An injury to Matheus Cunha (£7.1m) is one of the main talking points in our first Scout Notes of Gameweek 19.
In this article, we assess Tottenham Hotspur 2-2 Wolverhampton Wanderers and Leicester City 0-2 Manchester City.
CUNHA INJURY LATEST
Matheus Cunha was taken off at half-time on Sunday after saying he felt at risk of a muscular problem.
The Brazilian, who is facing the prospect of an FA suspension after being charged with misconduct, was later spotted with an ice pack on the back of his right knee.
“Cunha at half-time spoke with me and told me, ‘coach I felt something during the first half and now I’m afraid to speed up. When I need to speed up or I need to make a sprint, I don’t feel confident for this. It’s better to stay out of the game’. He told me, and I respect that. I think it’s not bad” – Vitor Pereira on Matheus Cunha
Wolves will also be without Toti Gomes (£4.3m) for three to four weeks due to a hamstring injury.
However, they are still enjoying a bounce under new head coach Vitor Pereira.
The Old Gold are unbeaten in his first three games in charge, having battled back to secure a point against Spurs.
Hwang Hee-chan (£6.1m) and substitute Jorgen Strand Larsen (£5.6m) both got on the scoresheet in north London, with Rayan Ait-Nouri (£4.8m) supplying a pair of assists.
Back to his best after a difficult few months, the Algerian created three chances and claimed the maximum bonus.
He also racked up 41 final-third touches, the most of any player on the pitch, highlighting the attacking nature of his wing-back role under Pereira.
ANOTHER SPURS INJURY
Tottenham were dealt yet another injury blow on Sunday after Destiny Udogie (£4.9m) was forced off in the second-half.
The Italian left the pitch holding his hamstring, with Sergio Reguilon (£4.2m) brought on to replace him.
If Udogie’s injury is serious, then Djed Spence (£4.4m) – who will return from suspension in Gameweek 20 – looks primed to replace him.
“I think it was a hamstring. Again, like I said, we’ve been relying on a core group of players because we just haven’t had the ability to rotate so at some point it was going to catch up with us. Unfortunately, it caught up with Destiny.” – Ange Postecoglou on Destiny Udogie
Radu Dragusin (£4.3m) did at least overcome an ankle problem to start against Wolves, but it’s another defensive blow for Ange Postecoglou, who is already without Guglielmo Vicario (£4.8m), Cristian Romero (4.9m), Micky van de Ven (£4.5m) and Ben Davies (£4.3m).
They’ll have to navigate Saturday’s home clash against Newcastle United without Rodrigo Bentancur (£4.9m), too, who picked up his fifth booking of the season.
This was, of course, only Bentancur’s second appearance in the Premier League after serving a seven-match ban.
“Radu [Dragusin] wasn’t 100%, but he felt he could get through with his ankle and again, I think the players are all giving everything they can at the moment. It’s just unfortunately we can’t give them what they really need and that is some recovery and rest because we’ve got so many players out, but Radu wanted to play today and you know while he wasn’t 100%, we had no choice to put him out there. It’s fair to say we’re dealing with a fair bit, and it doesn’t feel we’re getting a smooth run at anything in terms of getting players back and allowing us to freshen up the team. As soon as we get one back, we lose one. We’ve just got to get through it.” – Ange Postecoglou
As for the football itself, Bentancur equalised with a header from a Pedro Porro (£5.5m) corner and Brennan Johnson (£6.5m) struck in first-half stoppage time, shortly after Jose Sa (£4.3m) saved Son Heung-min’s (£9.9m) penalty.
Dejan Kulusevski (£6.4m) was once again Spurs’ best player, however, with some excellent work down the right flank. Unlucky not to score, he did at least supply the assist for Johnson’s goal, his fourth attacking return in five matches.
James Maddison (£7.7m) struggled to make an impact off the bench for the second game running.
“I can see how hard they’re trying. If we were at our sharpest we’d have got that third and fourth goal, we were inches away. We are lacking the dynamic movement we need. Where does Deki [Kulusevski] get the energy from? Dom [Solanke], Sonny. These guys are fighting energy and aren’t as sharp as we can be.” – Ange Postecoglou
HAALAND ENDS DROUGHT/PEP ON SAVINHO
Erling Haaland (£14.8m) scored his first goal since Gameweek 15 as Man City recorded a much-needed 2-0 win at the King Power Stadium.
Having previously attempted five shots, Haaland’s persistence in front of goal finally paid off with a late header.
There were other opportunities, too, with an earlier effort sent narrowly wide, but his late strike should at least add confidence ahead of West Ham United, Brentford and Ipswich Town.
“Confidence is so important in football. You get affected by it when this happens to you. It is what it is. You have to keep going and stay positive and look at what’s next. When you’re used to winning games it’s not easy. This club has won Premier Leagues for the last 10 years so we keep going and keep positive and try to encourage each other.” – Erling Haaland
“Sometimes Erling has been judged badly but it’s part of football. He’s tired, he’s played a lot of minutes. He’s become a father for the first time in the last few days, a lot of emotions and an exciting few days for him.” – Pep Guardiola on Erling Haaland
Kevin De Bruyne (£9.4m) completing 90 minutes was another positive for Pep Guardiola, but it was the performance of Savinho (£6.4m) which really stood out.
The Brazilian – who was deployed on the left at Leicester – opened the scoring with his first Premier League goal, finding the net after Phil Foden’s (£9.2m) shot was parried, before turning provider for Haaland.
Discussing Savinho’s impact, Guardiola said:
“We’re a way from what we have to be as a team, but Savinho made an incredible performance again like he did against Everton. He’s a guy who can play on both sides, today he finally scored a goal. He has an incredible ability and quality he’s proven in that period.
“He arrived in the six months when the team isn’t in the best moment than maybe he expected, compared with the past. He makes one action fine, second fine, third miss it, four mistake, five mistake, the sixth try again and try again and try again. And until the end he tries.
“Defensively he’s not incredible in the one v one, but his work rate is impressive and he’s so aggressive on both sides. He’s had a lot of chances but the moment you score one or two, you’ll score a lot. I’m really pleased for him for the game, the goal, the assist for Erling. On the left he can make those crosses, the game he played was really good.” – Pep Guardiola on Savinho
Still, for large periods, it was far from convincing for the champions, with defensive vulnerabilities still evident.
In fact, Leicester amassed more possession (54%) and more big chances (three to two) on Sunday.
The Foxes twice hit the woodwork, while Jamie Vardy (£5.6m) missed from six yards out, lifting his volley over the bar.
Fellow attacker Bilal El Khannous (£4.8m) impressed the most, with his creativity and direct running causing real problems for the Man City defence.
