FPL: GW4 Match-By-Match Review

Week 4 in the English Premier League was a mad one, but then again, they have all been mad so far this season! While we are taking a little break from the EPL action,  I have given a quick synopsis of each match of the past gameweek. in this article. The main takeaways, key players and the odd stat or two. I hope it helps to get ready for GW5 after the International break is over!

 

Chelsea 4-0 Crystal Palace

Star Player

Chilwell (£5.6m, £5.5m – FPL & FanTeam respectively and hereinafter)

Takeaways

• Chilwell debuts with an 18 point monster haul
• Pulisic returns from injury, James benched
• Werner blanks, again!

Synopsis

Werner blanked for the 3^rd time in a row, and his main contribution so far has been penalties, which have allowed Jorginho to become a great cheap enabler. This time it was Abraham and Havertz who were felled, teeing up Jorginho for 2 goals and 2 bonus points. Notably, the Italian still has penalties after missing one against Liverpool – even though the German did his best to get to take one of the spot kicks.

But it was Chilwell who got the first goal following some poor defending by Palace as they failed to clear the ball. He also set up Zouma with a cross which he powerfully headed in. Giving Chilwell a goal, assist, clean sheet and 18 points on his debut. A poor Palace managed 0 shots on goal, making this clean sheet a formality.

Stat Attack

For once, Werner’s stats don’t give pause to keep him, only managing one shot in this match. Abraham had the most in the match with 4, all in the box. 1 of which was a big chance.

 

Everton 4-2 Brighton

Star Player

Rodriguez (£7.8m, £7.1m)

Takeaways

• Rodriguez is flying in the Premier League!
• He may not be back in time to start in the Liverpool game, having to travel to Colombia
• Pickford is muck, meaning Everton are not defensively sound yet

Synopsis

Butterfingers Pickford again lamely dropped a Trossard shot allowing Maupay to score his 4^th of the season and ruin any hopes of a clean sheet. He nearly gifted the Frenchman a 2^nd, flopping at a March cross. But he could do nothing about Bissouma’s consolation stunner in injury time, the pick of the £4.5m midfield category.

Calvert-Lewin got his 6^th Premier League goal and his 9^th of the season from yet another header. He is in flying form, earning him a first international call-up. But it was Rodriguez’s 2 goals and assist that stole the show. That’s 2 double-digit hauls and 2 blanks for the Colombian. He has settled extremely well but may start from the bench against Liverpool due to international extraneous travel. Meanwhile, Richarlison is now in the physio room having been subbed off after 24mins.

Stat Attack

DCL only had an xGI of 0.26 from his 3 shots but still managed to score, showing his prowess in the air. Rodriguez had 4 shots, 3 in the box and 2 of them being big chances. Also creating 2 chances, 1 being a big chance.

 

Leeds 1-1 Man City

Star Player

Rodrigo (£5.8m, £6.4m)

Takeaways

• De Bruyne unlucky to blank twice consecutively
• Leeds attack looks great but hard to pick the right man
• Man City have a few problems to fix but they are more than capable 

Synopsis

De Bruyne captainers will be aggrieved to hear that their choice hit the post early on from a smart free-kick and perhaps should have been given the opportunity for a spot kick for a poor tackle on Sterling late in the game. With Fernandinho benched, De Bruyne was forced to sit back a lot more alongside Rodri. Instead, it was the Englishman Sterling who got the goal cutting in from the left-hand side from new signing Torres’ assist. But it was Mahrez who led the line from the front this time with Aguero and Jesus out injured.

Leeds again looked highly impressive and more than deserved the draw. Spanish international and new signing Rodrigo got the goal while Bamford blanked. How the pair share minutes, goals or how often they play together will be interesting given this team is full of goals and cheap options. Rodrigo’s goal was thanks to Ederson hitting the ball off Mendy allowing the striker to pounce. He hit the crossbar soon after this too.

Stat Attack

Bamford’s blank wasn’t from lack of trying, having 4 shots, all in the box. Rodrigo managed 3, all in the box in his 34mins cameo. Both strikers had 1 big chance. De Bruyne managed 5 shots, 3 in the box and created 5 chances. Leeds had 5 big chances to City’s 0 and 7 shots on target to City’s 1.

