Scout Notes

Barnes’ FPL form continues as Wolves assets struggle

Ashley Barnes‘ (£6.6m) purple patch of Fantasy form continued at Molineux on Sunday as the Burnley striker scored his fourth Premier League goal of the season.

There were concerns for owners of Wolves’ assets, however, as we will discuss in our final Scout Notes of Gameweek 4.

Burnley 1-1 Wolverhampton Wanderers

  • Goals: Ashley Barnes (£6.6m) | Raul Jimenez (£7.4m)
  • Assists: Dwight McNeil (£6.0m) | None

The first signs that Europa League involvement may adversely affect Wolves’ Fantasy assets were perhaps in evidence at Molineux on Sunday.

This was only one match, of course, and credit should be given to a Burnley side who have looked in fine form in the opening few Gameweeks of the new campaign.

The Clarets know all about the impact of European club competition, having lost all four of their Premier League matches around their Europa League ties at the start of 2018/19.

Wolves had performed well against Leicester City in Gameweek 1 and, perhaps to a lesser extent, played their part in a 1-1 draw with Manchester United last Monday.

Both of those games came off the back of comfortable wins over FC Pyunik, however, with Nuno Espirito Santo’s side coasting to successive 4-0 wins against the Armenian minnows.

Santo had indeed made nine changes to his Europa League side ahead of the United game, so fatigue wasn’t the factor it could have been against the Red Devils.

Sunday’s match against Burnley came less than 72 hours after a hard-fought 3-2 win over Torino, however, with seven first-choice Wolves players having started in Italy.

Leander Dendoncker (£4.5m) paid the price for his involvement in Turin by being benched for only the second time in the league since Gameweek 21 of last season, with Morgan Gibbs-White (£5.0m) taking his place in an otherwise full-strength Wolves team.

While the stats will show that Wolves had 17 attempts on goal, their only shot on target from inside the Burnley area was Raul Jimenez‘s (£7.4m) successful stoppage-time penalty – although it should be said that the Mexican striker also clipped the post shortly beforehand with a trademark shot on the turn.

Jimenez’s first touch had deserted him early on, while Diogo Jota (£6.4m) – so often the driving force behind Wolves’ forays forward – was unable to get much change out of Burnley’s resolute backline and all three of his goal attempts were blocked.

The hosts, indeed, had only one effort from inside the Burnley box in the opening 45 minutes and didn’t force Nick Pope (£4.5m) into a save until the 86th minute.

Even at the back, there were problems.

Willy Boly (£5.0m) and co. had looked mightily impressive at the King Power Stadium in Gameweek 1 but Wolves’ three centre-halves were caused plenty of problems by Burnley’s front two on Sunday and the Clarets could easily have added to the goal Ashley Barnes (£6.6m) scored after just 12 minutes.

While fatigue is perhaps less of a debilitating problem in August than it will be later in the season, Europa League involvement does eat into the preparation time that Santo has with his team before Premier League fixtures – the Wolves squad having only got back to the UK on Friday morning after readying themselves for the Torino match in the early part of the week.

Santo said after the game:

It’s tough, but we got the reaction today, a good reaction, the fans felt that the boys gave everything they had.

It’s a tough cycle – we have to go again Thursday. We have to recover and go again, but we embrace everything, but the performance, of course, was not the best one.

The boys worked very hard. The way the boys fought, the way the boys gave everything they had, the patience that they had, when they are tired the best decisions are always difficult to make, but it’s something that we have to improve on – playing with tiredness and managing the game.

We are very aware of the cycle of games that we have and the things that we’ve been doing. For us, we started competing on 25th July, so we’ve had a lot to deal with, but it’s about how we want to do things and using all the resources that we have, all the options, trying to manage the squad.

Matt Doherty (£6.0m) returned from the illness that had forced his withdrawal against Manchester United and no-show in the Torino game but this was another display short on productivity and energy from the Ireland international.

Adama Traore (£5.0m) again replaced Doherty in the second half and, after excellent showings against United and Torino, once more had a positive impact at wing-back.

