Almost inevitably, an injury-hit, travel-sick Sunderland spoiled the party for Fantasy managers who punted on picks from in-form Bournemouth.
The two sides played out a 1-1 draw in the early kick-off on Saturday.
Here’s what we saw and learned.
- READ MORE: FPL notes: Everything Pep said on Haaland + is O’Reilly injured?
- READ MORE: FPL Gameweek 28: Saturday’s goals, assists, bonus + ‘DefCon’ points
IRAOLA ON WHY KROUPI STARTED UP FRONT – AND WHY HIS SIDE WERE BETTER WITH EVANILSON
There was a boost for Eli Junior Kroupi (£4.7m) owners when the teamsheets came out on Saturday morning. Not only was the budget forward starting but he was also leading the line, having effectively played as a ’10’ for the last few months.
That was about as good as it got, however. Kroupi had a fairly quiet game and his usual pinpoint shooting was missing, as two decent chances were sent off-target.
Come half-time, Andoni Iraola had seen enough. On came Evanilson (£6.9m), off came David Brooks (£5.0m), and Kroupi was back in the ’10’.
The Brazilian subsequently scored and his manager said afterwards that the Cherries were “much better” with him up top, something that doesn’t bode well for Kroupi’s chances of playing as a bona fide striker going forward.
“I think we needed three players in the middle because they are a very good team there, especially with recovering Xhaka, Sadiki, Enzo Le Fee sometimes comes inside. They could overload us there in the middle and play with just one number nine.
“Also I wanted to try Junior as a number nine because he has been playing basically as a number 10, or a nine-and-a-half, for a lot of time – let’s see how it went. But especially with our slow start and conceding first, I think we needed Eva desperately to run in behind them, get better positions and sustain us a little bit higher, and I think we’ve played much better when Eva was there.” – Andoni Iraola on why Evanilson was benched and Eli Junior Kroupi started up front
EVANILSON INJURY UPDATE
However, could there be a short-term reprieve for Kroupi? Just when it looked like a Gameweek 29 benching was inevitable – a start and 80 minutes here – Evanilson hobbled off. It’s not a serious issue but the quick turnaround to Tuesday introduces a bit more doubt.
“It’s a dead leg, I think it’s clear. I think he’s gone very strong, Ballard. He was in pain and we had to decide quickly because he was limping, he was limping and we cannot wait forever. I hope he recovers, it’s going to be a very short turnaround – it’s two, three days – but I hope he can play against Brentford.” – Andoni Iraola on Evanilson
Iraola could, of course, go with Enes Unal (£5.4m) up front against Brentford. He’s not done that in the league since December 2024, however.
TAVERNIER IMPRESSES
Rayan (£5.6m) couldn’t add to his returns but very nearly did with a late effort, which deflected narrowly wide. His performance was like last week’s – quiet for long periods but with flashes of inspiration that he’s clearly capable of.
The fact that he was given yet another 90 minutes underscored Iraola’s faith in him, and he actually came into the game more as it went on, rather than tiring.
While Ryan Christie‘s (£4.9m) introduction was influential, the star of the show was Marcus Tavernier (£5.3m).
Starting his first game in six weeks, he initially lined up in the ’10’ before moving to the left at the break. It was his sublime cross that Evanilson nodded in, while he tested Robin Roefs (£4.9m) with three efforts from mid-to-long range, including a direct free-kick. One of his saved shots nearly led to an assist, only for Roefs to smother Alex Scott‘s (£5.1m) close-range rebound effort.
Above: Bournemouth players sorted by shots taken in Gameweek 28
There’ll be a question mark over whether he’ll be able to start two games in quick succession after a recent return from injury but beyond Gameweek 29, he’ll surely be a reliable starter for the run-in, with no more midweek rounds and no cup involvement for the Cherries. Remember that he should be on penalties, too, with Justin Kluivert (£7.0m) out.
At the back, Marcos Senesi (£4.9m) turned the tables and banked DefCon points as James Hill (£4.1m) failed to meet the threshold. Hill was pretty solid in general, though.
XHAKA’S INFLUENCE
Sunderland may have been injury-hit but they did have one key player back in the starting XI: Granit Xhaka (£5.1m).
| Sunderland | with Xhaka in starting XI | without Xhaka in starting XI |
|---|---|---|
| Played | 23 | 5 |
| Won | 8 | 1 |
| Drawn | 10 | 0 |
| Lost | 5 | 4 |
His leadership and organisational skills are not really quantifiable, nor do they give you FPL points, but Sunderland look like much more of a solid unit with him helming the midfield.
“He’s important because in this league, every team, I think, has two or three main players. Here, in Sunderland, we know that Granit is one of these players. When he’s with us, you will feel the difference. His quality, first of all, but the way he can lead and give confidence to his teammates is very important as well.” – Regis Le Bris on Granit Xhaka
The club captain would’ve very likely banked DefCon points, had he lasted the full game – but understandably, after a recent spell out, his afternoon ended after 75 minutes.
MORE DEFCON POINTS FOR BALLARD
This was a typical Sunderland performance, in many ways. More defensively stout than threatening, Eliezer Mayenda‘s (£5.2m) tap-in from Habib Diarra‘s (£5.3m) saved shot accounted for over 60% of their total xG. Still, they started brightly in attack, while Diarra should have made it 2-0 with a breakaway chance. The Mackems also had a decent shout for a penalty turned away.
Xhaka aside, Dan Ballard (£4.6m) was the pick of the bunch. He ‘assisted the assister’ for the opener, while he was a rock at the back.
Ballard, Omar Alderete (£4.1m) and Nordi Mukiele (£4.6m) stand-in Lutsharel Geertruida (£4.5m) all bagged DefCon points. In the 18 matches in which Ballard has lasted 90 minutes (which you’d usually expect a centre-half to do), he’s delivered the DefCon goods in 12 of them (66%).
