Fantasy Premier League managers will almost certainly be eyeing up Diogo Jota (£5.9m) after his Gameweek 23 hat-trick.
The relentless Wolves attacker was the man of the match in a 4-3 win over Leicester.
Growing dissatisfaction with some of the widely-owned mid-price midfielders could see the door open up for Jota.
His performance, as well as a surprise benching, are the focus of this latest Scout Notes article.
Wolves 4-3 Leicester
Goals: Diogo Jota x3 (£5.9m), Ryan Bennett (£4.1m) | Demarai Gray (£5.4m), Wes Morgan (£4.5m)
Own Goals: Conor Coady (£4.5m)
Assists: Joao Moutinho x2 (£5.1m), Ruben Neves (£4.9m), Raúl Jiménez (£6.4m) | Jamie Vardy (£8.9m), Harvey Barnes (£5.5m), James Maddison (£6.7m)
Nearly a quarter of Fantasy managers were left frustrated by Matt Doherty‘s (£5.2m) involvement in Gameweek 23’s opening match. The Irish wing-back was named only among the substitutes and featured only for 17 minutes against Leicester. Having started all 22 Premier League matches prior this weekend in 2018/19, Doherty had become one of the most nailed-on options of the campaign. However, he missed out on the starting XI for the first time this season, with little explanation from Nuno Espirito Santo either before or after the match. There were suggestions in the media that Doherty had missed some training sessions in the week with his wife giving birth, although these were unconfirmed. His 23% ownership will be hoping he will go straight back into the side for Gameweek 24.
In his absence from the first XI, Jonny (£4.3m) traded his left wing-back position for Doherty’s right while Ruben Vinagre (£4.3m) came into the side. It was the latter who made for the Irishman in the second-half.
Doherty’s benching was made all the more frustrating in the fourth minute when Wolves took the lead. The cross for Jota’s opening goal came from Joao Moutinho (£5.1m) on the right flank, who had drifted out to where Doherty would have been standing had he started the match. The fact that there were so many attacking returns at Molineux really does emphasise how much of a missed opportunity it was for Doherty to be involved.
The real star of the match was, undoubtedly, hat-trick hero Jota, who will have attracted a fair amount of attention for Fantasy managers. His three goals at Molineux mean he has more than doubled his tally for the season. Whether he can continue his hot streak remains to be seen although there are encouraging signs. This was Jota’s first start since Gameweek 17 when he picked up the hamstring injury that kept him out of the side until the trip to Manchester City last time out. Going into that lay-off, the 22-year-old had managed two goals and two assists in three appearances. Against Leicester, nobody had more shots or touches in the box than him and he was afforded more big chances than any other player.
Some managers might want to see more of Jota before moving for him, but the upcoming run of matches for Wolves looks ideal either way. It’s West Ham (home), Everton (away), Newcastle (home), Bournemouth (away), Huddersfield (away) and Cardiff (home) before back-to-back matches against Chelsea and Arsenal in Gameweeks 30 and 31 respectively (although the latter of those could be postponed by FA Cup commitments). The Gameweek 24 meeting with West Ham gives Jota the perfect opportunity to demonstrate consistency. Or alternatively, the state of the Hammers’ defence could reward those bold enough to sign Jota straight away.
Raúl Jiménez (£6.4m) owners were perhaps a little frustrated to see Wolves score four goals and come away with only one assist. However, the Mexican still offered plenty of threat, which bodes well for Wolves’ aforementioned appealing schedule. Only Jota himself had more touches or shots in Leicester’s penalty area on the day, and he was his team’s top creator, fashioning more opportunities than Moutinho, who came away with two assists.
