Two more of Saturday’s Gameweek 17 matches – Chelsea v Sheffield United and Burnley v Everton – are given the Scout Notes treatment.
- READ MORE: FPL Gameweek 17: Saturday’s goals, assists, bonus points + stats
- READ MORE: FPL notes: Why Richarlison started through the middle + Udogie’s ban
- READ MORE: FPL notes: Howe on Botman’s return + new injuries
PALMER EXCELS
Chelsea got to half-time of their match against Sheffield United without having had a single shot in the box, accumulating just 0.12 expected goals (xG) against the 20th-placed club.
One tactical tweak later – Raheem Sterling (£7.1m) moving up front alongside Nicolas Jackson (£6.6m), with Cole Palmer (£5.5m) shifting from the ‘hole’ to a right-wing position – did the trick.
Palmer was at the heart of much of what Chelsea did well, slamming home a Sterling cut-back before his driving run and pass resulted in a tap-in for Jackson.
A 14-point haul should have been 17, with substitute Armando Broja (£4.9m) somehow spurning a big chance that Palmer had laid on a plate for him.
Palmer’s points-per-start average (6.8) is bettered by only two FPL midfield regulars this season.
Even stripping away his penalties, of which he’s scored four, a total of five attacking returns in 10 starts is pretty damned good for a budget Fantasy pick.
His versatility may be important, too, with Christopher Nkunku (£7.3m) still to crowbar back into the side.
NKUNKU AN UNUSED SUB
Speaking of Nkunku, he was involved in the Chelsea matchday squad for the first time this season.
He failed to get onto the pitch, however, with Mauricio Pochettino instead hoping to see him in action in Tuesday’s EFL Cup quarter-final against Newcastle United.
“He’s going to be involved Tuesday also. We didn’t want to take a risk with him and give him more time for his recovery.” – Mauricio Pochettino
Palmer aside, this was hardly convincing stuff from Chelsea. The lack of full-backs saw four centre-halves line up across the defence, with makeshift full-backs Levi Colwill (£4.6m) and Alex Disasi (£4.9m) offering little of the attacking thrust that Reece James (£5.4m) and Ben Chilwell (£5.4m) usually bring.
“I think we put too much pressure on Disasi and Colwill when they were on the ball, with only one option to play. It was impossible to create chances and circulate the ball, because always we gave them time to shuffle, and when we took risks we lost the ball.” – Mauricio Pochettino
Malo Gusto (£4.1m), who was back on the bench after a month out, may soon get a chance to stake another first-team claim.
One possible bit of good news for Colwill is that Marc Cucurella (£4.8m) is expected to be out till February at the earliest, so with Chilwell also sidelined for a while yet, he’s probably the Chelsea defender with the least rotation risk in the upcoming favourable four-match run.
ARCHER A THREAT AGAIN
A striker moving to a wider position is not something that is usually seen as a positive but Cameron Archer (£4.6m) seems to be thriving in his left-wing role under Chris Wilder.
He was a threat on the break at Stamford Bridge, whistling one effort from distance narrowly wide and producing two jinking runs and shots – one blocked, one sliced off-target.
Archer even had the ball in the net, only for a flag to be raised to signal the ball had crept out of play.
Writing ahead of Sunday’s matches, no forward has had more shots than Archer since the change in manager at Bramall Lane.
He’s also teed up four chances for his team-mates in that time.
Above: Forwards sorted by goal attempts (Tot) in Gameweeks 15-17
MYKOLENKO + DOUCOURE INJURY LATEST
Everton have as many clean sheets in the last four Gameweeks as Manchester City have registered all season.
Their fourth successive shut-out arrived at Turf Moor in the Saturday evening kick-off, and it rarely looked in doubt.
The performance was made all the more impressive by Sean Dyche having to not only make four enforced changes to his settled starting XI but also change formation to a wing-back system due to a dearth of full-backs.
Dyche then lost another one of his influential regulars, Abdoulaye Doucoure (£5.6m), to injury at half-time.
“The most pleasing thing for me is the adaptation of the players continues to grow. We had to make numerous changes and Myko was a really late decision, so we had to change the shape and we had no time to prep it, no time to work with it.
“[Doucoure] had a tight hamstring. He is another one that we are just going to have to wait and see. Mykolenko is touch and go for Tuesday, Doucs will probably be the same. We get two back [Idrissa Gana Gueye and Jarrad Branthwaite] after the suspensions but it’s a tough one at the minute, particularly with the full-backs [situation].” – Sean Dyche
Michael Keane (£4.3m) and Amadou Onana (£4.7m) were the unlikely goalscorers at Burnley, the former stepping in for the banned Jarred Branthwaite (£4.1m). Branthwaite is still expected to regain his place come Gameweek 18, despite Keane impressing against his old club.
Everton will have to pull out all of the stops to keep their run of clean sheets going.
While that will be a tall order in north London in Gameweek 18, it’s worth noting that the visit of Everton ought to be a tougher fixture for Spurs than the Season Ticker and league table suggests.
Were it not for their points deduction, the Toffees would be ninth in the table and level on points with Brighton and Hove Albion.
Only three clubs have conceded fewer big chances (per game) all season, meanwhile.
FOSTER RETURNS
Fans of budget forwards would have been alerted to the surprise return of Lyle Foster (£4.8m) on Saturday, something that even Burnley boss Vincent Kompany hadn’t been expecting.
Foster had been absent since Gameweek 9, having sought out treatment for his mental health.
“It was a surprise to us as well. We hadn’t really expected that he was able to return. But it was the opinion of the experts that keeping him in his natural environment was important. Football is part of his life, it’s something he needs to do to be happy as well.
“We were ready for anything and 45 minutes physically is what he was able to do. In the second half, you could see how much of an impact he can have.
“I have to add, it’s really important not to confuse things. This is part of his process of getting back, it’s not like we can fly him all over the world now. This is just part of his return to health.
“We follow what the medical experts say. It’s step by step. It’s being with the team, being with people he considers his friends and keeping a very small world for him. That seems to put him in a good place.
“This is just part of his recovery.” – Vincent Kompany on Lyle Foster
Now available at a cut-price £4.8m, just a little more than Archer, he’s really caught the eye in what pitch-time he has managed, delivering five attacking returns in seven starts.
It may be a while before he’s back up to full speed (Kompany said on Thursday that he’s not expected to head to the Africa Cup of Nations) but he’s one for the watchlist for FPL managers who opt to play a 3-5-2 most weeks.
The fixtures get much better for the Clarets from Gameweek 26 onwards.
Charlie Taylor (£4.0m) missed this game through suspension but will be back for Gameweek 18, for any FPL managers needing his services in the upcoming ‘blank’.
Not that much is expected of Burnley at present. They outshot their visitors on Saturday evening but created little of quality, being thumped 5-0 on big chances.
