Hazard haul proves he cannot be ignored with Chelsea fixtures

Eden Hazard hung most premium Fantasy Premier League assets out to dry in Gameweek 17.

He was the star of the show as Chelsea beat Brighton on Sunday afternoon.

We’ve got all the talking points from the Amex Stadium in this latest Scout Notes article.

Brighton 1-2 Chelsea

Goals: Solly March (£5.0m) | Pedro (£6.3m), Eden Hazard (£10.9m)

Assists: Bernardo (£4.2m) | Hazard, Willian (£7.3m)

Eden Hazard (£10.9m) continued to show he cannot be ignored for Fantasy inclusion as he registered his fifth double-figure haul of the season against Brighton. With a goal and five assists in his last four matches, at an average of 7.5 points per game, he has proved his doubters wrong. Despite claims that his chance creation counted little when those around him couldn’t finish, no Premier League player has more assists from Gameweek 14 onwards than him. The Belgian now looks a serious captain candidate on several occasions over Christmas too. Chelsea have very favourable fixtures on the horizon, with Leicester (home), Watford (away), Crystal Palace (away) and Southampton (home) their next four opponents.

For a second match running, Hazard was used a false-nine with Olivier Giroud (£7.7m) on the bench and Álvaro Morata (£8.5m) left out of the matchday squad entirely. The latter picked up an injury in Chelsea’s Europa League outing on Thursday night but has not been in the form worthy of inclusion anyway. It sounds like manager Maurizio Sarri intends to continue using Hazard as the furthest forward player in his line-up, with Pedro (£6.3m) and Willian (£7.3m) flanking him. That only adds to Hazard’s appeal over the winter period, with Giroud and Morata rumoured to be replaced in the January transfer window.

“I think that, for us, (Hazard) could be very important in this position. He’s very able to come out and play with his team-mates, he is very able to create spaces. Now I think that, in that position, he has to improve in attacking the box.” – Maurizio Sarri

However, Hazard’s owners and anyone looking to sign him for Gameweek 18 will have to track his fitness over the coming days. He was substituted in the second half at the Amex Stadium after taking a knock on the ankle. Sarri is not too concerned but it will be sensible just to see what is said about him in the next Chelsea press conference before making any decisions on him.

“It was only a knock. It shouldn’t be a big problem.” – Maurizio Sarri

While Hazard rewarded those who had shown faith in him, the same was not true for Marcos Alonso (£7.0m). In fact, he came away with his third successive blank away from home, averaging just 0.67 FPL points per game in those fixtures. It could have been a different story as he rattled the Brighton woodwork in the second half with a rasping shot, but minutes later the hosts had wiped out his clean sheet. There will be some Alonso owners considering themselves lucky to have got one point out of him as he could easily have been sent off. The Spaniard probably should have been booked for a foul in the first half, which meant that his yellow card for a push on Anthony Knockaert (£5.4m) in the second would have seen him leave the pitch. However, such was his position when committing that foul on the Seagulls’ forward that it the eyes of many, that incident alone warranted a red card.

“My first impression was that it was a red card. Having seen it again, I do understand that it’s a difficult decision with the pace on the ball and whether Solly would have been right through. I can understand that a bit. I still think there are referees who would have sent him off as the last man. But he should have been on a yellow card anyway. He pulled back Anthony, which is generally always a yellow card. There were two incidents. He should have been on a yellow. If someone pulls someone back on more than one occasion, it should be a yellow.” – Chris Hughton

Sarri might consider rotating one of either Pedro and Willian in the near future. Not least because of the congested nature of the upcoming schedule, but also because they struggled with concentration at times against Brighton. While they both registered attacking returns, there were multiple occasions for each one when they were needlessly caught offside. Hazard showed no such problems, timing his runs through the middle to perfection, especially when he went through to score Chelsea’s second goal.

Mateo Kovacic (£5.8m) came through his injury doubt to start for the second match in a row, and the fifth time in Chelsea’s last six league outings. Ross Barkley (£5.6m), for the fourth time in six Gameweeks, had to settle only for a substitute’s appearance.

It was also a disappointing afternoon for Glenn Murray (£6.6m) owners as he was substituted in the 59th minute, seemingly for tactical reasons. He was replaced by Florin Andone (£5.0m), meaning just a second blank in home matches for the veteran forward.

There was a fifth consecutive start for Pascal Groß (£6.7m) but he continues to offer little in the way of attacking or creative potential. Furthermore, in his latest run in the side, he has completed just one match.

His return has seen Solly March (£5.0m) pushed back to his more natural position of left-winger, and it was him who scored Brighton’s only goal of the game. The Seagulls were in the ascendancy in the second half as Chelsea took their foot off the gas and March was in the right place at the right time when Bernardo (£4.2m) headed back across goal. The midfielder controlled well and smashed the ball over the line from close-range. March has now been involved in five Brighton goals in his last seven outings and created more chances than any of his colleagues against Chelsea. The next two fixtures are tricky for Chris Hughton’s men with Bournemouth (away) and Arsenal (home) up next, but March could present a cheap midfield option for Gameweek 20 when Everton come to the Amex Stadium.

Owners of any Chelsea defensive asset may want to lay the blame at the door of the officials. They were unhappy with the state of Ruben Loftus-Cheek‘s (£5.2m) socks as he was preparing to come on and asked him to tape them up before allowing him to take to the field. It was while he was doing this, that Brighton got the ball over the line. However, given that the hosts were enjoying a purple patch, it is unlikely Loftus-Cheek’s presence would have made much difference.

Hughton still seems a fan of rotating in the full-back areas. Martin Montoya (£4.3m) was preferred to Bruno (£4.4m) on Sunday, after missing out on Gameweek 16. However, Bernardo has now made five consecutive starts at left-back in place of Gaëtan Bong (£4.5m). It was Leon Balogun (£4.2m) who filled in for the suspended Shane Duffy (£4.6m) once again, who still has one match left on his current suspension.

Brighton XI (4-1-4-1): Ryan; Bernardo, Dunk, Balogun, Montoya; March, Stephens, Pröpper, Knockaert (Locadia 83′); Groß (Bissouma 81′); Murray (Andone 59′).

Chelsea XI (4-3-3): Kepa; Alonso, Rudiger, Luiz, Azpilicueta; Kovacic (Kovacic 75′), Jorginho, Kante; Pedro (Loftus-Cheek 66′), Hazard (Giroud 83′), Willian.

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