Scout Notes

Owners of Everton and Palace assets at ‘form versus fixtures’ crossroads

Everton 3-1 Crystal Palace

  • Goals: Bernard (£6.4m), Richarlison (£8.1m), Dominic Calvert-Lewin (£6.1m) | Christian Benteke (£5.7m)
  • Assists: Theo Walcott (£6.2m), Calvert-Lewin, Richarlison | Wilfried Zaha (£6.8m)
  • Bonus: Richarlison x3, Calvert-Lewin x2, Benteke, Bernard x1

Everton and Crystal Palace are heading in opposite directions on the Season Ticker, with the Toffees rock-bottom over the next four Gameweeks and Roy Hodgson’s side loitering somewhere near the top.

On current form, however, the tables are turned.

The blue half of Merseyside have lost only once (to Manchester City) since Carlo Ancelotti first took charge on Boxing Day and now sit seventh in the Premier League following Saturday’s 3-1 win over the Eagles.

Palace are plummeting south, meanwhile, and have won only one of their last 11 league games.

For a side supposedly built on a solid defence, they are in dire shape.

No other Premier League is on a barren run as long as Palace’s in terms of clean sheets, with Vicente Guaita (£5.0m) without a shut-out to his name in two months.

Given their well-documented struggle for goals at the other end of the pitch, the question has to be asked as to just what they have to offer Fantasy managers despite the upcoming favourable run of games (Newcastle and Watford at home, Brighton and Bournemouth away).

Martin Kelly (£4.3m), Palace’s most-owned Fantasy Premier League asset by some distance, had lost his place at right-back even before he picked up the calf injury that ruled him out of Gameweek 26, while the Eagles’ defence may have been further weakened on Saturday by the loss of James Tomkins (£5.0m) to injury.

Roy Hodgson said of his centre-half after full-time:

He’ll have to have a scan. He’s definitely got a hamstring problem, there’s no doubt about that, and unfortunately, they normally take weeks rather than days. I’m not expecting good news but we won’t know until the scan how bad the news is. Of course, it’s a shame to lose him.

The defenders that do remain hardly covered themselves in glory on Merseyside although Palace were in this match for long periods, despite what the scoreline suggests.

The Goodison Park faithful were getting tetchy midway through the game as the visitors got on top, with the mood not helped when Christian Benteke (£5.7m) fired the Eagles level shortly after the break.

The Belgian striker is far from clinical in front of goal and his levelling strike should have been easily stopped by Jordan Pickford (£5.3m) but Benteke built on a promising comeback game against Sheffield United with another busy display on Saturday, turning Patrick van Aanholt‘s (£5.5m) corner onto the bar on 56 minutes, forcing Pickford into an excellent point-blank save soon after, and firing wide when well-placed late on.

Benteke’s return to the first-team fold has come at the expense of Jordan Ayew‘s (£5.0m) goal threat, with the Ghanaian striker farmed out to the right flank, although it’ll be interesting to see which front three Hodgson opts for once Andros Townsend (£5.6m) is fully back up to speed.

Van Aanholt had himself struck the upright early in the game and, reflecting on the game, Hodgson said:

I thought we played well for large parts of the game. Not right at the start or the late stage. For 20/25 minutes in the first half, there was not much going on at all for either side, although they’d scored. At the end of that half, the last 20 minutes of that half, we started to play much better, pass the ball better and started to look like we might score a goal.

At half-time, I encouraged the players to do what they’d been doing maybe even a bit more for the start of the second half. When we got the equaliser, I thought it was a fair result, a fair reflection on how we played. The second goal, when we were pushing ourselves, came from a poor pass which was intercepted and all of a sudden you’ve got Richarlison, who’s obviously in very good form at the moment, making that incredible run scoring that fantastic goal.

That puts us on the back foot but we had two very good chances to equalise and the goalkeeper had to make a wonder save. The third goal was when we made a lot of changes in the hope of pulling out an equaliser right at the end and that seals the game. It was a 2-1 defeat more than a 3-1 defeat. But it’s a defeat which hurts us badly because i didn’t think that the performance necessarily merited it.

