The Fantasy Premier League (FPL) talking points from three more of Saturday’s top-flight fixtures are covered in our latest Scout Notes.
Newcastle United v Chelsea, Nottingham Forest v Brighton and Hove Albion and Sheffield United v Bournemouth are the matches in question.
For more analysis of the weekend’s action, check out the links below:
- READ MORE: FPL notes: Eze + Bowen injury updates, Soucek’s goal threat
- READ MORE: FPL notes: Alisson injury update + why Doku got maximum bonus
- READ MORE: FPL notes: Arsenal’s mean defence + Mbeumo in demand
- READ MORE: FPL notes: Why Bruno gave Rashford the pen, Emery on Cash
GORDON’S HOME FORM
It’s seven starts, eight attacking returns and zero blanks for Anthony Gordon (£5.9m) at home this season. The winger contributed a goal and an assist to Newcastle’s 4-1 win over Chelsea, taking his points-per-match average on Tyneside in 2023/24 to 7.4.
This was another advert for his versatility, as his goal came after Alexander Isak (£7.4m) had been substituted. Just like what happened against Arsenal in Gameweek 11 when Callum Wilson (£7.8m) got the hook, Gordon went up front and scored within minutes.
“The important thing for Anthony is he continues to perform in the way that he has. I thought he was very good today, he was a constant menace for them down that left-hand side.
“His ball for the second goal was an exceptional piece of play that probably wins us the game, and his finish at the end just highlights a growing confidence in front of goal.
“Mentally, he’s in a really good place.” – Eddie Howe on Anthony Gordon
Gordon’s owners in FPL were given a further boost in Eddie Howe’s pre-match presser on Friday, with the Newcastle boss slightly backtracking on the recovery of injured positional rival Harvey Barnes (£6.2m) and hinting that he wouldn’t be ready until closer to Christmas.
The in-form winger had earlier claimed an assist when providing Jamaal Lascelles (£4.1m) with a superb cross to nod home.
Lascelles has himself yet to blank at St. James’ Park since he came into the side and has another home match coming up against Manchester United in Gameweek 14.
We’re still no further forward about a return date for Sven Botman (£4.5m), whose eventual comeback from a knee injury – whenever that may be – will threaten Lascelles’ game-time prospects.
“He’s been incredible behind the scenes and you want to see that rewarded in the right way. He’s been patient and is now performing really well. The goal was a massive moment in our season – Gordon’s cross was pinpoint and the header was perfect.” – Eddie Howe on Jamaal Lascelles
TRIPPIER DODGES POINTS
Kieran Trippier‘s (£7.0m) own good run of home form came to an end, a 22nd-minute booking – his fourth of the season – compounded by Raheem Sterling (£7.0m) scoring the subsequent free-kick.
But the Newcastle right-back really ought to have had an attacking return to compensate for the clean sheet loss, seeing a free-kick of his own crash against the crossbar and then witnessing Joelinton (£5.8m) miss an absolute sitter from one of his corners.
No reason to panic, then, especially as the Magpies were otherwise rarely threatened bar two Nick Pope (£5.5m) saves around the half-hour mark. Chelsea, indeed, have the lowest expected goals (xG) tally (0.53) in Gameweek 13 so far.
Joelinton later made amends by scoring Newcastle’s third goal, while the Brazilian was joined in central midfield by teenager Lewis Miley (£4.5m) for this match. With Joe Willock (£5.3m) now out with an Achilles injury and word awaited on the severity of Sean Longstaff‘s (£4.9m) issue, the budget Miley might be getting more starts in the next couple of Gameweeks.
ISAK BACK ON THE RADAR?
Miley provided the assist for Newcastle’s opener, despatched with typical confidence by the fit-again Isak.
The Swede now has seven goals for the season, despite playing less than half of the minutes available due to injury or rotation. With Wilson expected to be sidelined for a little while yet, he’s a forward to be considering over the next few Gameweeks.
Only his fellow Newcastle striker and Erling Haaland (£14.0m) have a better minutes-per-xG average among forwards this season, so any game-time guarantees for Isak are to be taken seriously.
The lack of rotation risk does have a flipside, of course, with collective fatigue a medium-term concern – as we saw at Bournemouth in Gameweek 12.
JAMES SUSPENDED
After sticking four goals past Tottenham Hotspur and Manchester City in recent weeks, Chelsea were brought back down to earth with a bump in the north-east.
Reece James (£5.4m), signed by over 130,000 FPL managers ahead of Saturday, found new and exciting way to troll his owners, avoiding injury but being sent off for two bookings. Both he and Marc Cucurella (£4.8m) will now be suspended in Gameweek 14.
James had at least looked to get forward before his early bath, teeing up Enzo Fernandez (£4.8m) for one shot that Pope did well to keep out. Some modest encouragement, then, ahead of his Gameweek 15 return.
International break exertions (Moises Caicedo (£4.7m) was benched for this one after his late arrival) and Mauricio Pochettino’s touchline ban are possible mitigation for this setback, although that would be conveniently ignoring Newcastle’s own chronic shortage of players.
“Even if Newcastle wasn’t great, it was an easy win. To come here, Chelsea, and show it would be difficult for them to play to win the game and beat us. It was so easy the way that we conceded. the way we were soft in every single challenge, we did not show we were playing for something important.
“That is why it made me angry and disappointed. Even if we talk about being a young team, we need to learn. These type of games make me very, very, very, very, very angry because it is about showing more personality and character. Okay we are young but we can not miss this type of opportunity to show our best.” – Mauricio Pochettino
Easier tests await, at least, with Cole Palmer (£5.3m) – who was extremely quiet on Saturday – now set to face a Brighton side still without a league clean sheet in 2023/24.
