Evanilson (£5.8m) continued his impressive scoring streak with a brace against West Ham United on Saturday.
In a match between two teams at the wrong end of the Premier League form table, it was maybe no surprise that they ended up level.
Our next Scout Notes covers West Ham United 2-2 Bournemouth.
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KLUIVERT UPDATE
There was again no Justin Kluivert (£6.1m) in the Bournemouth squad on Saturday.
Andoni Iraola had said it would be “difficult” for the Dutch midfielder to recover in time for Gameweek 31, so it was expected that his name would be missing from the teamsheet in east London.
There is hope, however, that he can be back for Gameweek 32.
Marcus Tavernier (£5.4m) and Luis Sinisterra (£4.8m) are also getting closer to comebacks.
“Yeah, I hope he can be back. Also, we will try with Tav, with Sini. We will see how they are. It’s going to be very difficult to recover all three but let’s see, if we recover one or two, it will give us somw more options offensively that I think we need.” – Andoni Iraola on Justin Kluivert
Dango Ouattara (£4.9m) will soon face a (further) threat to his place, then, although he was probably the pick of the Cherries’ attacking midfielders against West Ham. One superb early cross created a big chance that Evanilson missed, while he almost forced an own-goal with another cut-back.
FOUR IN FOUR FOR EVANILSON
Antoine Semenyo (£5.7m) seems to get extended minutes regardless of how he’s playing, which is not very well at present.
No one can question that his underlying numbers are good: he had more shots (five) than any other Premier League player on Saturday. That’s not the first time this has happened in 2024/25. His tally of 112 attempts over the season is better than any other midfielder, too.
The problem is that the shots themselves tend to lack conviction. Even for his ‘assist’ for Evanilson’s opener, it was a tame effort that Alphonse Areola (£4.2m) spilled at the Brazilian’s feet.
With Kluivert out, Evanilson is carrying the can in attack at present. Both of his strikes on Saturday were poacher’s goals from inside the six-yard box, the second tapped in from Dean Huijsen‘s (£4.5m) looping header.
That’s four goals in four starts since the budget forward returned from injury, with his numbers holding up well in that time.
Above: Evanilson has had at least one big chance, and three shots in the box, in each of his post-injury starts
CHERRIES’ ACHILLES HEEL
Not one Premier League side kept a clean sheet on Saturday but Bournemouth looked the likeliest to do so, comfortably holding West Ham at bay for an hour. The hosts had just two shots in that time.
Then, the old Achilles heel. Four minutes later, West Ham were 2-1 up. It was two crosses and two headers that did the damage, with Niclas Fullkrug (£6.7m) and Jarrod Bowen (£7.6m) on target.
It’s a season-long issue. The Cherries, comfortably in the top half for most defensive stats, rank in the bottom four for headers conceded and set-piece chances allowed.
“I think it’s what is punishing us because we continue to have the chances to score the goals but we are conceding goals without really suffering a lot defensively.” – Andoni Iraola
HAMMERS SCORE TWICE – BUT REMAIN SHOT-SHY
Carving out chances has been West Ham’s main problem since Graham Potter was appointed. While two goals arrived on Saturday, the ‘xG race’ graphic above underlines that a lack of creativity is an ongoing issue.
Potter ditched a third centre-half and went with a more-attacking-on-paper 4-2-3-1 but it had little impact. Barring a 15-minute spell that brought the two goals, it was solid but thoroughly uninspiring stuff.
The West Ham boss went without an orthodox striker (not for the first time this season), following Evan Ferguson‘s (£5.5m) disappointing display in midweek.
It was the introduction of another bona fide centre-forward, however, that made the difference.
Fullkrug thumped in a header within seven minutes of his introduction to restore parity, with Bowen briefly giving West Ham the lead.
“He gives us a focal point. He gives us a chance to get second balls. He gives us a chance to attack quicker, a bit more vertically.
“We’re just managing him back to full fitness and we have to be patient with him.” – Graham Potter on Niclas Fullkrug
Bowen continues to try and buck the team-wide trend: another three shots in the box here took him to 16 in eight games under Potter – no FPL midfielder has more in that time.
