Ismaila Sarr (£6.5m) and Callum Hudson-Odoi (£6.0m) were both on the scoresheet on Sunday, as Crystal Palace and Nottingham Forest drew 1-1 at Selhurst Park.
Here’s what we spotted from a Fantasy Premier League (FPL) perspective.
SARR LOOKING GOOD FOR GAMEWEEK 3
With no Eberechi Eze (£7.5m), Ismaila Sarr took the spotlight for Crystal Palace on Sunday.
The mid-price midfielder met Daniel Munoz’s (£5.5m) first-half cross, striking it home on the half volley.
He also came close to winning a penalty in the final moments.
“Ismaila had a fantastic season for us and the way he is playing helps us a lot. His directness and runs are his strengths.” – Oliver Glasner on Ismaila Sarr
Looking ahead to Gameweek 3, Sarr will have a chance to extend his scoring streak against Aston Villa, a team he has historically performed very well against:
Image via TransferMarkt
Back-to-back clashes against Sunderland and West Ham United follow, so expect interest in Sarr to quickly ramp up this week.
£4.5M DEVENNY STARTS
£4.5m midfielder Justin Devenny took on Eze’s role at Selhurst Park, partnering with Sarr as one of Oliver Glasner’s two No 10s.
It was a tough afternoon for the youngster, however, as he struggled to create any chances for his teammates.
Devenny’s replacement on 65 minutes, Romaine Esse (£5.0m), arguably fared better with some tidy footwork, but both players will hope to see further opportunities come their way in light of Eze’s exit.
The match at Selhurst Park saw few clear-cut opportunities, bar the goals.
It was Palace’s fourth match in two weeks, so it is perhaps not surprising that they appeared somewhat fatigued after the break, particularly Jean-Philippe Mateta (£7.5m), who had a shot well saved by Matz Sels (£5.0m) in the first period.
“It looked like the legs were getting a little bit fatigued. We have many players who played every single minute. But it’s the situation now, and the players are dealing well with it and being unbeaten. I also think the draw is a fair result.” – Oliver Glasner
The impact of the Thursday-Sunday fixture turnaround for both teams is certainly worth monitoring in the coming weeks and months.
The difference for Palace, however, is that they have a squad with very little depth, at least for now.
Compare that with Forest, who had as many as four new arrivals on the bench on Sunday: Douglas Luiz (£5.0m), James McAtee (£5.5m), Omari Hutchinson (£5.5m) and Arnaud Kalimuendo (£6.0m).
Defensively, Maxence Lacroix (£5.0m) performed well in the centre of the back three and picked up defensive contribution (DefCon) points for the second successive week.
NDOYE IMPACT
With tensions brewing between manager and owner, this was a positive point for Forest.
The Tricky Trees certainly looked more like themselves after the break, which coincided with a tactical switch from Nuno Espirito Santo.
After a below-par first half, wingers Hudson-Odoi and Dan Ndoye (£6.0m) switched flanks and combined for the equaliser shortly after.
Ndoye’s incisive pass was superb, and he’s now produced a goal and an assist in his first two matches to total 16 points.
“We just changed the wingers. We felt it was the most to create an element of surprise to Palace because they were adjusting really well. Change of characteristics and it worked out. We are pleased.” – Nuno Espirito Santo
We didn’t see much of either number nine, but Chris Wood (£7.6m) did steer a shot wide of the post in the early stages.
His replacement on 87 minutes, Igor Jesus (£5.9m), hit the woodwork late on.
Elsewhere, Elliot Anderson (£5.5m) put in a shift, but for the second week running, was just one clearance, block, interception, recovery or tackle away from qualifying for the DefCon bonus.
As for Forest’s backline, patience is understandably wearing thin, having failed to keep a clean sheet against Brentford or Palace.
Forest do face West Ham, Burnley and Sunderland in the next four Gameweeks, however, so there are further opportunities to deliver before the fixtures toughen up in Gameweek 7:
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