Finishing off Saturday’s Gameweek 34 Scout Notes, we look back on wins for Brighton and Hove Albion and Chelsea.
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BRIGHTON END WINLESS RUN – BUT ENCOURAGEMENT FOR NEWCASTLE
Brighton ended their six-match winless run in all competitions with a last-gasp victory over West Ham United on Saturday.
The victory kept the Seagulls very much in the race for a top-eight spot and potential European qualification.
Above image via the BBC
The victory may well give Albion a shot in the arm going into Gameweek 35. Don’t forget that they’ve already beaten their upcoming opponents, Newcastle United, twice this season.
But Saturday’s win still wasn’t wholly convincing. Two of their goals were long-range, low-xG scorchers from Yasin Ayari (£5.0m) and Carlos Baleba (£5.0m).
While there were a handful of chances from corners, Albion’s open-play threat was minimal. Kaoru Mitoma‘s (£6.4m) 89th-minute equaliser was the first real notable opportunity that they’d created outside of dead-ball situations.
Despite being declared fit to start on Friday, Mitoma began the game on the bench again.
Above: All of Brighton’s open-play shots in Gameweek 34, with Koaru Mitoma’s goal in red
At the other end, this was another match in which Brighton conceded twice. That’s six Premier League games in a row that has happened.
The Hammers arguably had the better opportunities, most of which – including both goals – were created from Brighton’s left. Encouragement for Jacob Murphy (£5.3m) next week.
Brighton themselves have a tough-looking run-in, so FPL interest will be minimal in their players. Liverpool’s early title win and Spurs’ potential UEFA Europa League final involvement could work to their advantage, at least.
BOWEN LOOKING GOOD FOR GAMEWEEK 35
Jarrod Bowen (£7.6m) created both of those West Ham goals, converted by Mohammed Kudus (£6.2m) and Tomas Soucek (£4.8m). The latter assist was a superb teasing cross from out wide.
While the Hammers have generally struggled in attack under Graham Potter, Bowen is averaging 5.8 points per match under his current boss.
Whether it’s away from home, when Potter tends to drop an orthodox striker and play Bowen and Kudus up top in a 3-5-2, or at the London Stadium, where he’s wider in a 4-3-3/4-2-3-1, Bowen is a pretty consistent FPL performer.
And Gameweek 35 should give him an opportunity to continue his decent form under Potter.
Tottenham Hotspur provide the opposition – and the Lilywhites will be doing so right in the middle of a UEFA Europa League semi-final double-header. Spurs conceded five goals to Liverpool on Sunday, and their starting XI will likely be weaker still in Gameweek 35.
Aaron Wan-Bissaka (£4.4m) caught the eye going forward on Saturday, too, delivering two key passes and as many shots without reward.
JACKSON’S DROUGHT ENDS BUT PALMER’S CONTINUES
Nicolas Jackson‘s (£7.7m) superb strike against Everton on Saturday belied a forward on a 12-match goal drought.
While one barren run ended at Stamford Bridge, another continued. Cole Palmer (£10.6m) is now without a goal in 17 matches in all competitions, and that dry period never looked like ending against Everton.
Enzo Maresca declared himself content with Palmer’s overall performance but there was little conviction in the midfielder’s moments on the ball, let alone goal threat: drifting deep and wide, he failed to register a single shot for the first time in a Premier League appearance since Gameweek 4.
“Yeah, we said many times that we don’t have doubt with the ones that for part of the season they struggled a little bit, like Nico, like Cole [Palmer], like Robert [Sanchez]. It’s the moment that you have to support them even more. Nico finally found the goal today. Hopefully Cole soon can score goals. But I think Cole’s performance today was very good. Sacrificed, he was pressing well. So it’s just a matter of time for all of them and for sure they’re going to help us.” – Enzo Maresca
Gameweek 34 was probably the last-chance saloon for many Palmer owners (a lot of whom would only have owned him on the Free Hit anyway), with the following run awaiting Chelsea in the run-in:
Noni Madueke (£6.0m) was arguably the pick of Chelsea’s attackers on Saturday, catching the eye in a new role on the left flank. He had a game-high four shots, all of which were on target.
CUCURELLA’S OPEN-PLAY THREAT DIMINISHED BUT…
A first Premier League start of 2025 for Romeo Lavia (£4.5m) saw Maresca shuffle his pack slightly.
Moises Caicedo (£4.9m) inverted from right-back to join Lavia in midfield, freeing Enzo Fernandez (£4.8m) up further forward. It was Enzo, indeed, who assisted Jackson’s goal.
That all meant that Marc Cucurella (£5.4m) was asked to play a more conservative role, holding the fort more as a third centre-half rather than making the gung-ho inversions of recent weeks:
And yet… he still nearly hauled.
Cucurella ended up with his joint-highest shot count of the season (three), two of which were excellent chances from set plays.
His third effort, an ambitious strike from 30 yards, almost brought an assist, only for Jackson to be caught offside when gobbling up the rebound.
If Lavia continues to start in the Premier League (there’s a decent chance of that as he’s not in the UEFA Europa Conference League squad) and it’s Caicedo continuing to invert from right-back, then Cucurella’s open-play attacking threat obviously diminishes. Enzo’s may go in the opposite direction.
DEFENSIVE REASSURANCE
Lavia’s reintegration also potentially boosts Chelsea’s defensive prospects for the remainder of the season, although the fixtures may limit the clean sheets regardless. That midfield two of Lavia and Caicedo offers a solid foundation, and you’d imagine we see it in Gameweek 35 against Liverpool.
More good days from Robert Sanchez (£4.5m) wouldn’t go amiss either: he made a couple of very good stops against Everton, whose own custodian, Jordan Pickford (£5.1m), was typically reliable.
The Toffees were less watertight without the injured James Tarkowski (£4.9m) but the good news is that they weren’t totally open, either:
David Moyes opted to move Jake O’Brien (£4.5m) to centre-half rather than recall Michael Keane (£3.8m), and the former was decent enough in the middle alongside Jarrad Branthwaite (£4.8m).
There’s still hope for clean sheets in the remaining two matches at Goodison Park, then:
No one is really sticking their hand up further forward. Iliman Ndiaye (£5.2m) was hooked at the break, while Beto (£4.8m) may not even start up front in Gameweek 35 as Armando Broja (£5.3m) will be back available.
Perhaps Dwight McNeil (£5.1m) finally returns to the side next weekend. His fourth successive substitute appearance after recovering from injury was the longest yet in length at 32 minutes.
“First half I didn’t think we played well. I thought the substitutes made a big difference to us.” – David Moyes
