It’s not often that we start our Scout Notes with a fixture that will likely be last on Match of the Day – but that’s the case tonight.
There’s good reason: Everton are one of two clubs with a ‘double’ in Gameweek 24, so there’ll be more eyes on the Toffees this week than usual.
Here’s what we saw in their 1-0 win over Brighton and Hove Albion.
- READ MORE: FPL Gameweek 23 round-up: Saturday’s goals, assists, bonus points + stats
- EXPLORE: All the Opta player and team stats from Brighton 0-1 Everton
CALVERT-LEWIN INJURY LATEST
Dominic Calvert-Lewin‘s (£5.4m) involvement in Double Gameweek 24 looks doubtful after he limped out of Saturday’s game at Brighton.
A week after he had broken a 16-game goal drought, any prospect of the much-derided striker building some momentum was ruined by an 11th-minute hamstring injury. He left the field shortly after.
Everton later lost Orel Mangala (£5.0m) to a knee injury, finishing the game with 10 men as a result. David Moyes didn’t sound too optimistic about either player.
“They don’t look great, either of them. The medical team have told me to let you know that they’ll get assessed first and then we’ll make a decision. They seem to think that they’re not the best, either of them, at the moment.” – David Moyes on Dominic Calvert-Lewin and Orel Mangala
NDIAYE ON PENS
Calvert-Lewin’s misfortune was compounded when Everton won a first-half penalty in his absence.
Up stepped Iliman Ndiaye (£5.4m) to take and convert, just as he’d done in the FA Cup two weeks ago.
That makes Ndiaye a bit of a more appealing pick for the upcoming ‘double’. He is indeed currently the most-bought Everton player of Gameweek 24 so far.
Jordan Pickford (£5.0m) didn’t get the assist for that penalty award, despite Joel Veltman (£4.4m) handling the ball from his long punt.
‘Forcing the issue’ is likely the reason why, with the ball having travelled a long way before Veltman handled it.
It remains to be seen if FPL Towers change their minds/reinterpret their own rules before tomorrow night’s close of play.
A DYCHEAN DISPLAY
After the front-foot display against Tottenham Hotspur last weekend, this win more archetypal Everton.
Apart from their spot-kick, the Toffees had just two other shots all game. Their non-penalty xG was 0.08, indeed.
Ndiaye was again doing much of his work on the left flank, where you probably don’t want your FPL forward to be, with substitute Beto (£4.9m) putting in the hard yards up top.
As was the case for much of Sean Dyche’s reign, Everton’s success was instead predicted on a rock-solid backline. Dyche even got a shout-out from his successor after the game.
“I have got to say Dychey left an awful lot of good things at this football club. Resilience, being hard to beat, tough, they have got all that. We are now just trying to add a little bit more. Can we make a few more chances? Can we get some more goals? We’re trying to get that added to the game.” – David Moyes
Fantasy managers in the market for an Everton player in Gameweek 24 may actually have been reassured by this performance. The goalkeeper and defenders remain the stand-out FPL targets, so to see the backline at their Dychean best was encouraging.
James Tarkowski (£4.8m) and Jarrad Branthwaite (£4.8m) were rocks at the rear, with Pickford having only one shot to save. Jake O’Brien (£4.5m) meanwhile reprised his right-back/centre-half hybrid role, again keeping out Ashley Young (£4.6m).
ESTUPINAN’S ABSENCE EXPLAINED
Brighton were missing Pervis Estupinan (£5.0m) and Solly March (£6.5m) on Saturday, both of them absent with muscle injuries.
“He has a muscle issue, so we have to wait for the next days. I can’t say anything about that.” – Fabian Hurzeler on Pervis Estupinan
BRIGHTON FLAT
The Seagulls were six games unbeaten going into this match but fell flat.
It’s a bit of a recurring theme in home games of this type. All three of their victories at the Amex have been against big-six sides, with wins failing to materialise against Southampton, Ipswich Town, Brentford, Crystal Palace, Wolverhampton Wanderers and now Everton.
When the onus is on them to attack, there is sometimes something lacking. Fabian Hurzeler even said that his one unenforced change, bringing Brajan Gruda (£5.4m) in for Yankuba Minteh (£5.0m), was made because the former was theoretically better against low blocks.
Ultimately, the change had little effect. Brighton could muster just 0.75 xG from their 68% possession and 16 shots.
No one had more efforts than Joao Pedro (£5.6m) in this game (three) but the Brazilian cut a frustrated figure, arms flailing.
In the end, we were treated to the sight of Adam Webster (£4.3m) playing up front in the closing stages.
The upcoming fixture run doesn’t look good – but perhaps games like Chelsea (h) and Manchester City (a) might give Albion more of the space they covet.
With Pedro the second-most sold player of Gameweek 24, some owners aren’t hanging around to find out.
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