We round up the key Fantasy Premier League (FPL) talking points from Saturday’s five Gameweek 34 fixtures in our Scout Notes summary.
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GOALS, ASSISTS AND BONUS
INJURIES AND BANS
Bukayo Saka (£6.8m) stole the show for Arsenal on Saturday but limped off during their win over Manchester United.
Mikel Arteta provided an update on the winger’s fitness after the game:
“We had four or five with difficulties to make the team before. He was one, White was one, Granit (Xhaka) had an eye issue, Eddie (Nketiah) hasn’t played many minutes. The Boys are doing everything they can to be on the field and I feel lucky.” – Mikel Arteta
In his press conference, Arteta then added:
“Bukayo (Saka) was struggling to even start the match but he wanted to start. He had a big knock the other night. Let’s see how he is.” – Mikel Arteta
Takehiro Tomiyasu (£4.5m), meanwhile, made a return to action following injury as a late substitute.
Pep Guardiola revealed Kevin De Bruyne (£11.8m) and Nathan Ake (£4.7m) played through the pain barrier against Watford.
The Belgian has been troubled by a foot problem in recent weeks, while Ake came off in the midweek win over Brighton and Hove Albion after twisting his knee.
With the first leg of Manchester City’s Champions League semi-final against Real Madrid on Tuesday, Guardiola admitted those issues played a part in his selection and substitution decisions.
“I have 14/15 players fit and the last few games Kevin (De Bruyne) and Aymer (Laporte) play a lot of minutes. Kevin, it doesn’t look like it, but he is playing with some disturbing niggles in his ankles for the kicks he got in the last games. Of course, at 4-1, I am thinking about that. It is not just Madrid it’s Leeds as well. You have seen the schedule. That is why in that moment I am thinking the game is almost over and I give rest in the last minutes to the players who have played a lot of minutes. We don’t have lots of central defenders that is why Nathan (Ake) played with a big problem in his ankle.” – Pep Guardiola
Guardiola also revealed he does not know if Kyle Walker (£5.4m) and John Stones (£5.2m) will be fit to face Madrid.
“We don’t have many options. We don’t have full-backs. I don’t know when Kyle (Walker) will arrive. We will see. Joao (Cancelo) is out (due to suspension) and John (Stones) will be difficult to get through.” – Pep Guardiola
Kiko Femenia (£4.3m) and Juraj Kucka (£5.5m) missed out for Watford with injuries, as did Kristoffer Ajer (£4.4m), Ethan Pinnock (£4.4m) and Christian Norgaard (£5.0m) at Brentford.
Jamie Vardy (£10.3m), meanwhile, made his comeback against Aston Villa, as he was brought on for the final 20 minutes at the King Power.
“He brings an extra dimension to the game. He hasn’t trained a great deal but he came in and I spoke to him about getting 20 minutes. It was good to get him out onto the field again.
“We’ll see (if he can start against Roma). I’ll have a chat with him and see how he is, and see how his recovery is. We have to be careful with him as well. He’s been out for a long period and we don’t want to rush it if we don’t need to. We’ll see how he is.” – Brendan Rodgers
FPL TALKING POINTS
JESUS HITS FOUR
While most of the Fantasy attention leading up to Gameweek 34 was directed at Raheem Sterling (£10.5m) and Kevin De Bruyne, in the end, it was Gabriel Jesus (£8.4m) who stepped up and delivered a haul for the ages.
The Brazilian – owned by just 10 managers in the top 10k – scored four goals and supplied an assist as he racked up 24 points, smashing his previous best FPL tally by 10 points.
De Bruyne did, however, get in on the act himself with a pair of assists during his 57-minute run-out, with Guardiola praising his playmaker after the match:
“He’s arrived at this last part of the season in the best moment, and when he’s in this moment he’s almost unstoppable. His vision, the fight, the transitions – he’s exceptional.” – Pep Guardiola on Kevin De Bruyne
City’s five-goal burst has boosted their goal difference to +59. Liverpool’s is still better with +61 ahead of Sunday’s Merseyside derby, but for how much longer remains to be seen.
IN-FORM TOON
At the turn of the year, Newcastle United sat 19th in the table having amassed only 11 points from 19 matches.
However, a fourth successive win in Gameweek 34 has seen them move into the top half, while remarkably, only Liverpool have earned more Premier League points in 2022.
