Gameweek 21 of Fantasy Premier League (FPL) continued at a snail’s pace on Saturday, with only two matches taking place.
The first of those, Chelsea v Fulham, is the focus of our opening Scout Notes here.
NKUNKU INJURY LATEST
Mauricio Pochettino provided a positive-sounding update on the fitness status of Christopher Nkunku (£7.4m) after full-time at Stamford Bridge.
The Chelsea boss said he was “worried” about Nkunku in Friday’s pre-match press conference but barely 24 hours later, suggested the Frenchman’s absence would be brief.
“No, it’s not going to affect [them]. We are talking, we are assessing the squad. I think Nkunku is going to be ready as soon as possible.” Mauricio Pochettino when asked if transfer plans would be altered because of Chistoher Nkunku’s injury
With Nicolas Jackson (£6.9m) away at the Africa Cup of Nations and Nkunku out, Armando Broja (£4.9m) was brought back into the side up top – to no great effect.
Cole Palmer (£5.7m) had led the line at Middlesbrough in midweek, spurning a succession of big chances, but was here back on the right flank. He returned to a centre-forward role in the final quarter of Saturday’s game after Broja was replaced.
PALMER’S PENS
Speaking of Palmer, he scored his fifth penalty of the season to give Chelsea all three points.
No other player in the division has converted as many spot-kicks this season.
Being responsible for taking penalties is, strangely, sometimes used as a stick to beat players with (“Penandes”, “penalty merchant” etc) in the Fantasy world.
It’s true that you can’t vouch for when penalties will come and how many will arrive. But when you’ve got a serial spot-kick winner like Raheem Sterling (£7.1m) on your side and obliging gravity in the opposition box, there’s likely an elevated chance of it happening.
And this was actually Palmer’s first penalty since Gameweek 12. Six non-penalty returns in as many starts have arrived since then.
Since his full Chelsea debut in Gameweek 7, he’s riding high with the Fantasy heavyweights in midfield even when you disregard efforts from the spot:
Above: Cole Palmer v other midfielders for non-penalty expected goal involvement (left) and expected goal involvement (right) since his first Chelsea start in Gameweek 7
CHILWELL’S COMEBACK
Ben Chilwell (£5.4m) made his comeback from injury as a 77th-minute substitute.
His return isn’t necessarily a bad thing for Levi Colwill (£4.6m): in Chilwell’s four starts this season, all of them have been further up the left flank, with Colwill in the left-back/centre-half hybrid role.
The same thing happened on Saturday at Stamford Bridge, with Chilwell taking Sterling’s place on the left wing.
Malo Gusto (£4.2m), who got forward plenty with mixed results on the other flank (including a very decent three chances created), escaped with a booking from a foul that could easily have been punished with a dismissal.
Clean sheet points were ultimately banked but the Blues were indebted to the quietly impressive Djorde Petrovic (£4.5m) for a couple of smart stops.
Chelsea looked a little more solid, with the slow burner of a midfield partnership between Enzo Fernandez (£4.8m) and Moises Caicedo (£4.6m) starting to live up to the initial pre-season hype, but far, far stiffer tests are to come in the next five Gameweeks. Even Wolves, who the Blues meet in Gameweek 23, have scored in 18 of their 20 league matches this season:
FULHAM’S AWAY DAY BLUES
They didn’t have to journey far for this contest but Fulham have been poor travellers this season, winless in 10 away matches since their fortuitous victory at Everton in Gameweek 1.
The good news: four of their next six fixtures are at Craven Cottage.
FULHAM’S EXPECTED GOAL STATS THIS SEASON
| Mins per xG (rank v other clubs) | Mins per xGC (rank v other clubs) | |
| Home matches | 12th | 8th |
| Away matches | 18th | 18th |
They weren’t particularly besieged here, with their defence only breached by that Palmer penalty.
Raul Jimenez (£5.2m), scorer of five goals in his last six league games prior to this match, had more goal attempts (four) than any other player in west London on Saturday, seeing the best of them saved by Petrovic in the 72nd minute.
