The weekend just gone saw the FA Cup take centre stage, allowing Fantasy Premier League (FPL) to take a long-needed breather.
With this being the third round, it involves all 20 top-flight teams, so our Scout Notes will go through every tie involving these.
Many head coaches took the opportunity to rotate their squads after a busy festive period, but there were still a few FPL-related conclusions to make.
In our very final FA Cup Scout Notes, it’s Aston Villa, Chelsea, Fulham and Tottenham Hotspur.
- READ MORE: FPL notes – Sesko brace, Havertz returns + more Gabriel minutes
- READ MORE: FPL notes – Kluivert latest, pen takers + Kroupi starts again
- READ MORE: FPL notes – Semenyo debut goal, Richards fit, £4.2m forward brace
- READ MORE: FPL notes: Ekitike fit, Thiago rest + more of Szoboszlai in defence
RESULTS
| TEAM | OPPONENT | RESULT | GOALS | ASSISTS |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Aston Villa | Tottenham (a) | 2-1 win | Buendia, Rogers | Malen, Buendia |
| Chelsea | Charlton Athletic (a) | 5-1 win | Hato, Tosin, Guiu, Neto, Enzo (pen) | Guiu, Buonanotte x2, Enzo, Estevao |
| Fulham | Middlesbrough (h) | 3-1 win | Wilson, Smith Rowe, Kevin | Kevin, Cairney, Wilson |
| Tottenham | Aston Villa (h) | 1-2 defeat | Odobert | Kolo Muani |
SELECTION / ROTATION
| TEAM | CHANGES FROM THE GW21 STARTING XI | PLAYERS WHO KEPT THEIR PLACES (+ MINS) | OTHER NOTABLE PLAYERS (+ MINS) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Aston Villa | 6 | Rogers (90), Konsa (90), Cash (79), McGinn (65), Kamara (9) | Buendia (90), Pau (90), Bizot (90), Tielemans (81), Watkins (25), Digne (12) |
| Chelsea | 8 | Caicedo (90), Andrey Santos (90), Tosin (90) | Jorgensen (90), Hato (85), Garnacho (85), Guiu (69), Estevao (24), Enzo (21), Delap (21), Neto (5) |
| Fulham | 7 | Cuenca (90), Castagne (90), Diop (90), Smith Rowe (86) | Kevin (90), Lecomte (90), Sessegnon (66), Raul (34), Wilson (34), Robinson (24) |
| Tottenham | 5 | van de Ven (90), Xavi (90), Vicario (90), Porro (83), Tel (78) | Danso (90), Odobert (83), Kolo Muani (59), Richarlison (31), Solanke (7) |
CHELSEA
Palmer, Gusto + James injury updates
Considering eight lineup changes took place from Gameweek 21, there wasn’t an awful lot to conclude about Liam Rosenior’s first match in charge at Stamford Bridge.
Yet it does reinforce the point that, although Chelsea’s league fixtures are about to become very attractive, their schedule is busy across several competitions, and they have the squad depth to navigate this. Not good for FPL managers!
Covering fixtures against West Ham United, Wolverhampton Wanderers, Leeds United and Burnley is a good idea, but it’s hard to pinpoint the Blues’ best attacking pick.
Though a starter in seven successive league games, Cole Palmer (£10.4m) is expensive, and it sounds like a slight injury still lingers.
“Malo, Cole and Reece were precautionary today. I don’t want to take any risks at this stage of the season. They had minor tweaks or knocks from the Fulham game. And I feel like I’ve got such a good squad here. I don’t need to risk their health at the moment.” – Liam Rosenior on the absence of Cole Palmer, Reece James and Malo Gusto
Pedro Neto (£7.1m) was a substitute in Gameweek 19, as was Joao Pedro (£7.1m), both that night and in Gameweek 21.
Andrey Santos (£4.5m) could turn out to be a bargain, having scored 11 times for Rosenior at Strasbourg last season, but it’s too early to judge.
Therefore, perhaps Enzo Fernandez (£6.4m) is the answer. Like in Gameweek 17, he was limited to a cameo appearance in this match, but came on to maintain his good spell of attacking returns. Instantly testing the goalkeeper with a shot, he soon assisted Neto and converted a penalty.
Good display from Guiu
Meanwhile, at a time when cheap forwards Mateus Mane (£4.5m) and Eli Junior Kroupi (£4.6m) were overtaking him as the best cheap forward options, Marc Guiu (£4.3m) put in a good performance here – albeit against a team placed 19th in the Championship.
