As we prepare for a very quick turnaround in Fantasy deadlines, here is our slightly shorter series of Sunday Scout Notes.
Sunderland v Leeds United and Crystal Palace v Tottenham Hotspur are the matches in question, with injury updates on Then Ballard (£4.7 million), Joe Rodon (£4.0 million) and Chris Richards (£4.6 million).
BALLARD + RODON INJURY LAST
Dan Ballard missed Sunday’s meeting with Leeds due to an ankle injury.
His manager explained his absence, saying:
“He got a kick on his ankle and it was too painful for him to play. We’ll see how it is on Monday. We’ll have another scan done. It doesn’t seem too serious, but it’s important to investigate further and find the best solution for his recovery.” – Regis Le Bris on Dan Ballard
Dennis Cirkin (£4.0m) was consequently given his first Premier League start.
With Ballard already without six players due to the Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON), a spell on the sidelines for Ballard would undoubtedly be a blow, especially with Manchester City next.
As for Joe Rodon, he suffered an ankle injury during the match.
Despite initially trying to run it, he was eventually pulled and now looks set to miss a few games.
“Not good. Joe is my warrior. He has played so many games in a row and of course he wanted to stay on the pitch, but he got a blow on his ankle and in addition I think he twisted his ankle as well. It is quite swollen at the moment, I doubt he will be available for Liverpool, and also for the next FA Cup games. So we have to wait for further investigations. But at the moment, right after the match, it doesn’t look so good.” – Daniel Farke on Joe Rodon
Lucas done (£5.0m) meanwhile made it to the Leeds bench after returning from injury.
CALVERT-LEWIN AGAIN
With nine points from 15 and an unbeaten record since the beginning of December, Daniel Farke’s men are making good progress.
This success can partly be attributed to the excellent shape of Dominic Calvert-Lewin (£5.8 million).
He scored his seventh goal in six games to draw Leeds level with Sunderland, with each teammate touching the ball remarkably uninterruptedly in the build-up.
CALVERT-LEWIN’S LEEDS FORM
| Game week 3-12 | Game week 13-18 | |
|---|---|---|
| Minutes per goal | 648.0 | 68.7 |
| Minutes per shot | 34.1 | 32.1 |
| Minutes per expected goal (xG) | 310.0 | 103.9 |
| Target conversion rate | 5.3% | 46.7% |
Calvert-Lewin is undoubtedly on the right track, but given his recent conversion rate of 46.7% it is clear that his current goal output is not sustainable over a longer period of time.
Nevertheless, it wouldn’t be a surprise if he delivered again against Liverpool on Thursday, especially in light of the Reds’ defensive displays this season.
“I think it’s something that, if you find a good rhythm and a good momentum, the timing seems to come with that. As a centre-forward, sometimes you can make a lot of runs without getting the ball, and you need a lot of things to come together to score a goal. Luckily my form is good at the moment and I’m getting into the right places and scoring goals.”
“Everything feels quite fluid at the moment. I’m getting to the right places and people are finding me. I think it’s taken some time for the players around me to maybe get to know my game and what I’m good at, but I like to think that when I get service and the ball comes to me, I’m deadly in the penalty area.” – Dominic Calvert-Lewin
Remarkably, Leeds performed much better on Sunday after Rodon’s injury In Tanaka‘s (£4.8m) introduction from the bench and Daniel Farke’s decision to switch to a 4-3-3 formation inspired.
Before that, Sunderland were at the top with Granit Xhaka‘S ( £5.2m ) inch-perfect fit for Simon Adingra (£4.9 million), putting the hosts ahead.
RICHARLISON UNHAPPY
Tottenham ended the year with a much-needed win at Selhurst Park, thanks Archie Gray‘s (£4.8m) first-half strike.
But it was Richarlison‘s (£6.4m) performance that turned heads from a Fantasy perspective.
The Brazilian led Spurs’ attack and found the net twice, although both goals were disallowed for offside.
But he at least provided the assist for Gray’s opener, with his header beating the youngster onto the tee for his third attacking return in four games.
Unsurprisingly, Thomas Frank’s side scored from set-pieces: six of the nine goals Crystal Palace conceded in December came from set-play, a trend we discussed last week.
“We’ve conceded more than half of our goals from set plays this season – that’s what we need to improve on. We missed one of our best headers in Chris Richards. We also missed Ismaila Sarr and Daniel Munoz, who are very important in defending set pieces, and we replaced them with smaller players. We knew there were a few mismatches and then we were punished. We lost three headers in a row and it was Tyrick Mitchell against Randal Kolo Muani at the far end. pole – it’s a mismatch.
“We prepared it. We knew the quality of Tottenham. The players wanted to avoid it. But then it just happened. We didn’t give them much set play today. The players have it in their heads: ‘S**t, it happened again’. It feels like that. I will never blame anyone if he is 10cm shorter and loses the header. It’s part of football. We have scored a lot of goals like this but it really doesn’t feel good at the moment.” – Oliver Glasner
Elsewhere, Micky van de Ven (£4.5m) produced its first double-digit profit since Gameweek 9, thanks to a clean sheet, the maximum bonus and defensive contribution points (DefCon).
He remained solid and was undoubtedly Tottenham’s best defender on Sunday.
Lucas Bergvall (£5.3m), meanwhile taken away with one blowwhere further assessment is required.
GLASNER: “WE CONSISTENTLY UNDERPERFORM…”
Palace created chances on Sunday but again failed to capitalize on them when they were top.
The Eagles have now scored 8.39 fewer goals than their expected goals (xG) would suggest this season, the biggest negative difference in the division.
“It feels very frustrating and disappointing because we felt like it was a match you can never lose, but we lost, and it’s a bit of the story of this year. We are consistently underperforming when it comes to the chances we create and the number of goals we score. We have to agree that we are struggling now with scoring goals. When you see who scores, it is often because of set play and our defenders. And our attackers, when we have chances we miss them and we are punished for set pieces game situations.” – Oliver Glasner
Palace often looked sluggish against Spurs, perhaps a little tired as they continue to feel the effects of a tough schedule.
They have now lost three league matches in a row, after which it is Fulham’s turn on Thursday.
RICHARDS INJURY UPDATE
As expected, Chris Richards missed Palace in Gameweek 18 by Jefferson Lerma (£4.9m) takes his place in the back three.
Oliver Glasner sounded unsure about his availability for Fulham in his post-match presser.
“We don’t know if he’s available for Fulham, but again, his foot is stitched up, it’s swollen and it’s going in the right direction. But you have to wear a boot and kick a ball, and if you have the wound there it’s very, very painful. So again, he might miss Fulham, he might be available.” – Oliver Glasner on Chris Richards
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