Our Scoreboard series rounds up the key goings-on from Saturday’s Gameweek 15 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 throughout December.
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
With the increased frequency of fixtures comes a heightened risk of injury and there was another wave of FPL flags being added after Saturday’s action.
In the early kick-off, four players succumbed to fitness issues of varying types, including budget defender Ben Johnson, who picked up a hamstring problem, and Marcos Alonso, who grimaced with back pain as he left the field. Kai Havertz also couldn’t shake off the issue he picked up after a tackle by Kurt Zouma, who later hobbled off with a non-contact injury.
“Kai [Havertz] struggles from the tackle and has huge pain, Marcos [Alonso] has back pain.
“I actually have no idea when [Kante] will be back and we are missing not only N’Golo, also Mateo Kovacic since five or six weeks ago. Jorgi is playing with hip pain for many matchdays and you can see it. That is the situation.” – Thomas Tuchel
“I’m just hoping they are okay, I don’t know how bad Kurt [Zouma] is. Ben [Johnson] looked as if he has pulled his hamstring a little bit.
“I need to get players back, Ryan Fredericks needs to come back, we need to get Aaron Cresswell back in, and as you well know we don’t have Angelo Ogbonna for a while because of his ACL.” – David Moyes
The draw between Brighton and Southampton came at a cost to both sides.
Albion, and their defence in particular, could be decimated for the clash with Tottenham Hotspur in Gameweek 16, with five players already red-flagged going into today’s clash and others joining them. Shane Duffy will be suspended for the Spurs game after picking up his fifth yellow card of the season, while Lewis Dunk was a surprise omission from the teamsheet with a previously undeclared knee injury.
“He picked up a knee injury at the back-end of the [West Ham] game, so we’re still assessing it. Clearly, not available for today.” – Graham Potter on Lewis Dunk
Joel Veltman needed treatment for a blow to the nose before being substituted, while Leandro Trossard was stretchered off with a serious-looking elbow injury – although Graham Potter was more encouraged by the prognosis at full-time.
“It was an elbow, we don’t think it was as bad as first thought. But again we have not had a massive amount of information.
“The early diagnosis is a bit more positive, we will have to see how it goes over the next day or so.” – Graham Potter on Leandro Trossard
Many of us may have been planning to offload our Spurs attackers in Gameweek 16 (if we hadn’t already), with the straight swap to a Manchester United asset an appealing prospect.
But next week’s trip to a Brighton side so badly hit by unavailability may now be more attractive than initially seemed.
As for the Saints, they’ll be without Mohamed Salisu and Oriel Romeu in Gameweek 16 after the pair picked up their fifth bookings of the season.
Fraser Forster was already absent for the all-south-coast clash but Alex McCarthy picked up a hamstring problem late on – something that ultimately ended up costing Southampton a clean sheet and three points as the shotstopper, without telling his manager, was hindered by his injury.
“Alex is out maybe for a long time, and Fraser Forster is also out injured.
“We still had one change at the end and I could have changed the goalkeeper if necessary in this moment. But Alex must be definitely more professional than that [and tell me he is injured]. This is what I missed from him today in such a game.” – Ralph Hasenhuttl
Ben Mee will be further assessed this week after missing the Newcastle match with a shoulder problem, while Maxwel Cornet suffered a muscular issue in that clash and had to be replaced.
“I think it is a thigh strain so we will wait and see how that calms down.” – Sean Dyche on Maxwel Cornet
The Magpies’ Ryan Fraser missed out with a “minor” hamstring problem.
Impressive budget defender Rayan Ait-Nouri, who has five clean sheets in his last seven outings, will need further assessment after limping out of Wolves’ last-gasp defeat to Liverpool, although Marcal ought to be back for Gameweek 16.
GAMEWEEK 15 TAKEAWAYS
BOWEN LEVEL WITH ANTONIO
Jarrod Bowen is now the joint-fifth highest-scoring midfielder in FPL after his double-digit haul against Chelsea. Michail Antonio may have broken his points drought with a fortuitous assist but the star of the show was Bowen, who could have so easily had other attacking returns besides the two he got on Saturday.
