The Fantasy talking points from Wednesday’s four Gameweek 34 matches are covered in this latest, slightly briefer set of Scout Notes.
LIVERPOOL OUT OF THE TITLE RACE?
“No good thoughts at all. Very disappointed, frustrated obviously. I had now obviously a few interviews and I would say you can sum up: it was not good enough.” – Jurgen Klopp
Whether to keep or sell Liverpool players had been one of the dilemmas facing Gameweek 35 Wildcarders but events over the last few weeks may have made that decision easier.
The Merseyside derby defeat probably, if not definitely, ended the title charge. It was the latest in a string of unconvincing performances at home and abroad.
And yet, even when they stink, the chances continue to come and go. Darwin Nunez (£7.8m) and Luiz Diaz (£7.8m) wasted clear opportunities here, with the latter also striking the post.
Mohamed Salah (£13.6m), roundly maligned after the game, had seven shots alone. Wild swipes they all were but one of those on a normal day likely finds the back of the net, poor all-around display or otherwise. It seems unlikely he won’t score again this season, especially with some less heroic defences than Everton’s to come.
Salah’s price is, of course, the main obstacle for Gameweek 35 Wildcarders who want to cram in some expensive ‘doublers’ elsewhere. Midfield is such a competitive position in FPL, too, where you can’t afford to carry passengers, especially premium ones.
As for Darwin, you would not be surprised if he is the one dropping out of the starting XI on Saturday when Cody Gakpo (£7.1m) returns from paternity leave.
Further changes are possible, too, with the Wednesday night/Saturday lunchtime turnaround.
As for an almost safe Everton, only Arsenal have registered more clean sheets this season:
Seven of those 11 shutouts have come on home soil, so don’t count the Toffees out of Gameweek 37 contention despite their lack of double. They face Sheffield United that week.
Jordan Pickford (£4.7m), James Tarkowski (£4.6m) and goalscorer Jarrad Branthwaite (£4.3m) were superb again, while Dominic Calvert-Lewin (£5.8m) is a man reborn with three goals in four runouts.
FALLING FLAT
There were also lacklustre performances from Newcastle United and Wolverhampton Wanderers in defeats to nil on Wednesday.
“It was probably our worst performance. It was really poor. Individually there were too many below the level this evening. Collectively, we need to make sure this is not the level we produce.” – Gary O’Neil
“We were very disappointed with the performance, from the high of Tottenham to the low of tonight. We were disappointing in most aspects of our play. We have to take responsibility for that. Maybe the gap between games didn’t help us on reflection but still, we knew that gap was there and we had to perform better than we did today.” – Eddie Howe
It’s not uncommon for Newcastle to fall flat away from home: they’ve only taken one more point on their travels than Burnley this season. The hybrid 4-3-3/3-4-3 system that worked to good effect in Gameweek 33 didn’t at Selhurst Park.
The visitors didn’t have a shot on target until the 85th minute, while their one big chance – for Anthony Gordon (£6.1m) in injury time – came courtesy of a loose Palace pass.
The good news for Fantasy managers looking at Newcastle defenders was that the Eagles didn’t have too many clear openings themselves outside of the brace from the suddenly lethal Jean-Philippe Mateta (£5.1m). The hosts mustered a modest xG of 0.89, with plenty of Eberechi Eze (£6.1m) potshots from range.
As for Wolves, they’re surprisingly 19th in the Premier League form table over the last six matches.
Injuries have been a huge mitigating factor, as is the ongoing, almost comical run of bad luck with VAR. Gary O’Neil held back a number of big names in the Arsenal game to play them here, to no avail. One of them, Rayan Ait-Nouri (£4.8m), was again stationed ‘out of position’ on the left of midfield, at least initially. Matheus Cunha (£5.6m), back from injury as a substitute, also looked bright, albeit it was his flailing arm that led to a Hwang Hee-chan (£5.4m) leveller being chalked off.
The porous defence of Luton Town now awaits but it’s last-chance saloon time, with three tough fixtures following.
WHY NETO WAS BENCHED
There was a frustrating evening for Murara Neto (£4.7m) owners as Bournemouth kept a clean sheet with him warming the bench.
Mark Travers (£4.0m) instead got the nod, producing a composed performance even if Wolves didn’t overly stretch him.
The ‘on the beach’ narratives are a bit of a bore at this time of the year but we are into a period where we traditionally have seen a bit of teamsheet experimentation, specifically with teams nice and safe in midtable.
Was this one such instance? Andoni Iraola claimed to have made the call off the back of training but he could be running the rule over some squad players ahead of next season. Neto hasn’t exactly covered himself in glory either; maybe this was just merit.
Either way, there are no guarantees of a recall in Gameweek 35.
“Because he’s training very well and I wanted to see him in an away game with the pressure. And I think he played really well. We finished with a clean sheet and I’m happy for him.
“I don’t know what I’m going to do in the weekend. I don’t know, I have to think. I have to see how they train. I think we have to see what we need against Brighton because Brighton is always special, the way they play. But I really don’t know what I will do on Sunday.” – Andoni Iraola on why he started Mark Travers
The Cherries were in fine fettle at Molineux, with Justin Kluivert (£4.6m) somehow blanking: he had two big chances of his own and teed up Milos Kerkez (£4.4m) for another clear opening.
Bournemouth will appeal Kerkez’s straight red card, incidentally.
Antoine Semenyo (£4.5m) was the matchwinner: he’s now level with Dominic Solanke (£7.3m) for attacking returns (five goals, one assist) over the last 10 Gameweeks.
BRUNO’S FORM, DALOT CLOSE
Bruno Fernandes (£8.3m) likely cemented his place in a few Gameweek 35 Wildcard teams with an 18-point haul at Old Trafford.
A penalty, a long-range thunderbolt and a perfectly measured assist: vintage Fernandes.
It was ‘only’ Sheffield United but that’s now 10 attacking returns in eight matches – more than half his season’s total.
Rasmus Hojlund (£7.0m) ended his drought in an otherwise quiet evening (another one), while Harry Maguire (£4.2m) scored and claimed the assist for United’s penalty. He’s now the leading Fantasy defender for shots in the box over the last six matches.
Two other Wildcard targets, Alejandro Garnacho (£5.0m) and Diogo Dalot (£5.2m), could/should have hauled alongside Fernandes.
Garnacho was United’s biggest goal threat by far. He tested the recalled Wes Foderingham (£4.4m) on five occasions, with two glorious chances from central positions going begging.
Dalot also encouragingly found himself in advanced situations, even getting beyond the rest of his team at one point and bearing down on Foderingham’s goal. He had the ball in the net, too, seconds after the whistle had blown for Fernandes’ penalty. A replay suggested it would have been one for the dubious goals committee but he was at least in the mix, a few yards out.
The opposition won’t get any easier than Sheffield United, of course. This was one of their semi-regular plucky performances that earns plaudits but ultimately they still conceded four goals and Foderingham performed heroics.
What they have been is a bit livelier in attack: they’ve now scored in six of their last seven matches. Ben Brereton (£5.0m), again ‘out of position’ up front, has now found the net on five occasions from just 10 starts.
DOUBLE GAMEWEEK HALL OF FAMER
The final word ought to go to a red-hot Mateta, who has now joined these greats (and Matty Cash) on the Fantasy honours board:
