We round up the key Fantasy Premier League (FPL) talking points from the final match of Double Gameweek 23 in our latest Scout Notes – not that there were many of them.
Our round-up of the weekend’s FA Cup action and Fantasy takeaways will follow on Sunday night.
A FIRST LOOK AT HODGSON’S WATFORD
Watford’s clean sheet count could only rise after a season-long drought and Roy Hodgson’s tenure as Hornets manager began with a cautiously encouraging first shut-out of 2021/22.
The appointment of Hodgson was always likely to tighten the Premier League strugglers up a bit, such is his pragmatic reputation, although the competency of the players at his disposal was the counter-argument to that.
Hodgson named a conservative 4-4-2 set-up for Saturday’s clash at Turf Moor, setting his stall out with central midfielder Juraj Kucka (£5.5m) on the right flank, Moussa Sissoko (£4.4m) and Edo Kayembe (£5.0m) providing a shield in front of the back four, and even one of strike duo Joao Pedro (£5.4m) and Joshua King (£5.9m) dropping deep at times to assist.
Their clean sheet was seldom threatened in Lancashire, with the returning Ben Foster (£4.1m) only required to make two fairly comfortable stops and Burnley debutant Wout Weghorst (£6.5m) clipping the top of the bar with a freakish deflected effort.
“After their performance today, it would be very hard to leave them out. After what they did today, I’m very very satisfied with them.
“If there is one club that’s blessed with depth in centre-backs it’s us, but I chose to play with Cathcart and Samir and I’m very happy with the way they went about their business.” – Roy Hodgson on his starting centre-backs
Foster’s recall and Hodgson’s appointment will raise hopes for the budget FPL goalkeeper’s points potential, especially with a ‘double’ in Gameweek 26.
It has to be stressed that this was ‘only’ Burnley, however. The Clarets are the second-lowest scorers in the division and are now on a run of two goals scored in seven matches, so a trip to West Ham on Tuesday will be more of an acid test.
It also remains to be seen if/how Emmanuel Dennis (£6.2m) and Ismaila Sarr (£5.7m) are reintegrated into Hodgson’s set-up – the former will return in Gameweek 25 and the latter most likely in Gameweek 26 – and if that will make the Hornets a little less secure at the back. It could be that one of King, who again lacked conviction up top, or Pedro are moved to the left flank at Ken Sema‘s (£5.2m) expense to accommodate Dennis and/or Sarr centrally.
WEGHORST’S DEBUT
The prolific Weghorst’s arrival in the Premier League raised a bit of hope that he could liven up a stagnant FPL forward pool.
Saturday’s draw with Watford and the Clarets’ next two fixtures are an audition of sorts for the towering Dutchman ahead of Burnley’s Double Gameweek 26.
Weghorst was paired with a rusty-looking Maxwel Cornet (£5.9m) in a front two against Hodgson’s troops, with the latter registering Burnley’s only two efforts on target and the former denied a debut goal by a last-ditch tackle and a crossbar.
“I think Wout did really well. It’s not easy to come into a group, he’s accepted what the group are about. He’ll give us hold up play, he’ll give us quality and as he gets used to the tempo of the Premier League, when he gets his eye in, I think he’ll do well.
“A couple of chances you would fancy him to take when he settles but I’m sure he will very quickly. He’s had a quiet game by his standards but we didn’t expect miracles from him. He will get that sharpness. We know how much of a good player he is.
“Maxwel came in late, had a couple of extra days off, so he’s going to get sharper, his awareness of playing with a different striker, who deals with the ball well and can hold it up well.” – Sean Dyche on his front two
In truth, though, the service just wasn’t there from the plodding midfield that included the very limited Dale Stephens (£4.4m) and the veteran Aaron Lennon (£4.9m). Jay Rodriguez’s (£5.2m) late introduction, which saw Cornet move wide, livened things up, but it remains to be seen if Dyche would entertain the idea of the Ivorian starting as a winger in a more attacking set-up given his aversion for tracking back.
Something has to change, with only two league goals scored since the beginning of December.
“It’s another style of football, quite direct, you can say it like that! I will just try to adapt to it and give everything for the team to help the squad. It wasn’t enough for a win today.”
“With Max, it is the first time and it needs time but I thought there were some good moments. I had a great opportunity in the second half but the defender came in really well and blocked it. We had possibilities but it wasn’t enough.” – Wout Weghorst on his debut
POPE’s FORM, LOWTON REMAINS BENCHED
Nick Pope (£5.4m) has been channeling his 2019/20 self of late, registering four clean sheets and 37 points in his last five appearances.
He’s also benefitting, as he did in his stellar season two campaigns ago, from a lack of goals further forward, as there are fewer challengers in the bonus points stakes – he has seven of those in his last three starts.
He’s still an expensive proposition in the FPL goalkeeper pool, with the likes of Aaron Ramsdale (£5.1m) and David de Gea (£5.2m) cheaper and with doubles of their own coming up, and the immediate fixtures aren’t great.
But with at least three more Double Gameweeks to come, and the Clarets sitting high up the Season Ticker for ease of fixture difficulty from Gameweek 29 onwards, he ought to be in the conversation for the run-in. Arguably the world’s greatest FPL manager at present, Fabio Borges, would seemingly agree.
Matthew Lowton‘s (£4.4m) owners will be miffed at missing out on successive clean sheets, however, after Connor Roberts (£4.5m) was preferred at right-back for the second match running – a decision that Dyche had previously suggested wasn’t fitness-related.