Everton weren’t great, it has to be said, but then Fantasy assets don’t have to be, so long as they are regularly racking up the points.

In Dominic Calvert-Lewin (£6.1m) and Richarlison (£8.1m), Everton possess two in-form players in attack who are thriving under Ancelotti.

Calvert-Lewin’s flick set Richarlison on his way to restore the Toffees’ lead at 2-1 before the mid-price FPL forward got on the scoresheet himself late on, tapping in when the Brazilian’s header had looped against the bar.

Their double-digit hauls could have been even greater had Calvert-Lewin converted a close-range rebound in stoppage time when Guaita had pushed Richarlison’s drive into his path.

Ancelotti said of the Brazil international after full-time:

We have to thank Richarlison because he scored a fantastic goal on the counter-attack. That was the key point and, after, our control of the game was good. It was an outstanding counter-attack, he is a fantastic player, really young and really important for us. It was an outstanding goal.

Richarlison can also play on the left but we don’t have to give him a lot of defensive work. He has to be fresh when we have the ball, he can play right and left, but without thinking too much about defensive work.

Richarlison and Calvert-Lewin are averaging a very healthy 6.83 and 5.88 points per match respectively under Ancelotti and their owners will perhaps be in a quandary, with Everton facing an off-putting run of fixtures that includes seven of the top ten in Gameweeks 27-35.

Are any of those opponents – bar Liverpool – infallible, though? The Gunners, Manchester United and Chelsea, who Everton face next, are certainly not the watertight forces of yesteryear.

The same could be said of Everton’s clean sheet prospects in Gameweeks 27 and 28, with Mikel Arteta’s side hardly racking up the goals of late and the Red Devils struggling without the talismanic Marcus Rashford (£8.9m).

The Toffees’ slightly ropey performance at the back on Saturday might convince owners of Everton defensive assets to sell, however, with only a Pickford wonder save and the woodwork coming between the Eagles and more goals at Goodison.

It’s now just one clean sheet in seven for Everton, too, despite the likes of Palace, Watford, West Ham and Newcastle (twice) providing favourable opposition in that time.

Added to this is rotation risk.

Two of Everton’s most-popular defenders among active FPL teams, Mason Holgate (£4.5m) and Djibril Sidibe (£5.3m), began this one on the bench, with both emerging as substitutes. Sidibe was in fact thrown on early enough to be eligible for clean sheet points, only for Palace and Pickford to ruin that prospect.

Ancelotti had previously made noises about rotating his centre-halves and, when asked about his latest team selection, said:

We need more of everything. More quality, more intensity, more pressure, more concentration. It’s not easy to pick the line-up but I want everyone to be involved and the players accept my decisions.

The Toffees’ head coach added that Theo Walcott (£6.2m), who crossed for Bernard (£6.4m) to volley in Everton’s superb opener, will have a scan on an apparently minor knee injury that forced the winger off after just 25 minutes on Saturday.

Everton XI (4-4-2): Pickford; Coleman, Keane, Mina, Digne; Walcott (Sidibe 26′), Schneiderlin, Sigurdsson (Holgate 86′), Bernard (Davies 65′); Richarlison, Calvert-Lewin.

Crystal Palace XI (4-5-1): Guiata; Ward (Kouyate 79′), Tomkins (Dann 61′), Cahill, van Aanholt; Ayew, McArthur, Milivojevic, McCarthy (Meyer 68′), Zaha; Benteke.

Members Analysis

1,102 Comments Post a Comment
  1. Fpl Richie
    • Fantasy Football Scout Member
    • 8 Years
    4 years, 1 month ago

    Double city. Kun (c). Only Lundstram from SU. This could ruin a perfectly cosy Sunday

    1. Weasel Boy
      • Fantasy Football Scout Member
      • 11 Years
      4 years, 1 month ago

      Apparently Lunn ain't starting.

      Posted on previous page.

  2. DeadStarComing
    • Fantasy Football Scout Member
    • 13 Years
    4 years, 1 month ago

    It’s off

  3. FPL Virgin
    • Fantasy Football Scout Member
    • 7 Years
    4 years, 1 month ago

    There's absolute panic on these boards.

