We round up Sunday’s key Fantasy Premier League (FPL) talking points in the latest Scout Notes.
Aston Villa v Everton and West Ham United v Chelsea are the matches in question.
Any numbers and graphics you see in this article are taken from our Premium Members Area, where you can access Opta player and team data from every single Premier League fixture.
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WATKINS OFF PENS
Douglas Luiz (£5.5m) has taken over penalty duties at Aston Villa, netting his first spot-kick for the club on Sunday.
Ollie Watkins (£8.0m) had previously missed a penalty at Anfield in Gameweek 37 and in pre-season against Lazio, prompting us to speculate last month that they might be up for grabs.
Watkins did at least win the penalty against Everton, but losing spot-kicks undoubtedly dents his appeal moving forwards, even with that hit-and-miss record from 12 yards (scored four/missed five).
As for Douglas Luiz, a £5.5m midfielder on penalties and set plays could start to pick up a bit of interest, although open-play goals will be few and far between due to the nature of his role.
According to Sky Sports, John McGinn (£5.5m) was also in the frame to replace Watkins on penalties and had been practising in the week. He played off the left again against Everton, scoring the opener.
“I am very happy for him because he scored, and he is not usually scoring a lot. He has to get to the box to create chances and to score. He did that perfectly for the first goal, and his performance today was very good, and is happy to play right side, left side, inside, playing as a midfielder, as a number 10 and I think he is very important for us. Like Leon Bailey last week, he didn’t play well but today he was amazing.” – Unai Emery on John McGinn
Still, neither McGinn or Luiz could match Leon Bailey’s (£5.5m) output in Gameweek 2.
The 2022/23 pre-season bandwagon combined very well with Moussa Diaby (£6.5m), recording a goal, assist, maximum bonus and 14 points, his best-ever FPL return.
Meanwhile, Diaby carried a real threat in the final-third, registering three shots and two key passes, but was withdrawn on 63 minutes, with Watkins following him off shortly after.
The substitutions made sense after the injuries picked up early in the season, especially ahead of Thursday’s UEFA Europa Conference League play-off first leg.
“Yes, he can add to us more goals, run behind the opponents. He can help us being versatile as a 10 or a seven. He can drop as a midfielder more or less. The idea is to get off him his quality but he improves as well, I think he can improve and he is demanding himself. He is young, but he is mature. I want players like that, very demanding and taking a commitment to improve and create something here with the team and individually.” – Unai Emery on Moussa Diaby
VILLA BOUNCE BACK
Aston Villa bounced back from their opening-weekend thrashing at St James’ Park by cruising to a 4-0 win over Everton.
It means they have now won eight consecutive Premier League home games, a run that has seen them keep six clean sheets and ship just two goals, one of which was a Harry Kane penalty:
| 20 August | Aston Villa 4-0 Everton |
| 28 May | Aston Villa 2-1 Brighton and Hove Albion |
| 13 May | Aston Villa 2-1 Tottenham Hotspur |
| 25 April | Aston Villa 1-0 Fulham |
| 15 April | Aston Villa 3-0 Newcastle United |
| 8 April | Aston Villa 2-0 Nottingham Forest |
| 18 March | Aston Villa 3-0 Bournemouth |
| 4 March | Aston Villa 1-0 Crystal Palace |
On Sunday, Emery made just one change to his starting XI, with Pau Torres (£4.5m) coming in for the injured Tyrone Mings (£4.5m).
The set-up meant Lucas Digne (£4.5m) was the more advanced full-back, with Matty Cash (£4.5m) often tucking in on the right to form a back three in possession.
The Frenchman earnt a rather fortunate throw-in assist but attempted 10 crosses and put in some quality deliveries, registering a match-high 26 final-third touches, 13 more than Cash.
Above: Matty Cash (left) and Lucas Digne’s (right) touch heatmaps v Everton
CALVERT-LEWIN INJURED AGAIN/DANJUMA OOP
Dominic Calvert-Lewin’s (£6.0m) latest return from injury lasted only 35 minutes on Sunday, with the 26-year-old unable to carry on after an earlier blow to the face.
