We’ve got two more of Sunday’s matches to get through in our Gameweek 32 Scout Notes: Sunderland 1-0 Tottenham Hotspur and Crystal Palace 2-1 Newcastle United.
- READ MORE: FPL Gameweek 32: Sunday’s goals, assists, bonus + DefCon
- READ MORE: FPL notes: Williams told to “shoot more” + Martinez injury latest
- READ MORE: FPL notes: O’Reilly injury, Cherki praise + Enzo ban latest
MUKIELE HAUL, ALDERETE HITS DEFCON
Nordi Mukiele (£4.5m) netted the only goal in Sunderland’s home win, with his deflected effort from 20 yards out looping into the back of the net.
Mukiele, who took up some really advanced positions down the right flank, racked up four shots in total and defended superbly, aiding the Mackems in achieving their sixth home clean sheet of the season, the joint-third-most among teams.
Above: Teams sorted by home clean sheets in 2025/26
Omar Alderete (£4.1m), meanwhile, should bank defensive contribution (DefCon) points in this evening’s Fantasy Premier League (FPL) refresh, after Opta awarded him an additional clearance overnight:
HOW SPURS LOOKED IN DE ZERBI’S FIRST MATCH
Roberto De Zerbi’s reign as Tottenham head coach started with defeat, plunging them deeper into relegation trouble.
Spurs did look a bit more positive under the Italian tactician, with Randal Kolo Muani (£6.9m) and Richarlison (£6.3m) deployed on either side of Dominic Solanke (£7.2m), but they didn’t really create much.
Indeed, while Sunderland’s keeper Robin Roefs (£4.8m) racked up seven saves, his most in a Premier League match all season, Tottenham generated only 0.72 expected goals (xG):
Lucas Bergvall (£5.2m) notably started as the ‘10’, while both full-backs, Pedro Porro (£5.1m) and Destiny Udogie (£4.3m), would frequently ‘invert’.
Porro ended the match with three shots and three chances created. He also took all of Spurs’ corners.
Richarlison got himself into some decent positions, too, but Sunderland were by far the better side overall, and further time is clearly needed for De Zerbi to convey his methods to his players, something he doesn’t really have ahead of next weekend’s home meeting with former club Brighton and Hove Albion.
ROMERO INJURY
In a further blow, Spurs lost captain Cristian Romero (£5.0m) to a knee injury after a clash with ‘keeper Antonin Kinsky (£3.9m).
“We don’t know yet, we have to see in the next game, in the next days. I hope for us it’s not too important problem, because he’s a crucial player for us, he’s a good guy, good player, top player, big personality and we need him to finish the season and to achieve our goal.
“Maybe, yes (when asked if it was an issue with his knee), but I don’t want to say nothing, because I don’t know.” – Roberto De Zerbi on Cristian Romero
According to reports on Monday, Romero will miss the remainder of the season.
GLASNER ON ROTATION, MATETA IMPACT
At Selhurst Park, Oliver Glasner shuffled his pack after Palace’s 3-0 midweek win over Fiorentina.
Notably, there was a whole new frontline, with Brennan Johnson (£6.5m), Yeremy Pino (£5.8m) and Jorgen Strand Larsen (£6.0m), who was suspended in Europe, coming in for the rested Ismaila Sarr (£6.3m) and Jean-Philippe Mateta (£7.5m).
Evann Guessand (£6.2m) dropped out completely, with Glasner confirming before kick-off that he’ll miss at least 3-4 weeks with the injury he picked up on Thursday.
However, Palace’s much-changed attack proved easy to defend against, and the momentum only swung in the home side’s favour after Sarr/Mateta’s introduction off the bench.
Mateta struck twice, having previously ended his goal drought against Fiorentina.
“I was delighted for him — I think that’s what he deserves. To be honest, as soon as it was clear that he was to stay at Crystal Palace, he said; ‘OK, I will work very, very hard to come back and to help the team win and to help us to achieve all our goals’. I think this is what he showed. He’s now getting back to his top fitness.” – Oliver Glasner on Jean-Philippe Mateta
Sarr was excellent, too, further highlighting Palace’s bench depth, a potential concern for FPL managers ahead of a likely Double Gameweek 36.
“We had great impact from the bench again which is good. It was the plan. It’s not easy when you play every three days. Your energy levels are sometimes a bit low. It helped us give some players some rest. Others also did really well and worked hard. It is a boost for the players and boost for Selhurst Park. It’s not always easy to create momentum. And then you have to keep it and not throw it away. We are on track. We are looking forward to the last six and a half weeks.” – Oliver Glasner
Glasner did at least say Palace have domestic records he’d like to break:
“We have seven games to play. We are on 42 points. 11 points left to break our Premier League points record. That’s the goal. Our performances have improved massively in the last weeks. Now, playing in two competitions at our top level is what we want to do.” – Oliver Glasner
Elsewhere, the lively Daniel Munoz (£5.8m) racked up a match-high three shots in the box and was one of five players to bank DefCon, along with Maxence Lacroix (£5.1m), Jeremy Canvot (£4.5m), Sven Botman (£4.9m) and Malick Thiaw (£5.1m).
GORDON MOVES WIDE, JOELINTON BAN
Eddie Howe also rang the changes for Newcastle, recalling six players to his starting XI after back-to-back defeats to Barcelona and Sunderland prior to the international break.
Will Osula (£5.4m) started up top over Nick Woltemade (£6.7m) and Yoane Wissa (£7.3m), with Anthony Gordon (£7.4m) moving out wide to accommodate him.
The Danish forward repaid Howe’s faith with a goal in the first half, but in a flat display, Gordon registered just one shot and zero chances created. Hooked on 71 minutes, it was a performance well below his recent levels.
Elsewhere, with Dan Burn (£5.0m) benched, Botman partnered Thiaw at the back. However, Howe’s alterations failed to make an impact. Newcastle have now lost seven of their last 10 Premier League games.
Next up is Bournemouth, a match the Magpies must navigate without Joelinton (£5.9m) after the Brazilian picked up his 10th yellow card of the campaign. He’ll sit out Gameweeks 33 and 34 as a result.
