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The FPL General picked the wrong season to go without the two-mium. If he had started without Haaland and Bruno Fernandes this season he would be laughing.
And that kind of summarises gameweek 1.
Outside of the Arsenal picks, and Szoboszlai nobody owned by more than 25% of managers returned. If Pedro doesn’t return tomorrow this will have been one of those good weeks to have a bad week.
So, I can’t be too upset to be on 46 points all out. Though obviously I am frustrated, I am trying not to overreact to anything. Just look how crazy some of the opening day results are based on our pre-season expectations. We know almost nothing. If you had a plan coming into this season, stick to it.
As most of the PL teams now know, stability matters…
The clear caveat is that this is still only one week’s worth of information.
I am going to do some conjecture with it. We will likely see in a couple of weeks what is the “truth.”
I’m writing this at the top so that I don’t have to say “we will see” after every statement.
Just remember, Reijnders looked like the next De Bruyne after gw1 last season…
Well, it wasn’t great for me but it was fine and I am happy it’s done. I got 9 points which is about the minimum you expect. Joe smashed it with 18 points though – good for him, the little bastard.
I watched 4 games this weekend and the highlights for the rest. I’ve also reviewed all the stats so we can see who was lucky and who wasn’t.
xG 1.88-0.20
The first game of the season was a bloodbath.
It was hard to tell whether Arsenal were just elite or Coventry were just dreadful. I suspect a bit of both.
On xG, it was only 1.88-0.20 so maybe we shouldn’t read too much into this. But it’s hard not to when you add this performance to the Community Shield performance – Arsenal’s attack was just way better than I remember it being last season.
Partly that is down to newboy Tzolis who had 4 shots for 0.19 xG and 3 key passes for 0.14 xA – if you watched the game you’ll be shocked about how low that is because he looked electric. He was even stepping into a sort of second striker role when Arsenal worked the ball down the right, which they frequently do when Saka is playing. He didn’t make a full 90, getting hooked at 76 mins for Eze which is a bit of a concern. My conclusion on him is this then, if you picked him then it was a good one but I am not desperate to get him in right now.
That’s pretty much how I feel about Odegaard too who also put up 3 key passes for 0.1 xA and 3 shots for 0.21 xG. The thing about Ode is that he is so involved in everything that he takes the bonus points too. But he also went off at 76 mins for Merino.
As expected, neither Saka nor Rice made it much past 65 mins. Until they play a 90, I just don’t think we can go there.
In defence, they looked solid of course. None of them got DefCons but Coventry were really bad so I’m not surprised. Of course Cala got the goal and was a good pick but it didn’t help my nerves about rotation when he went off before 90.
As for Coventry, I think they were really, really shit. I know that Arsenal were the winners of the Premier league last year but that was some weak, pathetic shit we saw from Coventry.
It’s probably not an original thought to say I don’t think that Lampard is a great coach but this terrible performance reminded me.
Thomas got defcons at least.
xG 1.01-1.83
In complete contrast to Coventry, Hull looked properly up for this game. If you watched the highlights you’d be forgiven for thinking that Hull dominated but United were better on xG and put up 21 shots to Hulls 8 shots. But still.
Cunha started up top and had 3 shots for 0.24 xG and 2 key passes for 0.21 xA. He was hooked after 80 mins. Mbeumo put up 4 shots for 0.5xG and 0.23 xA and lasted the full 90 mins. Dorgu started left wing and put up 0.47 xG from three shots in a single half before being replaced with Rashford who didn’t get a single shot off. Sesko played 23 mins and only got 1 shot off for 0.04 xG. Bruno Fernandes put up 3 shots for 0.08 xG – all from miles outside the box – and 3 key passes for 0.26 xA.
A lot of these guys then outperformed the Arsenal boys on underlyings but just failed to actually put the ball in the net.
They lacked a lot of energy and just seemed to be so slow – letting Hull grab the ball far too often.
I don’t think we should worry too much about Mbeumo and Bruno – they both played 90 and put up reasonable numbers. But, I am a little worried about how much depth Man United have because that means that any of these guys, besides maybe Bruno, could get hooked before 90 and we really want 90 mins.
None of the back line got close to defensive contribution points and they were obviously not that great either.
Realistically, I can’t see us going for any Hull assets regularly but I want to call out two interesting players.
Firstly, Slater took corners and set pieces for only 4.5 – he could be a great pick for that 8th attacker slot that just sits on your bench. Obviously he also got an assist.
Secondly, McBurnie had two shots in the first 20 mins, and was pretty unfortunate not to get a goal in my opinion. Again, he’s a rotation option (or Draft option).
Egan got 21 defensive contributions and Mendy got 13.
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xG 1.80-0.66
Literally. The first goal was a fantastic counter-attack that saw Enciso drive forward and assist Emersonn who put up 0.82 xG from 3 shots in just 66 mins. Enciso went off injured and Jack Clarke came on and scored the second.
O’Shea got 18 defensive contributions from right back and Nunez got 12 defcons in 80 mins.
I said multiple times coming into the season that I was worried about these guys – they’re underlying numbers suggest they were pretty poor last season, potentially this result confirms those fears. However, they did most of their good work at home so maybe not.
Angulo took the free-kick for the goal and it was brilliant. But that was about all he did and he only lasted 59 mins. Brobbey had 2 shots for 0.3 xG but was taken off after 67 mins. Le Fee did basically nothing and got subbed at 80 mins. My hero Granit Xhaka got defcon points and an assist after being fouled for the free kick. Ballard narrowly missed out on defcon points and O’Nien was replaced on 67 mins.
xG 3.87-0.57
We’ve just reviewed all the promoted teams and NONE of them conceded this much in terms of xG. They conceded 26 shots. 26!
