Concluding our weekend Scout Notes are Leicester City v Bournemouth and West Ham United v Ipswich Town.
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LUCKY FOXES?
The mood has been pretty downbeat at Leicester following a miserable pre-season, struggles in the transfer market and the divisive appointment of Steve Cooper.
But they sit 15th, having scored in every league game and having had the best start of the three newly promoted clubs.
Even Cooper would have to admit that some luck has been ridden along the way. On Saturday, they edged Bournemouth despite trailing 0.79-2.16 on the xG front. Half of that tally was a Jamie Vardy (£5.7m) sitter that would have been ruled out for offside by the VAR.
Facundo Buonanotte (£5.0m) netted the winner, his fourth attacking return in six appearances this season. Two of those have been from the bench.
If you’re tempted by the winger in FPL with a good fixture run ahead, be warned that Buonanotte now goes away with Argentina and will return late ahead of Gameweek 8.
The winger’s goal means that Leicester, ranked 19th for expected goals, are the biggest overachievers on the xG front in 2024/25:
Above: Premier League clubs sorted by xG overachievement in 2024/25 so far
WASTEFUL CHERRIES
Bournemouth are at the opposite end of the spectrum.
| Leicester | Bournemouth | |
| xG | 5.10 | 12.24 |
| Actual goals scored | 9 | 8 |
Wastefulness was the story of Bournemouth’s matches against Newcastle United, Chelsea and Liverpool. There was a familiar narrative on Saturday.
“It’s happening to us. We are not finishing, we are not punishing the opposition, when you are playing better and when you don’t take your chances, you can lose these kinds of games.” – Andoni Iraola
Marcos Senesi (£4.8m), Illia Zabarnyi (£4.5m) and – twice – Dango Ouattara (£5.0m) all missed excellent headed chances, while Enes Unal (£5.4m) spurned a close-range injury-time opportunity.
Antoine Semenyo (£5.7m) added another three shots to his collection. He remains the leading midfielder for shots attempted (31) this season.
The problem for the Cherries now, of course, is the fixture schedule. Three of the toughest tests around in the next three Gameweeks, followed by a mixed bag thereafter:
£4.0m JOHNSON SET FOR MINUTES BOOST?
Ben Johnson (£4.0m) could be set for a minutes boost in the coming weeks and months.
Positional rival Axel Tuanzebe (£4.0m), who sat out Gameweek 7 with a hand injury, looks set to be sidelined for a considerable period.
“He’s done a hand injury, a very unfortunate accident. He’s had surgery and will be out for a while. It’s not going to be a couple of weeks, probably longer. There are still discussions with the specialists.
“He’s naturally a miss with the way he’s started the season. He’s going to be out for a little while. We’re going to have to adjust and regroup as a team.” – Kieran McKenna on Axel Tuanzebe
A word of warning, though. Johnson has started the season to mixed reviews at best when he has been afforded pitch time. He had another torrid afternoon on Saturday.
And don’t count your chickens in terms of Johnson continuing to fill in for Tuanzebe. Long-term absentee Harry Clarke (£4.0m), another right-back, is now fit again and was back in the matchday squad at West Ham as a substitute.
Either way, the absence of the solid Tuanzebe may slightly dent Leif Davis‘s (£4.5m) chances of future clean sheets. But the left-back will undoubtedly compensate with attacking returns. Three chances were created on Saturday, including one glorious one that was spurned by Jacob Greaves (£4.1m).
Above: Davis is now the outright leading defender for chances created this season
It was from Davis’s half-cleared corner that Liam Delap (£5.6m) scored Ipswich’s only goal of the game. That’s now four goals in five matches for the striker. This one was a bit fortunate, as his shot should have been repelled by Alphonse Areola (£4.5m).
HAMMERS RUN RIOT
Sloppiness from Kalvin Phillips (£4.9m) led to the Tractor Boys conceding their first goal. Johnson and Ari Muric (£4.4m) then combined to gift Jarrod Bowen (£7.4m) the Hammers’ third.
“They didn’t have to work too hard for their goals. The fourth one was good play by them, but we still didn’t defend it well enough.
“Other than that the goals came too easily from things that were too simple. They’ve got excellent quality and if you give them the chances then they can certainly capitalise on them.” – Kieran McKenna
This West Ham performance came out of nowhere, really, after three uninspiring displays. It was much needed for Julen Lopetegui, too.
The Hammers boss can point to the fact that his side are unbeaten against the sides they’d expect to be tussling with this season. Their defeats have come to Manchester City, Chelsea and Aston Villa, with the other four matches – against Fulham, Palace, Brentford and Ipswich – resulting in two wins and two draws.
It’s almost Manchester United-esque form (ie flat-track bullies) from the east Londoners, whose upcoming run is a mixed bag:
Michail Antonio (£5.4m) claimed the most unlikely hat-trick of assists following his opener. His closing down of Muric’s clearance fell to Bowen for his solo goal, while Bowen owners would have been miffed at Antonio getting the slightest touch on his cross for Lucas Paqueta’s (£5.9m) tap-in. Mohammed Kudus (£6.3m) had earlier nodded in after Antonio’s header hit the crossbar.
Four attacking returns in one game – half of his season totals in 2023/24 and 2022/23.
Bowen also almost doubled his xGI for the campaign in one fell swoop. Five shots and five chances created were totals that he hadn’t bettered in any of the previous six Gameweeks.
A breakthrough moment for the Hammers or back to the turgid Moyesian football next week?
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