Sean Dyche discussed the forward’s withdrawal:
“He’s got a knock on his cheekbone, but there was no concussion. He had a bit of blurred vision on one side so in the end we had to make a call on it. Obviously, he’s only just getting back and it was a tough one to take and then we had Alex Iwobi go off as well.” – Sean Dyche
Calvert-Lewin’s replacement, Arnaut Danjuma (£5.5m), did at least look lively. He played up front until Neal Maupay (£5.0m) came on, racking up four shots in just over an hour.
With Wolverhampton Wanderers and Sheffield United up next, an out-of-position Danjuma could be one for the differentials pile, although it’s admittedly hard to get too excited about owning an Everton attacker right now, given that they’ve failed to score in both matches.
“It was a tough one today but there were a couple of positives. I thought Lewis Dobbin did fantastically well after coming after a good pre-season and I thought Arnaut Danjuma did well, coming into a game which is difficult, but you can see him getting fitter and sharper. You could see those two did everything they could to try to affect the game in a positive manner. They’ve both certainly put themselves in the thinking, that’s for sure.” – Sean Dyche
CHILWELL SUBBED ON 60’
Ben Chilwell (£5.7m) had been transferred in by over 690,000 managers for Chelsea’s trip to West Ham, but he was surprisingly substituted with half an hour to go on Sunday, as Mauricio Pochettino switched to a flat back four.
Still, there were positives to take. In 60 minutes, he racked up two shots, two key passes and, importantly, was back taking some corners.
“In the second-half, we reshaped the team. The injury to Carney Chukwuemeka, we didn’t find a way from the beginning. Then when we started to find a way to play, we then conceded another goal. Then we started to take different decisions, trying to find the right timing in offensive situations. Yes, disappointed but this is a process and we need to keep working.” – Mauricio Pochettino
Chilwell’s replacement, Moises Caicedo (£5.0m), had a shaky debut and conceded a late penalty.
Meanwhile, Carney Chukwuemeka (£4.5m) scored his first goal for the club but was forced to come off late in the first half after a collision. He was spotted limping out of the London Stadium with crutches and is due to be assessed tomorrow.
Other talking points included an excellent display from Raheem Sterling (£7.0m), who racked up 15 penalty box touches, a solid but not particularly adventurous showing from £4.0m defender Malo Gusto and a missed penalty by Enzo Fernandez (£5.0m).
There has been much discussion in the community as to who Chelsea’s main penalty-taker will be, but it remains to be seen if Pochettino will stick with Fernandez after Sunday’s miss.
As for Nicolas Jackson (£7.0m), he continues to look good and made some excellent runs, but is currently lacking an end product, having failed to score from six shots/three big chances in his first two matches.
“Yes, I don’t know if it’s a coincidence or not. We were talking a lot this week in my office and we trust him. He’s a player that can deliver what we want and today, he was fantastic. For sure, we are not happy and he is not happy because he performed but we didn’t win. But that is the way we expect a player to perform, to be bold and committed with the team.” – Mauricio Pochettino on Raheem Sterling
WARD-PROWSE’S DEBUT
James Ward-Prowse (£6.0m) made his West Ham debut on Sunday and claimed two assists, as the Hammers triumphed 3-1 over Chelsea.
The first, a trademark set-piece delivery for Nayef Aguerd’s (£4.5m) header, was followed by a smart through ball which found centre-forward Michail Antonio (£6.0m).
It means Ward-Prowse has three assists in two matches this season, having also created a goal for Southampton at Sheffield Wednesday in the Championship earlier this month.
“It is a big strength of mine and when this place was empty we practiced and then the pressure is on to perform on the big stage. You can feel the stadium pick up in energy when we get a set-piece and we have big boys in the box. If the ball is right and the run’s right, there you go, you take a goal every day of the week. Every set-piece we get there is an opportunity.” – James Ward-Prowse
“We want midfielders who look to make assists and score. We’ve got him in now and he’s already made a difference with his set-piece quality today. I’m really pleased for him. He’s settled in well and he looks a really good lad for our dressing room.” – David Moyes on James Ward-Prowse
Elsewhere, £4.0m ‘keeper Alphonse Areola was in goal for the second week running and saved Fernandez’s penalty, earning 10 points.
However, Aguerd was sent off for two bookable offences and will now miss Gameweek 3.
As for Lucas Paqueta (£6.0m), he stepped up to convert a late penalty, although regular taker Said Benrahma (£6.0m) wasn’t on the pitch at the time.
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