Fulham and Bournemouth’s European ambitions took a big hit on Saturday when they were both defeated on their own soil.
Dropping down to 11th and 10th spot respectively, a top-eight finish and potential UEFA Europa Conference League qualification is now out of their hands.
Assessing this and other Fantasy talking points, it’s our latest Gameweek 36 Scout Notes.
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- READ MORE: FPL Gameweek 36 round-up: Saturday’s goals, assists, bonus points + stats
FULHAM + BOURNEMOUTH PUTTING THE PASSPORTS AWAY?
Above image from BBC Sport
It’s now must-win for Fulham in Gameweek 37. Anything less in their clash with Brentford and they’ll be out of the running for eighth.
As for Bournemouth, they’ve got the daunting task of getting something from the Etihad next Tuesday. By that point, they will know if their Gameweek 37 fixture is also a must-win match. If Brentford beat Fulham and/or Brighton and Hove Albion defeat Liverpool in the days beforehand, the Cherries will have to win at Manchester City to stay in the running for eighth.
Crystal Palace could render this whole thing meaningless by winning the FA Cup, of course…
It does raise the possibility of Gameweek 38 being a dead rubber for Fulham and Bournemouth. The Cottagers themselves face Man City on the final day, while Andoni Iraola’s side have that plum-looking home clash with Leicester City.
CAN BRENTFORD EXPLOIT FULHAM’S SET-PIECE WOES?
In Gameweeks 34 and 35, Fulham’s only goal concessions were from set plays.
And again, on Saturday, their Achilles heel was exposed as two more goals were conceded from dead-ball situations. One was unlucky, as Vitalii Mykolenko’s (£4.5m) strike was deflected in. But more concerning was Michael Keane (£3.8m) being afforded the freedom of the Fulham box to nod in Everton’s second goal from a corner.
Above: Both sides had five corners each but Everton had attempts from four of theirs, compared to Fulham’s one
Given Brentford’s strengths at set plays (they scored from a corner themselves on Saturday and rank joint-third for set-piece goals this season), the Bees will be encouraged by what they’ve seen in the last three Gameweeks.
“Apart from the third goal of Everton, the last four we conceded from set pieces.
“These types of moments of the season when you come to the end… we have to keep the focus and the concentration throughout all of the game – and both moments we lost completely.” – Marco Silva
Set plays aside, it’s perhaps a good time for Messrs Wissa and Mbeumo to face Fulham.
Firstly, the Cottagers will have to come out and attack Brentford at some point next weekend. Only a win will do.
On top of that, morale seems to be quite low (Silva cut a dejected figure in his post-match presser), injuries are biting, they’ve lost four of their last five matches and they’ve kept one clean sheet in 14 games.
Beto (£4.8m) went on to add a soft third goal when his shot squirmed through Bernd Leno (£5.0m), while substitute Dominic Calvert-Lewin (£5.4m) nearly added a fourth late on. Everton had the worst goalscoring record on the road before Saturday.
Harry Wilson (£5.2m) was lively and had a Saturday-high eight shots, drawing a couple of excellent saves from Jordan Pickford (£5.1m), but not a single one of the hosts’ 18 efforts registered more than 0.09 for StatsBomb xG.
SOMETHING TO PLAY FOR 1-3 ON THE BEACH
Just to prove that having ‘something to play for’ isn’t an automatic advantage in itself at this time of the season, a supposedly motivation-less Everton walked off with all three points.
In fairness, it looked as if the lilos were out in the first half an hour. “Incredibly poor” was how their own manager described it.
It was no surprise that things improved when Iliman Ndiaye (£5.2m) and Dwight McNeil (£5.1m), probably Everton’s two most gifted players, were brought on. David Moyes went without the pair at the start as he set out to be “tough to beat” but they predictably made a difference when introduced, with McNeil banking yet another attacking return: that’s 11 in 19 games.
“I actually felt that the two substitutes came on and made a huge impact, both Ili and Dwight, so really pleased for them.” – David Moyes
It’s now eight goals for the season for Beto, too, despite him only starting 13 league matches.
NO ROBINSON OR O’BRIEN
Both sides were missing a key defender at Craven Cottage.
Antonee Robinson (£4.8m) was missing for the hosts for the second time in three Gameweeks. None of the post-match interviews have elicited a reason.
We did get an update on Jake O’Brien (£4.5m), absent from the Everton squad.
“I don’t think it’s that bad. He’s sort of rocked his knee a little bit. We only found out about it on Friday, so it was a sort of late call, really.
“Yeah, I think so [he’ll be able to play again this season]. Yeah, we don’t think it’s that bad, but I just don’t have all the answers. We’ll see how it goes through the week.” – David Moyes on Jake O’Brien
The dirt-cheap Keane started in O’Brien’s place, while Ryan Sessegnon (£4.2m) covered for Robinson at left-back.
VILLA’S DEFENCE ON TOP AGAIN
Aston Villa are one of the form defensive sides in the division, having now kept five clean sheets in their last eight fixtures.
The underlying numbers back it up: nine big chances conceded from Gameweek 28 onwards is the division’s lowest total.
Their three lowest expected goals conceded (xGC, StatsBomb) totals of 2024/25 have all come in the last three Gameweeks, too. They weren’t easy fixtures, either.
“Today we kept a clean sheet and we missed that during the season. We were not performing like we planned. The players reacted very well to the challenges we set in January.” – Unai Emery, via Birmingham Live
Bournemouth barely mustered a chance until Jacob Ramsey (£5.4m) was sent off in the 80th minute on Saturday. They’d had just three shots before that point, with a late flurry of efforts adding respectability to the hosts’ xG tally.
Everything seems to be coming together for the Villans defensively, with Boubacar Kamara (£5.0m) back to helm the midfield, all defenders fit and players like Matty Cash (£4.4m) in excellent form. With Youri Tielemans (£5.5m) out, Villa now also have Amadou Onana (£4.8m) in midfield. While losing Tielemans’ on-the-ball brilliance, the Villans benefited from a commanding performance in the engine room from Onana and Kamara.
Villa definitely weren’t free-flowing at the other end. Ollie Watkins (£8.9m) nodded in Morgan Rogers’ (£5.7m) cross, Kamara should have scored and Marco Asensio (£6.1m) hit the post but this was mostly a drab spectacle. Villa didn’t have a single shot after the 45th minute. Results really matter, now, not gung-ho performances, so it’d be understandable if there’s not as much attacking abandon in the final two Gameweeks.
KLUIVERT BENCHED
After Antoine Semenyo (£5.7m) was benched in Gameweek 35, this time it was the turn of Justin Kluivert (£6.0m) to drop out of Andoni Iraola’s starting XI. Alex Scott‘s (£4.7m) recall was no doubt a reward for his fine cameo at the Emirates a week earlier but it came in Kluivert’s ’10’ role, not further back in central midfield.
However, some encouragement for Kluivert – albeit not in the nicest of circumstances. Scott fractured his jaw after being elbowed by Tyrone Mings (£4.4m), so that’s him surely done for the season.
Semenyo, Kluivert and Marcus Tavernier (£5.4m) should be the attacking midfield trio in Gameweek 37, then, with David Brooks (£4.9m) more typically limited to substitute duty.
“I think it was a key game for both teams and you could feel it since the beginning. It was a game with a lot of stops, not a lot of rhythm.” – Andoni Iraola
No joy for the Cherries, then, but if it’s win or bust at the Etihad, that could be a more engaging affair.
