We continue our analysis of the weekend’s Fantasy Premier League (FPL) action in another Scout Notes article.
Here, the focus is on disastrous starts for the sides doubling in Gameweek 28: Bournemouth and Luton Town.
- READ MORE: FPL Gameweek 28: Saturday’s goals, assists, bonus points + stats
- READ MORE: FPL Gameweek 28: Sunday’s goals, assists, bonus points + stats
- READ MORE: FPL notes: Why Reguilon missed out, Martinelli + Neto injury latest
- READ MORE: FPL notes: Maddison “has to be more advanced” + Porro’s return
FANTASY FARCE
Dominic Solanke (£7.2m) slipping when taking a penalty and later seeing a goal ruled out for handball. No clean sheets. Milos Kerkez (£4.4m) booked and taken off at half-time. Carlton Morris (£5.2m) limping. All of the players who delivered attacking returns owned by less than 1.0% of Fantasy managers.
The opposite of a Carlsberg Double Gameweek – or at least, the first half of it – played out on Saturday.
Bournemouth and Luton Town have the chance to salvage something from the weekend wreckage when they face each other on Wednesday night. Hauls could still be delivered and all of the above will be (partly) forgotten about.
If we get a 1-1 with two own-goals, however, then this Double Gameweek will be up there with the Emmanuel Dennis red card and the Shane Duffy captaincy in the Hall of Shame.
NO MORE SLIP-UPS
It’s true that Bournemouth have been better on the road this season. More wins, more points, more goals scored. More xG, too.
But they hadn’t played Sheffield United, Luton Town, Crystal Palace, Everton or Brentford on their own soil before Gameweek 28. Away from home, they’ve still got to face Wolverhampton Wanderers, Chelsea, Aston Villa and Arsenal.
The Cherries, indeed, posted their biggest xG in a single match this season against Chris Wilder’s side. Even ignoring Solanke’s penalty, it would have ranked second.
Ilia Zabarnyi (£4.5m), Justin Kluivert (£4.6m) and Antoine Semenyo (£4.5m), all Gameweek 28 punts, each had Opta-defined ‘big chances’. Solanke’s missed penalty wasn’t even his fault: a slip, the latest in a string of costly tumbles, causing the ball to balloon over the bar.
Andoni Iraola has even pledged to look into the recurring issue. He could have done it a week earlier…
“It’s something that concerns me because I think we’ve lost points because of this. We lost points against Newcastle, we lost points against Fulham – in the first goal. Also a couple of injury situations that come from slips.
“It’s something we may we have to talk with the groundsmen (about), because, in the end, it’s costing us points. We’ve talked about this, about the studs, the boots, and they know it. But, it happened again (on Saturday).”
“I don’t know [if the pitch is being overwatered]. At the end, you want to wet the pitch because we want to play a high rhythm, the ball to go fast. I don’t have the answer.” – Andoni Iraola on his players slipping, via the Bournemouth Echo
Solanke at least came through 90 minutes of this match, after all the recent talk of his niggling knee injury.
WHY KERKEZ WAS SUBBED
Someone who didn’t last 90 minutes was Milos Kerkez, bought by over 100,000 Fantasy managers in the lead-up to Gameweek 28.
The good news is that he wasn’t injured. An early yellow card was part of the thinking, although the added attacking threat of replacement Dango Ouattara (£4.7m) – naturally a winger – was also a factor.
“A little bit of everything. We considered that Milos had a yellow card. Also we needed [Dango Ouattara] because we were arriving quite easy, in different situations.
“Dango is always a threat. Not only on the crosses, even sometimes going inside, finishing even with his right foot. He’s also a threat in set pieces. So I think he’s more offensive than Milos.
“And in the situation we were thinking, we required this.” – Andoni Iraola, via the Bournemouth Echo
GOOD NEWS ON MORRIS
Luton lost another two centre-halves to injury on Saturday, Teden Mengi (£3.9m) and Gabriel Osho (£4.4m).
Meanwhile, the sight of Morris hobbling about near full-time would have been a worry for the legions of Fantasy managers who signed the forward this week.
There was good news to report on Morris, at least.
“It was a tight hamstring for Teden, we’ll have to see how he is. Gabe was a nasty knock on his knee, one that had been sore in the past, so we’ll have to see how they are. I’ve got no information on them at the moment whether they’ll be right for Wednesday or not.
“Carlton was cramping up towards the end, he put a big shift in, but it was only cramp, so he should be okay.” – Rob Edwards, via Luton Today
Edwards admitted after full-time that it wasn’t the Hatters’ greatest display, with injuries catching up with his side. Substitute Cauley Woodrow (£4.3m) bagged a scarcely deserved point in stoppage time.
With the squad stretched and another fixture to cram in on Wednesday, Nottingham Forest could be in a good position to exploit Luton’s waning energy levels in Blank Gameweek 29.
“I think we’ve got nine senior players missing and I don’t think we’re going to be at our best at the moment.” – Rob Edwards, via Luton Today
THE OTHER GUYS
The two sides facing the Gameweek 28 doublers would have felt that they should have won.
Sheffield United were two goals up against the Cherries, while Crystal Palace battered their visitors 6-1 on ‘big chances’ only to come away with just a point.
Jean-Philippe Mateta (£4.9m) wasted three great chances, with Eberechi Eze (£6.0m) and Tyrick Mitchell (£4.5m) also missing when seeing the whites of the goalkeeper’s eyes. Eze and Odsonne Edouard (£5.4m) then hit the bar, the former doing so from just inside Luton’s half.
It was Mateta who grabbed the Eagles’ early goal, finishing brilliantly from a Daniel Munoz (£4.5m) tee-up. Both of Palace’s wing-backs again caught the eye with their advanced roles, with Munoz also missing a close-range header and Mitchell creating four chances for others.
“Yes, we are disappointed but I’m really full of hope and full of belief in this team that we will get our results and points in the future games. I don’t remember when we had so many opportunities to score and two times it was post [and] out and at the end it was post [and] in for Luton.” – Oliver Glasner
Sheffield United again proved to be better on the road, meanwhile. Even then, they conceded a hatful of chances to their hosts, so the ‘improvement’ is all relative. Next up for the Blades away? Liverpool in Gameweek 31…
