We assess the key Fantasy Premier League (FPL) talking points from Sheffield United v Fulham and Nottingham Forest v Crystal Palace in our next set of Gameweek 30 Scout Notes.
- READ MORE: FPL notes: Watkins, Gusto, Areola + Lascelles injury latest, Gordon ban
- READ MORE: FPL Gameweek 30: Saturday’s goals, assists, bonus points + stats
“DECISIVE” MUNIZ
Fulham striker Rodrigo Muniz (£4.6m) continued his fine form on Saturday, as the Brazilian took his Premier League tally to eight goals in as many games.
In another fantastic display, the 22-year-old led the line superbly and posed a constant threat.
Overall, he racked up seven shots in the box and struck the post twice in addition to his goal. All the more impressive given that he’d been nursing a knock heading into the fixture.
“First of all, it’s nice to see him handle all the game, the 105 minutes, because he had a tough week. 10 days ago, he got an injury in a training session, he just trained the last two days for the match. So it’s nice to see him handle the game and to play and to be decisive again.
“It was an unlucky afternoon for us, for him, when he had two off the post. The first half off the post, great save from the goalkeeper, and a great, great header from himself. If that goes in the net it’s going to be an unbelievable goal.
“Even so, he kept the composure, he kept the trust in himself. We provided good chances for him – great, great goal from him, and great to see him scoring again and helping the team to get points. There is much more to come from him.” – Marco Silva on Rodrigo Muniz
From Gameweek 23 onwards, the start of Muniz’s current run in the first XI, he is remarkably top for shots (37) and shots in the box (34). The latter total is at least four more than any other player in the top flight.
Fulham won’t ‘double’ between now and the end of the season, of course, but they still have an outside chance of qualifying for next season’s UEFA Europa Conference League.
They also play Newcastle United and West Ham United in the next three Gameweeks, both of whom were defensively poor on Saturday.
BRERETON DIAZ/MCBURNIE PARTNERSHIP
Sheffield United netted three times in a crazy 12-minute spell at Bramall Lane, with Ben Brereton Diaz (£5.0m) and Oliver McBurnie (£5.4m) heavily involved.
Brereton Diaz found the net twice, claimed an assist and has now been involved in five goals in his five Premier League games since joining the club in January, averaging 7.0 points per match.
As for McBurnie, he too hit double-figures courtesy of a goal and assist, with VAR ruling out a second for offside.
The partnership allows the Blades to be more direct, which seems to suit them. And although it’s unlikely either player will pick up much Fantasy interest, even with a Double Gameweek 34 on the horizon, they could trouble Liverpool and Chelsea’s backlines based on Saturday’s evidence.
Still, they remain vulnerable at the back, with defensive errors once again proving costly in Gameweek 30.
Indeed, for the second league match in a row, the Blades threw away a two-goal lead. They’ve also shipped a whopping 24 goals in their past five home matches in all competitions, a promising sign for Cole Palmer (£5.8m) owners ahead of Gameweek 32.
“Being 3-1 up, you expect your team to see the game out. The goals are poor from our point of view, with a set piece yet again. We were 2-0 up at Bournemouth and got done by a set piece and that gave them an opportunity to get back in the game and it was the same again. The timing of their goals were not great from our point of view.” – Chris Wilder
WOOD SCORES AGAIN
Chris Wood (£4.8m) scored for a second successive match on Saturday, as Nottingham Forest fought back to claim a point against Crystal Palace.
The New Zealand international, who showed wonderful technique for the equaliser, is thriving under Nuno Espirito Santo, having been directly involved in 73% of his team’s goals following his appointment.
Admittedly, there isn’t much cohesion in this Forest attack right now, but Wood is already into double-figures for goals this season and if Saturday’s version of Fulham turns up at the City Ground on Tuesday, he looks primed to add to that tally.
“It’s a good finish, I think that was the only solution that he had. A beautiful header. We need Chris, we need goals and he is delivering. He’s an amazing player.” – Nuno Espirito Santo on Chris Wood
Elsewhere, Morgan Gibbs-White (£5.7m) claimed a lovely assist for Wood’s goal, securing bonus in the process, but shifted to a deeper role in the second half following Giovanni Reyna’s (£4.7m) introduction.
Forest were noticeably more coherent after the switch, with Reyna’s impact handing him a strong case for inclusion in Tuesday’s starting XI.
GLASNER ON EZE
Eberechi Eze (£6.0m) once again showed his class at the City Ground on Saturday, causing real problems for Forest’s backline all afternoon.
It was his squared pass for Jean-Philippe Mateta (£4.9m) that gave the visitors an early lead, before forcing Matz Sels (£4.5m) into two excellent saves either side of half-time.
“He was our most dangerous player. He was involved in the 1-0 and he had the big chance just before half-time. [From the corner in the second-half] 9 or 10 times [out of ten], he scores, and this was the 10th, so he misses the far post.
“But also there were some moments, always when we moved the ball quickly, we had control of the game. There were some situations where we could have moved the ball quicker, and we didn’t do it, and then we lost the ball. This also gave them a little bit of momentum, because then the crowd came back.
“The challenge we have, and the way we have to go, is to always move the ball quickly, so that they have to run, and then we will find the spaces. When we see this chance [Eze’s] right before half-time, we started on the left, we passed, we passed, nobody had more than two touches, and then we created gaps because they had to move. And then we had the players, with the quality like Adam Wharton, to make these passes.
“We were on the keeper, and this is what we are working on, and the players do it better and better, but not good enough to win the game, so this is maybe the only thing we have to blame – we didn’t score a lot of chances – but this is the way we have to go.” – Oliver Glasner
As for Mateta, he now has five goal involvements in his past seven matches (four goals, one assist) and could start to pick up a bit of interest with Double Gameweek 34 nearing.
A quick word on Daniel Munoz (£4.5m), too. He continues to impress and glanced a header off the post late on, whilst also standing out defensively with a number of good tackles (five), interceptions (two) and clearances (five).
“It was a difficult game for him because he had to defend Callum Hudson-Odoi, who is very quick and you don’t know when he’ll go on his right or his left. He was forced to defend but he also found ways in offense and at the end he was very unlucky to hit the post.” – Oliver Glasner on Daniel Munoz
