Scout Notes

The Barnes injury latest as Leicester issues rack up in Double Gameweek 26

LEICESTER CITY 1-3 ARSENAL

  • Goals: Youri Tielemans (£6.4m) | David Luiz (£5.4m), Alexandre Lacazette (£8.1m), Pepe (£7.6m)
  • Assists: | Willian (£7.5m) x2, Pepe
  • Bonus: Willian x3, Lacazette x2, Pepe x2

FRESH BLOW FOR FOXES

Bale back in Spurs starting XI as Kane is handed triple captaincy by third of top 10k 1

Already deprived of the services of James Maddison (£7.3m) for their Double Gameweek 26 opener, Leicester saw Harvey Barnes (£6.9m) stretchered off after 50 minutes.

“It looks like Harvey Barnes is going to need an operation on his knee. I just spoke to the doctor; he might be out for six weeks. That’ll be a huge blow for us.

“It’s been unfortunate but it’s the uniqueness of the season. We haven’t cried about it all season, we’re not going to start now.” – Brendan Rodgers

It turns out that Barnes had an ongoing knee issue, which appears to have been the reason behind his benching in the Europa League on Thursday.

“He’s had niggles with it. We tried to recover him on Thursday but it’s a bad one for him and a huge blow for us. It’s been irritable and today it’s made it worse. A bone in the knee has come off.

“He had a clash of knees in the game a few weeks ago so it has been irritable. Then there was a challenge on it today that made it worse. The consolation is it’s not as long as it looked like. I’ll know more tomorrow.” – Rodgers on Barnes

Jonny Evans (£5.5m) is another doubt for Leicester, having limped off after 68 minutes. On the centre-back, Rodgers said:

He’s had this dead calf for a few weeks and he’s aggravated it. He had a shooting pain up through his calf. He’ll have a scan to see where he’s at.

Jamie Vardy (£10.2m), meanwhile, appeared to be struggling in the first half. Rodgers explained:

He had an action in the first half and he twisted it [his hip]. He felt something but he’s been okay and carried on with the game. I’ve no indication he’s feeling injured.

YOURI GELLER

Youri Tielemans (£6.4m) opened the scoring at the King Power after just six minutes, striding into the Arsenal box before finishing expertly into the left-hand side of Bernd Leno‘s (£5.0m) net.

Things went slowly downhill for the jaded-looking Foxes from that early goal, however.

Nicolas Pepe (£7.6m) gave Leicester left-back Luke Thomas (£4.2m) a torrid first half. Persistent fouling saw Thomas booked and subsequently hooked at half time – that in turn ended Ricardo Pereira‘s (£5.9m) ‘out of position’ deployment on the right flank, with the Portugal international moving to left-back.

A Willian (£7.5m) delivery was headed home by David Luiz (£5.4m) to bring the Gunners level, with the Brazilian midfielder then claiming a second assist for his role in a fine team goal finished off by Pepe.

In between came a spot-kick from Alexandre Lacazette (£8.1m), who was on penalty-taking duties with Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang (£11.3m) sat on the bench.

Aubameyang and Bukayo Saka (£5.2m) were rested after their exertions in Europe on Thursday, which may be an issue with Arsenal assets going forward.

“It’s not that we have to rotate. I want to rotate and give a chance to the players. The only way to do it is to play them. I’m so pleased that even with making a lot of changes we’re able to produce that kind of performance.” – Mikel Arteta

TREATMENT TABLE

Martin Odegaard (£5.9m) was brought on in the first half after Emile Smith Rowe (£4.3m) picked up an injury. In his post-match press conference, Arteta said:

Yeah, I am concerned because for Emile to come out and say I cannot continue playing it should be something big, It was something related to his hip. But yeah, he was in a good place after the game.

Despite saying that rotation was not strictly necessary, the Arsenal manager is unhappy with the number of games that clubs have at present – and his cautionary words are an obvious deterrent from a Fantasy perspective.

