Our final Gameweek 36 Scout Notes takes in a humiliating defeat for Manchester United at Selhurst Park.
NO BRUNO FERNANDES INJURY UPDATE
Sky Sports, BBC, MUTV and the various journalists assembled at Erik ten Hag’s post-match press conference. None of them saw fit to ask the United boss the latest on Bruno Fernandes (£8.5m).
The Portuguese midfielder had missed a Premier League match through injury for the first time ever.
Now, we may have to wait until Thursday or Friday – i.e. ten Hag’s next media duties – before learning if it’s going to be successive absences or not.
If ten Hag chooses to be non-committal, then owners will face the dilemma of whether or not to carry an injury risk into Double Gameweek 37.
Midweek training ground images may also be able to help us, of course.
The last official update came on Friday afternoon, when ten Hag lumped Fernandes in with the “big doubt” crowd.
UNITED DISPLAY BODES WELL FOR ARSENAL
A four-nil win for Crystal Palace over Manchester United would once have been a seismic shock.
Not now. Even the bookies fancied the Eagles as favourites for this match. Having seen these two sides in action over the last month, there only ever looked to be one winner.
It’s quite hard to describe how bad the Red Devils were.
Their first legitimate shot on target (Casemiro (£5.3m) had two goals chalked off) didn’t arrive until the second half. The visitors finished the game with a paltry xG of 0.35.
A fit Fernandes may well have made a bit of difference but even with him in the side, the likes of Antony (£6.8m) and Rasmus Hojlund (£7.1m) have done little to wow. Hojlund, who had just one effort here, has the worst minutes-per-chance average (58.3) of all the first-choice strikers in the division.
United had at least scored in every league fixture this calendar year before Monday. Indeed, it’s at the back where things are really bad.
In fairness to ten Hag, Casemiro and a half-fit Jonny Evans (£4.0m) is not the centre-half partnership that anyone would have envisaged at the start of the season.
Three, maybe all four, of the goals were awful from a United perspective. The Red Sea parted for the opener, which stemmed from a simple throw-in from Palace’s own half. Evans was bypassed far too easily for the second, while Casemiro was dispossed for the fourth.
If any Fantasy manager is in need of a midfielder for Gameweek 37, perhaps for Fernandes if the worst happens, then surely there’ll be a temptation to just add another Arsenal body rather than one of the underwhelming ‘doublers’ elsewhere.
OLISE TAKES THE MICHAEL
Michael Olise (£5.6m) was the beneficiary of some lax defending, and indeed goalkeeping, for his two strikes.
But he was electric again, showboating from an early stage as if he knew the result was settled already.
He could have other/further returns, too, registering six shots in total. One of them was inadvertently blocked by Jean-Philippe Mateta (£5.1m), potentially on its way in, while Olise dallied on another occasion when clean through on goal.
The Eagles’ winger has one of the best minutes-per-chance averages (22.8) of all Fantasy midfielders this season. Mohamed Salah (£13.4m) is only marginally ahead, on 22.4.
Not only that, but he also betters every single other Fantasy asset for points per start this season:
(minimum five starts)
Mateta also made it eight goals in his last six home matches. Eberechi Eze (£6.0m) was comparatively muted on his return from injury, however.
The defence impressed, meanwhile. Not just allowing Manchester United few openings (they had done the same with Newcastle United in Gameweek 34), but also catching the eye going in the opposite direction.
Since Oliver Glasner took charge, wing-backs Daniel Munoz (£4.5m) and Tyrick Mitchell (£4.5m) are ranked third and joint seventh among all Fantasy defenders for final-third touches.
Munoz laid on two assists here (one from a throw!), also seeing another one denied by Mateta’s inadvertent block. He’s the one who looks the most advanced a lot of the time but Mitchell’s own increased attacking threat culminated in a goal here, albeit from a set play.
Chris Richards (£3.9m) even got in on the act with an assist for Mateta’s goal.
So impressive is the Eagles’ defence that you wonder if the fit-again Marc Guehi (£4.2m) will even break back into it before the end of the season.
Palace defenders aren’t likely to be high up the FPL priority list in what remains of 2023/24. Olise, Mateta and Eze, however, should most definitely be in the final-day punt conversation. Not only have opponents Aston Villa been defensively suspect for some time, but they may well have sealed UEFA Champions League qualification in the days before Gameweek 38.
5 months, 22 days agoAny defenders worth -4 to replace Doughty on a BB? Also own Porro, Gusto, Gabriel and Burn. Or overkill?
Thiago Silva or Everton perhaps? (triple City and Toon)
Cheers!