Goals were in abundance in three of Saturday’s five Premier League matches – but not in the two we’re covering here.
Nevertheless, there were still plenty of Fantasy Premier League (FPL) talking points from the games at Selhurst Park and the City Ground.
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- READ MORE: FPL notes: Gabriel + Saka fitness updates, Arsenal penalty share
ISAK INJURY LATEST – AND WHY WILSON DIDN’T REPLACE HIM
Alexander Isak (£8.5m) lasted only 21 minutes of Newcastle United’s draw with Crystal Palace on Saturday.
Struggling with what appeared to be a blow to the hip from about the 10th minute onwards, the Swede finally admitted defeat and hobbled off.
The good news: it appears to be a contact injury, nothing muscular. If it is a mere impact injury, they tend to be very short-term lay-offs.
Local media report that Isak didn’t even seek immediate dressing-room treatment after coming off.
“I don’t know at this moment in time, it looks like he’s got a knock. I don’t think it’s a muscle problem which is good news for us. Hopefully he can recover quickly.” – Eddie Howe on Alexander Isak
In what could also be perceived as good news for Isak and his owners in FPL, Callum Wilson (£6.9m) wasn’t deemed fit enough to replace him so early in the game. Harvey Barnes (£6.3m) got the nod instead, with Anthony Gordon (£7.2m) operating through the middle.
Wilson didn’t emerge till the 75th minute.
“Callum Wilson’s not trained a great deal with the team so I’ve got to be very careful how much I expose him to minutes. Now, the minute I put him on the pitch, I’m basically committing him to those minutes – unless I take him off again. But then I’m using substitutions up before I want to, so I decided not to put him on for his own benefit and for our benefit, to try and keep him fit, limit his minutes and try and build him up slowly.” – Eddie Howe
“I think 20-30 minutes is about his mark at the moment.” – Eddie Howe on Callum Wilson
There seems scant chance of Wilson starting in this three-game week, then, although the situation could be very different come Gameweeks 17-19.
0.03 XG
Not playing with a recognised striker for a big chunk of the game didn’t help the Newcastle attacking effort.
But it’d be wrong to pin all the creative woes on that. As was the case in Gameweek 12, there just wasn’t much inspiration in attack.
The Magpies registered just one shot all game, an effort worth 0.03 expected goals with StatsBomb. Their only strike, indeed, was a Marc Guehi (£4.5m) own-goal.
Eddie Howe’s side are down 17 goals on where they were at this stage last season.
“Our attacking performance was a strange one as well because I thought we were decent with the ball, we moved the ball up the pitch really well but we sort of stopped towards their box. We missed the cutting edge that we had for all of last year. For whatever reason it’s just deserted us at the moment but I’m sure that will come back.” – Eddie HoweÂ
All the progress we thought they’d made with wins over Arsenal and Forest has been undermined by the last two Gameweeks. Yet you wouldn’t be surprised if they responded with a rousing display against Liverpool under the floodlights of St James’ in midweek.
Rather than the Champions League pretenders they probably think they are (and were two years ago), they merely belong to a big blob of mid-table clubs, like Bournemouth and Brentford, who are capable of great things one week and mediocrity the next.
EZE’S RETURN… AND MUNOZ RETURNS
Crystal Palace were worthy of at least a point, probably all three.
Ismaila Sarr (£5.7m) looked dangerous again, if profligate. He’s had 12 shots in the box, four of which were big chances, since his Gameweek 9 promotion to the team.
At the back, it’s no surprise that consistency of selection – this was the seventh match in a row in which the back five all started – has led to some improved defensive displays. Not just restricting Newcastle to one shot, they’ve now conceded just nine goals in those seven matches. They’ve faced Aston Villa, Spurs, Liverpool, Forest and Fulham in that time, too.
Daniel Munoz (£4.9m) wasted two glorious chances before finally, at the 29th game of asking, opening his Palace account. How many column inches have been devoted to his attacking threat before he eventually popped his Crystal cherry?
Among FPL defenders, Munoz is first for big chances, first for xG and joint-second for shots in the box in 2024/25. That finishing touch deserted him badly until Saturday’s 94th-minute equaliser – even earlier in the same game, there was a shocking miss from six yards.
This match was notable for Eberechi Eze‘s (£6.7m) return from injury, too. Straight back into the starting XI, he got through the opening 64 minutes.
“It was not his plan, but I was always thinking about it. I mentioned that we have to manage [his injury] – it’s the same with Eddie Nketiah.
“The first sub was Justin [Devenny], who I thought did very well. Eddie needed just 15 or 20 minutes today after his quick return.
“A big credit to our medical team and our staff. They worked pretty hard with all the players to have them back earlier than expected.
“It was what we needed. It was Jefferson Lerma’s first start today, many weeks after his injury – he was fantastic today. We could give Cheick Doucoure a rest – this is what we needed.” – Oliver Glasner on the early substitution of Eberechi Eze, via South London Press
FOREST GO BACK TO BASICS
After the smallest of blips, Nottingham Forest were back on track on Saturday.
This was classic Forest under Nuno: giving little away defensively, not creating a ton at the other end and relying on Chris Wood (£6.6m) to convert what little comes his way. This time, it was a spot-kick – his only shot of the game.
“We say this over and over again, but as a team, as a squad and as a club, we have to be very hard to beat – that should be our mindset.
“We spoke about that during the week and about going back to basics. The basics are simple, let’s be solid. And solid is being aggressive, sticking to your task and helping your teammates. Defensively, we were OK.” – Nuno Espirito Santo, via the Nottingham Post
The next five opponents are a step up from Ipswich, of course – but Forest remain the division’s second-best team for expected goals conceded (xGC). It’s also not the worst time to be playing Manchester City.
Nuno changed his defence for the first time since Gameweek 4, dropping Alex Moreno (£4.4m) for Neco Williams (£4.3m).
Ola Aina (£4.9m) kept up his ever-present starter status, however. He’s got more bonus points (10) than any other FPL defender this season, adding another two here.
WHY GREAVES WASN’T INVOLVED
This match’s better chances came from set pieces. There was Wood’s penalty, of course, while Murillo (£4.6m) and Morgan Gibbs-White (£6.3m) had excellent headed opportunities for the hosts. Visiting centre-half Cameron Burgess (£3.9m) had more efforts in the box than anyone in this fixture, which says a lot.
The open play xG ended a yawnsome 0.56-0.28 to the hosts.
Speaking of Burgess, he was again preferred to the fit-again Jacob Greaves (£4.0m) in defence. The latter wasn’t even among the substitutes.
Greaves is still the bench fodder option of some 420,000 FPL managers, despite not featuring since Gameweek 7.
We’ve not got access to Kieran McKenna’s post-match presser but this extract from the East Anglian Daily Times confirmed Greaves’ omission was tactical – and that Axel Tuanzebe‘s (£4.0m) withdrawal was enforced.