“That is why as well we needed to change players [today], because if not we were going to expose our players to get injured. But it is insane – the amount of minutes and the games that these players are playing without any pre-season, without any break. You are going to get injuries. We talked about it, all the managers raised our voices at the start of the season and it’s happening.” – Mikel Arteta

While the Gunners don’t play again until Saturday, Leicester are back in action for their second instalment of Double Gameweek 26 at Burnley on Wednesday.


Leicester City XI (4-4-2): Schmeichel; Thomas (Albrighton 46′), Soyuncu, Evans (Amartey 68′), Castagne; Barnes (Under 50′), Ndidi, Tielemans, R Pereira; Iheanacho, Vardy.

Arsenal XI (4-2-3-1): Leno; Tierney, Mari, David Luiz, Cedric; Xhaka, Elneny (Partey 65′); Willian, Smith Rowe (Odegaard 41′), Pepe; Lacazette (Aubameyang 83′).

PREMIUM MEMBERS AREA HOME PAGE

ELSEWHERE IN DOUBLE GAMEWEEK 26

Round-up from SkontoRigga

The galvanising effect that Gareth Bale (£9.3m) had in a 45-minute showing at West Ham last weekend carried over into Tottenham Hotspur’s first Double Gameweek 26 fixture.

Bale conjured up memories of his Spurs heyday in the early-2010s, producing a performance that was brimming with confidence in the Lilywhites’ 4-0 win over Burnley: his 50-yard ball for Harry Kane‘s (£11.1m) 14th-minute goal evidence of that.

The Welshman scored two of his own, twice latching onto Son Heung-min (£9.5m) passes to beat Nick Pope (£5.6m). His second strike, in particular, could have been taken straight from his 2012/13 highlights reel.

Bale was actually the least popular asset in the Spurs starting XI on Sunday, with just 0.4% of FPL managers owning the on-loan Madridista; expect that figure to rise sharply based on early Gameweek 27 transfer activity.

He would also appear poised to feature in his side’s second Double Gameweek 26 fixture, with Jose Mourinho sparing the Wales international for the final 20 minutes at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium.

Bale, Son and Sergio Reguilon (£5.5m) all banked double-digit hauls against the Clarets, with the Spurs left-back teeing up Lucas Moura (£6.6m) for the hosts’ third goal.

Owners of Kane, by some distance the most-captained player in the top 10k in the current Gameweek, may have been feeling short-changed with their six points, however.

Kane wasted a stoppage-time ‘big chance’ that would have doubled his Gameweek 26 score after bonus.

That was one of a remarkable seven opportunities that Son created throughout.

As for Burnley, a rare day to forget defensively and the first time that Pope has shipped more than two goals in a single match since Gameweek 7.

A first blank in five matches for Bruno Fernandes (£11.6m) arrived at an inopportune for Fantasy managers who had backed him with the Gameweek 26 captaincy.

The Portugal international was well shackled throughout, with his expected goal involvement (xGI) total a paltry 0.09 against Chelsea on Sunday.

Manchester United were fairly anaemic overall, mustering just two shots in the box in the stalemate at Stamford Bridge.

An easier test awaits in midweek, at least, with Crystal Palace unlikely to prove such stubborn opposition as a Chelsea side who have now kept five clean sheets in seven Premier League matches under Thomas Tuchel.

Cesar Azpilicueta (£5.7m) has quietly gone about his business under his new manager, averaging 6.3 points per match and starting every game since the change in the hot seat.

It was the two goalkeepers, plus Andreas Christensen (£4.7m), who took home the bonus points in west London, which gives the impression the game had more action than it actually did.

David de Gea (£5.3m) did make one excellent stop to keep out Hakim Ziyech (£7.9m) but clear-cut chances were scarce.

Timo Werner (£9.2m) and Marcos Alonso (£5.7m) were the latest victims of Tuchel’s tinkering, dropping to the bench for this dour draw.

Mohamed Salah (£12.6m) blanked against a bottom-half club for the sixth successive time as Liverpool ended a dismal run of results with a 2-0 win at Sheffield United.

