Chances were few and far between at Goodison Park on Sunday, as Everton held high-flying Aston Villa to a goalless draw.
The Fantasy Premier League (FPL) talking points from this match are discussed here.
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DCL WASTEFUL
It was another frustrating afternoon for Dominic Calvert-Lewin (£5.8m) on Sunday, having missed a golden opportunity to net the opener at Goodison Park.
After being played in by Arnaut Danjuma (£5.2m), he found himself one-on-one with Emiliano Martinez (£5.2m), but fluffed his lines, hitting it too close to the ‘keeper.
According to Opta, the chance carried a 0.66 expected goals (xG) rating.
It was Calvert-Lewin’s only shot of the day and he was then withdrawn with just over an hour played, ending the match with 18 touches, the fewest of any starter bar Danjuma (15).
“We did create good chances, probably the golden chance of the game. For Dom, I will be reminding him, that the further away it gets [his next goal], the closer it gets. A good save stopped him today, a very good save. Getting chances in the Premier League is a tough skill, he gets a golden chance but it’s a golden save. That is the way it goes, but if he keeps getting in there and getting chances then it will go in. He’s constantly fit, and that’s good. If he keeps applying himself and working hard, the goals will come.” – Sean Dyche on Dominic Calvert-Lewin
The 26-year-old’s latest blank means he has now failed to score in each of his last 10 Premier League appearances, despite registering 20 shots on goal.
Remarkably, eight of those efforts have been Opta-defined ‘big chances’.
Above: Dominic Calvert-Lewin has underperformed his xG by 4.58 in 2023/24, more than any other Premier League player
Elsewhere, fellow forward Ollie Watkins (£8.9m) – who was captained by 1,126,752 FPL managers in Gameweek 21 – racked up six shots but has now gone four games without a Premier League goal.
He did have a few half-chances and looked a threat, however.
DOUCOURE RETURNS
The return of midfielder Abdoulaye Doucoure (£5.5m) following a hamstring injury was a huge lift for Everton in Gameweek 21.
Straight into the starting XI, he offered real energy in the middle of the park and had a late goal ruled out for offside.
The Toffees had not won a match in the period Doucoure had missed, losing three Premier League games in a row, but with Calvert-Lewin struggling up top, they’ll look to him for goals when they visit Fulham at the end of the month.
Across the season, Doucoure has produced eight attacking returns thanks to six goals and two assists, so he could start to pick up a bit of interest once Everton’s fixtures ease.
PICKFORD’S CLEAN SHEETS
Jordan Pickford (£4.5m) is the joint top-scoring goalkeeper in Fantasy, having recorded his seventh clean sheet of the season on Sunday.
Ending a run of three straight blanks, the England shot-stopper was alert in key moments and made four saves, denying decent efforts from both Watkins and Leon Bailey (£5.7m).
As a result, Pickford should scoop up two bonus points, one fewer than Villa ‘keeper Martinez, in turn moving level with Alisson (£5.7m) at the top of the goalkeeper standings.
Above: Jordan Pickford has now kept seven clean sheets in 2023/24, more than any other goalkeeper
MORENO LIVELY
In a lively display at Goodison Park, Alex Moreno (£5.0m) saw a goal ruled out after a lengthy VAR review.
It was a wonderful finish from the Spaniard, who lashed it low and hard past Pickford after a short corner routine. However, Bailey was adjudged to have been offside in the build-up.
Above: Alex Moreno had plenty of joy down the left at Goodison Park, racking up 30 final-third touches, a match-leading total
Another full-back, Matty Cash (£4.7m), also looked set to score when his goalbound shot was blocked late on.
The Polish defender was the matchwinner at the Riverside in the FA Cup but dropped to the bench here, with Diego Carlos (£4.4m) taking his place in the back four and Ezri Konsa (£4.6m) shifting over to the right.
However, his introduction in the 74th minute gave Villa a bit more thrust out wide and the change almost paid off, when Jhon Duran (£5.0m) edged the ball just wide from Cash’s cross.
Elsewhere, Pau Torres (£4.7m) was not named in the squad, while Jacob Ramsey (£5.9m) missed out with a hamstring injury.
“At the end of the session he was not feeling very good with some pain in his hamstring. We didn’t take a risk with him. He is going to do a test today or tomorrow and we will know if it is an injury or not. Hopefully if he has an injury then I hope it is not a lot.” – Unai Emery on Jacob Ramsey