Despite concerns about the former Middlesbrough man’s defensive aptitude, the clamour for Traore to replace Doherty at wing-back has been steadily growing over the last week – particularly as the Irishman himself has looked short of match-fitness following his disrupted pre-season.

Doherty said after full-time:

I’m about to fall over! I’m pretty tired, I don’t know about anyone else. I don’t feel 100 per cent yet to be honest. I missed all of pre-season pretty much and have come straight back into games.

I feel a bit behind still. The only way I’ll get to where I need to be is keep training and trying to play well. I didn’t feel well at all for a few days and it hit me just before the Manchester United game and during the game. but it wasn’t anything to do with my knee, it was fine.

Dyche felt rightly aggrieved not to have taken all three points but this was another positive performance from Burnley, with the Clarets looking ever-more appealing from a Fantasy perspective ahead of their favourable run of fixtures from Gameweeks 5-14.

The Burnley boss said:

On reflection, it could easily have been all three points. It was a very good performance and we opened them up enough times in the first half to be more than one goal up. I don’t think anyone could have argued if we’d been two or three up at the break.

We expected a reaction after half-time, of course, but I thought we calmed the game down before we just got a little bit camped in for the last 10 or 15 minutes.

We had two or three counters in the second half though that we should have done better with and just couldn’t find that moment to seal the game.

Barnes and Chris Wood (£6.3m) were more than a match for Wolves’ back three and should have put the game to bed between them, with more than half of Burnley’s attempts on goal coming from the strike pair.

The in-form Barnes had opened the scoring with perhaps his most difficult chance, rifling in a superb half-volley from 25 yards following Dwight McNeil‘s (£6.0m) headed pass.

The mid-price FPL forward, now the second-highest-scoring Fantasy player in his position, had earlier curled narrowly wide from the edge of the Wolves box and perhaps should have doubled his tally when side-footing wide from six yards just after the interval.

Wood, whose physical presence was an important factor in Burnley’s opener, also had opportunities to open his account for the 2019/20 campaign.

The New Zealand international couldn’t turn home the rebound when Bee Mee‘s (£5.0m) 16th-minute header had looped agonisingly off the bar and had a gilt-edged opportunity a quarter of an hour later when being denied by Rui Patricio (£5.0m).

A goal is surely imminent for Wood; it was only a month ago that we were singing the praises of the Kiwi striker after he plundered nine goals in pre-season.

Barnes, who hadn’t found the back of the net once this summer, is very much the man in form and he will likely see a further price rise between now and the international break.

On his strike pairing, Dyche said:

Woody hasn’t nicked a goal but he has worked hard for the team and he was awkward, he ran hard he stretched the pitch and asked the questions.

I have always thought: play to the strengths of the people you are working with and I attempt to do that.

I think we have Jay Rod and Vyds who haven’t had as much football but are active.

If you can, I like two strikers. We have mixed it up with Jeff Hendrick playing as a 10 and we have had some success with that.

But I like to affect the opposition’s back four and as a defender, there is a better chance of affecting it if you have two strikers.

Today they were very effective, particularly the first 75 minutes of the game. In the last bit they have got hold of the game a little bit and we are trying to see it through. The front two are a real handful.

McNeil and Johann Berg Gudmundsson (£6.0m) kept Wolves’ wing-backs in check, while Jack Cork (£5.0m) and Ashley Westwood (£5.4m) were excellent in central midfield as they protected the Clarets’ back four.

Perhaps the stand-out performers were Mee and James Tarkowski (£5.0m), however, who are looking back to their best after the struggles of early last season.

With Burnley’s defence looking more solid and the two centre-halves posing a threat at the other end of the pitch, Mee and Tarkowski are noteworthy differentials for Gameweek 5 onwards – even if their FPL prices are a little off-putting.

On the injury front, Gudmundsson limped off in the second half with a calf problem.

Dyche said the issue wasn’t serious but Gudmundsson will miss the EFL Cup match against Sunderland in midweek and is set for a scan on his injury.

