Scout Notes – Gameweek 3 – Saturday

Diego Costa recovers from a hamstring problem to strike twice in Chelsea’s stunning win at Everton. Stoke stun champions City at the Etihad, United toil to a draw at promoted Burnley, Gylfi Sigurdsson steers Swansea to victory over West Brom, while Palace share the spoils with Newcastle in a six-goal thriller at St James’ Park.

Costa Recovers to Net Yet Again
Described as a “big doubt” ahead of the trip to Goodison by Jose Mourinho, the summer signing scored twice as Chelsea hammered Everton 6-3. Costa was sold by over 155,000 Fantasy Premier League (FPL) managers as a result of last week’s hamstring scare but, in a week where both United and City’s premium frontmen failed miserably, his consistency may well persuade many to simply buy back – with home matches against Swansea and Villa on either side of a trip to City in the next three, it’s difficult to see him not delivering the points once again.

Another Goal for Ivanovic
Chelsea’s marauding right-back continues to blaze a trail at the top of the defender rankings after serving up another set of attacking returns at Goodison. Jose Mourinho’s defence may be struggling to keep out their opponents right now – yesterday’s display was uncharacteristically poor at the back – but with two goals, an assist and five bonus points in the first three Gameweeks, the Serbian, despite his lofty 7.1 price tag, continues to look the best route into Mourinho’s backline.

Blues Midfielders Rack Up the Points
While Costa served up a 12-point return, Eden Hazard and Cesc Fabregas owners will be a little concerned after the duo managed just an assist apiece in the Goodison rout. The pair were overshadowed by Nemanja Matic (a goal and two assists) and Ramires (a goal and assist) and their lack of overall impact, allied with Costa’s consistency, merely strengthens the Spain international’s claim as the most reliable route into Mourinho’s attack right now.

Naismith Nets Again
It’s three goals in as many appearances now for Everton’s budget striker. Tucked in behind Romelu Lukaku, Naismith added to goals against Leicester and Arsenal and now stands neck-and-neck with Costa at the top of the forward standings on 24 points. The Toffees have seven decent fixtures in the next nine to pick up in performance – upcoming trips to Liverpool and United means many may choose to overlook their main assets until the schedule eases in Gameweek 8, though.

United Stumble Once Again
Even with new boy Angel di Maria on board, the Red Devils were unable to find a way past Burnley in yesterday’s lunchtime encounter. Louis van Gaal retained the 3-4-1-2 system and handed the Argentine a role alongside Darren Fletcher in central midfield – this allowed Juan Mata to tuck in behind the front two, though the Spaniard was subbed off with a knock and may well be subject to sales on the back of another poor display. The fixtures may still be in United’s favour, but in this sort of form, many Fantasy managers will be re-assessing their options.

Stoke Stun the Etihad
Mark Hughes’ side upset the form book with a stunning 1-0 win at champions City. With Bojan Krkic warming the bench for the entire match, Mame Biram Diouf tucked in behind Peter Crouch and fired his first goal for the Potters to announce himself as a potential mid-price option ahead of a very favourable run of fixtures. Stoke now have home clashes with Leicester, Newcastle and Swansea allied with trips to QPR and Sunderland in the next five Gameweeks, offering every chance to maintain their momentum.

City Forwards Fail to Deliver
After scoring as a substitute in each of his first two appearances, Sergio Aguero was handed his first start of the season in yesterday’s loss. Despite lasting the full 90 minutes, the Argentine was unable to find a way past Asmir Begovic – City mustered just two shots on target over the entire match. Stevan Jovetic earned over 490,000 new owners last week after his brace against Liverpool but lasted just over an hour before making way for Edin Dzeko, and with Arsenal and Chelsea up next, his bandwagon may prove to be a short-lived one.

Austin the R’s Hero
Having watched his side suffer a 4-0 hammering at Spurs last weekend, Harry Redknapp switched from 3-5-2 to a 4-4-1-1 for the visit of Sunderland. With Loic Remy edging out the exit door, Charlie Austin recovered from a hamstring problem to lead the line, with Leroy Fer handed the role in “the hole” behind him. Austin’s winner suggests he may still be one to consider in the mid-price forward bracket, and with Remy’s departure looking likely, he looks assured of a starting berth for the R’s – with one home match in the next four, though, Redknapp’s side may be ones to watch for now.

Swans Midfielders Rack Up the Points
Nathan Dyer proved a deadly differential yet again after bagging a brace in a 3-0 home win over West Brom. Swansea’s flying winger added to last week’s strike against Burnley and continues to make a real case for consideration in our five-man midfields – owned by less than 2% of FPL managers heading into yesterday’s match, the 5.5-priced Dyer now sits second in the midfield standings in the FPL game.

Gylfi Sigurdsson picked up the points yet again and continues to make a mockery of his initial 6.0 price tag. Fielded behind Wilfried Bony once more, the Icelandic international served up a pair of assists, maintaining the form that has produced returns in all three of his appearances and taken him to the midfielders’ summit. The duo are clearly thriving under Garry Monk’s attacking approach, and while an upcoming trip to Chelsea may prove troublesome, Swansea then have five favourable fixtures (SOU, sun, NEW, sto, LEI) before the schedule takes a turn for the worse in Gameweek 10.

Schneiderlin Bags a Brace
The Saints midfielder was the unlikely hero as Ronald Koeman’s side picked up their first win of the season with a 3-1 triumph at West Ham. Schneiderlin scored just twice last season under Mauricio Pochettino but has already mirrored that tally after yesterday’s display and with the likes of Dusan Tadic failing to pick up the points, some may consider the 5.5-priced France international ahead of a very kind run of matches. Graziano Pelle is also on the radar after netting for the second match in succession. Having scored in the midweek cup win over Millwall, the summer signing seems to have picked up in confidence and now faces just one of last season’s top eight in the next nine Gameweeks.

Magpies Defenders in the Goals
Newcastle’s goal drought finally came to an end yesterday after a 3-3 thriller with Palace at St James’ Park. While Paul Dummett’s budget appeal looks to be over after he was replaced by Massadio Haidara at left-back, Mike Williamson and Daryl Janmaat both strengthened their claims for consideration by bagging a goal apiece against the Eagles.

With the likes of Siem de Jong, Emmanuel Riviere and Remy Cabella failing to net, youngster Rolando Aarons turned in an impressive display off the bench, scoring just six minutes after his introduction and also picking up an assist – at 5.0, he’s one to watch as Alan Pardew’s team prepare for a kind run of matches.

Warnock Sparks Palace Attack into Life
Jason Puncheon and Wilfried Zaha were amongst the goals in the first match of Neil Warnock’s second spell at Selhurst Park. Intriguingly, the former returned from suspension to take his role on the right, while Zaha was introduced off the bench as a replacement for Dwight Gayle up front – we’d initially expected Zaha to take the right-flank berth but yesterday’s line-up suggests both could fit into the new manager’s plans ahead of home fixtures with Burnley and Leicester in the next three.