We round up the key Fantasy Premier League (FPL) talking points from Saturday’s Gameweek 27 fixtures.
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READ MORE: Friday’s notes: Southampton in fine form ahead of FPL Double Gameweek 28
GOALS, ASSISTS AND BONUS
INJURIES AND BANS
There weren’t too many injuries to round up from Saturday’s games.
Kiko Femenia (£4.3m) and Lucas Moura (£6.4m) both missed out on their respective clubs’ games with minor knocks, while Adam Lallana (£5.3m) was absent for Brighton’s clash with Aston Villa due to a hamstring strain.
“Lallana felt his hamstring in the week. We will see how he goes for Newcastle. It was only a small one but enough to miss this game. Adam Webster has had a little setback with his [groin] injury. So again we will see how he goes this week but looking unlikely for Newcastle.” – Graham Potter
Maxwel Cornet (£5.9m) was fit enough for bench duty at Selhurst Park but Allan Saint-Maximin (£6.9m) missed out on Newcastle’s trip to Brentford.
“We hoped Allan would make it (for today’s game), but he was some way short in the end. We’re now keeping our fingers crossed and hoping we can get him ready for next week. I think he’ll be a lot closer for that game.” – Eddie Howe on Allan Saint-Maximin
Frank Lampard confirmed that Dominic Calvert-Lewin (£7.7m) missed the match against Manchester City with an adductor injury which will keep him out for a week to 10 days.
Ismaila Sarr (£5.7m) needed treatment at the end of Watford’s draw with Manchester United, although Roy Hodgson wasn’t unduly worried after full-time.
“He was in the dressing room after the game and he seemed to be okay but I don’t know if he took a knock or not. He seemed happy in the game and I hope it won’t be serious.” – Roy Hodgson on Ismaila Sarr
Erik Pieters’ (£4.2m) withdrawal in Burnley’s draw with Crystal Palace was injury-enforced, meanwhile, so it remains to be seen if he’s fit for Tuesday’s clash with Leicester.
“I’ll just have to wait and see, hopefully it’s not too serious.” – Sean Dyche on Erik Pieters
FPL TALKING POINTS
LEEDS DEFENSIVE DISASTERCLASS AHEAD OF GAMEWEEK 28
The Leeds starting XI looked more solid ahead of their match against Tottenham Hotspur, with Mateusz Klich (£5.2m) and Rodrigo (£6.2m) both benched; Marcelo Bielsa had come in for criticism recently for playing both of those players in the middle of the park and leaving his defence exposed.
Their demotions had little effect: Spurs swarmed all over their hosts and were 3-0 up after 26 minutes, adding a fourth late on.
That’s now 40 goals conceded in 12 matches for the Whites, with Bielsa reportedly on the brink of the sack at the time of writing.
Owners of Aston Villa assets will be hoping for a stay of execution for the Argentinean coach heading into Double Gameweek 28, with one of the Villans’ fixtures coming at Elland Road.
KULUSEVSKI IMPRESSES
Harry Kane (£12.2m) turned in a majestic display at Elland Road, scoring a brilliant volley, assisting a Son Heung-min (£10.8m) goal and creating three other chances en route to a 12-point haul.
Also catching the eye was Dejan Kulusevski (£6.0m), who lined up alongside Kane and Son in the Spurs front three for the third time in the space of a week. He lashed in the visitors’ second goal in West Yorkshire, topping the ‘shots in the box’ count in this fixture.
It should be said that games against Manchester City and Leeds were absolutely perfect for Antonio Conte’s counter-attacking side, and their limitations were exposed against a less adventurous Burnley and Wolves either side of those matches. It’s also worth noting Lucas Moura’s late-in-the-week training injury, as the Brazilian may have been in with a shout of starting at Leeds had he been fit.
But it’s a positive start for Kulusevski in the Premier League, with the Swede’s underlying numbers looking very encouraging since his first start in Gameweek 26:
Above: Spurs players sorted by goal attempts over the last two Gameweeks
“I was very clear when I signed Bentancur and Kulusevski. Two perfect players for the club, young talented players to develop. Kulusevski is a player who is only 21 years old and in these four games, he could have scored in every game.
“I think he is showing that he is a fantastic player for the present but also he if he continues in this way he can become a really important player.
“He is strong physically, good technically, he has no fear of the opponent or the tackle. It is a good sign, with Harry and Son, also Lucas Moura and Bergwijn, offensively we are good and I am happy for this.” – Antonio Conte on Dejan Kulusevski
DIFFERENTIAL NEWCASTLE SHOUTS FOR GAMEWEEK 28/29
Newcastle United are a team hitting form heading into their back-to-back Double Gameweeks.
