FPL Gamewek 4 – In Review

After each weekend we will take a look at the value picks that had standout performances over the weekend. These players will be likely to still be available in your draft league to waiver in, and we will evaluate how we think they are going to perform over the next few weeks.

Southampton 1-1 Man Utd

Vestergaard (Danso), James (McTominay)

There was a reat strike from Daniel James to open the scoring – it is very likely he was picked up by somebody in your league last week, but if he somehow escaped everybody’s attention – get him in your FPL Draft team! 3 goals in 4, with absolute cannon of a right boot. He hits the ball so true and looks to shoot whenever he cuts onto his right foot. He displays a similar attitude as Robben going forward (albeit right not left) and while teams will soon look to combat this, Robben did for his whole career.

A towering header by Vestergaard for the equaliser made Lindelof look like a schoolboy in the jump.

Overall Man Utd looked pretty average in their play building, turning the ball over a lot in midfield. Lindelof also looked shaky at the back, however we are unsure of whether there will be defensive rotation at Utd.

A stat of note – Man Utd have kept 1 clean sheet in their last 19 games.

Che Adams had another poor game despite being given another hour to try and show his worth.  He had a great chance to score just after half time but failed to hit the target and was then replaced by Shane Long.

Boufal threatened throughout and is one to keep an eye on, but not a recommendation from us at the moment.

Chelsea 2-2 Sheffield Utd

Tammy Abraham [2] (Pulisic, Jorginho), Robinson (Stevens), Zouma OG (Robinson)

The game felt like it lacked quality – Tomori came in and didn’t impress at the back, and Zouma continued to look like he’s forgotten how to play football.

The two goals Sheffield Utd conceded were poor, especially the second, which would get fair criticism defensively, even for a team playing in the conference.

Nobody during the game was really able to put their foot on the ball and dictate the game in the second half, so more and more attacks seemed to break down. We have pinned the culprit as Ross Barkley now –  at 25yo – has to be the one out of Chelsea’s front four to slow things down when necessary and wasn’t able  to do that.

Azpilicueta is experiencing an out of character dip in form and has not been Mr. Dependable so far this season – does Reece James get a game soon? Reece James has 45 appearances for Wigan last year, hitting 3 goals + 3assists, making the Championship team of the season and earning Wigan player of the year.

Stat Zone – Tammy Abraham has scored more goals than any other Englishman playing in the top 2 tiers since the start of last season.

We still feel Sheffield Utd will go down as we don’t see enough progression from the championship

Crystal Palace 1-0 Aston Villa

Ayew, Trezeguet(Red Card)

Jordan Ayew had a great game. He worked hard and even before the goal would’ve walked away from the game proud, but took his goal really well.

Villa will rightly feel very hard done by after having a goal chalked off at the end of the match, as play was pulled back for an apparent dive by Grealish. For what it’s worth, we believe Grealish is looking for a penalty there, he does the characteristic ‘squirm’ that some players do as they feign contact and then twist the other way as they fall to the ground. In reality, he sees his knock on go to Lansbury and so doesn’t appeal, but if that ball rolls away he’s going to be asking the question.

Milivojevic showed signs of finding his shooting boots and will likely to start to see returns as Zaha grows into the season

Leicester 3-1 Bournemouth

Vardy [2] (Chilwell, Tielemans), Tielemans (Vardy), Wilson (Fraser)

Vardy looked very good, very sharp, and already looks like he’s on the same wavelength as Maddison, and now Tielemans too, as he starts to regain the form he showed on loan at the end of last season.

The familiar were in play faces for Bournemouth’s goal, but overall the south coast side were thoroughly out-played.

A horrible challenge from Youri Tielemans in the second half on Callum Wilson, going over the ball and planting all 6 studs just above Wilson’s ankle. On another day it could easily have been a broken leg –reviewed by VAR – nothing given.

If ref claims to see it, at a minimum it’s a yellow card… he gives nothing, so we have to assume he hasn’t seen it and it’s an error. VAR therefore, has to give the red? Tielemans goes on to set up the 3^rd and kill the game off…

Man City 4-0 Brighton

De Bruyne (D.Silva), Aguero[2] (De Bruyne, D.Silva)

Man City opened the scoring with a tidy, City-esque 1^st goal, a move where their front 3 didn’t touch the ball – Zinchenko to D.Silva to De Bruyne

The second goal was much the same. Mahrez back-heels the ball to De Bruyne, who passes to Aguero to do what he does best and find the roof of the net.

More individual brilliance from Aguero for the third, curling in from the edge of box (another assist from D.Silva).

B.Silva scored with his first intro to the game to further remind us of the Champions strength in depth.

We said it last week and will probably say it again – we didn’t really learn anything new from a EPL Draft perspective and for many draft managers the only way of seeing these guys in your team now is by trading them in. I would always be tempted if the likes of Aguero/De Bruyne/D.Silva/B.Silva are being offered my way and occasionally the rotation can put managers off. But EPL Draft is about the long game, especially when it comes to the premium players and despite the rotation will continue to average more points than others getting more minutes.

Our observation as we hit GW 5 is that Mahrez seems to be starting over B.Silva – will they share starts?

