Scout Notes – Gameweek 2 – Sunday

Fraizer Campbell fires Cardiff to victory as City stumble in Manuel Pellegrini’s first away match in charge. Edin Dzeko justifies his recent bandwagon by netting the opener while Alvaro Negredo climbs off the bench to open his league account. Roberto Soldado is the difference once again as Tottenham’s defence hold firm against Swansea, keeping Michu and co at bay:

Campbell at the Double
The former United was mainly expected to be a substitute back-up for big-money buy Andreas Cornelius but staked a real claim to retain his starting berth yesterday. Campbell’s two goals and assist sealed an unlikely comeback as the Bluebirds defied all expectations to stun their cash-rich visitors and earn the points in their first home match in the top-flight. Campbell will no doubt be targeted by Fantasy managers after Sunday’s showing but Cornelius has now recovered from an ankle injury and climbed off the bench to mark his Premier League debut in the dying seconds. For now, Campbell looks to have earned the right to start at home to Everton next week but any would-be suitors could shortly face disappointment soon, with Cornelius still expected to be Malky Mackay’s main man up front over the season ahead.

After the match, Mackay was quick to praise his forward’s performance:

“I thought Fraizer Campbell gave their whole back four problems today. He’s someone that I was delighted to get – when we got him from Sunderland I thought it was an incredible bit of business on our behalf. He needed to get fitter; he needed to get sharper and he needed belief again, and that’s what we gave him. He worked hard over the summer and I think he can force his way into the England squad again if he keeps playing like that against top opposition.”

Bluebirds Midfield Options
Heading into the season’s kick-off, Craig Bellamy was the most popular Cardiff midfield pick, while Kim Bo-Kyung looked the man in form, having struck three times over the summers. Yesterday, however, a couple of team-mates threw their hats into the ring and could come into consideration for Fantasy managers scouring the market for cut-price midfield options. Aron Gunnarsson’s opener was perhaps no surprise given he’d produced eight goals and six assists in 2012/13, while Peter Whittingham (headline act in last week’s Members article on the promoted sides) supplied an assist for one of Campbell’s strikes, thanks to his corner kick duties. Along with the likes of Hull’s Robbie Brady, they both look secure starters and with a price tag of 5.0 apiece, could be worth mulling over as a means to free up budget to splash up front.

Dzeko in the Goals
A Man of the Match showing against Newcastle on Monday evening afforded Edin Dzeko an early-season bandwagon last week. Despite producing a single assist in the 4-0 win over the Magpies, it was clear the Bosnian was full of confidence – a fact he backed up with a superbly-taken opener for City yesterday afternoon. While his new owners will be somewhat content by Dzeko’s showing, Manuel Pellegrini’s decision to replace him with Alvaro Negredo on 69 minutes will be slightly disconcerting – all the more so when the Spaniard also found the net, staking his own claim for inclusion at home to Steve Bruce’s charges. Once again, rest and rotation worries are again on the Etihad menu and although Pellegrini’s side have now notched six goals in two games, it’s already noticeable that no player has scored more than once; a sign of their numerous attacking options.

Defensive Concerns for City
With Vincent Kompany sidelined for a month due to a groin problem and Matija Nastasic only fit enough for the bench, Pellegrini partnered Joleon Lescott with Javi Garcia for yesterday’s outing. City had conceded just 19 goals on the road over the entirety of last term under Roberto Mancini but looked ill-at-ease at the back in their first away match under the Chilean – while Nastasic could be ready to return next weekend at home to Hull, yesterday’s display suggests they may struggle to replicate the resilience that had harvested 18, 17 and 18 clean sheets over the previous three campaigns with Mancini at the helm.

After the match, the City boss denied the absence of his first-choice centre-backs were the reason for the defeat and instead laid the blame at his side’s inability to defend Whittingham’s delivery from corners:

“Defending set pieces is a duty for the whole team, not just the goalkeeper or the defenders. It doesn’t matter who is guilty. In the second half we improved but after we scored they scored from two corners and that decided the game. I don’t think our defence cost us today. There was no problem in central defence. We didn’t lose the match because of our centre-halves. We lost because we weren’t concentrating on two corners.”

Soldado’s Spot On
Having failed to receive a single penalty award in Andre Villas-Boas’ debut season at the helm, Spurs were handed their second spot-kick in successive Gameweeks yesterday afternoon. Once again, it was new boy Roberto Soldado who benefitted, with yet another coolly converted effort sealing the points against Swansea and justifying the faith that saw him top last week’s Captain Poll. Somewhat worryingly for his owners, though, this was Soldado’s only effort over the match – a move to 4-3-3 saw him isolated far too often and forced him to continually drop deeper in search of the ball; he seemed far better served by the previous week’s 4-2-3-1, with Gylfi Sigurdsson tucked into “the hole” behind. With Villas-Boas expected to add a few new faces to his squad in light of Gareth Bale’s likely departure, though, a return to the latter system could be on the cards if Villas-Boas can snap up the playmaker he desperately requires.

Spurs Increased Resilience
It’s two clean sheets in two now for Tottenham after they registered a second successive 1-0 win. While the absence of Gareth Bale is undoubtedly lessening their attack, the addition of Paulinho and Etienne Capoue alongside Mousa Dembele in a central midfield three has added plenty mobility and steel to Spurs in the middle of the park – with the new Bonus Points System so far falling in favour of defenders, many Fantasy managers will be reassessing their strategies. Despite Soldado bagging the game’s only goal, it was Kyle Walker who earned maximum bonus against the Swans, while Jan Vertonghen has now earned bonus in each of the first two matches – with a strong run of fixtures on the horizon, they could well be worth considering. After the match, Villas-Boas admitted he is keen to recruit the highly-rated Romanian centre-half Vlad Chriches – a sign that he remains unconvinced over Michael Dawson as Vertonghen’s first-choice partner at the heart of the back-four.