Jimenez’s penalty, meanwhile, presumably means that Ruben Neves (£5.5m) will be up next for Wolves from 12 yards, with the pair having alternated spot-kicks over the last year.

Wolves XI (3-5-2): Patricio, Bennett, Coady Boly, Doherty (Traore 77′), Neves, Moutinho (Dendoncker 59′), Gibbs-White (Neto 65′), Jonny, Jota, Jimenez.

Burnley XI (4-4-2): Pope, Lowton, Tarkowski, Mee, Pieters, Gudmundsson (Lennon 75), Cork, Westwood, McNeil (Hendrick 86′), Barnes (Rodriguez 78′), Wood.

Members Analysis

Lessons learned from Gameweek 3

807 Comments Post a Comment
  1. Jolly Good
    • 8 Years
    4 years, 7 months ago

    Deeney falling, Barnes rising .. have 0.2 itb to get him ... would be the perfect transfer (for -4)

    But would bench Barnes next week vs Liverpool ... and very decent chance that I use my WC next week... Barnes currently not part of my WC plans currently.... and I should be able to afford the team I have in mind despite the price changes (just about).....

    So I should just take the Deeney drop on the chin right?

    1. TheDragon
      • 5 Years
      4 years, 7 months ago

      You want to take a -4 to get in a player you won’t play and then will remove on your wildcard?

      If so then no, don’t do that

    2. Revival
      • Fantasy Football Scout Member
      • 11 Years
      4 years, 7 months ago

      yeah, makes no sense to take a hit and then bench him

      1. Jolly Good
        • 8 Years
        4 years, 7 months ago

        Yup.. think I want to be talked into holding here....Hate losing team value

        1. NorwichCityLad
          • 9 Years
          4 years, 7 months ago

          I wouldn’t bench Barnes he’s fixture proof

          1. Jolly Good
            • 8 Years
            4 years, 7 months ago

            I’m not too convinced with this guy.... I know stats are great .... but I’m not sold on Burnley attack.... 0 or 1 goals a game most times I think going forward

            1. Whats the Huth
              • 8 Years
              4 years, 7 months ago

              And it’s this same thought process that is why I won’t get McGinn

    3. Andre_The_Giant
      • 4 Years
      4 years, 7 months ago

      So you want to take a -4 for a player you don't intend on playing 1 minute on your team?

    4. danlynch13
      • 8 Years
      4 years, 7 months ago

      Ya pointless trsnsfer

  2. No Professionals
    • 6 Years
    4 years, 7 months ago

    Which WC team do you prefer

    A)
    Pope
    Laporte VVD digne
    Salah Sterling Mount McGinn Cantwell
    Aguero pukki

    Button Lundstram Kelly greenwood

    B)
    Pope
    Zinchenko Mina VVD
    Salah Sterling KDB Mount
    Barnes pukki Haller

    Button Cantwell Lundstram Rico

    1. TheDragon
      • 5 Years
      4 years, 7 months ago

      Both good

      I’d like a few more weeks to assess the strikers though.

      B is pretty much the FFS template wildcard team this week though it seems

    2. Jolly Good
      • 8 Years
      4 years, 7 months ago

      A for me... but would prefer Walker+TAA over Laporte+VVD

    3. Karhumies
      • 11 Years
      4 years, 7 months ago

      For me: Defense from A, forwards from B, figure out the midfield with the change you still have left.

      1. No Professionals
        • 6 Years
        4 years, 7 months ago

        Could do mount to McGinn and then mina to digne.

    4. Sting in the Tail
      • Fantasy Football Scout Member
      • 8 Years
      4 years, 7 months ago

      Prefer b) but I really regret not having TAA in my wildcard. I'd try to find the extra .5 by either downgrading Zinc or Mount (if you get a 4.5 for Zinc I'd also get Digne instead of Mina).