A wasted late opportunity from an Andrew Robertson (£7.2m) cross extended that sequence but there is hope for Salah owners and captainers in that his last four attacking returns have come in matches against clubs around them, and it’s fifth-place Chelsea up next.

Jurgen Klopp sought to address the Reds’ recent attacking woes by moving to a more offensive 4-2-3-1 against the Blades, with Sadio Mane (£11.8m) afforded a freer role in ‘the hole’ and Curtis Jones (£4.4m) stationed on the left wing.

It was budget midfielder Jones, starting his fourth game in a row, who opened the scoring before Roberto Firmino‘s (£9.2m) deflected effort capped off the victory.

Alisson (£5.9m) was absent on compassionate grounds as Liverpool kept only their second clean sheet of 2021, with the sense of normality further returning as Robertson and Trent Alexander-Arnold (£7.4m) plundered bonus points to go with their shut-outs.

The imminent return of Fabinho (£5.4m) is another boost at the back but there were enough chances carved out by the division’s lowest scorers and hairy moments involving the unconvincing Ozan Kabak (£5.0m) for a healthy scepticism to remain.

Bale back in Spurs starting XI as Kane is handed triple captaincy by third of top 10k 2

Fulham underscored how good a defensive side they now are with their fifth clean sheet in seven Gameweeks.

They won’t face many teams as feeble as Crystal Palace, of course, with the Eagles registering just three shots on goal for the second match running.

But the Cottagers have kept out better clubs than Roy Hodgson’s troops and have conceded fewer goals than all teams bar Manchester City over the last 14 Gameweeks.

They’ll be a tough nut for Spurs to crack in midweek, based on recent evidence.

A vital component of the Fulham backline has been centre-half Joachim Andersen (£4.5m), who hasn’t blanked in any of his last five outings and who racked up a remarkable five attempts on goal in the 0-0 draw against Palace.

He’s a secure starter, too, as rotation frustration sets in at full-back.

Josh Maja (£5.5m) hasn’t been able to build on his brace at Everton and spurned a ‘big chance’ in the second half on Sunday, with Fulham’s familiar failing of being able to create opportunities without finishing them rearing its head again.

352 Comments Post a Comment
  1. Chandler Bing
    • 7 Years
    3 years, 29 days ago

    Any updates on the CHO injury?

  2. Karan14
    • 7 Years
    3 years, 29 days ago

    Raphinha the best replacement for Barnes under 6.8m?

    1. shiraz
      • Fantasy Football Scout Member
      • 3 Years
      3 years, 29 days ago

      I am getting saka, have raphinha. With the current option and money i think it is ggood move

    2. kobewan
      • 4 Years
      3 years, 29 days ago

      Lingard looks promising

  3. SHOWSTOPPERRR
    • 6 Years
    3 years, 29 days ago

    53(-4) with 13 to go with kane cap and bb..Average or below average?

    1. Karan14
      • 7 Years
      3 years, 29 days ago

      Just a bit lower than 10k average.

      1. SHOWSTOPPERRR
        • 6 Years
        3 years, 29 days ago

        Ok.

  4. shiraz
    • Fantasy Football Scout Member
    • 3 Years
    3 years, 29 days ago

    Took a hit to get barnes for grealish, unlucky that he was injured. Just did barnes > saka, good move? Considering that arsenal have games on gw 29, it seem a logical and sideway move

    1. Kabayan
      • 7 Years
      3 years, 29 days ago

      The logical move is that you should wait until all the games in this gw are over.

    2. Botman and Robben
      • 7 Years
      3 years, 29 days ago

      Why not wait until the DGW is over?

  5. Sad Pablo Arsecobar
    • 7 Years
    3 years, 29 days ago

    Should I go:
    A. Martinez (WOL)
    B. Mccarthy (shu, mcy)

    Dilemma.

    1. George Agdgdgwngo
      • 14 Years
      3 years, 29 days ago

      A

    2. St Pauli Walnuts
      • Fantasy Football Scout Member
      • 5 Years
      3 years, 28 days ago

      A but wait and see injury situation first.