With regards to Brighton, who failed on both attacking and defensive fronts: Duffy was left out, Manager Graham Potter says it was a tactical decision, but with these things it is never clear. Maupay and Trossard linked up well and should have got a goal during the game, but came up short.

Newcastle 1-1 Watford

Hughes, Schar (Hayden)

No analysis available.

West Ham 2-0 Norwich

Haller (Masuaku), Yarmolenko

It was a really good run by Masuaku in at LB to create the first goal, served on a plate for Haller who looks like the striker West Ham have been screaming out for years.

To refer to a heard a stat on Planet FPL Pod – the last West Ham player to get 15 league goals in a season was Di Canio in 99/00. If Haller can get 15 EPL goals this year, plus the contributions from those behind – could this be a good year for West Ham?

Yarmolenko looks to have fully shaken off any remnants of his injury and seems to have come in and claimed one of those 3 spots behind Haller – there is an obvious first XI emerging for West Ham which can only help them down the stretch, but it just remains to be seen if the likes of Yarmolenko and Lanzini can stay fit.

Cantwell is the only player that stood out to FPL Draft Hub for Norwich, being very involved in the game. Pukki didn’t have much to feed on and Cantwell’s position as an EPL Draft option will be heavily dependent on Pukki’s continued form.

Burnley 0-3 Liverpool

Wood OG (Trent Alexander-Arnold), Mane (Firmino), Firmino (Salah)

The deadlock was broken by a freak goal to open the scoring, as a deep cross by is diverted into the far corner off Wood’s back, who ironically was putting in 100% to get back for the block.

It was an unfortunate game for Wood who looked bright early on and had a good chance to score after turning UEFA player of the year Van Djik.

A really poor second goal from Burnley’s perspective as Mee gives the ball away cheaply as they build from the back and Firmino is left with either Mane or Salah to square it to for a comfortable finish.

The third goal came from nothing as Liverpool countered, leaving Salah running at the defence, when the ball fell kindly for Firmino to smash in from the edge of the box

The drama of the game came when Mane was not happy to be substituted after Salah failed to square him the ball, for what would almost certainly have been a goal. There has been lots of talk about Salah’s supposed selfishness over the past 2 seasons and whether it helps or hinders Liverpool overall. If you’re lucky enough to have Mo Salah in your draft you won’t care one bit, but owners of Mane and Firmino have to sit and watch the potential points their boys could be getting as Salah squanders them trying to take on 4 defenders by himself.

Pointing to an interesting article by Martin Laurence a couple of days ago – writer for whoscored.com, writing for the Guardian in this case – looking at some of the numbers behind Salah’s supposed greed and arguing that he isn’t as greedy as we make out. Ultimately you can make the numbers tell whichever story you want, but since last season he’s created 77 big chances, compared to Mane’s 55 and Firmino 46. He also unsurprisingly takes the most shots and while he has 25 goals from 150 shots (scoring 1 in 6), Mane has 24 from 94 shots (almost 1 in 4).

From EPL Draft point of view, last year Mane had just 3 assists, compared to Salah’s 12.

Either way they’re both great assets.

Everton 3-2 Wolves

Richarlison [2] (Digne, Keane), Iwobi (Sigurdsson), Saiss, Jiminez (Boly) Boly

Both teams entered this game, wanting for slightly better form and wanting for goals.

Wolves made plenty of changes to their lineup coming off the back of a Europa League qualifier win, with very attacking options Adama Traore and Vinagre coming in at wing backs. Everton also started with their new-look attack, with Iwobi and Moise Keane starting together for the first time alongside stalwarts Richarlison and Sigurdsson.

With two attack-minded set up, Everton’s first goal from Richarlison comes from a Wolves defensive error, a poor back pass resulting in a missed clearance from Rui Patricio which bounces off Kean into the path or Richarlison to finish cooly.

Moments after, Traore forces himself through Digne on the right wing and puts a speculative bal into the box that eventually finds Saiss.

Everton had better control of the game throughout and looked the most composed, with Woles second goal from Jimenez also a feature of his centre forward prowess, rather than any deliberate build up.

Saiss would be one to watch, along with Dendoncker who look to break the opponents area regularly, and may be players who are still available in your FPL Draft League.

Arsenal 2-2 Spurs

This was a food game – what you come to expect from a NLD – the best fixture in the EPL for entertainment and competitiveness.

Leno and Sokratis were both poor for the first goal, but a decent counter attack from Spurs who used Son & Lamela well to break for most of the first half.

The second was easy penalty decision as Xhaka brought Son down in the box. Kane made no mistake and continues to quietly add to his goal tally.

Speaking of goal tallies – Lacazette opened his account for the season with an Aguero-esque finish, skinning Vertonghen with a great touch towards the six yard box and then smashing in at Lloris’s near-post.

Aubameyang was able to play through the middle after Lacazette came off just after the hour mark and looked a lot brighter. The equalising goal was very Tottenham like in its setup, with a narrow through-ball cum cross which Aubameyang was able to brush in.

The game really opened up in the last 10 minutes as both teams thought they could go on and win it. This fixture is rarely indicative of either team’s general performance during the season, with regards to confidence and tactics.

For more insight on who to pick next week – head to the FPL Draft Hub Podcast, or follow our twitter @FplDraftHubPod

Related article – Gameweek 4 Highlights
Related article – Gamewek 4: The Waivers and Free Agents