    Where the heck is the official statement/tweet from FFS?

    Why are fake postponement posts not being dealt with?

    Are the mods and cons all hungover? Or is no one working today?

    1. DeadStarComing
      • Fantasy Football Scout Member
      • 13 Years
      4 years, 1 month ago

      Calm down. It’s official now.

    2. diesel001
      • 7 Years
      4 years, 1 month ago

      1) There is no panic
      2) There have only been a couple of fake postponement posts
      3) Stop overreacting

    3. Rotation's Alter Ego
      • Fantasy Football Scout Member
      • Has Moderation Rights
      • 12 Years
      4 years, 1 month ago

      My word. Have a cup of tea and relax, I think it's clear what's happened...

      1. FPL Virgin
        • Fantasy Football Scout Member
        • 7 Years
        4 years, 1 month ago

        It's been utter bedlam on here prior to the announcement.

    4. Hazz
      • Fantasy Football Scout Member
      • 6 Years
      4 years, 1 month ago

      It's post-deadline. Right before the deadline is when things get dodgy.

    5. Twisted Saltergater
      • 14 Years
      4 years, 1 month ago

      Don’t know why I’m paying a membership fee if I have to get my fixture postponement news from other sources. Outrageous.

  4. Nightcrawler
    • 4 Years
    4 years, 1 month ago

    Pep will want his best players to have the scheduled time off

    If the game is postponed till next week, good chance that kun/kdb get rested with ucl 2 and a half weeks away?

  5. ⭐ Bemba_Da ⭐
    • 13 Years
    4 years, 1 month ago

    Due to extreme and escalating weather conditions and in the interests of supporter and staff safety, today’s
    @premierleague match against West Ham has been postponed.

    https://twitter.com/ManCity/status/1226464509604302849

  6. davies
    • 9 Years
    4 years, 1 month ago

    I actually give up

  7. Tsparkes10
    • 5 Years
    4 years, 1 month ago

    Hahahahahahahahahaa bless

  8. @persecuted_by_mods
      4 years, 1 month ago

      Can't be off, I was reassured earlier by a guy who said it wouldn't be called off because we knew the weather was going to be like this for days

    • Differential C (Mark)
      • 8 Years
      4 years, 1 month ago

      Trent VC to save me now.

    • Woy_is_back
      • 6 Years
      4 years, 1 month ago

      Fecking bullshit. Bunch of chickensh!ts

      1. bitm2007
        • Fantasy Football Scout Member
        • 9 Years
        4 years, 1 month ago

        northern softies, would have taken place in Cornwall.

        1. badgerboy
          • Fantasy Football Scout Member
          • 8 Years
          4 years, 1 month ago

          Damn straight! Geddon!

      1. bitm2007
        • Fantasy Football Scout Member
        • 9 Years
        4 years, 1 month ago

        Thanks, surprised.

      2. Bobby_Baggio
        • 12 Years
        4 years, 1 month ago

        Lol

    • Syd.
      • 14 Years
      4 years, 1 month ago

      Game Off

      No surprise given the weather in Manchester

      1. Optimus.
        • 13 Years
        4 years, 1 month ago

        Bitter cold is it? 😉

    • Herman Toothrot
      • Fantasy Football Scout Member
      • 11 Years
      4 years, 1 month ago

      Checks team. Kun C, TAA VC...

    • Brosstan
      • 9 Years
      4 years, 1 month ago

      Pathetic Brits. Can't handle a bit of weather

      1. DeadStarComing
        • Fantasy Football Scout Member
        • 13 Years
        4 years, 1 month ago

        Stupid comment. I’ll give you the benefit of doubt and assume you’re joking 😉

      2. Uncle Gamst
        • Fantasy Football Scout Member
        • 12 Years
        4 years, 1 month ago

        We also can't just walk into a store and by a automatic machine gun...pathetic 😉

        1. Uncle Gamst
          • Fantasy Football Scout Member
          • 12 Years
          4 years, 1 month ago

          *buy

    • FPL Pillars
      • 7 Years
      4 years, 1 month ago

      SCENES

    • Cahill
      • 13 Years
      4 years, 1 month ago

      will be next weekend surely right?

      why wouldnt it be?