Bowen is now level on points with Antonio in FPL this season – and has scored over twice as many points as his teammate over the last 12 Gameweeks.
With some juicy fixtures ahead, he’ll be surely a transfer target for a number of us from Gameweek 16 onwards, alongside Antonio or otherwise.
MENDY’S CONFIDENCE
Chelsea have now conceded five goals in the last three fixtures – more than they shipped in the first 12 Gameweeks of the season.
Fantasy managers who were late getting on the Blues’ backline have been left short-changed in the last week and Thomas Tuchel’s post-match words on Edouard Mendy – who was culpable for two of West Ham’s goals – don’t make for reassuring reading.
“Edou is going through a rough period. I don’t know why exactly but he seems to have lost a bit of confidence. His decision making was not on the highest level today but with the first goal we also put him in a really awkward situation. He could have saved the situation, he did not, and we are far away from blaming anybody but we need to admit that we do too many crucial mistakes at the moment that cost us a potential win against Man United and cost us today a potential win.” – Thomas Tuchel
£4.0m STARTING GOALKEEPER AT SAINTS?
Southampton’s third-choice goalkeeper, Harry Lewis, was added at £4.0m by FPL on Saturday evening, following those aforementioned injuries to Forster and McCarthy.
Any excitement about another playing £4.0m goalkeeper ought to be put on ice, however, with the Saints understandably reported to be casting the net wider for free agents.
WOLVES DEFENCE TO TEST CITY IN GAMEWEEK 16
Wolves were seconds away from holding Liverpool to a goalless draw on Saturday, only for Mohamed Salah to extend his remarkable run without a blank and tee up Divock Origi for a late, late winner.
Bruno Lage’s side produced an excellent defensive display; yes there were chances spurned but the visitors didn’t force a single shot on target in the first half and with the exception of Diogo Jota‘s inexplicable miss from six yards with only two defenders on the goalline, there weren’t many moments of panic until the final 10 minutes.
Only the top three have conceded fewer goals than Wolves this season and their impressive backline will give City’s attack a thorough examination next weekend – although there’ll be fingers crossed for good news on Ait-Nouri given how much of an excellent upgrade he has been on Marcal.
CITY SLICKERS
Speaking of City, they were in ominously good nick at Vicarage Road.
Pep Guardiola’s troops created chance after chance against Watford, racking up 1.30 expected goals in the first 10 minutes alone, and Bernardo Silva continued his own scarcely believable form with a 15-point haul.
It’s fair to say that he’s doing it the hard way: 37 midfielders have had more goal attempts than him this season, while his shot-to-goal conversion rate of 38.9% is, history tells us, unsustainable in the long term. While confidence is oozing through his veins, however (see the way he took his brace on Saturday), there aren’t too many downsides at £7.5m – especially with those appealing upcoming fixtures.
The return to fitness of some positional rivals may be a bit of a concern but it was only a fortnight ago that he was deemed “undroppable” by his manager, who has since proclaimed the Portugal international the best midfielder in the league.
“I want to say thank you, because after what I said [in midweek about Silva being the best in the league currently], the performance he has done – he didn’t make me wrong. So thank you. He did me well. He is so important for us.” – Pep Guardiola
Phil Foden was back from injury and caught the eye on the left flank again after his recent firesale: he posted a seven-point return but it could and should have been more, with a shot of his own hitting the post and Jack Grealish spurning two gilt-edged opportunities created by his fellow returnee.
WILSON ON THE WATCHLIST
Six goals in 11 matches, the joint-second-best among FPL forwards, and still only owned by 4.5%.
Not many FPL managers will be bringing in Callum Wilson now with Newcastle’s fixtures about to stiffen but he’s one very much for the watchlist ahead of some more favourable matches from Gameweek 20 onwards.
He’s found the back of the net on 18 occasions in his 37 league appearances for the Magpies, a remarkable feat when we consider how collectively poor the north-east club have been in that time.
With forwards elsewhere floundering, and with Eddie Howe likely to couple his front-foot approach with some Saudi-financed signings in January, Wilson is one to watch in the second half of 2021/22.