BRIGHTON INJURY LATEST
Speaking of the Seagulls, they stopped the rot with a much-needed win over Nottingham Forest.
It came at a cost, though, with their defence further weakened by the loss of Lewis Dunk (£5.0m) to suspension and Tariq Lamptey (£4.0m) to (another) injury. Dunk’s absence in particular will be of encouragement to Palmer’s owners in Gameweek 14.
Albion completed their victory at the City Ground with only two recognised defenders on the field.
Ansu Fati (£6.5m) also exited early with an injury, with Roberto De Zerbi expecting neither him nor Lamptey to be back for Thursday’s match against AEK. The trip to Chelsea follows three days later.
“We play on Thursday in the Europa League but I think we lost both for sure for this game.” – Roberto De Zerbi on Ansu Fati and Tariq Lamptey
Kaoru Mitoma (£6.5m) could well be back for Gameweek 14, at least, having already partially trained ahead of Saturday’s match.
Even with all these fitness issues, there’s still no guarantee that Joao Pedro (£5.3m) starts against Chelsea next weekend with Evan Ferguson (£6.1m), Simon Adingra (£5.0m), Adam Lallana (£4.9m) and potentially Mitoma all available.
Pedro came off the bench for the ninth time this season to score a brace against Forest, one of his goals coming from the spot.
Utility man Pascal Gross (£6.3m) bagged a brace of assists, surprisingly only his second and third of 2023/24, and there’s every chance he’ll be needed at full-back next weekend.
WOOD GOOD FOR GIBBS-WHITE?
Taiwo Awoniyi (£6.4m) being sidelined for months with a groin injury is a blow to Nottingham Forest’s mid-table aspirations, particularly with the lumbering Chris Wood (£4.9m) deputising.
Wood’s presence might boost the goalscoring potential of Morgan Gibbs-White (£5.7m), however.
We saw a bit of that in Gameweek 8 at Crystal Palace, with Gibbs-White running beyond Wood and spurning a couple of decent chances.
There was a repeat performance in Gameweek 13 against Brighton, with Wood more of a deep-dropping hold-up man than a penalty box poacher. Gibbs-White, drifting infield off the flank, was involved in 11 of Forest’s 18 chances, registering seven shots of his own.
Above: Morgan Gibbs-White’s touch heatmap (left) and Nottingham Forest’s average position map (right) in Gameweek 13
It still took a penalty for Gibbs-White to break his goal duck for the season, mind, and he’s still got fewer attacking returns than Anthony Elanga (£5.0m) on the opposite flank. The pair had combined for Forest’s opener against Brighton.
There are also no guarantees that Wood will remain a medium-term starter. The return of Callum Hudson-Odoi (£4.8m) from injury presents Steve Cooper with a Plan B, namely playing Gibbs-White or Elanga through the middle and having the other two players flanking a false nine. Hudson-Odoi made an instant impact on his return as a substitute in Gameweek 13.
THE GULF BETWEEN 16TH AND 18TH
Bournemouth swatted aside Sheffield United on Saturday to put a seven-point cushion between themselves and the relegation zone.
Two of the Cherries’ three wins this season have come against the newly promoted clubs, with Luton Town still to come in Gameweek 17.
The calibre of opposition has to provide some context: Marcus Tavernier (£5.4m), who bagged a brace to open his account for 2023/24, had as many shots in the box in this fixture (four) as he had managed in the previous seven Gameweeks combined.
Still, the Blades had been on an epic two-match unbeaten run before Gameweek 13, while the Cherries suggested they could mix it with the bigger boys when defeating a jaded Newcastle before the break.
More favourable fixtures are to come for Andoni Iraola’s side, so Dominic Solanke‘s (£6.5m) 400,000 new owners will have further opportunities to better Saturday’s blank. The striker still had four shots at Bramall Lane, so wasn’t an anonymous figure by any stretch.
RAYS OF HOPE FOR BALDOCK AND ARCHER?
As for Sheffield United, any momentum built before the break was brought to a juddering halt. Next weekend’s clash with Burnley is surely a must-win before a mostly awful run of games over Christmas.
One bit of good news for George Baldock (£3.9m) owners was that he was shifted forward from centre-half to right wing-back in the second half of Saturday’s match, and it was from that position that he crossed for substitute Oli McBurnie‘s (£5.4m) consolation. It wouldn’t be a surprise to see him start in that more advanced role against the Clarets.
Cameron Archer (£4.6m) was starved of service as a lone striker, failing to register a single shot for the seventh time in 11 matches. The return of McBurnie alongside him offers a bit of hope for Gameweek 14, as it was when the pair were united as a front two in Gameweek 9 that Archer racked up a season-best four shots against Manchester United.
Antoine Semenyo (£4.5m) is making a play to threaten Archer’s status as the go-to sub-£5.0m forward. He delivered an assist for one of Bournemouth’s goals at the weekend but guaranteed starts are always a medium-term worry, with his manager having so many options available on the flank.
“I think it wasn’t a matter of rewarding the team for the performance. I think they played really well against Newcastle.
“We had to consider, especially in Antoine’s (Semenyo) case, he came from the travel and we didn’t know if we would start with him. But we knew he could have the good 60 minutes that he had.
“I’m also happy because we had also very good contributions from the bench. And I think it’s becoming a good thing for me that we are starting, but we have good chances also on the bench.” – Andoni Iroala on his team selection
