A topsy-turvy seven-goal thriller ended with Liverpool edging out Villarreal in the UEFA Champions League on Tuesday night.
As ever with our midweek Scout Notes, we’re looking at what these European ties mean from a Fantasy Premier League (FPL) perspective.
The stats and graphics in this article come from our UCL Match Centre.
GOALS/ASSISTS
| Result | Goals | Assists |
|---|---|---|
| Liverpool 4-3 Villarreal | Mac Allister x2, Araujo, Wirtz | Tsimikas, Ngumoha x2, Gakpo |
SELECTION/ROTATION
| Team | No. of starting XI changes made from GW7 | Players who kept their places (mins played) | Mins for other players |
|---|---|---|---|
| Liverpool | 6 | Alisson (90), van Dijk (90), Mac Allister (90), Jacquet (74), Araujo (45) | Tsimikas (90), Gravenberch (90), Gakpo (90), Nyoni (81), Ngumoha (74), Koumas (66), Wirtz (45), Isak (24), Barcola (16), Gomez (16), McConnell (9) |
LIVERPOOL
- FPL managers always appreciate midweek rests in the cups, and that’s exactly what owners of Bradley Barcola (£8.0m), Florian Wirtz (£7.2m) and Alexander Isak (£9.0m) got on Tuesday. All three attackers were benched and limited to second-half appearances. Milos Kerkez (£5.3m) also remained unused. All is well; this was just minute management.
“I think with Alex Isak we couldn’t risk [him] today because he was coming from a muscle injury. A big effort the other day. He scored a goal but we had to be really careful with him.
“With Florian and Bradley, it would have been their fourth start in 10 days. [They] probably could have started, yes, but I didn’t want to take the risk and also they finished really tired the other day. The other day we played a game against Brentford, physically very demanding. A lot of players finished really tired and I knew that a lot of them didn’t have today more than some minutes. So, that was the main reason, yes.” – Andoni Iraola
- Isak and Barcola were quiet upon their introductions but Wirtz was lively in his usual ’10’ role, finishing well for Liverpool’s fourth goal. He had four shots and created two chances in his 45-minute outing.
- We already knew that the injured Dominik Szoboszlai (£6.8m) and Jeremie Frimpong (£5.2m) would miss out against Villarreal. Also absent, however, was Victor Munoz (£6.5m). He was spotted with a knee brace on after the Brentford game, missed training on Monday and was not seen at the team hotel ahead of the midweek Champions League tie. We didn’t get any update from Iraola on him after full-time.
- Ronald Araujo (£5.4m) is fine, at least. He came off at half-time but the decision was purely tactical, with Ryan Gravenberch (£5.8m) taking over at right-back.
“Yes, [Araujo is OK].
“They were overloading us in the middle with three holding midfielders and [Alberto] Moleiro, who basically is another midfielder coming inside. Ronald was feeling uncomfortable following all the way.
“At the end, we thought that a player like Ryan Gravenberch could do both jobs – defensively following inside, even I think he’s good enough outside to sustain the one-v-ones, and also offensively could be a better help, if you want, for Rio [Ngumoha], attacking down the right side.” –
- Liverpool’s defensive struggles, with three-quarters of their regular back four in place, would have encouraged owners of Brighton assets. Maxim De Cuyper (£5.3m) could prosper in Gameweek 8 if the Seagulls can drag Araujo out of position as Villarreal did, while Virgil van Dijk (£6.4m) had a wobbly game at centre-back and gifted the first goal to the Spanish side. The Reds were cut open at will in the opening half an hour, conceding a poor second after 29 minutes. It was a particularly relevant watch because, as Iraola mentioned, there are parallels we can draw between Albion and Villarreal.
“They are flying right now, the confidence is through the roof. Also a similar style to Villarreal in a lot of ways. Villarreal is a team that probably people don’t rate because it’s not Barcelona, Real Madrid, but you see the stats of Villarreal. They are second in everything after Barcelona, and Brighton is similar in the Premier League, the way they are playing. So, I think it has been a good game to prepare.” – Andoni Iraola on Brighton and Hove Albion
- There were positives further forward, at least. The fit-again Cody Gakpo (£7.1m) got his first Liverpool minutes in a month, operating down the left. Alexis Mac Allister (£5.4m), return-less in FPL, popped up with a brace, nodding in from a set piece – he’s surprisingly good at that for a dimunitive chap – and then slamming in from close range in the second half. But star of the show was Rio Ngumoha (£5.7m), who was excellent down the right. Ngumoha first put in a teasing cross that Araujo followed in at the back post, while the young winger supplied another fine assist for Mac Allister’s second. He may even get a chance to reprise that right-wing role on Sunday, should Munoz miss out.
“I think he was coming from a very good game the other day, a very good second half against Brentford. Today he didn’t have an easy game also because they were demanding of him defensively. Their left-back was attacking a lot, but there was a moment where offensively he’s been very difficult to stop.
“If we can put Rio in situations one-v-one where he can get into the box, normally he makes plays, he produces things. The assist to Alexis, I think it is, is a lovely play. He can even go down for a penalty, but he decides to continue and takes a great decision.
“Also endurance-wise, he’s been able to play more and more minutes. We were pushing for him a little bit. He was tired, but I think he has done a good effort and I’m very happy for him.” – Andoni Iraola on Rio Ngumoha