His header set up Jorrel Hato‘s (£4.6m) powerful opener, later scrambling home a rebound. Post-match, Rosenior spoke highly of the Spaniard.
“Marc Guiu was magnificent, Guiu was top. His positioning, his pressing, he deserved his goal. He was always in the right position where we needed him to be tactically.” – Liam Rosenior on Marc Guiu
But he’s still competing with Joao Pedro and Liam Delap (£6.2m).
ASTON VILLA
TOTTENHAM HOTSPUR
Richarlison out, as Solanke returns
Elsewhere, the full-time whistle at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium brought boos from the crowd and a scuffle between players, as simmering tensions began to boil over.
Out of both domestic cups, Spurs find themselves in an injury crisis. In the week since selling Brennan Johnson (£6.5m) to Crystal Palace, they’ve seen Mohammed Kudus (£6.4m) and Rodrigo Bentancur (£5.3m) join long-term absentees James Maddison (£6.8m) and Dejan Kulusevski (£6.4m) on the sidelines. Expect the duo to be out for several months.
The latest victim, Richarlison (£6.4m), limped off here with a hamstring problem. He’ll miss Saturday’s very appealing West Ham home fixture.
“He’s in a good place. Of course, he’s not fully to fit to go 90 minutes, top sharp, but he is fit enough to get out there and get 15 minutes. Then, we build from there and he will be in a better place next week against West Ham.” – Thomas Frank on Dominic Solanke
However, in good news, Dominic Solanke (£7.2m) came off the bench to play his first minutes since Gameweek 2. And left-back Destiny Udogie (£4.3m) was back in the squad, unused this time.
Early injury to Kamara
Although Aston Villa bettered Spurs in this cup clash, the North Londoners might be pipping them to the signing of England international Conor Gallagher.
Both sides felt compelled to bid because of new midfield injuries, as Unai Emery witnessed Boubacar Kamara (£4.9m) depart in the ninth minute.
Initial scans apparently say it’ll only be a few weeks for Kamara, with more information expected once swelling subsides.
In other Villa team news, Emiliano Martinez (£5.0m) was still hurt from Gameweek 21, but those buying Ollie Watkins (£8.8m) will like the partial rest.
Buendia + Xavi play well
After two frustrating seasons saw Emiliano Buendia (£5.3m) get seriously injured, barely feature, and then get loaned out to Leverkusen, the 29-year-old is enjoying himself again.
In this case, he and Donyell Malen (£5.1m) combined to break the deadlock, before both helped Morgan Rogers (£7.6m) double Villa’s lead. He would’ve scored another, if not for Pedro Porro (£5.2m) clearing off the line.
It’s just a shame that he’s mostly an impact sub. Four of his six FPL goals and assists have come from the bench.
As for Spurs, they rallied after Wilson Odobert (£5.3m) pulled one back in the 54th minute. Xavi Simons (£6.5m) had two chances and created three others, playing well after delivering three returns in his last four top-flight outings.
The Dutchman should be nailed to start during his team’s injury problems but Spurs, as a whole, are in a bad place. Another home defeat, following a mere six points in nine such league games.
If they don’t overcome West Ham, there may be trouble for Thomas Frank.
FULHAM
More returns for Wilson
Another individual to successfully come off the bench was in-form Harry Wilson (£5.9m). Opponents Middlesbrough took the lead at Craven Cottage but, right after being thrown on, Wilson picked up Kevin‘s (£5.8m) cross, dribbled inside to his familiar edge-of-box shooting position, and equalised.
A similar attempt was soon saved, before he returned the favour at the end to help club-record signing Kevin grab his first goal in English football. It was his seventh shot of the day.
“Players that are playing with top confidence, like Raúl, like Harry Wilson, Tom Cairney. The energy from Antonee Robinson helped the team. It’s very difficult. Today’s the fourth game in ten days we have played. Some of the guys like Emile Smith Rowe, for example, I knew that the dynamic is not going to be the same. He made a massive effort to be there and to be decisive again.” – Marco Silva
While Samuel Chukwueze (£5.3m) and Alex Iwobi (£6.3m) will soon be back from the Africa Cup of Nations, Wilson’s starting spot shouldn’t be in danger.
He boasts five goals and five assists from his last nine league runouts. Up next, meetings with Leeds, Brighton and Hove Albion, Manchester United and Everton.
