We round up the key Fantasy Premier League (FPL) talking points from Sunday’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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A resilient Nottingham Forest recovered from their early setback to equalise against Chelsea and can feel quite unlucky not to have come away with all three points.
Both goals involved Forest centre-back Willy Boly (£4.2m). The 16th-minute cross from Christian Pulisic (£5.7m) was flicked onto the crossbar by him, before landing at Raheem Sterling’s (£9.7m) feet for a tap-in. In the second half, a corner was headed upwards by Kai Havertz (£7.8m), allowing Boly to nod the ball onto Serge Aurier’s (£4.5m) near-post volley.
KEPA DENIED A CLEAN SHEET
It snatched clean sheet points away from Chelsea goalkeeper Kepa Arrizabalaga (£4.6m) and his 500,000 recent new managers, although four saves mean a three-point finish.
His early double stop originated from a Morgan Gibbs-White (£5.5m) pass that put the pacey Brennan Johnson (£5.6m) through on goal but the Welshman couldn’t put the ball past Kepa, who then gathered his weaker rebound.
He reached the additional point after 47 minutes, denying Taiwo Awoniyi (£5.7m) after the forward spun away from the defender and fired a left-foot shot.
Yet, after Johnson wasted another chance and Gibbs-White’s beautiful edge-of-area effort came down off the bar, dreams of a haul were soon dashed by Aurier.
DOUBLE GAMEWEEK 19
Next up is the season’s first Double Gameweek, where Chelsea and west London rivals Fulham play twice. That’s why Kepa, Marc Cucurella (£5.2m) and Mason Mount (£7.6m) are popular picks right now, whilst forward Havertz could be an interesting differential for those needing to sell Ivan Toney (£7.5m) or Callum Wilson (£7.2m).
Despite being known for squad rotation, Graham Potter’s only change from Gameweek 17 was starting Cesar Azpilicueta (£4.8m) instead of the injured Reece James (£5.7m). In fact, the Spaniard is now a cheap, short-term alternative for those wanting defensive coverage but can’t get Kepa.
BITS AND PIECES
Elsewhere, Dean Henderson (£4.7m) returned in goal for Forest after being ineligible to face parent club Manchester United. Cheap option Neco Williams (£4.0m) was again reduced to a small cameo, further extinguishing those early-season hopes of a solid FPL asset.
It might be worth investing in one of their attackers, though. By facing Southampton (a), Leicester City (H), Bournemouth (a), Leeds United (H) and Fulham (a), the prices of forwards Johnson and Awoniyi are enticing.
But the star attraction is arguably Gibbs-White, who overcame a calf injury to take part. Following double-digit hauls in both Gameweeks 15 and 16, he was unlucky with the aforementioned crossbar shot and set up Johnson on various occasions – Forest’s quest for survival will be heavily influenced by the attacking midfielder.
Nottingham Forest XI: Henderson; Aurier, Worrall, Boly, Lodi; Yates, Mangala (Colback 77), Freuler; Johnson (Surridge 82), Awoniyi (N Williams 88), Gibbs-White
Chelsea XI: Kepa; Azpilicueta, Thiago Silva, Koulibaly, Cucurella; Zakaria (Kovacic 61), Jorginho (Gallagher 73), Mount (Ziyech 73); Sterling (Aubameyang 73), Havertz, Pulisic (Chukwuemeka 87)
It was an underwhelming afternoon for Harry Kane‘s (£11.6m) owners too, as the England forward blanked for only the fourth time this season during Tottenham’s feeble home defeat to Aston Villa.
A dull, goalless first half came into life shortly after the break when Emiliano Buendia (£5.7m) put the visitors ahead. Poor Hugo Lloris (£5.5m) is probably still recovering from a heart-breaking World Cup final defeat to Argentina, only to concede again to such a nationality.
The goalkeeper spilled a long-range Douglas Luiz (£4.8m) shot, allowing Ollie Watkins (£7.1m) to assist Buendia’s finish. Villa brilliantly executed the Unai Emery game plan, doubling their lead in the 74th minute once John McGinn’s (£5.1m) delightful pass found Luiz in the penalty box to calmly dink past Lloris.
BLANK FOR KANE
Incredibly, it’s the tenth consecutive match in all competitions where Spurs have conceded the first goal. There are real problems for Antonio Conte’s side and this time Kane wasn’t able to bail them out.
His only real chance arrived in the 40th minute, with a header cleared off the line by Ashley Young (£4.4m). Whilst some FPL managers may still be tempted to purchase him should Double Gameweek 20 go ahead, Kane remains on four yellow cards – one away from suspension.
DEJAN KULUSEVSKI INJURED
Pre-match, the main news was a surprising lack of Dejan Kulusevski (£8.0m). A Monday scan will determine the severity of his muscular issue but the 22-year-old could be a big miss, as Spurs look ineffective without him.
“Yesterday [Saturday] in the last training session he had a little problem. I hope it’s only this game but tomorrow we have another scan to understand better the problem in his ankle.” – Antonio Conte
His 596,000 owners may want to move him on to an in-form Arsenal man or someone with a Double Gameweek like Mount.
VILLA FIXTURES
Meanwhile, bargain midfielder Leon Bailey (£4.5m) started his third of four league matches since Emery’s arrival. Seemingly deployed up front alongside Watkins, he provides out-of-position potential ahead of matches against Wolverhampton Wanderers (H), Leeds (H), Southampton (a) and Leicester (H).
Tottenham Hotspur XI:Â Lloris; Romero, Lenglet, Davies; Doherty (Emerson Royal 80), Hojbjerg (Skipp 88), Bissouma (Sarr 80), Perisic (Spence 88); Bryan (Sessegnon 63), Kane, Son
Aston Villa XI: Olsen; Young, Konsa (Bednarek 82), Mings, Digne; McGinn (Coutinho 78), Douglas Luiz (Ings 82), Kamara, Buendia (Chambers 82); Bailey (Cash 66), Watkins