In an utterly one-sided encounter at Carrow Road, the Brazilian boys shined with Joelinton (£5.8m) and that man Bruno Guimaraes (£4.9m) on the scoresheet. The latter dropped into a holding role once the game was won, but by that point had already bagged a goal, his fourth attacking return in his last three appearances.
Eddie Howe had said he would “freshen things up” in his pre-match press conference and kept to his word, benching Fabian Schar (£4.4m) and Chris Wood (£6.8m), although it made little difference as his team ran out comfortable 3-0 winners.
“We have been playing under the pressure of trying to stay in the league and we have got a lot of results playing resilient, organised football. Today, for the first time the shackles came off a bit. The confidence on the ball was high and hopefully this is a glimpse of the future.
Joelinton started as a nine and scored his two goals off the left. Both really good finishes. He showed his versatility and quality and he is someone we are really pleased with.” – Eddie Howe
SAKA SHINES
In an open and often chaotic match that had everything, Bukayo Saka’s penalty goal and assist helped Arsenal step up their claim for a place in the top four.
Lining-up alongside Martin Odegaard (£5.6m), Emile Smith Rowe (£5.7m) and Eddie Nketiah (£5.4m) in Arteta’s new-look attack, the England winger was a real livewire throughout and is now up to fourth in the midfielder standings, only behind Mohamed Salah (£13.2m), Son Heung-min (£11.1m) and Jarrod Bowen (£6.9m).
In their last two games, the Gunners have scored seven goals against Chelsea and Man Utd, with no player in any position registering more shots in the box than Saka in that time. And that’s despite being deployed as a wing-back for much of Wednesday’s visit to Stamford Bridge.
Nketiah, meanwhile, forced a smart save from David de Gea (£5.1m) – which in truth he probably should have converted – and also had a first-half goal ruled out for offside after VAR intervention.
As for Arsenal, they now recorded 35 points at the Emirates Stadium in 2021/22 – only Liverpool (42) and Man City (41) have won more on home turf.
UNITED’S DEFENCE
Despite dropping Harry Maguire (£5.4m) and reverting to a back-four system, Manchester United’s defensive issues continued at the Emirates as they conceded another three goals.
Ralf Rangnick’s troops were a real danger to Arsenal going forward, but a danger to themselves at the back, particularly on their left as Alex Telles (£5.1m) struggled against Saka.
As a result, United have now allowed nine goals in their last three outings, while their overall total of 51 Premier League goals conceded is six more than 18th-placed Burnley.
“I decided to play with a back four again after the first half of Liverpool and not having enough training time in between. Varane was fully fit again so I had to decide between those three players and after all the issues Harry (Maguire) had to deal with, it was a tough week for him. I just had to decide to play with Rapha and Victor (Lindelof).” – Ralf Rangnick on why Harry Maguire didn’t play
“I said we were at least unlucky with those three or four moments, but again we have to get better at defending in the box. The way we did that until five, six weeks ago we were on a higher level. Even in the pressing moments, whenever we pressed, Arsenal we were causing problems but we just didn’t press often enough. We should do it more often with more intensity and more players involved. If all the players sprint against the ball it has an even higher effect than it has today.” – Ralf Rangnick on his team’s defensive work
Further forward, Bruno Fernandes (£11.6m) had a shocker of an afternoon as he missed a penalty and as a result, has now failed to score in his last eight Premier League matches.
“I spoke with him (Ronaldo) after the game and asked him and he said he didn’t feel as if he should take it. That’s why he said it would be better if Bruno (Fernandes) took it.” – Ralf Rangnick on Bruno Fernandes’ penalty
TOOTHLESS TOTTENHAM
Tottenham Hotspur failed to record a shot on target for the second successive match at Brentford on Saturday evening.
After their poor showing against Brighton last time out, an attacking response was expected but failed to materialise, as they racked up just nine shots which carried a combined expected goals (xG) value of 0.70.
Spurs had scored 25 goals in their previous seven league fixtures prior to Gameweek 33, and it’s almost certainly too soon to overreact, but the impact of Matt Doherty’s (£4.7m) injury is being felt in the final-third.
“Defensively we were good but at the same time I think we can do much better with the ball to create chances to score. The intensity was very high but we knew what type of game we would come to play. It’s a draw and I think when you cannot win, it’s important to take one point and we did this.
We have found teams who have defended very deep and we find this type of situation is not simple but at the same time you have to attack and pay attention to their counter-attack.” – Antonio Conte
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