FPL notes: Wood in form + Nuno’s solid Forest defence

The Gameweek 8 analysis is wrapped up with Scout Notes on Nottingham Forest v Crystal Palace.

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WOOD HITS WINNER

Chris Wood (£6.3m) was on the scoresheet once again for Nottingham Forest on Monday, as Nuno Espirito Santo’s side claimed their first home win of the season.

It puts them above Newcastle United and Fulham into eighth. Beat Leicester City on Friday and they’re fifth.

Wood has now scored 16 goals in 24 appearances since Nuno’s arrival – only Erling Haaland (£15.4m) and Cole Palmer (£10.8m) have more.

“I have got the backing of Nuno and it is fantastic to have a manager right behind you. We have a great team that make a lot of chances and you have to be ready to put them in the back of the net.” – Chris Wood

“Chris gives us much more than the goals but we are delighted that he scores for us. He is huge for us, the way he links, the way he defends. His voice in the dressing room is important, the way he leads by example for the younger lads. We are very grateful for him.” – Nuno Espirito Santo on Chris Wood

Profiting from a Dean Henderson (£4.5m) mistake to score, Wood also had a hat-trick of chances in the first-half, with one blocked on the line. In total, he attempted four shots.

Elliot Anderson (£5.0m) was superb, too.

Playing in a more central role in the absence of Morgan Gibbs-White (£6.3m), the youngster racked up five key passes, delivering several dangerous balls into the box.

FOREST’S FINE DEFENCE

The foundation for Nottingham Forest’s positive start to the season has been their solid defence.

They beat Liverpool 1-0 at Anfield and drew 1-1 with Chelsea just before the international break, conceding only six goals in eight games.

Simply put, they are very difficult to beat.

Goalkeeper Matz Sels (£4.5m) had the game of his life at Stamford Bridge in Gameweek 7, producing seven saves.

He continued in the same spirit here, with a further seven saves, maximum bonus and 11 points.

In addition, Nikola Milenkovic (£4.5m) and Murillo’s (£4.5m) partnership is going from strength to strength, a key reason why Forest have the second-best defence in the division.

PALACE’S POOR START

Crystal Palace haven’t got going at all this season. They are winless after eight games and remain in the relegation zone.

In Oliver Glasner’s defence, Monday’s display wasn’t terrible, but they appear to be disjointed and seriously lacking in confidence in the final-third.

Eberechi Eze (£6.7m) did his best to make things happen, racking up six shots, but he was mainly restricted to shooting from range.

It continues a theme throughout the season, with 57% of his efforts arriving outside the box.

With a shot conversion rate of just 3%, it’s no surprise only Bruno Fernandes (£8.2m) is underperforming his expected goals (xG) by more.

Elsewhere, Eddie Nketiah (£5.9m) was once again preferred to Jean-Philippe Mateta (£7.3m) up top.

The former Arsenal man mustered four shots in the first half hour and clipped the outside of the post, but left empty-handed for the fifth match in a row.

“In the situation we are in things are not so fluid. In the final third we very often took the wrong decisions and this is through a lack of confidence. Maybe you need one to hit the post and go in instead of post and out, and then there was an unbelievable save from their keeper. Sometimes you need an easy goal but at the moment that is not arriving for us. We had chances to score but we didn’t and it is a tough time at the moment.” – Oliver Glasner

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