Two of Fantasy Premier League’s (FPL) in-form forwards scored yet again on Saturday as Brighton and Hove Albion edged out Brentford.
For Igor Thiago (£6.5m), though, a stoppage-time penalty miss turned a potential 13-point haul into just four.
Here are our final weekend Scout Notes from the Amex.
THIAGO’S MIXED AFTERNOON FROM THE SPOT
Thiago had already converted once from the spot on Saturday, in doing so registering his ninth goal of 2025/26. Dango Ouattara (£6.0m) had been felled for that.
The Brazilian had a chance to hit double figures when Kevin Schade (£7.0m) was wrestled to the ground in second-half injury time.
Bart Verbruggen (£4.4m) was up to the test to this time, although not before some ‘housery’ from the Brighton ‘keeper had earned the Dutchman a booking. Given the end result, it was worth it.
That was Thiago’s first miss from the spot this season; he had been successful with the other four efforts.
Unsurprisingly, given the striker’s form and record from 12 yards, Keith Andrews fully backed him.
“I haven’t spoke to him too much [but] he’ll be absolutely fine. He’s in a good place. He scored a lot of goals. He’s playing very, very well. He scored again today.
“I think it’s difficult for penalty takers in general now, from when it’s given to when they actually take it. The time that it takes, the way the game has gone, with [VAR] checks, the players coming towards each other, coming towards the referee, the shenanigans of their goalkeeper.
“So, he’ll be absolutely fine, with zero blame attached to Thiago for that penalty.” – Keith Andrews on Igor Thiago
Brentford, incidentally, have been awarded at least twice as many penalties as any other Premier League club this season.
Ouattara has won three of them; no other top-flight player has been fouled for more than one.
A BIT OF MAGIC FROM ASSIST KING MINTEH
Thiago and Danny Welbeck (£6.6m) kept up their excellent recent form. Both are on runs of seven goals in as many Premier League games.
Welbeck had spurned a big chance about 15 minutes before he drew Brighton level, finishing well from a cross. Both opportunities were set by Yankuba Minteh (£6.1m).
Minteh, indeed, was the source of what little incisiveness was on show on Saturday. There was some frustration over the course of the afternoon – without the injured Kauro Mitoma (£6.1m) to worry about, opposition defences are finding it easier to double up on the Gambian winger – but most of the Seagulls’ better chances came with Minteh at the heart of it.
An early jinking run and backheel from the wide-man set up Mats Wieffer (£4.9m). A Minteh corner was nodded narrowly over from Georginio Rutter (£5.7m). Then there were Welbeck’s two chances, either side of Minteh wriggling through to test Ciaomhin Kelleher (£4.5m). Finally, the Gambian international claimed the assist for Brighton’s winner when his blocked shot fell to substitute Jack Hinshelwood (£5.1m).
Minteh is now out in front for FPL assists this season:
A game-high four chances created took him up to 21 for the season. He’s well inside the top 10 FPL assets for that stat.
WHY DUNK WAS BENCHED + WIEFFER DELIVERS MORE DEFCON
After successive clean sheets, it was a surprise to see Lewis Dunk (£4.5m) benched on Saturday. It turns out, however, that illness had disrupted his week of training.
Dunk came on for replacement Olivier Boscagli (£4.3m) at the break and was very good indeed, with his long ball helping set up Welbeck’s goal. Expect him back in the starting XI next weekend.
Another member of the Brighton backline, Wieffer (who is listed as an FPL midfielder), delivered yet more defensive contribution (DefCon) points.
He’s now done that in six of his eight starts. In the other two games, he finished on 10 and 11 contributions!
Above: Mats Wieffer leads the Premier League for defensive contributions per 90 minutes (min. 500 mins played)
Sepp van den Berg (£4.5m) also banked DefCon points for the sixth time this season for the Bees.
DEFENCES ON TOP DESPITE NO CLEAN SHEETS
While there were no clean sheets, the two defences largely impressed.
Brighton recklessly gave away two penalties but were mostly otherwise untroubled. The two spot-kicks accounted for around 75% of Brentford’s xG tally above, indeed.
As for the Bees, they were coping admirably with the Seagulls’ attack until that one bit of top-tier quality from Minteh and Welbeck. That goal was Brighton’s only ‘big chance’ of the game.
“I think large parts without the ball, we were very, very good. Restricted them to very little.” – Keith Andrews
Both clubs will fancy their chances of a handful of shut-outs in the Gameweeks ahead, particularly on their own soil. These two sides have lost only one home game between them this season and are both in the top six for Premier League results on their own patches.
THE REST OF OUR GAMEWEEK 12 SCOUT NOTES
- Scout Notes: Eze hat-trick, how Arsenal fared without Gabriel + Romero ban
- Scout Notes: Haaland blanks, Donnarumma shines + what now for Burn?
- Scout Notes: Liverpool poor, Szoboszlai at right-back + Gibbs-White impact
- Scout Notes: Why Semenyo missed out, Senesi nears ban + Tavernier pen
- Scout Notes: Rogers “fantastic” + why Stach was subbed off
- Scout Notes: Richards injury, Mateta early sub + Munoz ban threat
- Scout Notes: Why Caicedo was a sub + £4.2m Guiu assists
- Scout Notes: Raul revels in Muniz absence + more Andersen DefCon
- Scoreboard: Saturday’s goals, assists, bonus and statistics
