We continue our analysis of the Gameweek 34 Fantasy Premier League (FPL) action in our Scout Notes series.
Here, the focus is on Fulham v Manchester City and Newcastle United v Southampton.
All the numbers you see in this article are taken from our Premium Members Area, where you can access Opta player and team data from every single Premier League fixture after full-time in each game.
- READ MORE: Sunday’s goals, assists, bonus points + statistics
- READ MORE: FPL notes: Brighton rotation, Mac Allister, Palace pens
- READ MORE: Saturday’s goals, assists, bonus points + statistics
DE BRUYNE ABSENCE EXPLAINED
Kevin De Bruyne (£12.2m) was left out of Man City’s matchday squad for their trip to Fulham, with Pep Guardiola admitting “he doesn’t feel good” after picking up an injury.
The 31-year-old scored twice and added an assist in the 4-1 win over Arsenal on Wednesday, but had a “niggle” in the second half and was subsequently substituted with ten minutes to go.
“He doesn’t feel good. He has some injury and he couldn’t travel. I don’t know how long [he will be unavailable]” – Pep Guardiola on Kevin De Bruyne
PEP: “TO HAVE TWO STRIKERS IS AN INCREDIBLE WEAPON”
De Bruyne’s replacement, Julian Alvarez (£6.0m), starred with a goal and assist at Craven Cottage, in an excellent all-round display. It means the Argentine World Cup winner has produced double-digit hauls in each of his last three starts against Bournemouth, Liverpool and now Fulham.
Speaking about Alvarez’s performance, Guardiola said:
“With Julian, every time he plays he gives us everything. He got the assist for the penalty and after did the extraordinary goal. To have two strikers is an incredible weapon that we have. To play almost all of the games to be world champions with Argentina where there are thousands of talented footballers and to be able to play there is because he [Alvarez] has something. It is helping me a lot to understand that in the future I can adjust something to make them both [Haaland and Alvarez] and Kevin [De Bruyne] play. In tight games that’s really important. It’s not just the goal and the penalty, it’s the pressure and to keep the ball. He knows exactly where the other players are.” – Pep Guardiola
Above: Man City players sorted by points per start 2022/23
Elsewhere, Erling Haaland (£12.4m) converted an early penalty, his 50th goal of the campaign in all competitions, rewarding the 717,000+ managers who used the Triple Captain chip on him, while Riyad Mahrez (£7.3m) supplied an assist.
Jack Grealish (£7.3m), however, was unlucky not to return, with his first-half effort turned onto the crossbar by Bernd Leno (£4.6m).
EDERSON + TRIPPIER’S BLANKS
Man City and Newcastle were both denied clean sheets once again on Sunday, conceding despite allowing only 0.19/0.83 expected goals (xG) respectively.
It means Pep Guardiola’s troops have recorded just two shut-outs in their last 12 league games, while the Magpies have only one in 13. In that time (Gameweek 22 onwards), Ederson (£5.4m) and Kieran Trippier (£6.1m) are averaging under three points per start.
The problem for Ederson, of course, is that he is heavily reliant on clean sheets: since the Gameweek 17 restart, he’s returned just one solitary save point. It’ll be little consolation for his owners, but Guardiola was at least pleased with his side’s defensive display at Craven Cottage.
“It’s the gap we improved the most compared to the past – we defend. We didn’t concede a lot of shots on target with the ball, maybe another one in the second half beyond the 18-yard box and no more than that. In the last ten minutes, I’m very pleased with how they handled the situation. These players don’t need a leader, they know exactly what they have to do.” – Pep Guardiola
WILSON ON FIRE
Callum Wilson (£7.0m) came off the bench to score twice in Newcastle’s 3-1 win over Southampton, his 14th and 15th Premier League goals of the campaign. It could have been more, too, as he racked up six shots, had a goal ruled out by VAR for offside and also struck the crossbar.
The number nine now has a remarkable eight goals and one assist in his last seven appearances, despite only starting two of those matches.
“He was outstanding like he has been whenever he has played this season, but he’s a brilliant player to have in the squad and what an impact.” – Eddie Howe on Callum Wilson
For Fantasy managers, it doesn’t get any easier, with Alexander Isak (£6.9m) getting the nod over Wilson against Southampton after being benched in midweek. However, Sunday was further proof that the pair can indeed play together (Isak was shifted out to the left in the second half), a la Brentford in Gameweek 30, as they combined for Newcastle’s equaliser.
For those not doubled up on the Magpies’ backline, on current form, there is an argument to include both forwards in Double Gameweek 36. Even more so when you consider their impacts off the bench.
| Wilson | Isak | |||||
| Minutes | Goals | Assists | Minutes | Goals | Assists | |
| GW34 (SOU) | 45 | 2 | 0 | 90 | 0 | 1 |
| GW33 (eve) | 86 | 2 | 0 | 16 | 0 | 0 |
| GW32 (TOT) | 24 | 1 | 0 | 65 | 2 | 0 |
| GW31 (avl) | 34 | 0 | 0 | 90 | 0 | 0 |
| GW30 (bre) | 45 | 0 | 1 | 86 | 1 | 0 |
| GW29 (whu) | 63 | 2 | 0 | 26 | 1 | 0 |
| GW29 (MUN) | 10 | 1 | 0 | 79 | 0 | 0 |
| GW28 (nfo) | 0 | 0 | 0 | 90 | 2 | 0 |
| GW27 (WOL) | 22 | 0 | 0 | 67 | 1 | 0 |
PEREIRA INJURY LATEST
Andreas Pereira (£4.4m) was stretchered off on Sunday with a leg injury following an awkward fall, departing in a protective brace. Marco Silva also confirmed that Tim Ream (£4.6m) is likely to miss the rest of the season after fracturing his arm.
“Tim Ream is probably not playing no more this season, he has broken his arm, let’s hope Andreas Pereira is not too serious. This is the worst thing, without Mitrovic, with a short squad like us, it is really tough to take.” – Marco Silva
“When he lands he felt something, maybe the ankle, we have to wait a little more.” – Marco Silva on Andreas Pereira
Given both players’ importance, it is a huge blow for Silva, who has seen his side lose six of their past eight Premier League games, with a trip to Anfield up next on Wednesday.