There was a reward for those who covering Wolves’ defence only with Ryan Bennett (£4.1m) though, as long they opted to rotate him into their starting XI for Gameweek 23 that is. He grabbed his first ever Premier League goal shortly after Wolves took the lead, nodding in Moutinho’s corner. The newly-promoted side has not shown a particular aptitude for set pieces this season, but Leicester’s zonal marking and the poor positioning of Wes Morgan (£4.5m) and Ricardo Pereira (£5.3m) made it all too easy. The goal was Bennett’s first for the club since a stoppage-time winner over Bristol City back in December 2017, so it was certainly a rare occasion. Also, his returns were clipped by booking for a cynical foul on Jamie Vardy (£8.9m) and the fact that Wolves still conceded three times.
Romain Saïss (£4.2m) was the man who filled in for Willy Boly (£4.6m) at centre-back, after his red card at the Etihad Stadium in Gameweek 22. Leander Dendoncker (£4.3m) kept his place in central midfield and was regularly supporting attacks in dangerous positions.
It was another game that indicated just how unlikely Wolves clean sheets are starting to become. The newly-promoted side has kept just one in their last 15 Premier League matches and against Leicester, they were largely on top of things until they lost control in a frenetic second half. Going into Gameweek 22 only Everton and Southampton had allowed more shots in the box in their last four home matches than Wolves, so in a way, we shouldn’t be too surprised that they were defensively suspect in front of their own fans again. The fact that Leicester were second-bottom for big chances during their last four away days prior to Saturday and still came away with three goals is quite telling.
Claude Puel’s side was also in poor defensive shape as they made basic errors to allow Wolves to score. Right-back Danny Simpson (£4.2m), making just his third start of the season failed to track Jota’s run for the opening goal, while Pereira and Morgan were at fault for the second. The defender-turned-winger was supposed to be marking Bennett but allowed him to make his run unchallenged, while captain Morgan’s position inside the six-yard box in front of the goalkeeper gave him no opportunity to stop the header. With Liverpool and Mohamed Salah (£13.5m) the Foxes next opponent, there will have to be a significant improvement at the back to avoid an embarrassing result at Anfield in Gameweek 24.
Leicester weren’t helped by an injury picked up by Harry Maguire (£5.4m) in the 48th minute, the returning Jonny Evans (£4.8m) his replacement. As yet there is not any update on the England centre-back’s fitness ahead of the meeting with Liverpool.
It was an especially poor week for Pereira owners who finished with a Gameweek score of minus one. The four goals obviously earned him point deductions, as well as a yellow card in the 44th minute, a tackle of frustration on Jota. However, the Portuguese international was deployed on the flanks of attacking midfield once again, which is still in his favour, although he still has tough fixtures ahead.
It should be to Puel’s credit the transformation he was able to oversee after half-time. Whatever he said to his Leicester side, who were 2-0 down at the time, clearly had a strong effect. Within five minutes of the restart, Demarai Gray (£5.4m) and Harvey Barnes‘ (£5.5m) shot, deflected off Conor Coady (£4.5m), had wiped out Wolves’ lead. Gray, in particular, was a threat for the Foxes, back in the side in a new central attacking midfield role after two consecutive matches on the bench. He had the same number of shots in the box as Jota, the Wolves man the only player to have more efforts on target in the game than Gray too. His role at Molineux meant another substitute’s appearance for James Maddison (£6.7m).
“For the moment it’s a big disappointment and there is a negative emotion and big frustration. A lot of positive things to learn, correct and improve. We showed our quality – it’s encouraging about this. We need now to find the spirit and positive attitude in our play for all the game, with consistency game after game. We cannot play up and down in the same game like this. It’s a big frustration, big disappointment at the moment but success for the future because we showed a lot of quality. It’s a shame to finish with this disappointment at the end.” – Claude Puel
Wolves XI (3-5-2): Patricio; Saïss, Coady, Bennett; Vinagre (Doherty 73′), Neves, Moutinho (Gibbs-White 81′), Dendoncker, Jonny; Jota, Jiménez.
Leicester XI (4-2-3-1): Schmeichel; Chilwell, Maguire (Evans 48′), Morgan, Simpson (Iheanacho 83′); Ndidi, Mendy; H Barnes (Maddison 73′), Gray, Pereira; Vardy.
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