There was nothing to separate Bournemouth and Newcastle United on Sunday, resulting in a goalless draw and a bunch of defensive contribution (DefCon) points.
Here are the key takeaways from a Fantasy Premier League (FPL) perspective.
- READ MORE: FPL Gameweek 5: Sunday’s goals, assists, bonus + ‘DefCon’ points
- READ MORE: FPL notes: Palmer injury latest + why Sanchez isn’t flagged
- READ MORE: FPL notes: Why Slot benched Wirtz + Isak, Grealish + Ekitike good
- READ MORE: FPL notes: Sarr return, Pino worry + West Ham’s set-piece woes
SEMENYO + SENESI BANK DEFCON
Bournemouth and Newcastle took part in a drab affair on the south Coast, with the tactical set-ups of Andoni Iraola and Eddie Howe cancelling each other out.
Indeed, the combined expected goals (xG) for both teams was just 0.7, one of the lowest of any Premier League match so far this season.
In a game of limited opportunities, the Cherries had a goal ruled out due to David Brooks (£5.0m) being marginally offside from Evanilson’s (£7.0m) pass, while a free-kick taken by substitute Justin Kluivert (£7.0m) was saved by Nick Pope (£5.0m) late on.
As for Antoine Semenyo (£7.6m), the most-bought player of Gameweek 5, he registered just one shot and one chance created, but did at least bank DefCon points, which summed up the match.
“I’ve been riding high for a little bit. The bar was set high and I want to contribute anywhere I can for the team. It’s disappointing but it’s a fair result.” – Antoine Semenyo
Similarly, Marcos Senesi (£4.7m) also hit the DefCon threshold. He is now one of just two defenders to have secured DefCon points in every Gameweek this season:
In other news, Bafode Diakite (£4.5m) recovered from injury to play, while Alex Jimenez (£4.5m) was handed his first start for the club following his summer loan move from AC Milan. However, Jimenez committed three fouls and received a yellow card in the first half, leading to his substitution at the break.
HOWE ROTATES
Eddie Howe, meanwhile, made seven changes from the midweek UEFA Champions League defeat to Barcelona, with Bruno Guimaraes (£6.5m) omitted from a Premier League XI for the first time in a considerable period.
The only four players to keep their place were Nick Pope, Dan Burn (£5.0m), Tino Livramento (£5.1m) and Sandro Tonali (£5.4m).
Consequently, Newcastle lined up in a back three formation, which shifted into a 5-4-1 structure off the ball.
Above: Newcastle used a 3-5-2 formation at the Vitality Stadium, with Malick Thiaw (No 12) and Dan Burn (33) both securing DefCon points
Howe employed a similar strategy against Leeds United last month, but once again, bar Jacob Murphy’s (£6.3m) near-post effort, the approach blunted their attacking threat.
The Magpies have now gone three away games without scoring this season, having created just two big chances in those matches.
Anthony Elanga (£7.0m) and Harvey Barnes (£6.5m) were introduced after the break, but it failed to spark Nick Woltemade (£7.1m) into life, with Bournemouth’s physical centre-backs restricting his time on the ball. In fact, Woltemade failed to register a shot on Sunday and had just four touches in the opposition box, despite some clever link-up play.
“We didn’t get our attacking game going. It’s not good. You want to create chances and clear-cut chances. It didn’t feel like that in our performance. We are going through one of those phases where it’s hard to score away from home. We’re evolving and changing as an attacking force. Our ability to defend has been at a high level and we will score goals.” – Eddie Howe
Anthony Gordon (£7.4m) is at least back from suspension against Arsenal next week.
POPE THE TOP-SCORING GOALKEEPER OF 2025/26, SCHAR LATEST
On the flip side, Newcastle have now kept four clean sheets in five matches, the most of any team in the top-flight.
They also have the lowest expected goals conceded (xGC) total:
Notably, Nick Pope is now the top-scoring goalkeeper in Fantasy with 32 points, thanks to four clean sheets, just three goals conceded, 10 saves and three bonus points.
On the display at Bournemouth, Howe said:
“Defensively we were good. You want to see the team defending our box well. We were strong, robust. We didn’t create the amount of chances we would want but it’s a really hard place to come. If you look at the games we’ve played, it’s not by luck we’ve kept these clean sheets. We weren’t as aggressive but it was a mixture of Thursday and getting the best out of our players.” – Eddie Howe
Fabian Schar (£5.5m), meanwhile, missed out due to the head injury he suffered against Barcelona. He will be absent for a “few games”, including Wednesday’s Carabao Cup clash with Bradford City, but in a post on X, he did say that he hopes “to be back soon”.
