Michail Antonio (£7.8m) consolidated his position at the top of the Fantasy Premier League (FPL) standings with a third successive double-digit haul on Saturday, while Ferran Torres (£7.0m) underscored his ‘out of position’ appeal with two goals and an assist.
West Ham’s draw with Crystal Palace and Manchester City’s thrashing of Arsenal were two of seven Premier League matches that took place today, the main talking points of which we’ll discuss in this our first Gameweek 3 round-up.
Our usual, more detailed Scout Notes will follow for all of the day’s games but in the meantime, our ressurected Scoreboard series rounds up the key goings-on.
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GOALS, ASSISTS, PROJECTED BONUS
KEY FPL TALKING POINTS
- Dominic Calvert-Lewin (£8.2m) scored another penalty for Everton but had to fight off Richarlison (£7.5m) for the responsibility of taking the Toffees’ effort from 12 yards, with the Brazilian still visibly irked at full-time.
“We had this conversation before and I told him if we have two penalties, the first one is Dominic’s and the second one is his” – Rafael Benitez on Richarlison
- Calvert-Lewin, Antonio and Danny Ings (£8.1m) kept up their 100% record of avoiding blanks in 2021/22. Gabriel Jesus (£8.5m), again playing on the right flank for Manchester City on Saturday, has joined them in the top four forwards for points after back-to-back double-digit hauls.
- Newcastle conceded a penalty for the third game in a row in their 2-2 draw with Southampton. Up next for the Magpies is Manchester United, who were awarded more spot-kicks in 2020/21 than any other side.
- Brandon Williams (£4.0m) is now yet another name to consider in the budget FPL defender pool as he was handed his first Premier League start for Norwich on Saturday. All of the £4.2m-and-under defenders blanked but Tino Livramento (£4.1m) again caught the eye, with one of the three chances he created being spooned over from close range by Moussa Djenepo (£5.5m). Kostas Tsimikas (£4.2m) lost his place as expected, with Andrew Robertson (£7.0m) fit again.
- Pontus Jansson (£4.5m) moved joint-second in the FPL defenders’ standings; Brentford’s defence was breached for the first time this season but it was he who provided the assist for Ivan Toney‘s (£6.4m) first ever top-flight goal. No club has conceded fewer big chances than the Bees in 2021/22 (one).
- Trent Alexander-Arnold (£7.5m) continued where he left off last week with his forays infield. It’s worth monitoring his positioning going forward as Mohamed Salah (£12.6m) was pushed noticeably wider, with his goal and only big chance coming from the penalty spot.
INJURIES AND BANS
Dominic Calvert-Lewin (£8.2m) was flagged as a doubt with an ongoing toe problem for Gameweek 3 but he needed treatment for what appeared to be a thigh problem in Everton’s win over Brighton, leaving the field soon after; no word has yet emerged from the Toffees’ camp over the severity of the issue.
Yerry Mina (£5.0m) and Solly March (£5.5m) missed this match with a knock and a minor hamstring injury respectively but neither problem is thought to be serious.
Joel Veltman (£4.4m) was among the substitutes for Albion after his recent spell in self-isolation, while Neal Maupay (£6.5m) recovered from a shoulder issue.
Frank Onyeka (£5.0m), John McGinn (£6.0m) and Jacob Ramsey (£4.5m) were the new names who missed out after positive coronavirus tests but Nicolas Pepe‘s (£7.3m) illness that kept him out of Arsenal’s defeat to Manchester City isn’t Covid-related.
Villa’s problems extended beyond McGinn and Ramsey, with Tyrone Mings (£5.0m) missing out with a cracked rib and Ezri Konsa (£5.0m) substituted with a knee problem.
The Villans did at least welcome back Ollie Watkins (£7.3m), who emerged as a second-half substitute.
Ricardo Pereira (£5.5m) faces a scan on the hamstring injury he picked up in Leicester City’s win over Norwich, meanwhile.
The same applies to Roberto Firmino (£8.9m) after his early withdrawal in the game against Chelsea.
Granit Xhaka (£5.0m) and Reece James (£5.6m) were both dismissed in their respective games, the former facing three domestic games out and the latter just the one.
FPL OWNERSHIP AND CAPTAINCY – TOP 10K
While it’s still early days to be trusting the top 10,000 as a barometer of FPL performance, the figures are often a sight more useful than the overall ownership numbers when it comes to assessing active Fantasy managers.
Antonio is now the most-owned player in the top 10k and there is quite the template forming around him, with nine assets boasting an ownership in excess of 80%.
It’s advantage to the Saturday captainers as Antonio and Mohamed Salah (£12.6m) both racked up double-digit hauls in their respective games.
STAT WATCH – GAMEWEEK 3
Another Gameweek and another set of table-topping numbers posted by Antonio, whose tallies of five shots in the box and 13 penalty area touches have yet to be bettered.
Aymeric Laporte (£5.5m) is an intriguing name on the above list: he has now had more shots in the box (seven) than any other Manchester City asset this season.
There were more eye-catching figures registered by Alexander-Arnold, meanwhile. The Liverpool’s Gameweek 3 total of five chances created has only been trumped by Jack Grealish (£8.0m) so far and takes him to 15 for the season, four more than any other player.
Jesus’s new role for City has seen him rack up seven key passes over the last two Gameweeks, a total that only Alexander-Arnold can better.
Three £5.5m midfielders bossed the non-penalty expected goals (xG) stats on Saturday, although all bar 0.06 of Mohamed Elyounoussi‘s (£5.5m) total came in the same incident that led to his goal.
Conor Gallagher (£5.5m) is a name to monitor: no player has had more big chances than the Chelsea loanee (three) in the last two Gameweeks.
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