  3. FC Hakkebøf
    • 7 Years
    4 years, 7 months ago

    A) Barnes, KDB, TAA
    B) Aguero, Ceballos, 4.5 def rotating with Lundstram + 4.0

    1. Jolly Good
      • 8 Years
      4 years, 7 months ago

      A

    2. NorwichCityLad
      • 9 Years
      4 years, 7 months ago

      I like A myself

    3. Andre_The_Giant
      • 4 Years
      4 years, 7 months ago

      A has a higher points ceiling

  4. mcgrejam
    • 10 Years
    4 years, 7 months ago

    Thinking Aguero triple captain this week...good idea?

    1. Jolly Good
      • 8 Years
      4 years, 7 months ago

      Not to sound condescending but I don’t think triple captain on any single GW is a good idea

      1. Livinginapool - Top 100 Any…
        • Fantasy Football Scout Member
        • 14 Years
        4 years, 7 months ago

        I'd second this. You never really know when those massive hauls are coming. Spread the risk it isn't over two weeks.

        I was envious of those who triple captained Salah against Watford the season before last, mind.

    2. Hairy Potter
      • 8 Years
      4 years, 7 months ago

      Salah GW5?

    3. Revival
      • Fantasy Football Scout Member
      • 11 Years
      4 years, 7 months ago

      No, I triple captained Aguero GW4 last season at home to Newcastle and all he got was an assist. I would urge to hold for later in the season.

    4. danlynch13
      • 8 Years
      4 years, 7 months ago

      Like it

  5. Revival
    • Fantasy Football Scout Member
    • 11 Years
    4 years, 7 months ago

    Anyone else keeping Perez then? Surely can't be right to sell just before he plays Bournemouth at home.

    1. Party time
        4 years, 7 months ago

        Could be on the bench

      • I Member
        • 8 Years
        4 years, 7 months ago

        I wanted to give him one last chance but the incoming price drop forced my hand. If I kept him I wouldn't be able to afford Barnes next week.

    2. Slitherene
      • 6 Years
      4 years, 7 months ago

      G2G? Or should I take a hit??

      Heaton
      VvD - Digne - Zinchenko - Soyuncu
      Salah - Sigurdsson - KdB - Son
      Wilson - Pukki
      Pope - Diop - Stephens - Greenwood

      0 FT, 0.5 ITB

      1. Jolly Good
        • 8 Years
        4 years, 7 months ago

        GTG

      2. Andre_The_Giant
        • 4 Years
        4 years, 7 months ago

        You could ship Siggy but probably not worth it for a -4. Do for free next week if he get's his 4th blank of the season

      3. Dosh
        • 10 Years
        4 years, 7 months ago

        Don't feel the need for Sterling or Kun?

    3. FOO FIGHTER
      • 4 Years
      4 years, 7 months ago

      It comes down to this for me when thinking about my midfield and defenders excluding GK.

      Kane, Auba, Aguero swap swap swap. Blank Kane to Auba to Aguero to Auba to Kane to the next. Too much of a headache.

      By now you should have your midfield figured out as midfield rule the points and tinkering midfield every GW costs you hits and points.

      Budget to mid priced forwards way to go. 343. I would still consider 352 again but have made my mind up 343 rest of the season.

    4. Livinginapool - Top 100 Any…
      • Fantasy Football Scout Member
      • 14 Years
      4 years, 7 months ago

      Anyone think Poch will start Eriksen this week? I think he has to, head turned or not.

      Could be good for those left with Kane.

      1. FOO FIGHTER
        • 4 Years
        4 years, 7 months ago

        I would just stay clear of Spurs assets 🙂

      2. Andre_The_Giant
        • 4 Years
        4 years, 7 months ago

        North London derby - you'd think he has to start but I wouldn't be confident.

        1. Livinginapool - Top 100 Any…
          • Fantasy Football Scout Member
          • 14 Years
          4 years, 7 months ago

          The whole situation's mad really. Just play him; he's a professional. Noone's even come in for him. If someone does, worry about it then.

          1. Andre_The_Giant
            • 4 Years
            4 years, 7 months ago

            Yeh bizarre. Just shows you that Eriksen is the one pulling the strings in that team. I'd be very worried if he left if I was a spurs fan.

