We round up the key Fantasy Premier League (FPL) talking points from Tuesday’s two fixtures in our Scout Notes summary.
The numbers and graphics below are taken from LiveFPL and our own Premium Members Area, where you can access Opta player and team data for every single Premier League fixture.
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Goals from Kai Havertz (£7.7m) and Mason Mount (£7.5m) ended a five-game winless streak for Chelsea, although the win was overshadowed by an injury to Reece James (£5.8m) that brings a severe case of déjà vu to many FPL managers.
German forward Havertz put the Blues 1-0 up in the 16th minute after sliding in to meet the low cross of Raheem Sterling (£9.7m), before Mount placed home a lovely curler from the edge of the box shortly after.
Despite a late flurry of Bournemouth chances, goalkeeper Kepa Arrizabalaga (£4.5m) kept them out with four saves and an impressive total of nine points for his 380,000 new owners.
JAMES INJURY LATEST
The enigma of James continued here. An extremely attacking defender with the highest FPL potential around, he returned from a knee injury only to get hurt again before the hour mark. Once he signalled to the bench to come off, owners weren’t even able to console themselves with clean sheet points.
Frustratingly, James offered glimpses of why he is so popular amongst the FPL community.
Head coach Graham Potter commented on his problem after the match, confirming it was on the same knee as his pre-World Cup injury.
“We will have to see over the next 24 to 48 hours. At the moment it is a bit too soon, but he felt something there so we’ll wait to see the extent of it and keep our fingers crossed at the moment.”
Games are coming thick and fast, so FPL managers may want to wait for a more concrete update before committing to a sale and finding adequate replacements.
KEEPER KEPA KEEPS CLEAN SHEET
In the second half, Bournemouth tried their best to grab a consolation goal and make the game competitive. A long-range shot from Jaidon Anthony (£5.2m) was easily gathered by Kepa, before an impressive save from Ryan Christie (£5.3m) was followed by several dangerous crosses being punched away.
Stoppage time gave Anthony another chance to score but it was saved, although a last-gasp header from former Chelsea man Dominic Solanke (£5.8m) almost broke the hearts of Kepa’s many new owners. It flashed wide.
The Spaniard was deemed a bargain during this period of unlimited free transfers, allowing people to have a ‘top six’ stopper for a lower-table price.
When fit, he has started every league game since Potter’s arrival and the prospect of facing Nottingham Forest in five days, followed by Double Gameweek 19 will ensure his popularity will keep rising.
BITS AND PIECES
Meanwhile, Mount looked much better as a central midfielder with three attackers playing in front of him, rather than being part of the trio himself. He could have scored a second goal for his new owners, putting a low shot on target from 20 yards out but not beyond Mark Travers (£4.3m).
Centre-back Thiago Silva (£5.4m) was first seen limping by television cameras after just five minutes but somehow played all 90.
It was a disappointing result for Gary O’Neil in his first match as the Cherries’ permanent boss but it will be their next two home outings against Crystal Palace and Nottingham Forest that will give a much better indication of whether they can escape relegation.
Chelsea XI: Kepa; James (Azpilicueta 53), Thiago Silva, Koulibaly, Cucurella; Zakaria (Gallagher 82), Jorginho, Mount; Sterling (Chalobah 88), Havertz, Pulisic (Aubameyang 82)
Bournemouth XI: Travers; Smith, Senesi, Kelly, Zemura; Stacey (Anthony 46), Cook, Lerma, Billing (Christie 66); Solanke, Moore (Dembele 85)
It was a similar story at Old Trafford, where an early 2-0 home lead preceded a professional seeing out of the remaining minutes, although Fred (£5.1m) made it three in the final minutes.
The near-million new owners of Marcus Rashford (£6.7m) will be delighted with his 14-point haul, whilst the many that bought Anthony Martial (£6.7m) could feel slightly saddened that he remained on six points.
Five wins from eight league games see them maintain a four-point gap over sixth-placed Liverpool.
RASHFORD CONTINUES GOOD FORM
After his improved club performances secured a place in England’s World Cup squad, three goals in Qatar seem to have rediscovered Rashford’s confidence. Alongside an enticing first three fixtures back, this attracted a lot of FPL managers back to the 25-year-old.
It took 20 minutes for him to score here, as a well-rehearsed corner routine saw Christian Eriksen (£6.3m) pass the ball to Rashford’s cool finish by the penalty spot. Within three minutes, it was a double-digit return.
Down the left-hand side, he passed to Martial, whose fairly weak shot went through the defender’s legs and was scrambled over the line by goalkeeper Wayne Hennessey (£3.9m).
SUCCESS OR DISAPPOINTMENT FOR MARTIAL OWNERS?
As mentioned, Martial’s six points are a real ‘glass half full’ dilemma. If his goal arrived late on, it’d be welcomed as a relief but – with it arriving so early – managers were naturally dreaming of a brace or hat-trick.
Another almost arrived on the hour mark. Bruno Fernandes (£9.8m) slipped in the Frenchman but the shot did not go through Hennessey’s legs. That was his last chance, as the expected withdrawal came minutes later.
The Frenchman is injury-prone, so his game time has been managed over recent friendlies and Carabao Cup ties. 65 minutes arrived here, meaning he should still start against Wolverhampton Wanderers on New Year’s Eve, despite it being one of the shorter match gaps.
BITS AND PIECES
Those with Man United defensive assets were probably concerned at the team sheet, where the absence of Diogo Dalot (£4.8m), Lisandro Martinez (£4.5m) and Victor Lindelof (£4.3m) meant that Aaron Wan-Bissaka (£4.3m) started at right-back and Luke Shaw (£4.8m) was moved centrally.
Yet all was fine, with fairly comfortable clean sheets for Shaw, David De Gea (£4.9m) and Raphael Varane (£4.8m). A special mention goes to the latter, playing just nine days after his World Cup final heartbreak. Varane is the first player from that match to participate for his club.
The only real Nottingham Forest chance came when Ryan Yates (£5.0m) headed home from a deep free-kick but VAR eventually ruled it out for offside interference. It would’ve been only the second time they netted away from home all season.
Elsewhere, Dean Henderson (£4.7m) was ineligible to play against his parent club, so in came Hennessey to make five saves. Another player to depart with a 53rd-minute injury was Jesse Lingard (£5.4m), making a return to the boyhood club where he remained for over 21 years.
Fernandes’ owners will be furious at his blank. No one created more than his three chances or topped his expected goal involvement (xGI) tally of 0.61.
Manchester United XI: De Gea; Malacia, Wan-Bissaka, Varane (Maguire 77), Shaw; Eriksen (Fred 77), Casemiro, Fernandes; Antony (Garnacho 65), Martial (van de Beek 65), Rashford (Elanga 86)
Nottingham Forest XI: Hennessey; Aurier (N Williams 74), Boly, Worrall, Lodi (Toffolo 62); Mangala (Dennis 62), Freuler, Yates; Johnson, Awoniyi (Surridge 62), Lingard (O’Brien 53)
