Brighton prepare for favourable fixture run as Salah breaks FPL record

We continue our Fantasy Premier League (FPL) Scout Notes with analysis of Liverpool v Brighton and Hove Albion and Watford v Southampton.

For a briefer summary of Saturday’s Premier League action, click here, while you can read up on Newcastle United v Chelsea, Tottenham Hotspur v Manchester United, Norwich City v Leeds United and Aston Villa v West Ham United via the links below.

• READ MORE: Will Mason Mount be fit for FPL Gameweek 11?
• READ MORE: Spurs players back on the FPL radar after Nuno sacking
• READ MORE: Raphinha stars as Leeds win at Norwich in Gameweek 10
• READ MORE: Antonio blanks and Bowen maintains fine form: FPL notes from West Ham’s win

LIVERPOOL 2-2 BRIGHTON AND HOVE ALBION

• Goals: Jordan Henderson (£5.0m), Sadio Mane (£11.9m) | Enock Mwepu (£5.9m), Leandro Trossard (£6.4m)
• Assists: Mohamed Salah (£12.9m), Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain (£5.8m) | Solly March (£5.3m), Adam Lallana (£5.4m)
• Bonus: Henderson x3, Oxlade-Chamberlain x2, Trossard x2, Mwepu x2

ANOTHER ASSIST FOR SALAH

Liverpool were held to a 2-2 draw by Brighton at Anfield on Saturday, with Mohamed Salah (£12.9m) bagging an assist for Jordan Henderson’s (£5.0m) opener.

The 70%-owned Egyptian was handed the armband by over 4.6 million managers to make him the most-captained player in a single Gameweek in FPL history, but he failed to add a goal, coming close when a second-half strike was ruled out for offside.

Having set up Henderson, Salah has now provided an assist in each of his last four Premier League games, and seven in total so far, which is more than he managed across the entire 2020/21 campaign.

Elsewhere, Sadio Mane (£11.9m) scored a close-range header and has now produced either a goal or assist in seven of his 10 appearances this season, though he has failed to register a single double-digit haul during that time.

KEITA INJURY LATEST

As for Naby Keita (£5.0m), the Liverpool no. 8 had to be replaced during the first half due to a hamstring injury. The 26-year-old will now undergo a scan to determine the severity, but manager Jurgen Klopp did suggest that he would miss the midweek UEFA Champions League clash with Atletico Madrid.

“He told me, he showed me [the] hamstring. So, I don’t know, we will see; obviously tomorrow [or] the day after tomorrow he will have a scan and then we will know.

But if somebody feels the hamstring, it would be the first time that he is ready for the next game. So, I can’t see that.”

Given the number of injuries in midfield, Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain (£5.8m) could perhaps be the one to benefit with more minutes.

“We changed system second half at a specific point. We couldn’t defend the width anymore, obviously we tried to fix that with changing to a 4-4-2, that was with Oxlade going to the left wing and Sadio to the right. Apart from that, he set up the second goal, Sadio’s goal, with a nice cross and that’s it. And then he was part of the bunch playing more or less ‘yes or no’. They all can play better football like Ox can play better football, but anyhow it’s good. He played 70 minutes round about and that’s good for him. He had 90 during the week and today 70, so now let’s see how he can recover and what we can do with that on Wednesday.” – Jurgen Klopp on Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain and his tactical switch to a 4-4-2

After Saturday’s draw, Liverpool remain unbeaten this season, ahead of a testing trip to West Ham United in Gameweek 11.

TROSSARD ON FPL WATCHLIST AHEAD OF APPEALING RUN

Albion fought their way back from two goals down at Anfield to leave with a well-earned point in Gameweek 10, with Enock Mwepu (£5.9m) and Leandro Trossard (£6.4m) on the scoresheet.

However, it was the latter’s performance that really caught the eye from a Fantasy perspective, as he effectively led the line as a false nine. Trossard’s movement helped to pull the Reds’ centre-backs out of position throughout, which in turn then allowed Albion to get runners in behind. In addition to his equaliser, he also had a goal narrowly disallowed for offside, and has now posted team-leading totals for goal attempts, shots in the box and efforts on target this season.

Moving forward, Albion now have a favourable schedule, and sit fifth on our Season Ticker for ease of fixture over the next five Gameweeks. That will surely see plenty of investment in their defensive options, but it’s worth noting that they rank third for attack, with Newcastle United, Aston Villa and Leeds United’s leaky backlines up next.

Following his fourth yellow card of the season in Gameweek 10, Shane Duffy (£4.4m) is now just one further caution away from a ban, along with Joel Veltman (£4.4m).

