Our Scoreboard series rounds up the key goings-on from Tuesday’s Gameweek 17 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
Bernardo Silva (£7.7m) was withdrawn at half-time tonight, with his team already 3-0 up, which Pep Guardiola touched on in his post-match interview:
“He had muscular niggles. Nothing was injured but he was a little bit uncomfortable. But at 3-0 we didn’t want to take the risk.”
Kyle Walker (£5.5m) was a surprise absentee on the night, as he wasn’t deemed fit enough to make the matchday squad.
Elsewhere, Ozan Kabak (£4.4m) went down holding his left ankle for Norwich City, and was promptly replaced, adding to the Canaries mounting injury list, while Jamie Shackleton (£4.4m) also hobbled off for Leeds United.
At Aston Villa, Jed Steer (£4.0m), Morgan Sanson (£5.0m), Anwar El Ghazi (£5.6m) and Keinan Davis (£4.5m) were all absent from the matchday squad, with Steven Gerrard saying yesterday that two members of his first-team had tested positive for Covid-19.
It was also revealed prior to kick-off that Marvelous Nakamba (£4.5m) could be ruled out for the rest of the Premier League campaign, after sustaining a knee injury against Liverpool at the weekend.
“We’ve got a rough idea (on the timeframe) but I don’t want to get it wrong and I don’t want to put unnecessary pressure on the medical staff but he’ll certainly be missing for a number of months.” – Steven Gerrard on Marvelous Nakamba
On the suspension front, Junior Firpo (£4.7m) will miss Gameweek 18, having picked up his fifth yellow card of the season tonight.
Ruben Dias (£6.1m), plus Norwich duo Max Aarons (£4.3m) and Brandon Williams (£3.9m), are also just one caution away from a ban, after picking up bookings.
However, City can at least welcome Joao Cancelo (£6.8m) back, having served his one-match suspension against Leeds.
GAMEWEEK 17 TAKEAWAYS
FOUR WINS IN SIX FOR GERRARD
Six games in for Steven Gerrard as Aston Villa manager, and he’s picked up 12 points with wins against Brighton and Hove Albion, Crystal Palace, Leicester City and Norwich City, with their only losses arriving against the current top two – Manchester City and Liverpool. It’s been a hugely encouraging start for the former Liverpool man, with appealing fixtures against Burnley and Leeds United still to come before the end of the year.
At Carrow Road, Ollie Watkins (£7.6m) produced his first double-figure haul of the season, courtesy of a goal, assist and maximum bonus, while budget midfielder Jacob Ramsey (£4.5m) – who has now started five of Gerrard’s first six matches in charge – also found the back of the net in an excellent all-round display.
It was also notable just how advanced Villa’s full-backs were on the night, especially Matty Cash (£5.0m), who touched the ball six times inside Norwich’s penalty area, more than any other player bar Watkins.
Aston Villa’s average position map v Norwich City in Gameweek 17
CITY HIT SEVEN AS DE BRUYNE AND FODEN SHINE
In a stunning performance, Man City completely outclassed Leeds in Gameweek 17, with midfielders Kevin De Bruyne (£11.8m), Riyad Mahrez (£8.6m), Phil Foden (£8.0m), Jack Grealish (£7.6m), Ilkay Gundogan (£7.3m) and Rodri (£5.5m) all amongst the points.
For Foden, his 12-point haul is his best since Brighton away in Gameweek 9, while tonight’s win also signalled the return of De Bruyne, who was simply irresistible from his no. 8 role, scoring twice from a match-high nine shots. His performance could have implications for Bernardo Silva and Gundogan, too, with the three players essentially competing for the two central attacking midfield slots in Pep Guardiola’s 4-3-3 formation.
“A lot has happened this year, a little bit out of out of my control. The only thing I could do is work hard and come back as quick as possible. It’s unfortunate with everything that has happened and at the time I was coming back I got Covid. It happened and now we are working hard to come back to a good level.” – Kevin De Bruyne
ATTACKING STRUGGLES CONTINUE AT NORWICH
Norwich City’s struggles in the final-third continued on Tuesday, as they lost 2-0 to Aston Villa at Carrow Road. As a result, they have now failed to find the back of the net in 11 of their 17 league fixtures this season, scoring just eight goals overall, while their 14.02 non-penalty expected goals (xG) total is worse than any other top-flight side.
The absentees are stacking up, too, with eight players missing against Villa due to various injuries and Covid, something Dean Smith touched on after the match:
“It looked like we were playing low-risk football, which is not what we asked. We’re missing around eight players that could play in the first team at the moment. The last few games have been frustrating because of our finishing. Tonight, it was frustrating because of our first-half performance. You’re not going to win anything playing like that.”
