Alexis Sanchez nets twice for Chile. Aaron Ramsey scores as Wales see off Andorra. Kevin de Bruyne and Eden Hazard both notch for Belgium, Willian bags a brace for Brazil, whilst Graziano Pelle fires Italy’s winner over Norway. Here’s the round up from yesterday’s fixtures.
Good News for Pellegrini
Kevin De Bruyne scored a dipping free-kick and served up an assist as Belgium secured a 3-1 win over Israel. Vincent Kompany was handed a 58-minute run-out for the Red Devils after recovering from the calf complaint that has kept him out of the last three league matches.
The Scout Says: In light of De Bruyne’s two converted free-kicks in as many outings for Belgium, Sky Blues boss Manuel Pellegrini might well be tempted to hand the former Wolsburg midfielder a share of set-pieces, boosting his appeal further. De Bruyne is in irresistible form – boasting six goals and five assists in his last seven appearances for club and country – so is likely to receive a huge increase on his 12% ownership prior to Gameweek 8 when Sergio Aguero owners reassess their Man City coverage. With match-ups against the Cherries, Norwich (home) and Aston Villa (away) on the agenda over the next four Gameweeks, the 10.3-priced midfielder is well placed to perpetuate his purple patch. Kompany’s return to action will surely boost City’s defensive potential. The league leaders registered five successive clean sheets with their skipper on board but have conceded in each of the last three without him.
Gunners Midfielders in the Goals
Alexis Sanchez turned out a virtuoso performance for Chile in a 4-3 win against Peru, gracing the scoresheet twice and also producing an assist to continue his sensational recent form. Aaron Ramsey grabbed a much-needed goal for Wales, firing home from close range after the Andorran keeper parried into his path.
The Scout Says: There were concerns over Sanchez’s fitness heading into the international break after he picked up a minor groin complaint against Manchester United, but it’s safe to say these fears were not realised. Although Arsenal next travel to a Watford side that’s conceded a solitary goal at Vicarage Road this term, Sanchez’s irrepressible form should encourage a large proportion of his ownership to assign him to captaincy duty – that’s nine goals and two assists in his last five appearances for club and country. Ramsey is yet to exert his influence in the league this term, having drawn blanks in all of his eight starts. Nonetheless, his barren spell has not been for the lack of trying: the Welshman ranks in the top 10 among midfielders goal attempts (21) and shots inside the box (13). Attacking returns look inevitable, then, but the form of Theo Walcott (two goals and assists in four) and Mesut Ozil (one goal and three assists in four) render him a peripheral figure in the mid-priced bracket – as his modest 4% ownership attests to.
Chelsea Wide Men both notch
Eden Hazard slotted home from inside the area to claim Belgium’s final goal on the night. In South America, Willian helped Brazil recover from their defeat to Chile last Friday with a brace in a 3-1 home victory over Venezuela.
The Scout Says: Having missed a penalty last time out for Marc Wilmots’ outfit, a goal from open play serves as a timely confidence boost for the out-of-form Hazard. Despite tallying one goal and three assists over the last trio of Gameweeks, Hazard’s failure to live up to his big-hitting status has been emphasised by the recent explosive returns from Sanchez and De Bruyne in the midfield bracket. That being said, it was consistency rather than braces and hat-tricks (he recorded zero of both) that rendered Hazard an essential recruit last term, so a strong run of upcoming fixtures (AVL, whu, LIV, sto, NOR) could set him on the right trajectory again. Willian’s smart finishing for Selecao – albeit aided by some lacklustre keeping for his first strike – comes off the back of three goals in his last trio of appearances for the Blues. Jose Mourinho may well be set to continue with the Brazilian in his first XI for the visit of Villa, placing further question marks over Pedro’s minutes, after the latter was benched for the first time this season in the previous league match against Southampton.
Pelle the Azzurri Hero
Southampton frontman Graziano Pelle played from start to finish and recorded the winner for Italy as they came from behind to beat Norway 2-1.
The Scout Says: Akin to his maiden year in the Premier League, Pelle has made an excellent start to this campaign, chalking up five goals and assists. With Aguero owners now scouring the market for a temporary replacement, Southampton’s prime frontman is hard to overlook as he prepares to face off against Leicester City, Bournemouth, Sunderland and Stoke City over the next five Gameweeks. On that note, Sadio Mane – who’s tallied two goals and three assists in his previous three starts – should also enjoy an upsurge of investment, considering that he’s currently owned by just 7.2% of all Fantasy managers.
Canaries Pair find the net
Nathan Redmond bagged a superb goal for England U21s, receiving a long goal-kick from Jordan Pickford before cutting in from the right flank and finishing with a driven strike into the bottom corner. Unlikely scorer Alexander Tettey bagged his second goal in as many appearances for Norway, thus tripling his career total (three) over the international break.
The Scout Says: Ranking top for goals (three), attempts (16) and shots on target (five) among Norwich’s midfield contingent, Redmond is priced attractively at the 5.6 mark. However, manager Alex Neil has preferred to employ the Birmingham-born winger as an impact sub in the last two Gameweeks, diminishing Redmond’s prospects as a viable route into a Canaries attack that’s only been outscored (12 goals) by five teams this season. In spite of Tettey’s recent flourish, the fact that the 4.3-priced enforcer has netted just three goals in 93 outings for Norwich tempers our enthusiasm.
Ki Scores for Korea
Swansea’s Ki Sung-Yeung was amongst the goals yesterday afternoon, with the midfielder converting a penalty during South Korea’s 3-0 win over Jamaica.
The Scout Says: With eight goals and one assist across 2689 minutes last term, Ki proved to be a handy pick-up in the budget bracket. He’s struggled for game time at the start of this campaign, though – with Jack Cork the favoured partner for Jonjo Shelvey in the double pivot – but has recently strung together back-to-back starts for the Swans. Over the last two Gameweeks, none of Ki’s midfield team-mates tallied more attempts (four), underlining his knack for drifting into space around the 18-yard box. Given the presence of four strong match-ups (STO, avl, nor, BOU) for the Swans over the next five Gameweeks, Ki could certainly emerge as a viable differential during that stretch if he keeps ahead of Cork in the pecking order.
