Our Scoreboard series rounds up the key goings-on from Tuesday’s Gameweek 14 fixtures, from injury news to stats analysis.
With the swift turnaround between Fantasy Premier League (FPL) deadlines, the Scoreboard articles will take the place of the usual Scout Notes for this midweek round of action.
The graphics below are taken from LiveFPL, Ragabolly’s excellent and ever-expanding website, and our own Premium Members Area.
GOALS, ASSISTS, BONUS
INJURIES AND BANS
Norwich City winger Milot Rashica (£5.2m) was absent from tonight’s game, having tweaked his groin in training on the run-up to Gameweek 14.
Todd Cantwell (£5.3m) missed out with a Covid-related issue, with local press reports suggesting that he has come into contact with someone with the virus, rather than actually contracted it himself.
Elsewhere, Pascal Struijk (£4.4m) aggravated the injury which prevented him from playing 90 minutes at Brighton and Hove Albion on Saturday, and was removed at half-time, with Marcelo Bielsa saying after the game:
“Same problem as Saturday’s. All of us value he played with the physical limitations he played with. It’s a knack that’s very generous and shows how good a teammate he is to all of us.”
On the suspension front, Ciaran Clark (£4.4m) will now miss Gameweek 15 as a result of his red card, having denied a clear goalscoring opportunity after hauling down Teemu Pukki (£5.8m) after just nine minutes. In better news, Eddie Howe’s side can at least welcome back Matt Ritchie (£4.9m) and Jamaal Lascelles (£4.4m) on Saturday, who have now served their respective bans.
Joel Ward’s (£4.5m) yellow card means that he’ll now miss the trip to Old Trafford on Sunday, while Conor Gallagher (£6.1m) picked up his fourth booking of the season, and is now just one further caution away from suspension.
GAMEWEEK 14 TAKEAWAYS
THREE IN FOUR FOR PUKKI BUT NORWICH LACK FINAL-THIRD IDEAS
Despite playing against 10-men for the majority of tonight’s St James’ Park encounter, Norwich City failed to capitalise and lacked any real creativity in the final-third. That’s been a theme throughout their season as the Canaries have managed just eight goals in 14 matches to date. That total includes two penalties, while even over the last four Gameweeks – a period which has seen them take eight points from a possible 12 – they have managed just five big chances.
However, when his team needed him most, Teemu Pukki stepped up with an excellent finish to earn his side a draw. The Finnish international has now netted three goals in his last four appearances, while his total of five for the season is only bettered by Jamie Vardy (£10.6m) and Michail Antonio (£8.1m) amongst all forwards. Despite that, with a tough schedule for the remainder of 2021, the best time to join the ‘Pukki party’ may have passed.
RAPHINHA ON PENALTIES
With Patrick Bamford (£7.7m) missing and Mateusz Klich (£5.4m) substituted at half-time, both of Leeds’ regular penalty takers were off the pitch when Marcelo Bielsa’s side were awarded a late penalty at Elland Road. That was also the case as recently as Gameweek 9, when Rodrigo (£6.3m) converted from the spot against Wolverhampton Wanderers. As a result, many were expecting the Spanish forward to step up again, but instead, and to the surprise of many – not least his 20.1% ownership – it was Raphinha (£6.7m) who took it on and scored to net his sixth goal of the campaign. Notably, the Brazilian wasn’t on the pitch against Wolves, though it remains to be seen just how far up the pecking order he is when everyone is available.
GALLAGHER DEEPER BUT BACK ON SET-PIECES
Despite tonight’s blank, Conor Gallagher put in another lively shift at Elland Road, though he was positioned a little deeper than usual. As a result, he could only muster two penalty box touches, with his one shot in the box and zero created chances well below his usual standards. However, with Luka Milivojevic (£5.4m) dropping to the bench as Patrick Vieira opted for Jeffrey Schlupp (£5.4m) alongside Cheikhou Kouyate (£4.5m) in the engine room, he was at least back on set-pieces, which could be key to his FPL prospects moving forward.
Conor Gallagher’s touch heatmap v Leeds United in Gameweek 14
STAT WATCH – GAMEWEEK 14
Christos Tzolis (£4.8m) ends Tuesday’s action top for shots in the box (3), with a host of players just behind on two.
Notably, that includes Christian Benteke (£6.4m), who appeared off the bench on 68 minutes only to squander a couple of chances, including one at the back post.
In terms of chances created, Newcastle United duo Callum Wilson (£7.4m) and Allan Saint-Maximin (£6.9m), plus Wilfried Zaha (£7.0m), recorded three, followed by several Norwich players, as they pushed for an equaliser at St James’ Park.