      1. FPL.team
        • Fantasy Football Scout Member
        • 7 Years
        4 years, 1 month ago

        Winter break.

    • Tsparkes10
      • 5 Years
      4 years, 1 month ago

      Would be v surprised if our game is called off, surely can't be that much difference. Guess some are just tougher than others :p

      1. Colonel Shoe 肝池
        • 12 Years
        4 years, 1 month ago

        aye its only over the pennines

    • Differential C (Mark)
      • 8 Years
      4 years, 1 month ago

      Ben Crellin's mentions about to blow up

    • Weasel Boy
      • Fantasy Football Scout Member
      • 11 Years
      4 years, 1 month ago

      This is going to cost me my ML

      1. NoName
        • 9 Years
        4 years, 1 month ago

        Same

    • Greenbackbøøg…
      • 9 Years
      4 years, 1 month ago

      So definitely no city game this gameweek?

    • Forza Papac
      • Fantasy Football Scout Member
      • 8 Years
      4 years, 1 month ago

      Son(vc) it is then

    • Colonel Shoe 肝池
      • 12 Years
      4 years, 1 month ago

      salah vc 😎

    • HVT
      • 13 Years
      4 years, 1 month ago

      Can they not just play it next weekend?

      1. diesel001
        • 7 Years
        4 years, 1 month ago

        Depends on what the rules are on how much notice fans needs to be given for rearranged fixtures.

      2. bitm2007
        • Fantasy Football Scout Member
        • 9 Years
        4 years, 1 month ago

        it's possible, but it would mean no winter break for either club.

    • Rains of Castamere
      • 9 Years
      4 years, 1 month ago

      Hate to moan, but unless it's rescheduled this GW that's my season knackered. Mane TC two weeks ago then wildcarding this week with Aguero C, Mahrez and KDB. Honestly just a massive kick in the balls.

    • Sun Jihai
      • Fantasy Football Scout Member
      • 12 Years
      4 years, 1 month ago

      Anyone got a Man City C and VC?
      That could be season ending if Salah with his 165% EO hauls

      1. FOO FIGHTER
        • 4 Years
        4 years, 1 month ago

        Yup, autosubs not going to rescue you...

    • Nightcrawler
      • 4 Years
      4 years, 1 month ago

      Weather in sheffield?

    • FOO FIGHTER
      • 4 Years
      4 years, 1 month ago

      Damn, I feel sorry for West Ham supporters on route to Manchester...

      1. DaisyDaisyDaisyDaisy
        • 10 Years
        4 years, 1 month ago

        You didnt need the ‘on route to Manchestet’

    • Weasel Boy
      • Fantasy Football Scout Member
      • 11 Years
      4 years, 1 month ago

      Snowflake society.

      1. goriuanx
        • 13 Years
        4 years, 1 month ago

        The issue isn't with playing the game, it's the health and safety of fans - it isn't impossible for a part of a stand to fly off etc.

        Correct decision.

        1. Catastrophe
          • 13 Years
          4 years, 1 month ago

          This. Perspective needed...

      2. Fpl Richie
        • Fantasy Football Scout Member
        • 8 Years
        4 years, 1 month ago

        Such a horrible word. Not helpful. You might see people here get stressed about fpl but let's face it, it's escapism from stress elsewhere and when this goes wrong it can be an outlet for tension but up elsewhere

        1. Corgz Dark side of the Loon
          • Fantasy Football Scout Member
          • 8 Years
          4 years, 1 month ago

          What?? ...its a game...

    • PrettyDick
      • 6 Years
      4 years, 1 month ago

      "The game apparently is off!"

      According to the ever so reliable "exwesthamemployee" on twitter. If it is, it still seems likely it will be played during this GW, with all of City's other (possible) postponements

      1. PrettyDick
        • 6 Years
        4 years, 1 month ago

        and according to Man City themselves.. lol my bad

      2. HVT
        • 13 Years
        4 years, 1 month ago

        This, no reason it can’t be played this GW?