Newcastle 3-1 Burnley

Star Player

Allan Saint-Maximin (£5.3m, £6.3m)

Takeaways

• Saint-Maximin shines in #10 role
• Wilson looks set to continuously tick over the goals for Newcastle
• Concerns are creeping out of the woods for Burnley

Synopsis

Newcastle had a comfortable 3-1 win over Burnley who are struggling so far this season losing all 3 of their opening games. Allan Saint-Maximin excelled in the number 10 role and opened the scoring for the hosts with a low drive into the bottom right corner. Burnley did levels things when Westwood’s sublime volley hit the Same bottom corner on 61mins. Newcastle rallied and just 4mins later ASM burst down the line and teed up Wilson for a simple tap-in for his first of the night.

The game was then wrapped up as Pope fouled Fraser in the box after miscontrolling a Tarkowski backpass. Wilson calmly put way the penalty to send Newcastle 6th.

Stat Attack

ASM created the most chances on the night (3) and 1 big chance. The only other big chance in the game was courtesy of Shelvey. ASM just had the 1 shot on goal though while Wilson had 3, all in the box and all being big chances.

 

Leicester 0-3 West Ham

Star Player

Bowen, Antonio, Fornals and Cresswell and deserve a mention

Takeaways

• West Ham are no whipping boys, in fact, they may be a team to invest in
• Any hope of a £4.0m defender in Johnson is crushed with new signing Coufal starting
• Vardy looks desolate without penalties

Synopsis

West Ham pulled two shocks in a row, this time tearing up Leicester. It began with Antonio getting a goal, heading in a Cresswell free-kick. Cresswell then earned his 2^nd assist when a long pass up the pitch was superbly brought down by Fornals before slotting it into the net. These 2 assists and a clean sheet helped Cresswell to all 3 bonus points and a 15 points haul. Bowen got the 3^rd, making it 3 goals in 2 games for him, having latched on to a Fornals through pass.

Vardy and Barnes owners will be ruing the marginal offside ruling out a Barnes goal and a Vardy assist. Vardy also missed a gilt-edged chance in the 89^th minute, pushing his shot outside the post when he was clean through on goal. It is worth keeping tabs on £4.0m Leicester defender Daniel Amartey who has started 2 games in a row. But this depends on formation (3 at the back) and him returning from injury

Stat Attack

Vardy looks poor without penalties. He only had 1 shot in the match. Contrastingly, Antonio and Bowen managed 3 each, all of Antonio’s being in the box and 2 of Bowen’s. The pair also had a big chance each.

Read more: FPL Bonus Points Explained

Southampton 2-0 West Brom

Star Player

Romeu (£4.5m, £5.0m)

Takeaways

• Unlikely scorers spoil FPL managers hopes
• Armstrong under pressure with the signing of Walcott
• West Brom are again extremely poor

Synopsis

As expected, Southampton had a comfortable win over West Brom, but unlike expectations, no attacking returns came via Ings or Adams. Instead, Djenepo finished well for the opener before Romeu sealed the win in the 2^nd half with a sublime strike from an Armstrong cross.

Johnstone made 6 saves in the match, denying both Ings and Adams in 1 occasion each. He was at full stretch to keep out Ings’ header. McCarthy was never overly stretched but still had to make 3 comfortable saves which helped him get 2 bonus points as well.

Stat Attack

West Brom’s 5 shots added up to an xG of 0.19 showing how little they offered on the day. However, no Southampton player stole the show and slew the Baggies with the most shots (2) being hit by 5 players; Ings, Adams, Armstrong, Romeu and Walker-Peters. Each also having 1 of these shots inside the box.

 

Arsenal 2-1 Sheffield Utd

Star Player

Bellerin (£5.0m, £4.5m)

Takeaways

• Ozil steps up to save Gunnersaurus from extinction
• Bellerin looking a great asset if Arsenal can solidify at the back
• Lacklustre Sheffield Utd attack is awaiting Brewster injection

Synopsis

Two quick goals in the 2^nd half, both created by Bellerin, set Arsenal on the way to victory on Sunday. Arsenal didn’t really get going for the first 60mins until Saka headed in Bellerin's cross. His 2^nd assist just came 3mins later when Pepe coming off the bench received a through pass and finished into the bottom corner.

But Arsenal don’t like doing things the easy way and looked vulnerable at the end of the match. Irish international McGoldrick’s curling shot gave the visitors hope with 5mins to go. Arsenal were on the ropes thereafter, but time was on their side as they held out for the win.