Their victory over 10-man Brentford on Saturday extended their unbeaten league run to seven matches, with 10 goals scored and only four conceded in that period.
They’re a relatively settled side, too, with the only change to their front six players in the last five Gameweeks enforced due to an injury to Saint-Maximin.
With the Frenchman’s fitness still in question for Gameweek 28 and Chris Wood (£6.7m) hardly firing on all cylinders up front, some interesting budget midfield differentials are presenting themselves from Eddie Howe’s side.
We all know about Joe Willock‘s (£5.7m) streaky nature from last season’s purple patch and he’ll be high on the watchlist after back-to-back goals, with Stevie’s Eye Test article from last week worth a read if you missed it. Since his return to the starting XI in Gameweek 23, Willock is fifth among all FPL midfielders for goal attempts.
Ryan Fraser (£5.3m) is also worth a mention. After a real barren run in the first half of the campaign under Steve Bruce and a stop-start beginning to life under his former Bournemouth boss, his three attacking returns in his last four appearances are reflective of his much-improved on-field performances.
He created a Gameweek-high seven chances in west London and he’s keeping some impressive company over the last six Gameweeks:
Above: FPL midfielders sorted by expected goal involvement (xGI) over the last six Gameweeks
One of the cheapest playing defenders in the game, Fabian Schar (£4.3m) hauled with an assist, clean sheet and maximum bonus, meanwhile.
UNITED PLAYERS: GOODBYE AND GOOD RIDDANCE?
There have been occasional enjoyable moments from Manchester United players in FPL since Ralf Rangnick took charge but it’s been a largely underwhelming ride, with the Red Devils repeatedly flopping despite a ticker-topping run of matches since he took charge.
Gameweek 27 might well have been the last time we see many of them in our FPL teams in 2021/22.
United now drop to the bottom of our Season Ticker for fixture difficulty from now until Gameweek 38, face the league leaders next, will probably blank in Gameweek 30, and their one likely remaining Double Gameweek will involve a trip to Anfield (under the assumption Liverpool progress to the FA Cup quarter-finals next week).
They signed off in typically disappointing style against Watford, drawing a blank and spurning a succession of good opportunities. Bruno Fernandes (£11.7m), Cristiano Ronaldo (£12.4m) and Anthony Elanga (£4.8m) all wasted Opta-defined ‘big chances’, with the former having more shots (eight) than any other player in Gameweek 27 so far.
The Hornets rode their luck on Saturday but the Roy Hodgson effect is evident: after no clean sheets until his appointment, Watford now have three in six games.
VILLA FORMATION CHANGE
Aston Villa got back to winning ways ahead of their Double Gameweek 28, which will provide encouragement to owners of their players.
Steven Gerrard turned to a slightly different formation for this match, sacrificing a no. 10 and moving to a 4-3-1-2. That meant that Ollie Watkins (£7.5m) and Danny Ings (£7.7m) could be deployed together more centrally, with Philippe Coutinho (£7.4m) behind them.
The jury remains out despite Watkins’ goal, with the Villa forward’s strike the only shot that he and Ings managed between them at the Amex.
What it did do was make the Villans more defensively sound, with Brighton unable to create much of note through a congested middle.
Albion have now kept just two clean sheets in their last 13 matches.
FREE HIT FLOP?
Almost 50% of the top 10k deployed their Free Hit chip this weekend, with no great strides made by the majority of those who did so – so far, anyway.
Blanks for nearly all of Burnley’s players plus the two Manchester clubs’ attackers led to modest scores all round, although the Clarets of course still have one more Gameweek 27 match to go against a leaky Leicester.
The widely captained Wout Weghorst (£6.6m) showed more promise, seeing a header tipped over the bar and an effort chalked off for offside, but Sean Dyche’s side still mustered only five shots throughout.
City meanwhile found it tough going against a stubborn Everton, with Phil Foden‘s (£7.9m) late strike one of the few clear-cut opportunities that fell their way.
With Jack Grealish (£7.5m) and Gabriel Jesus (£8.4m) returning to fitness after injury and among the substitutes, the ability to pin Pep Guardiola’s starting XIs down is about to get even trickier.
Free Hitters are around 15 points up on the deal on average in the top 10k but many Wolves and West Ham assets will have been ditched when using this chip, and those two teams meet on Sunday.
What Burnley do on Tuesday will be pivotal, then, to the relative success of most managers’ Free Hit in Gameweek 27.
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