There was more to Leeds United v Everton and Aston Villa v Newcastle United than two spot-kicks but from a Fantasy Premier League (FPL) perspective, it was the main talking point from the Gameweek 2 matches at Elland Road and Villa Park.
ASTON VILLA 2-0 NEWCASTLE UNITED
- Goals: Danny Ings (£8.1m), Anwar El Ghazi (£6.0m)
- Assists: Tyrone Mings (£5.0m) x2
- Bonus: Mings x3, Ings x2, El Ghazi x1
INGS CLINICAL – BUT SECOND IN LINE ON PENS
Danny Ings (£8.1m) shot to the top of the FPL forwards’ points table with a goal in Aston Villa’s 2-0 win over Newcastle United.
The lack of chances created for the England international is a bit of a concern, as the Villa striker ranks only joint-14th for goal attempts among players in his position this season (see the below table from our Premium Members Area).
But being clinical with relatively few opportunities comes second nature to the former Southampton man, who is the only current FPL forward whose shot-to-goal conversion rate was in excess of 20% in each of the previous two Premier League campaigns.
That killer instinct also helps on the Bonus Points System, with fewer baseline bonus points deducted for shots off target.
With the injured Ollie Watkins (£7.4m) and Leon Bailey (£6.5m) still to come back into the side, and Emiliano Buendia (£6.5m) yet to hit his best form, the hope is also that the rate of chance creation will increase so that Ings can marry his ruthless streak with more shots at goal.
Bailey and Watkins’ eventual inclusion in the Villa starting XI may also be good news for Ings with regards to penalty-taking duties.
Anwar El Ghazi (£6.0m) was confirmed as Villa’s first-choice penalty taker on Saturday, stepping up from 12 yards with Ings on the pitch.
But El Ghazi’s place in the team is surely at risk in the medium term when Dean Smith has a full squad at his disposal.
The major downside for Ings is fixtures, with Villa sitting bottom of our Season Ticker from Gameweeks 4-10 and the September international break likely to be a jumping off point for many of us.
The forward did score five goals in 12 meetings with these sides last season, however.
DEFENCES FAIL TO CONVINCE
Despite the clean sheet, Villa’s backline will likely be off the menu due to the aforementioned fixture run and some unconvincing defending in Gameweeks 1 and 2.
Callum Wilson (£7.5m) wasted a one-on-one chance in a dominant opening 30 minutes for the visitors, with the Newcastle striker also being denied a penalty due to a tight offside call.
Tyrone Mings (£5.0m) is someone who could continue to prosper at the other end of the pitch, however: he was involved in both Villa goals, and the appointment of a set-piece coach in the summer should only add to his threat from free-kicks, corners and even throw-ins.
“I brought a set piece coach in in the summer and he’ll be taking plenty of kudos for that goal as well. It was a great finish from Danny Ings and a set-piece routine we have actually worked on in pre-season. Matt Cash has got a long throw and why not utilise it?” – Dean Smith
Matt Targett (£5.0m) looks like a ‘sell’, meanwhile, with Ashley Young (£5.0m) displacing him at left-back.
As for Newcastle’s ropey backline, they are joint-bottom for big chances conceded this season. A first-half knee injury to Isaac Hayden (£4.5m) will, barring further recruitment, make their 3-5-2 set-up look even more open when Southampton visit Tyneside in Gameweek 3.
It’s a pity that they aren’t tighter at the back, as Matt Ritchie (£5.0m) sits second behind only Trent Alexander-Arnold (£7.5m) for chances created this season.
Still, that more attacking mindset has helped elevate Wilson to fourth in the FPL forwards’ table for shots on goal.
Aston Villa XI: Martinez, Cash, Mings, Konsa, Young, Ramsey, Luiz (Tuanzebe 88), McGinn, Buendia (Philogene-Bidace 86), Ings (Wesley 91), El Ghazi.
Newcastle XI: Woodman; Fernandes (Joelinton 78), Lascelles, Schar, Murphy, Willock (Fraser 90), Hayden (S Longstaff 45), Almiron, Ritchie, Wilson, Saint-Maximin.