It was an almost completely new backline of Robertson, Senesi, van Hecke and Gray – Robbo and Senesi got defcon points and van Hecke was only 1 away from getting the points. But obviously, they conceded 3 times…
And, as you can tell from the expected numbers, they were woeful going forward. Their attack is a hard avoid at the moment.
10 of Brentford’s players were regulars from last season.
Schade smashed Dango out of the water in terms of underlying numbers – 0.52 xG from 5 shots v.s. 0.05 xG from 2 shots. The latter was subbed off after 67 mins for Anthony top cap off basically every Dango owner’s fear come true.
In a rare turn of events, Thiago hit the post with a pen to finish with no returns from an xG of 1.0.
There was only one newbie to Brentford’s team and he absolutely smashed his debut. Sangare got defcons, one real assist and one FPL one. He was great but it is worth noting his xA was only 0.33.
At the back, Ajer got DefCons but might not keep his spot when van den Berg is back. Kayode had 4 shots for 0.5 xG and walked away with a goal. Lewis-Potter played left-back and scored from his 2 shots and 0.77xG.
xG: 1.12-1.96
A bit like last season then. They somehow give up a tonne of xG but walk away with a clean sheet.
Nobody got defensive contribution points but Tarkowski was only one off and Branthwaite was only two off.
Ndiaye was the best 6.0 going into this week because he got a full 90 and an assist. Dewsbury-Hall scored off 0.12 xG and Barry scored off two shots and 0.45 xG.
The big news is that Ismalia Sarr didn’t even make the starting lineup after Galatassaray made a bid for him.
Munoz was still in the team (despite the transfer rumours around him). He had a couple of shots in the first half but was subbed at 55 mins.
Richards, Wharton, and Kamada all walked away with DefCon Points.
As expected, Mateta didn’t play 90 and was subbed at 63 mins for Strand Larsen after two shots for 0.70 xG.
xG: 2.36-0.63
Enzo Maresca is playing Fifa. Either that, or he’s taking tips from Thomas Tuchel.
By my count, he started six defenders – with Guehi playing DM and O’Reilly playing in the 10.
Foden was playing on the right-wing which I think was also weird.
The goal they conceded didn’t do anything to convince me that the defensive frailties witnessed in the Community Shield were a one-off.
As if they wanted to make City feel better for being bad in defence, Bournemouth left Guehi open whilst two of them wrestled Ruben.
Semenyo was the only midfielder to make 90 mins and he switched from the left to the right when Grealish came on for Foden on the 82nd minute.
Cherki got the assist after coming on got O’Reilly in the 63rd minute. He found Gvardiol in the box basically playing second striker which is REALLY interesting if he can lock down a starting spot.
Of course, Haaland blanked which basically meant that nobody got a return from their captain in gameweek 1
Well. No. Not really.
They looked competent and good, like they normally do. But they didn’t create that much and relied on counter-attacking.
Evanilson got the assist to the goal but didn’t get a shot off. Tavernier was the one who scored and the only one of the front four to make it to 90 mins.
Silva got defensive contributions.
xG: 3.67-0.31
The xG numbers show that the final scoreline doesn’t lie. Villa were shit.
It’s probably not escaped your attention that they have been gutted by transfers out but I expected that Emery would just pull something out of the bag and put on a decent performance, even if they lost.
Well that was wrong.
Watkins must be on his way out because I don’t see any good reason not to start him. That hopefully will make Jackson a good pick if he goes over there.
21 shots, 6 big chances, 3.67 xG and a 4-0 win against an Emery team. Hats off to them.
None of them got close to defcon points but that’s probably not a shock given how bad Villa were.
Rutter started at striker but I’d still be nervous about going there until the transfer window closes.
Hinshelwood got two goals from 3 shots for 1.41 xG. He was quite overlooked before the season began, including from me, despite how high many of us were on him at the end of last season.
De Cuyper played on the wing which is interesting if that carries on.
Gross did nothing which made me happy and most managers annoyed. On the other hand, Gomez grabbed an assist so I still look like an idiot.
xG: 1.43-2.73
And it’s confirmed that Szoboszlai is the penalty taker. I am personally surprised Isak didn’t get the nod but it could also have been the situation – the pressure against his old team would have been immense, especially considering how he left. Still, until we see otherwise, we take this as true.
Ngumoha did start but only last 63 mins before Munoz came on. I still think Pool are in the market for a couple of other players so don’t do anything yet.
Interestingly, Gakpo started and played 90 (and obviously scored). He also got def con points so it was a great day for him. Let’s see if he is still there by the time the transfer window closes.
Frustratingly for owners, Wirtz was subbed for MacAllister on 63 mins though he did manage three shots for 0.14 xG in that time.
Jacquet started but was replaced after 70 by Araujo.
Van Dijk got defcon points but then also got booked a second later so that’s not great.
Newcastle showed Villa how to play when you’ve been gutted. Well, I guess they were less gutted but they lost their star winger and star midfielder and were still reasonably good.
Wissa and Osula started but the latter didn’t make it to 60 mins. Wissa was only subbed because of the game state (trying to defend the lead). Wissa had 4 shots for 0.94 xG but didn’t score. If he is nailed, I am very interested in him.
Barnes and Elanga started on the left and right wings, respectively. I think they are probably the first choice starters for Newcastle but I couldn’t say for sure still. I don’t particularly love either of them based on previous seasons but they’re certainly a couple of players to keep an eye on.
Hall, Botman and Thiaw all got defcon points as did Miley in only 76 mins.
Plenty to think on which is exactly what I will be doing ahead of the gameweek 2 preview. In that, I will cover captains, transfers and the Fulham-Chelsea game.
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