Another Saturday Scout Notes for you now as we look back on Brighton and Hove Albion 2-2 Tottenham Hotspur.
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XAVI, SARR + SPENCE THE LATEST ROTATION VICTIMS
Thomas Frank was one of the easiest managers to second-guess at Brentford. Fond of a settled side, and with his formations fairly predictable, he was an FPL manager’s dream.
But then he didn’t have the UEFA Champions League to juggle in west London. Nor did he have the options he has at his disposal now.
Frank looks far more prepared to rotate his squad this season.
Xavi Simons (£7.1m), Djed Spence (£4.5m) and Pape Matar Sarr (£5.0m) were the latest victims of the game-to-game changes, the latter two having their ever-present starting records spoiled. Simons was among the top 10 most-bought players of Gameweek 5, too.
“I’ve got three extremely good full-backs. I think Djed’s been fantastic for us. So when another player is doing so well, then there’s no reason to throw Destiny in too early. And I’m pretty sure we need all three throughout the season. That is crucial.
“We are playing, hopefully, around 60 games this season. That’s a lot. I think Liverpool changed both their full-backs from midweek to today. So it’s a big thing. We want fullbacks to come bombarding up and down. So we need everyone.” – Thomas Frank on rotating his full-backs
We’ve already seen Richarlison (£6.7m) drop to the bench in Gameweek 4, and the Brazilian striker could have two additional positional rivals eating into his minutes next weekend. Dominic Solanke (£7.2m) is already back in training, while Randal Kolo Muani (£7.0m) only missed Saturday’s game at the Amex with a dead leg.
XAVI SHINES IN THE ’10’
Xavi did come on in the second half at Brighton, and he made an impact, too. Deployed in the hole, rather than on the left where he’d previously featured for Spurs, he was more in the thick of the goalmouth action.
Registering three shots in a half-hour cameo, he tested Bart Verbruggen (£4.5m) with one effort and really should have scored when screwing wide from the edge of the box.
“I think Xavi came in and did exactly what we thought he could do in that 10 position. Of course, he had a good pre-season and he played two games in Germany and all that, but he’s still coming into a team and all that. And I think on any other day, he’d score a goal. He got a great finish on the first one, great save from Verbruggen. And the other one, he mistimes. And I think actually maybe he could have got an assist to Richy, where Lucas takes the ball, he doesn’t see him.
“I think he can play both. I think he can easily play the left winger, that can go more inside. I also think he’d have the right position, too. Sometimes the playmakers, they drift to the side because there’s no space in the middle. So, I think he can do that. But 10, obviously, he can play that as well.” – Thomas Frank on Xavi Simons
If Frank does see Simons’ future predominantly in the ’10’ role, it obviously spells bad news for Sarr, the 3%-owned budget midfielder.
KUDOS TO KUDUS
As bright as Xavi was, Frank’s vote for man of the match went to Mohammed Kudus (£6.7m).
Kudus kept up his own 100% starting record here, delivering assists three and four of the season. While they were slightly fortunate – a misdirected shot turned in by Richarlison and a cross that Jan Paul van Hecke (£4.5m) diverted into his own net – he was a lively presence down the Spurs right. He teed up Simons’ best chance of the afternoon, while a deflected shot of his own almost crept in late on.
“I think Kudus was probably our man of the match. He was so dangerous. He owned that right-hand side.” – Thomas Frank on Mohammed Kudus, to the BBC
“I think two things. One, his work ethic has been really good. It’s big for me, how hard he works in the counter-press, high pressure, defensive side of it.
“But his hold-up play, when it goes into him, it just sticks. You can’t get it off him. So he just keeps it, he doesn’t lose a 50-50 ball.
“And then the third thing is his one-on-one ability is crazy. He’s so strong, he’s so explosive. He just dominated that right-hand side.” – Thomas Frank on Mohammed Kudus, in his post-match presser
DESERVED POINT
Spurs came back from 2-0 down to snatch a draw at the Amex, and it was a deserved point, too.
Brighton edged the xG but a massive part of that was Yankuba Minteh‘s (£5.9m) opener, in which he rounded the ‘keeper and tapped into an empty net. From minute eight to 79, in fact, they didn’t have another shot in the box.
The Seagulls’ second goal, scored from distance by Yasin Ayari (£4.9m), also should have been stopped.
Ayari was level with Richarlison for shots in this match (five each) but the difference was that four of the Brighton midfielder’s attempts came from outside the area.
Brajan Gruda (£5.4m) came into the side at the expense of Danny Welbeck (£6.3m) and operated behind Georginio Rutter (£5.8m), who teed up the lively Minteh for the opener.
Brighton remain one of four sides yet to keep a clean sheet. Carlos Baleba‘s (£4.9m) poor form – he was hooked at half-time again here – is not helping.
Albion’s starting right-back, this time Joel Veltman (£4.4m), banked DefCon points for the fourth time in five Gameweeks. His positional rival, Mats Wieffer (£4.9m), returned from injury as a substitute, however.
