Salah’s role one to monitor in FPL as Alexander-Arnold continues forays infield

We continue our Scout Notes of the weekend’s Fantasy Premier League (FPL) matches with analysis of Liverpool v Chelsea.

Mohamed Salah (£12.5m)’s penalty cancelled out Kai Havertz‘s (£8.3m) opener to ensure the spoils were shared, with 10-man Chelsea rather easily resisting second-half pressure to grind out a point at Anfield.

For a briefer summary of Saturday’s action, check out our Scoreboard summary here.

Liverpool 1-1 Chelsea

• Goals: Mohamed Salah (£12.5m) | Kai Havertz (£8.3m)
• Assists: Sadio Mane (£11.9m) | Reece James (£5.6m)
• Red card: Reece James
• Bonus: Salah x3, Trent Alexander-Arnold (£7.5m) x2, Havertz x1

TAA MORE CENTRAL, SALAH SLIGHTLY WIDER?

Salah’s penalty and double-digit Gameweek 3 score would have contented his owners and, as was the case with Bruno Fernandes (£12.1m) in last season’s Manchester derby, served as a semi-regular reminder that those on spot-kick duties can haul even in the toughest fixtures.

The Egyptian’s role in open play is one to monitor, though, if Trent Alexander-Arnold (£7.5m) continues with his Cancelo-esque raids into central areas.

We have seen the full-back do this before at times in the past but it has been quite pronounced in Gameweeks 2 and 3, with right-sided midfielder and natural winger Harvey Elliott (£5.5m) often the man to shift out to the flank to cover while Alexander-Arnold bombs infield.

But Salah, too, has been a part of that equation at times, drifting to the widest point of the right-sided triangle:

Alexander-Arnold’s darts into central areas (and indeed the penalty box) in Gameweeks 2 and 3 can be seen in his pass graphic below.

It hasn’t harmed his output: he has carved out 12 chances in his last two matches alone, with that creativity helping him on the way to two bonus points against Chelsea, even though he otherwise blanked.

As for Salah…

It’s only a small tactical tweak which didn’t happen in every attack (it was only last week that we were bemoaning bad luck for Salah’s blank against Burnley) and may not be something that’s repeated when Elliott doesn’t feature, which he surely won’t every week.

But in this season when we’re looking for the least bit excuse to prioritise one premium asset over another, it’s one to keep an eye on.

FIRMINO INJURY LATEST

Two fairly predictable changes to Jurgen Klopp’s starting XI saw trusted big-game favourites Andrew Robertson (£7.0m) and Roberto Firmino (£8.9m) replace Kostas Tsimikas (£4.2m) and Diogo Jota (£7.6m) at left-back and centre-forward respectively.

Tsimikas now looks set for a price fall, as the most-sold player of Gameweek 4.

There’s a glimmer of light for Jota owners, though, with Firmino limping off with a hamstring injury shortly before half-time.

“Serious? I don’t know. Serious enough to take him off, yes. Bobby felt his hamstring, came and told us so we had to prepare the change. Bobby is nobody who raises the hand when he doesn’t feel anything.

“It doesn’t look too serious but you never know before you have a scan, which will happen [on Sunday].” – Jurgen Klopp on Roberto Firmino

CHELSEA: TITLE CONTENDERS, MASTER DEFENDERS

Chelsea have been the best defensive side in the division since Thomas Tuchel’s appointment and they showed just why on Saturday, with one of their cheaper options in FPL, Andreas Christensen (£5.0m), outstanding on his third straight start.

The Blues may have conceded 19 second-half shots but they didn’t allow a single ‘big chance’ after Salah’s penalty; indeed, three of the four gilt-edged opportunities that Opta deem they conceded surrounded the incident that saw Reece James (£5.6m) dismissed for handball on the line.

Tuchel sacrificed goalscorer Havertz at the break and switched to a 5-3-1, with the visitors pretty comfortably seeing out the game.

Their backline cries out for investment in FPL even in the ongoing tricky run of games, although any defender we pick will have to swallow a benching sooner rather than later.

“For Ben Chilwell, the explanation is very easy. He came back with the latest group and Marcos Alonso had five weeks in his legs from pre-season.

“Marcos played the first competitive matches after a fantastic pre-season. He was simply way more ready physically which was natural because of he did every single training session and was fantastic in the games. He played the Super Cup final and three Premier League games.

“Chilly needed his time in training to adapt to the intensity. He is ready now but it wasn’t the time to push him into the cold water.” – Thomas Tuchel on his decision to start Marcos Alonso over Ben Chilwell

Romelu Lukaku‘s (£11.5m) new owners would have been cursing their luck after James’s red card, with the second-half rearguard effort leaving him to chase lost causes up top.

Still, there was plenty of encouragement as Chelsea looked menacing on the break before the interval, with a number of moves just an errant pass away from the Belgian claiming a goal or assist.

And up next for the Blues is a home fixture against an Aston Villa side potentially missing their first-choice goalkeeper and two centre-halves.

Chelsea (3-4-3): Mendy; Azpilicueta, Christensen, Rudiger; James, Jorginho (Chalobah 88), Kante (Kovacic 46), Alonso; Havertz (Thiago Silva 46), Lukaku, Mount

Liverpool XI (4-3-3): Alisson; Alexander-Arnold, Matip, Van Dijk, Robertson (Tsimikas 86); Henderson (Thiago 73), Fabinho, Elliott; Mane, Firmino (Jota 43), Salah.

ALL YOU NEED TO KNOW FROM GAMEWEEK 3

• Saturday summary in brief
• Sunday summary in brief
• Man City 5-0 Arsenal: Is ‘OOP’ Torres worth the risk?
• Aston Villa 1-1 Brentford: Martinez and Buendia to miss Gameweek 4
• Brighton 0-2 Everton: Injured Calvert-Lewin out of England squad
• Newcastle 2-2 Southampton: Wilson fitness latest as Livramento stars
• Norwich 1-2 Leicester
• West Ham 2-2 Crystal Palace
• Liverpool 1-1 Chelsea: Salah wider as TAA moves central
• Burnley 1-1 Leeds: Bamford on the FPL radar
• Spurs 1-0 Watford: £4.5m Sissoko catches the eye
• Wolves 0-1 Man Utd: Pogba’s FPL appeal dented by deeper role