  6. SomeoneKnows
    • 7 Years
    3 years, 29 days ago

    Martinez (Fabri)
    Cancelo, Stones, Dallas (Coufal, Douglas)
    Salah, Bruno, Son, Gundogan, Grealish
    Kane, DCL (Bamford)

    With 1FT and 0.5 itb should I do the following as preparation for GW29?

    Douglas > Veltman

  7. George Agdgdgwngo
    • 14 Years
    3 years, 29 days ago

    Time for kdb (need a differential in my ML). Who goes.

    A. Stones
    B. Cancelo
    C. Gundo

    1. The Ilfordian
      • Fantasy Football Scout Member
      • 6 Years
      3 years, 29 days ago

      Think Gundo. It feels like return of KDB and Aguero is going to affect his points. I reckon generally we’re going to see more rotation as league is secured and Europe kicks in.

    2. _Gunner
      • 9 Years
      3 years, 29 days ago

      Gundo

  8. Dosh
    • 10 Years
    3 years, 29 days ago

    21 points below safety score from the first round of games. Hopeful that my Everton assets make up the gap. DCL(C), Rich, Digne.

  9. The Ilfordian
    • Fantasy Football Scout Member
    • 6 Years
    3 years, 29 days ago

    Getting Son in would’ve required a -12 (without losing Salah or Bruno) so I got Reguilon in instead as I didn’t think Burnley would score and he might be part of a goal. I should be happy with that decision right? Instead, I’m cursing myself and scrambling to get Son in for next match

    1. Abra Dubravka
      • 5 Years
      3 years, 29 days ago

      Yeah, Be happy with Reguilon’s 10 points.

      1. The Ilfordian
        • Fantasy Football Scout Member
        • 6 Years
        3 years, 29 days ago

        Cheers Abra Dubravka. Hope your GW going well

  10. DannyDrinkVodka
    • 4 Years
    3 years, 29 days ago

    Come on, let Fraser Forster play already

  11. _Gunner
    • 9 Years
    3 years, 29 days ago

    What are the chances of Stones starting against Wolves?

    1. Z
      • 6 Years
      3 years, 29 days ago

      Big

    2. Flair
      • 3 Years
      3 years, 29 days ago

      Pep %

    3. Philosopher's Stones
      • 3 Years
      3 years, 29 days ago

      What are the chances of number 15 coming up on the roulette?

  12. tibollom
    • 7 Years
    3 years, 29 days ago

    currently on 61 pts with 13 players still to play.. how am i doing in terms of average? is that any good?

    1. Holmes
      • 10 Years
      3 years, 29 days ago

      Above average for now.

  13. tom_p77
    • 3 Years
    3 years, 29 days ago

    Stones > Rudi &
    Son > KDB

    Yes or No

    1. Holmes
      • 10 Years
      3 years, 29 days ago

      nope, atleast not this week

    2. Philosopher's Stones
      • 3 Years
      3 years, 29 days ago

      If you have Kane as well, then a definite yes. Or else it's touch and go. Would definitely want to have spurs coverage.

      1. tom_p77
        • 3 Years
        3 years, 29 days ago

        I do have Kane, yes.

        My thoughts are that Spurs dominated a poor Burnley team and although their upcoming fixtures are decent....it’s KDB

        1. Philosopher's Stones
          • 3 Years
          3 years, 29 days ago

          Yeah. Thinking of bringing in Kdb in somehow myself. Would definitely lose Son for Kdb if you already have Kane. Go for it! But wait till the DGW is over.

  14. Holmes
    • 10 Years
    3 years, 29 days ago

    Dom is the only rank killer left, hopefully the damage will be minimum

    1. Steve McCroskey
      • 10 Years
      3 years, 29 days ago

      Signe?