Stat Attack

Bellerin only created 2 chances on the day, both ending up as assists. However, one of these was a big chance. Aubameyang isn’t living up to his price tag, managing only 2 shots, 1 in the box. Sheffield Utd only managed 1 shot in the box from their 6 shots in the match.

Wolves 1-0 Fulham

Star Player

Saiss? I guess (£5.1m, £5.0m)

Takeaways

• Saiss plays left-wing back but this is likely a once-off following the signing of Ait-Nouri and Marcal being injured
• Vinagre is definitively not a good FPL asset now having been sold!
• Coming off the bench, Lookman looked threatening going forward  - a possible £5.0m option

Synopsis

A dull affair to say the least. Many were expecting big things from Jimenez and he only fashioned one good chance in this match when a Kilman clearance put him through on goal him only managing to hit it straight at the keeper. Unexcitedly, Wolves' goal came from a Dedoncker blocked shot falling at Neto’s feet which he slotted nicely into the corner of the net.

Fulham had one good chance in the game, but Kamara struck his effort straight at Rui Patricio. It’s going to be a long season for Fulham!

Stat Attack

Mitrovic had an xGI of 0.35 from his 3 shots, all in the box. Looking at forwards priced under £6m he has the 2^nd highest xGI with 2.11, while Adams is first with 2.24. While Bamford is 4^th with 1.39 yet he has managed 3 goals and 1 assist.

 

Manchester Utd 1-6 Tottenham

Star Player

Kane (£10.6m, £11.1m)

Takeaways

• Manchester Utd are comical defensively
• Kane and Son look lethal
• Martial red card may see Rashford or Greenwood play as out of position strikers

Synopsis

All was well for Manchester Utd fans for 2 minutes as Martial was clumsily bundled over by Sanchez in the box, allowing Bruno to score yet another penalty. But things weren’t rosy for long. I will try to be blunt and quick for you Man U fans out there:

• 4mins – Harry ‘the Lemon’ Maguire’s failed clearance lands at N’Dombele’s feet for the equalizer
• 7mins – Kane takes a quick free quick putting Son through who chips it over De Gea
• 28mins – Lamela tries and fails to hit Martial with an elbow and Martial’s aggravated response sees him red
• 30mins – Bailly messes up playing out from the back, a one-two between Kane and Son helps sees the Englishman score
• 37mins – A close range effort gives Son his 2^nd
• 51mins – Aurier gets in on the fun smashing in a Hojbjerg pass
• 79mins – Pogba fells Davies in the box which allows Kane to score from the spot

Son has 45 points, 6 goals and 1 assist from 4 games. Kane has 44 points, 3 goals and 6 assists. They look phenomenal. Getting 1 of them is a must, 2 is desired.

Stat Attack

Kane had 7 shots, 4 in the box and 2 big chances. While Son 2 shots, both in the box and 3 big chances (as he unselfishly laid up Kane for one). The best Man U could muster was 3 shots from Greenwood which were all outside the box. Even Aurier matched this, with all 3 of his being inside the box.

Read more: SKY Fantasy Football Overhaul: Defenders

Aston Villa 7-2 Liverpool

Star Player

Grealish (£7.0m, £6.5m)

Takeaways

• Villa showing they have valuable assets in attack as well as defence
• Allison injury may hinder Liverpool defensive returns for the next 4-6 weeks
• This season is mad

Synopsis

With Mane missing out due to contacting COVID-19 and Alisson through injury, a few may have foreseen a tough away trip against a much improved and solid Villa. But no one in their right mind would have predicted a 7-2 annihilation! Watkins got a hat-trick, but it was Grealish who shone brightest with 2 goals and 3 assists. McGinn and Barkley on his debut got the others.

Alison is out injured meaning like last year Adrian is deputising. He is a bag of mistakes and he didn’t wait long as his first mistake led to Villa’s opener. Robertson still got forward well but the same cannot be said for Alexander-Arnold. The double Pool defence is likely dead until Alison returns. The only Liverpool asset who satisfied their FPL managers was Salah, who had a brace on the night.

Stat Attack

Barkley was Villa’s most advanced player on the night and had the most shots in the game with 6, with 4 being in the box and 1 being a big chance. Watkins had 5, all in the box. Jota had the most for Liverpool with 4, while Salah had just the 2 – but converted both.

 

Wrap Up

That’s the GW4 review. Yet another weird one to say the least. At least it is the international break to help us breath, cry out the pain and for me inevitably see Ireland play out three 0-0 draws. It will make for a ‘nice’ change to these 9 goal thrillers…