LEEDS UNITED 2-2 EVERTON
- Goals: Mateusz Klich (£5.5m), Raphinha (£6.5m) | Dominic Calvert-Lewin (£8.1m), Demarai Gray (£5.5m)
- Assists: Patrick Bamford (£8.0m), Liam Cooper (£4.5m) | Abdoulaye Doucoure (£5.5m)
- Bonus: Klich x3, Gray x2, Calvert-Lewin x1
CALVERT-LEWIN ON PENALTIES
As if being front and centre of Everton’s attacking play under Rafael Benitez wasn’t enough, Dominic Calvert-Lewin (£8.1m) now seemingly has penalty-taking responsibilities in his locker.
‘Get the ball to Calvert-Lewin’ seems to be the Toffees’ mantra and the England striker has had more shots in the box (nine) and efforts on target (six) than any FPL asset this season, adding another four of each of those on Saturday.
He is top for expected goal involvement (xGI) among Premier League players in 2021/22, too, despite not being fully match sharp.
“He’s had a problem with his toe. He has not been doing full training sessions in the last 10 days. You can see the quality he has but he is missing a little bit of the stamina to finish the games in the way he wants to finish them.” – Rafael Benitez on Dominic Calvert-Lewin
Calvert-Lewin was the man to step up from 12 yards on Saturday in the continued absence of Gylfi Sigurdsson (£6.9m), having been fouled himself for Everton’s first-half penalty.
“It’s something I’ve wanted for a while [becoming Everton’s penalty-taker]. I’ve been ready to step in and take that responsibility.
“I spoke to the manager before the first game of the season, we had that conversation. He put me on the pens and thankfully I put one away against Leeds.” – Dominic Calvert-Lewin
Above: Dominic Calvert-Lewin’s xG shotmap (taken from the Premium Members Area) in 2021/22 shows how close to goal his nine chances have been.
BUDGET GRAY IMPRESSES
Two of Everton’s £5.5m midfielders combined for their second goal.
Abdoulaye Doucoure‘s (£5.5m) slightly more attacking remit under Benitez is something we highlighted last week and it was he who teed up Demarai Gray (£5.5m) to score, the latter arguably being the Toffees’ stand-out player at Elland Road on the left wing of a 4-4-2.
“It [Gray’s goal and performance] is an indication we have a player trying to do his best. At the same time, he is pushing the players around him, because the competition is good in each position.
“Gray and Townsend are giving us competition in the wide areas and that will only be positive for the team and the strikers.” – Rafael Benitez
TWO GAMES, ZERO CLEAN SHEETS
A total of 34 shots were shared equally in this match, which doesn’t sound like a great advert for either defence on paper.
Indeed, Everton and Leeds are two of 11 sides who have yet to register a clean sheet this season, and the Whites have allowed more shots on target than any other team.
If we’re clutching at straws regarding the set-piece-taking Lucas Digne (£5.5m) and co, we can say that preventable, individual Michael Keane (£5.0m) errors have accounted for two of the goals that Everton have conceded in 2021/22, with the other a Raphinha (£6.5m) howitzer.
But there were shaky moments in either side’s backline, and this was a good advert for the absent Diego Llorente (£4.5m) and Ben Godfrey (£4.9m), arguably the two sides’ most accomplished centre-halves.
Patrick Bamford (£8.0m) and Raphinha at least got back among the FPL attacking returns, the latter racking up an eye-catching six shots – a Gameweek high among FPL assets, even if all bar his goal came from outside the box and they amounted to a combined xG of 0.18.
Leeds United XI: Meslier, Ayling, Cooper, Struijk, Firpo (Shackleton 60), Phillips, Dallas, Klich (Roberts 60), Raphinha, Harrison, Bamford.
Everton XI: Pickford, Keane, Coleman, Mina, Digne, Allan, Doucoure, Iwobi (Townsend 75), Gray (Delph 83), Richarlison, Calvert-Lewin (Kean 90).
ALL YOU NEED TO KNOW FROM GAMEWEEK 2