      1. Steve McCroskey
        • 10 Years
        3 years, 29 days ago

        Digne even

      2. Holmes
        • 10 Years
        3 years, 29 days ago

        Fortunately his ownership is less than 20%

    2. bench boost for every gamew…
      • 7 Years
      3 years, 29 days ago

      Digne

  15. Steve McCroskey
    • 10 Years
    3 years, 29 days ago

    I'm on 86 with 11 to play. Normally I would be ecstatic but can't help feeling a little peeved with a Bench boost of 3 Leeds plus Areola. Plus I really feel that DCL is going to do some damage to SOT tonight. Weirdly feel that he won't do much against West Brom

    1. The Ilfordian
      • Fantasy Football Scout Member
      • 6 Years
      3 years, 29 days ago

      You're flying - take a deep breath and enjoy the success and don't dwell on the same Leeds related bench issue that everyone else has also faced.

  16. Abra Dubravka
    • 5 Years
    3 years, 29 days ago

    Barnes to:
    A) Saka
    B) Grealish (if fit)
    C) Son for -4 (Digne to Veltman the other transfer ready for gw29)?
    *Veltman won’t need to play in 27-28

  17. Philosopher's Stones
    • 3 Years
    3 years, 29 days ago

    Now that Leicester have both Barnes and Maddison out, does these moves seem logical?

    Vardy -> Watkins
    Sanchez -> Steer
    Gundo -> Kdb

    *Would cost -8

  18. BENOIT
    • Fantasy Football Scout Member
    • 8 Years
    3 years, 29 days ago

    Anyone interested in Jota?

    1. Steve The Spud
      • Fantasy Football Scout Member
      • 4 Years
      3 years, 29 days ago

      Yes, but not until I’ve seen him actually kick a ball

    2. Flair
      • 3 Years
      3 years, 29 days ago

      Needs to get a start first

  19. HollywoodXI
    • 9 Years
    3 years, 29 days ago

    I have 40 points and so it’s depressing to see all of the huge scores on here! My team for training DGW is:

    Pickford
    Cancelo Shaw Targett
    Salah Bruno KDB Gundo Barnes
    Kane(c) DCL

    I just don’t get how a team that good can score so poorly in a DGW 🙁

    1. Flair
      • 3 Years
      3 years, 29 days ago

      DGW is over already?

      1. HollywoodXI
        • 9 Years
        3 years, 29 days ago

        Well the first round of games pretty much are (DCL left to play but most have him) and Barnes is now injured so no second game and Cancelo missing that City game really hurt as all of my ML rivals had Stones or Dias (some both).

        1. Flair
          • 3 Years
          3 years, 29 days ago

          Thankfully a DGW is two rounds!

          1. HollywoodXI
            • 9 Years
            3 years, 29 days ago

            Keeping fingers crossed that the luck turns in my favour for the second round of games!

            1. Flair
              • 3 Years
              3 years, 29 days ago

              That's the sprit, hope they do - assuming I own them too haha

    2. Steve The Spud
      • Fantasy Football Scout Member
      • 4 Years
      3 years, 29 days ago

      Don’t worry, most people will be between 40 and 60 somewhere - you need kdb to haul since the rest of your team is extremely Template now Barnes is out

    3. theplayer
      • 10 Years
      3 years, 29 days ago

      The reason being that none of them have even played twice yet, or even at all since Everton play their first game tonight

  20. afsr
    • 7 Years
    3 years, 29 days ago

    Lloris -> Areola (have Martínez) will give me 8.2 ITB to replace Barnes. Who do I get?

    A - Bilva/Foden
    B - Mount
    C - Grealish/Jota (coming back from injury)
    D - your suggestions

    1. afsr
      • 7 Years
      3 years, 29 days ago

      Another option came to mind - Lingardinho

    2. Philosopher's Stones
      • 3 Years
      3 years, 29 days ago

      Both options in A too risky due to rotation. Mount could be a decent pick but will probably never be explosive. Wait to access Jota till he comes back into the starting 11. Grealish/Lingard the best bets for now.

  21. Steve The Spud
    • Fantasy Football Scout Member
    • 4 Years
    3 years, 29 days ago

    I’ve only just checked it but my template rating is 80% with my next move rashford > son it’ll probably be even higher, does this mean I should start looking at differentials? Rank has been stuck around 300k for a few game weeks now