      3. FC Hakkebøf
        • 7 Years
        4 years, 7 months ago

        He is still rumoured away.. If there is any chance that is true, it's not very likely Poch will start him. But on the other hand, he needs to do something!

    5. FC Hakkebøf
      • 7 Years
      4 years, 7 months ago

      Captain Aguero or Sterling?

      1. No Professionals
        • 6 Years
        4 years, 7 months ago

        Safe bet is sterling. Higher risk reward is aguero.

      2. Livinginapool - Top 100 Any…
        • Fantasy Football Scout Member
        • 14 Years
        4 years, 7 months ago

        Sterling for me. He's looking absolutely electric, and has done for so long.

        Plus extra points as a mid.

      3. Andre_The_Giant
        • 4 Years
        4 years, 7 months ago

        It's close. I'd say Sterling edges it but Aguero on pens makes it a very tough choice

        1. FC Hakkebøf
          • 7 Years
          4 years, 7 months ago

          Think ill take my chance with Aguero

      4. AuFeld
        • 7 Years
        4 years, 7 months ago

        Sterling and Aguero have identical numbers (1.12) regarding non-penalty expected goals and expected assists per 90 mins. Aguero takes the cake when you factor in penalties for his xG + xA per 90 of 1.5.

        However, the drawback to Aguero is his position with one less point per goal. I would captain Sterling because penalties are hard to expect.

        1. AuFeld
          • 7 Years
          4 years, 7 months ago

          *expect = predict

          1. FC Hakkebøf
            • 7 Years
            4 years, 7 months ago

            I see. I just feel like now is the time to take a punt on a differential captain. Unlikely I will ever get as good a chance at this.

            Go big or go home? Sterling might be subbed off early as he has played 3x 90 as the only forward?

    6. InvertedWinger
      • 8 Years
      4 years, 7 months ago

      Just created a best of xPected stat table for the last 5 Gws, showing players getting in the best positions to score and/or creating the best chances. Should be a good predictor for FPL returns.

      https://members.fantasyfootballscout.co.uk/my-stats-tables/view/35085/

    7. Top Lad Dakes.
      • 7 Years
      4 years, 7 months ago

      A) Jota to Haller - get KDB next week
      B) Siggy Jota to KDB Wesley (-4)

      Tricky one. 🙁

      Team linked, 1FT 1.6 ITB 🙂

      1. Andre_The_Giant
        • 4 Years
        4 years, 7 months ago

        A if you won't get priced out of KDB move

        1. Top Lad Dakes.
          • 7 Years
          4 years, 7 months ago

          I won’t be. Just have to find a downgrade somewhere.

      2. L S P
        • 8 Years
        4 years, 7 months ago

        B

    8. FC Hakkebøf
      • 7 Years
      4 years, 7 months ago

      Aguero and Sterling owners - who do you captain?

      1) Betting odds favours Aguero (source: bet365)
      Aguero to score: 1.40
      Sterling to score: 160

      2) Penalty duties favours Aguero

      3) Sterling has played 3x 90 minutes. Aguero has played less and Jesus is out injured. Surely, if City lead by 2-0 Sterling is more likely to get a rest?

      4) Will we ever get a better differential captain than the one we got with Aguero now?

      5) Aguero running riot could cement his place in the team long term?

      Leaning towards Aguero

    9. owenread
      • 5 Years
      4 years, 7 months ago

      Barnes or Haller?

      I can afford both easily

      1. Sting in the Tail
        • Fantasy Football Scout Member
        • 8 Years
        4 years, 7 months ago

        Haller

    10. It's his Job.
      • 10 Years
      4 years, 7 months ago

      Any advice on this team? Or G2G ?

      Heaton
      Digne Lunstram TAA
      Salah KDB Cantwell Sterling
      Ayew kane Pukki

      Button Montoya Guendouzi Kelly

      1. Hits from the Bong
        • 5 Years
        4 years, 7 months ago

        I’d play Kelly and swap Kane for Aguero if FT