Liverpool XI: Alisson, Alexander-Arnold, Konate, van Dijk, Robertson, Henderson, Keita (Oxlade-Chamberlain 19), Jones (Minamino 87), Salah, Mane, Firmino (Jota 78)

Brighton XI: Sanchez, Veltman, Duffy, Dunk, Cucurella, Mwepu, Bissouma (Mc Allister 60), March, Lallana (Gross 77), Moder (Lamptey 66), Trossard

WATFORD 0-1 SOUTHAMPTON

• Goals: Che Adams (£6.8m)
• Assists:  Adam Armstrong (£5.9m)
• Bonus: Kyle Walker-Peters x3 (£4.8m), Jan Bednarek (£4.4m) x2, Alex McCarthy (£4.5m) x1, Adams x1

SOLID SAINTS

After their first Premier League away win of the season on Saturday, it’s now seven points from nine for Southampton, which has unsurprisingly coincided with their fixtures easing.

During that time, they rank fourth for non-penalty expected goals (non-pen xG), and top for non-penalty excepted goals conceded (non-pen xGC), having given up just 11 shots in the box against Watford, Burnley and Leeds United combined.

However, their finishing continues to let them down, as only one of their 12 attempts against Watford ended up on target.

“It was a very important win for us. We spoke about the importance of the following weeks after a tough beginning of the season and it seems that we are getting stronger, the guys are getting better, and defensively a fourth clean sheet of the season is a very positive signal for everybody. 

The only criticism is we only scored one as we had so many chances in this game, and at half-time this must be two or three-zero and then the game is won.

You don’t want to say these last few games were easier but you have to take points against these teams if you want to stay in the league and this is the big goal every season for us. Finally, we have taken seven points from the last three games and this is a good average.” – Ralph Hasenhuttl 

Adam Armstrong (£5.9m), back in the starting XI, registered six shots and provided the assist for Che Adams (£6.8m), who has now been directly involved in six goals in his last 10 starts for Saints in all competitions. 

“He has two goals in the last two games and this is important for a striker. He worked hard up front, and this is what we need. He could have scored more today. He had a massive chance after he scored, but the good thing this season is that we don’t just have one striker that scores goals. We have more strikers who can score and players who can step in immediately when we have three games in a week.” – Ralph Hasenhuttl on Che Adams and his forward options

With Aston Villa and Norwich City’s wobbly backlines up next, the Saints’ forwards will surely get further opportunities to impress, though it is still unclear if Armando Broja (£5.0m) will be available in Gameweek 11, having missed out on Saturday due to an ankle injury. Adams’ goal does raise the question over whether Broja walks straight back into the side even if fit, given that it’s been an ‘either/or’ selection with those two strikers so far in 2021/22.

Elsewhere, Kyle Walker-Peters (4.8m) and Mohamed Salisu (£4.5m) were solid at the back, along with the lively Tino Livramento (£4.4m), who has now provided either a goal, assist or clean sheet points in six of his last seven appearances.

DEFENSIVE ISSUES AT WATFORD

Following Saturday’s loss, Watford are now just one of two Premier League teams, along with Newcastle United, yet to keep a single clean sheet this season.

Across the opening 10 Gameweeks, they rank 18^th for expected goals conceded (xGC), and now face a nightmare schedule which include games against Arsenal (a), Manchester United (h), Leicester City (a), Chelsea (h) and Manchester City (h), before their fixtures ease in mid-December.

As for their attacking options, collectively they managed just five shots in the box against Southampton, and have now failed to score in three of their last four Premier League outings.

“We have to improve our defensive way together I know. I’m working since three weeks and the Southampton manager is working since 2018. You can see the difference of three years. We were too passive in the first half when I wanted to put them under pressure.

I asked my players to attack their backline but they were more intelligent and they knew the tactical solution down the flanks. The second half was much better, we pressed better and we put them under some pressure. Maybe we deserved to get a point but we didn’t create enough.

Our fans must be patient, show love and support us at this moment. Their role is very important. I don’t like to be up and down, up and down in the table. We need to be more consistent. Our supporters are always behind us, but if you see the first half, you can see Southampton played very well.

I knew they could because I watched the game against Chelsea. Southampton deserved to win that game and so for this reason, I said this would be a very tough match. We lost some points today, but I’m sure we’ll collect our points in another way.

We have to keep working. My philosophy is different and my players have been used to playing in a different way. On Monday, I’ll show them on the TV how they must move in order to close the space. In the first half, they found the solution of using the flanks too easily. We were always arriving too late.

I want to be more aggressive from the front. I was very confident until the end as I saw my players fighting for every ball and second ball in the second half. When you create chances and don’t score it’s OK as you feel the next time it could be better.” – Claudio Ranieri

Watford XI: Foster, Ngakia (Fletcher 82), Troost-Ekong, Cathcart, Masina, Sissoko, Kucka, Sarr, Joao Pedro (Cleverley 45), Cucho (Sema 45), King

Southampton XI: McCarthy, Livramento, Bednarek, Salisu, Walker-Peters, Elyounoussi (S Armstrong 70), Ward-Prowse (Diallo 80), Romeu (Lyanco 90), Redmond, Adams, A Armstrong