winger is not far away from recovery:
Yeah, very close, I would expect him to have a good few days now towards next weekend. Very close.
Burnely’s two goals arrived in fortuitous fashion, with Joe Bryan (£4.8m) and Denis Odoi (£4.4m) providing the significant touches to a shot and cross from makeshift winger Jeff Hendrick (£5.2m).
Dyche hailed Hendrick’s contribution on what will quite possibly be his one and only appearance on the right of midfield:
I thought Jeff put a sterling shift in today.
We ask a lot of Jeff and some people question him, but he plays all over the place and continues to play hard and do a great job for us.
I hope they give him the (first) goal because it was on target.
Though they conceded two goals at Turf Moor, Fulham’s defensive improvements continue.
The Cottagers’ defence was only breached in the most unfortunate of circumstances and with the exception of the 4-1 defeat to Arsenal in Gameweek 21, Ranieri’s side have impressed at the back of late.
Fulham conceded ten big chances in that loss at the Emirates but have allowed just three clear-cut opportunities in their other five most-recent Premier League matches, including Saturday’s 2-1 reverse in Lancashire – something to bear in mind for those with Spurs assets going into Gameweek 23.
Only six teams (two of which, Manchester City and Wolves, have played a game less and may pass Fulham’s total this evening) have allowed fewer shots on target than Ranieri’s troops in the last six Gameweeks.
Aleksandar Mitrovic (£6.6m) was well-shackled by Ben Mee (£4.7m) throughout and managed only one headed attempt on goal all game but Vietto made a significant difference upon his introduction, perhaps fired up by his manager’s recent comments after his dismal performance against Oldham Athletic in the FA Cup.
Vietto had five shots in total, including the effort that Tarkowski hooked off the line and a strike that Tom Heaton (£4.8m) parried in the Burnley goal.
The Argentine forward perhaps stands a decent chance of starting next weekend, with Ryan Sessegnon (£6.0m) hooked at half-time and Andre Schurrle (£5.6m) repeating his usual trick of scoring a sensational goal and doing very little of note thereafter.
Aboubakar Kamara (£4.5m), meanwhile, was absent from the squad completely.
Chambers returned “out of position” to the Fulham midfield and had another two attempts on goal, including the aforementioned header that struck the woodwork. In the last eight Gameweeks, only two FPL defenders have recorded more shots on goal than the on-loan Arsenal man.
Burnley XI (4-4-2): Heaton; Bardsley, Tarkowski, Mee, Taylor; Hendrick, Westwood, Cork, McNeil; Wood (Vokes 85′), Barnes.
Fulham XI (3-4-3): Rico; Odoi, Le Marchand, Ream; Christie, Chambers, Seri, Bryan (Cairney 61′); Sessegnon (Vietto 46′), Mitrovic, Schurrle (Kebano 74′).
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