Gameweek 22 is behind us, guys. Time to focus on GW23. But before we do, let’s reflect back on a couple of interesting GW22 matches in this FPL scout report.
Tottenham v Sunderland
To begin this FPL scout roundup let’s reflect on the very first gameweek 22 match – Spurs v Sunderland. Guests drew first blood but Spurs bounced back immediately. Eventually, they filled the Sunderland net winning 4-1. Kane turned out to be a good captain pick but despite grabbing a goal and assist, I wasn’t particularly impressed with his performance. Alli was also a bit disappointing. I expected to see more from him following a superb form recently. It was Eriksen who stole the show, though. He scored two goals. What can we expect from Eriksen going forward? It is hard to say, but he could become fantasy relevant, at least for next three gameweeks. Spurs have pretty mild of fixtures in that span.
Sunderland has a favourable match on paper against Bournemouth (H) in GW23. It would make sense to invest in Patrick van Aanholt if you are in desperate need of a defender. He could be a nice differential as he has a lot of attacking potential to complement clean sheet possibility. He has now scored in each of his last three matches which is really impressive. However, he is only a daily fantasy target or a short term measure in FPL as Sunderland has three difficult matches in a row just behind the corner. This is also why Defoe doesn’t have plenty of FPL value right now. He has a fairly impressive 9 BPL goals this season under his belt. He was quiet against Spurs and despite scoring 5 goals in two matches before that, he is not a fixture proof player. Bournemouth at home is a good chance but cut him off after that.
Chelsea v Everton
This was a really entertaining match where the Blues took an undeserved and controversial point in the 98th minute of the match. With the way Chelsea performed, I don’t expect them to get anything at Emirates so my focus is on Everton in this paragraph. Lukaku’s FPL price dropped as he blanked two matches in a row. Everton played away at Man City and Chelsea, but their next two are Swansea and Newcastle at home. Both of these matches are excellent chances for big Belgian to score. Go ahead and get him in your team and consider captaining him. It was Mirallas that played well at Stamford Bridge. However, I am not sure he regained his manager’s confidence. Lukaku and Barkley are both better options. They have more job security. Barkley was actually playing really well and it was a shame for his owners that he failed to score. One more standout performer was Baines. He bagged two assists and he is becoming a very good FPL prospect again. Consider him if you don’t mind spending over £6.0m for a defender. He should pay off with his attacking input.
Stoke v Arsenal
This was a match I really enjoyed despite being a goalless draw. Stoke impressed me a lot. This team knows how to play football. They knew what they wanted against Arsenal and they went out to take it. They couldn’t win but they looked very matured. They were not panicking at any time. Their defense is solid and Butland saved a couple of tough shots when defenders in front of him couldn’t prevent them. Up front, they have a couple of interesting players with Arnautovic sticking out the most. Having said that, their next two matches don’t look very promising. They are facing Leicester and Man Utd away.
Arsenal also played fairly well, despite being without Ozil and long-term injured Sanchez. Both should be available for the GW23 and they are both interesting options. Arsenal should win a home match against Chelsea. However, I would prefer to see them in action. Ozil showed some signs of slowing down recently and Sanchez was out for a while. Giroud could be the best bet if you are expecting goals from Arsenal at this moment.