As we prepare for a very quick turnaround in Fantasy deadlines, here are our slightly briefer set of Sunday Scout Notes.
Sunderland v Leeds United and Crystal Palace v Tottenham Hotspur are the games in question, with injury updates provided on Dan Ballard (£4.7m), Joe Rodon (£4.0m) and Chris Richards (£4.6m).
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BALLARD + RODON INJURY LATEST
An ankle injury saw Dan Ballard miss Sunday’s encounter with Leeds.
Explaining his absence, his manager said:
“He got a kick on his ankle and it was too painful for him to play. We’ll see how it is on Monday. We’ll have another scan. It doesn’t seem too serious, but it’s important to explore further and to find the best solution for his recovery.” – Regis Le Bris on Dan Ballard
Dennis Cirkin (£4.0m) was consequently handed his first Premier League start.
Already without six players due to the Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON), a period on the sidelines for Ballard would undoubtedly be a blow, particularly with Manchester City up next.
As for Joe Rodon, he sustained an ankle injury during the match.
Despite initially trying to run it off, he was eventually withdrawn and now looks set to miss a few games.
“Not good. Joe is my warrior. He has played so many games in a row, and of course, he wanted to stay on the pitch, but he got a hit on his ankle, and by doing this, I think he also rolled his ankle. It’s pretty swollen at the moment, I doubt that he will be available for Liverpool, and also for the upcoming games before the FA Cup. So, we have to wait for some further assessment. But right now, straight after the game, it doesn’t look too good.” – Daniel Farke on Joe Rodon
Lukas Nmecha (£5.0m), meanwhile, made the Leeds bench after returning from injury.
CALVERT-LEWIN AGAIN
With nine points from 15 and an unbeaten record since the start of December, Daniel Farke’s men are progressing nicely.
This success can be partly attributed to the superb form of Dominic Calvert-Lewin (£5.8m).
He scored his seventh goal in six matches to pull Leeds level at Sunderland, with every teammate remarkably touching the ball uninterrupted in the build-up.
CALVERT-LEWIN’S LEEDS FORM
| Gameweek 3-12 | Gameweek 13-18 | |
|---|---|---|
| Mins per goal | 648.0 | 68.7 |
| Mins per shot | 34.1 | 32.1 |
| Mins per expected goal (xG) | 310.0 | 103.9 |
| Goal conversion rate | 5.3% | 46.7% |
Calvert-Lewin is undoubtedly on a hot streak, but given his recent conversion rate of 46.7%, it is clear that his current goal output isn’t sustainable over a longer period.
Nevertheless, there’d be no surprise if he delivered again against Liverpool on Thursday, especially in light of the Reds’ defensive displays this season.
“I think it’s something that, when you find a good rhythm and good momentum, the timing seems to come with it. As a centre-forward, you can make a lot of runs sometimes and not get the ball, and you need a lot of things to come together for it to be a goal, so thankfully at the moment my form is good and I’m getting in the right places and I’m scoring goals.
“Everything feels quite fluid at the moment. I’m getting in the right areas and people are finding me. I think it’s taken a little bit of time for players around me to maybe learn my game and what I’m good at, but I like to think when I get service and the ball comes to me, I’m lethal in the box.” – Dominic Calvert-Lewin
Notably, Leeds performed much better on Sunday after Rodon’s injury, with Ao Tanaka’s (£4.8m) introduction off the bench and Daniel Farke’s decision to switch to a 4-3-3 formation inspired.
Prior to that, Sunderland were on top, with Granit Xhaka’s (£5.2m) inch-perfect pass for Simon Adingra (£4.9m) giving the hosts the lead.
RICHARLISON UNLUCKY
Tottenham ended the year with a much-needed win at Selhurst Park, thanks to Archie Gray’s (£4.8m) first-half strike.
However, it was Richarlison’s (£6.4m) performance that caught the eye from a Fantasy perspective.
The Brazilian spearheaded the Spurs’ attack and found the net twice, although both goals were disallowed for offside.
But he did at least provide the assist for Gray’s opener, with his header teeing up the youngster, marking his third attacking return in four matches.
Unsurprisingly, Thomas Frank’s team scored from a set-piece: Six of the nine goals Crystal Palace have conceded in December have been from set plays, a trend we discussed only last week.
“We have conceded more than half of our goals from set plays this season – that’s what we have to improve. We missed one of our best headers in Chris Richards. We also missed Ismaila Sarr and Daniel Munoz, who are very important when defending set-pieces, and we replaced them with smaller players. We knew there were a few mismatches and then we got punished. We lost three headers in a row and it was Tyrick Mitchell against Randal Kolo Muani at the far post – it’s a mismatch.
“We prepared it. We knew Tottenham’s quality. The players wanted to avoid it. But then it just happened. We didn’t give them many set plays today. The players have it in their mind: ‘S**t, it happened again’. It feels like this. I will never blame anybody if he’s 10cm smaller and loses the header. It’s part of football. We scored plenty of goals like this, but it feels really not good at the moment.” – Oliver Glasner
Elsewhere, Micky van de Ven (£4.5m) produced his first double-digit haul since Gameweek 9, thanks to a clean sheet, the maximum bonus and defensive contribution (DefCon) points.
Solid throughout, he was undoubtedly Tottenham’s best defender on Sunday.
Lucas Bergvall (£5.3m), meanwhile, was taken off with a knock, with further assessment required.
GLASNER: “WE ARE CONSISTENTLY UNDERPERFORMING…”
Palace created opportunities on Sunday, but once again couldn’t take their chances when they were on top.
The Eagles have now scored 8.39 fewer goals than their expected goals (xG) would suggest this season, the biggest negative differential in the division.
“It feels very frustrating and disappointing because we felt it was a game you can never lose, but we lost, and it’s a little bit the story of this year. We are consistently underperforming in the chances we create and how many goals we score. We have to agree that we are now struggling with scoring goals. When you see who is scoring, very often it is from a set play and our defenders. And our attackers, if we have chances, we are missing them and we are punished from set plays.” – Oliver Glasner
Palace often looked slow against Spurs, perhaps a little fatigued, as they continue to feel the effects of a heavy schedule.
They’ve now lost three league matches in a row, with Fulham up next on Thursday.
RICHARDS INJURY UPDATE
As expected, Chris Richards missed out for Palace in Gameweek 18, with Jefferson Lerma (£4.9m) taking his place in the back three.
Oliver Glasner sounded uncertain about his availability for Fulham in his post-match presser.
“We don’t know if he’s available for Fulham, but once again, his foot got stitched, it’s swollen, it goes into the right direction, but you have to wear a boot and kick a ball, and when you have the wound right there, it’s very, very painful. So again, it can be that he misses Fulham, it can be that he is available.” – Oliver Glasner on Chris Richards
