Our Tuesday evening Scout Notes continue as we focus on the draws between West Ham United vs. Brighton and Hove Albion and Manchester United vs. Wolverhampton Wanderers.
MIXED FORTUNES FOR WELBECK ON PENALTY
It was a story of three penalties at the London Stadium, two of which went to the visitors.
Danny Welbeck (£6.3m) marked his first start in four Gameweeks with a well-taken penalty for Brighton’s equalizer after Yankuba Minteh (£6.0 million) was made in error. Yet a poorly rated ‘Panenka’ followed, which again came from the bar.
Welbeck will rue that miss, which was probably caused by him thinking too much about the task at hand after just beating Alfonso Areola (£4.3 million) from 40 feet. But we can safely expect him to take the next one.
“Danny [Welbeck] made his decision. If he executes it well, everyone says it is a nice punishment in a pressure situation. That’s why he has our support. There is no criticism.” – Fabian Hurzeler
The veteran’s return from injury coincides with a favorable run of fixtures for the Seagulls. They next take on struggling Burnley at the American Express Stadium, where Fabian Hurzeler’s side have lost just once all season.
With eight league goals to his name, Welbeck may look attractive for this series.
However, in recent months he has struggled with a problem that has seen him either excluded from the squad or limited to substitute minutes. Can we even be sure he’ll start this weekend?
In any case, once the trip to Man City is over, he will return to a more manageable frequency of once-a-week appearances.
TIME TO BUY BOWEN?
Lucas Paqueta (£5.9m) was another who combined the sublime with the ridiculous, slamming home his penalty and producing a delightful assist for the opener, before inexplicably tackling rugby Lewis Dunk (£4.5m) for the visitors’ second penalty.
This 13-point return matched the number he had collected in the previous eight Gameweeks combined, so we have to consider this performance an outlier. But wherever there is a penalty taker, there is potential for points in any given week.
On the other hand, Jarrod Bowen (£7.6m) has been knocking on the door of FPL managers for some time now. Here he needed just six minutes to break the deadlock.
From game week 14 onwards he scored three goals and an assist. Only four forwards have made more shots (16), while no player has made as many touches (44). It’s a shame Bowen isn’t on penalties, but he should still be in the transfer conversation as West Ham have their own run of attractive fixtures.
A trip to last-placed Wolves, and then the visit of a relegation-threatened Nottingham Forest who have lost three on the spin. The Hammers then visit Spurs, who cannot buy a win at home.
Nuno spyrit and chose to play Callum Wilson (£5.8m) up front, and the striker got a fortuitous assist after his shot hit Dunk’s arm for the penalty.
Although he has recorded a second assist in five Gameweeks, this was his first start in that period. And, like Niclas Fullkrug (£5.6m) moves closer to AC Milan, one suspects the Hammers are preparing for their annual strike in January.
“The first half was better, we controlled, dominated and created many chances. The second half we started well and controlled well with good combinations, but after counterbalancing we went through some problems, especially when Brighton brought in Mitoma and Rutter, new players with such quality.”
“After that we tried to keep the young guys. I’m very happy with what they gave to the team and the squad, but we didn’t have many situations from which to counter-attack. Overall it was an intense match, both teams pushed to the limit.” – Nuno Espirito Santo
MINTEH INJURY
Meanwhile, Minteh lifted himself to the top of the assist charts with his eighth so far. Although it was the Brighton winger’s first attacking return since Gameweek 12, he was denied last time out by the superhuman powers of David Raya (£6.0m) in one of the saves of the season.
However, it turned out to be a bittersweet evening as Minteh limped off with an injury.
“It was one of those seasons with players coming in and out and it looks like Minteh may have picked up something too” – James Milner
“No, I haven’t seen it yet. We’ll have to wait for the scan and then we’ll know more.” – Fabian Hurzeler
Brighton probably consider themselves the unluckier of the two sides on the night, with a total of 2.90 expected goals (xG) compared to West Ham’s 2.06, and also won the shot count (16-10).
Regardless, the Seagulls are now without a league win since Gameweek 13, while West Ham are winless in eight. But FPL executives can look further and spot some smart acquisitions like Bowen in their upcoming planning.
We just need an injury update on Minteh before we can include him in this number.
AMORIM ABOUT HIS ASSOCIATED PLAYERS
Another home game, another disappointing night for Man United, who failed to beat a Wolves team that had collected just two points from eighteen games and lost eleven in a row.
Injuries and illness provide some relief for a team with eight players unavailable. A muscle complaint meant Mason Mountain (£5.9m) joined the cast of walking wounded, including Bruno Fernandes (£9.1 million) and Kobbie Mainoo (£4.5 million), while Amad Diallo (£6.3 million) and Bryan Mbeumo (£8.1m) remains absent from the Africa Cup of Nations.
Can we expect any of them back for Gameweek 20? According to their manager, this is not a given…
“I don’t know. I have to check. I’m not going to risk anyone, losing him for a month or two months. So we will try to find solutions. Let’s see again, and then we will try to win the next one without risks for the players.” – Ruben Amorim
Came in from the cold Joshua Zirkzee (£5.8m) for just his fourth league start of the season, and he gave his side the lead with a deflected shot.
However, he also contributed to the equalizer by tapping Wolves’ first corner straight in Ladislav Krejci (£4.5 million), heading for what turned out to be a costly point. The Dutchman, who has had a miserable time at Old Trafford, didn’t feature again after the break and, honestly, that could be the last we see of him.
“No, no, no, it was just tactical. Tactical.” – Ruben Amorim, on the question of whether Joshua Zirkzee had taken a blow
BACK TO SQUARE ONE
The win against Newcastle United and the exciting new back-four formation led to some over-optimism that a new era was dawning.
Guess what? That didn’t happen. Benjamin Sesko (£7.2m) collected six attempts on goal and squandered two big chances, but Amorim admitted there was a lack of creativity in his lot.
“We had a lack of fluidity, and then a lack of quality, and then a lack of chance creation. And then we suffer a goal with set pieces with the team that, and [yet] we are big right now. So these details are important to win these matches at difficult times.” – Ruben Amorim
United were even surpassed on xG by winless Wolves…
DORGU A THREAT AGAIN
Patrick Dorgu (£4.2 million) was a small ray of light in the darkness. The defender, who scored his first Man United goal in Gameweek 18, advanced again. Amorim bafflingly moved him back to left full-back after his Boxing Day heroics on the right wing, but he was ‘out of position’ again in the second half, further down the left flank.
He whistled an effort narrowly wide and then scored what he thought was the winner, but it was ruled offside.
His two shots on target were matched by Matheus Cunha (£8.2m) – normally a monster, but largely ineffective on this occasion.
The worrying aspect from United’s perspective, and even more relevant for Cunha’s owners, is that Amorim hinted afterwards that he was unlikely to get missing players back.
KREJCI DELIVERS
Very few managers will be chasing Wolves’ assets, but to give him what he deserves, Krejcí put in a powerful performance. Only Sesko delivered more shots on target than the budget defender, who took the opportunity for a team that missed the suspended Andre (£5.3 million) and injured Santiago Bueno (£4.4 million).
Wolves are slowly improving under Rob Edwards. They were unlucky to lose at Arsenal recently, thanks to a last-gasp own goal, and made Liverpool sweat for Saturday’s 2-1 win.
At Old Trafford, Yerson Mosquera (£4.3m) could have set the cat among the pigeons when he missed a big chance. But in reality, it will take outsized fortune and an inspired transfer window for any of their players to gain any FPL interest.
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