Two clubs with realistic aspirations of playing European football next season shared the spoils in west London on Saturday.
Brentford v Everton seems like a game that should be low-scoring on paper but it is a fixture that has produced 10 goals in 2025/26.
Here are our Scout Notes from their latest meeting, a 2-2 draw at the Gtech Community Stadium.
GOLDEN BOOT RACE ON AS THIAGO BAGS BRACE
Igor Thiago (£7.3m) is now just one goal behind Erling Haaland (£14.4m) in the race for the Premier League’s Golden Boot.
The top goalscorer award had looked done and dusted at the turn of the year. In Gameweek 19, Haaland was eight strikes ahead of Thiago in a distant second.
Now, it’s a genuine tussle.
Thiago’s brace on Saturday owed partly to good fortune. His second strike was an inadvertent one, with Michael Kayode‘s (£4.6m) shot deflecting in off his torso. The Brazilian’s first goal came from the spot, his seventh Premier League penalty of 2025/26.
But you don’t get to 21 goals purely on good fortune. Opta’s xG on target figure of 18.94 suggests he’s not been ludicrously blessed by Lady Luck.
He was unfortunate, indeed, to see another close-range, goalbound effort blocked by Jarrad Branthwaite (£5.3m) on Saturday. Dango Ouattara (£6.0m), back in the team after injury-enforced substitute duty in Gameweek 31, nearly scored in the same move.
Looking at what’s left, it’s three decent home fixtures and three tricky away games. But even then, Thiago has already scored against Manchester United and Liverpool this season.
A 90-minute man, on penalties, free-scoring, and leading the line for a team with ‘something to play for’. What’s not to love?
A lack of a Double Gameweek was the answer this week. Not far off 400,000 FPL managers made Thiago the fourth-most-sold player of Gameweek 32, as they stocked up on those playing twice in Gameweek 33. The newly capped Brazil international meted out some early punishment.
Free Hitters face a similar dilemma this week. Opt for two bites of the cherry with the likes of Dominic Calvert-Lewin (£5.6m)? Or back quality over quantity? Rate My Team (and other solvers) will almost always tell you to side with the doubler, which is the case again in Gameweek 33. You would not be surprised in the slightest if Thiago makes a mockery of the projections.
DEWSBURY-HALL KEEPS PACE WITH THE BIGGER FISH
Above: The 10 leading midfielders for points per start (min. 10 starts)
Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall (£5.1m) is averaging an attacking return every other start this season, following his latest goal on Saturday.
The midfielder betters every other sub-£6.0m midfielder, including all the DefCon machines like Elliot Anderson (£5.6m) and teammate James Garner (£5.3m), for points per start. A rare success story of good old-fashioned attacking threat trumping tackles and recoveries.
His move to Everton has been a good fit, as he’s been afforded the extra attacking license as a ’10’ that he so desired. He should have scored before his late equaliser against the Bees, spurning a one-on-one opportunity.
“When I was signing him from Chelsea, when I was speaking with him, he did say to me, ‘Look, I’ll score goals if I’m played in the right way and right position.’
“He’s scored his goals, he’s contributed to the performances, so we’ve been really impressed with Kiernan, we really have been.” – David Moyes on Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall
Beto (£5.0m) meanwhile made it five attacking returns in as many appearances since he broke back into David Moyes’ starting XI in Gameweek 28. He nodded in Everton’s first leveller of the afternoon on Saturday.
While Thiago may be a rare example of a single Gameweeker tempting FPL managers in Gameweek 33, Everton assets probably aren’t going to do likewise, despite a) their decent form and b) this not being a particularly good incarnation of a Liverpool side.
Gameweek 34 against West Ham (especially for those Free Hitting) might be a different kettle of fish, however. And look at this run-in, starting with a trip to Selhurst Park, which will likely come less than 72 hours after Crystal Palace contest a UEFA Conference League semi-final:
USUAL SUSPECTS DELIVER DEFCON
All four centre-halves banked DefCon points on Saturday. That included Branthwaite, recalled at the expense of Michael Keane (£4.6m) in Moyes’ only change.
James Tarkowski (£5.7m) and Garner fittingly topped the list; they’re both second for DefCon points among FPL players in their position this season.
Nathan Collins (£4.9m), himself just outside the defenders’ DefCon top 10 in 2025/26, nearly added a goal to his defensive contributions, striking the woodwork. Kevin Schade (£7.0m), who won Thiago’s penalty, also rattled the frame of the goal in his latest profiligate showing. It’s one goal in 12 league matches for him.
CaoimhÃn Kelleher (£4.8m) made some really good stops at the other end, too, in a fixture that was once again more open than predicted.
