Four struggling sides were in action on Tuesday, with Jean-Philippe Mateta (£7.2m) and Jamie Vardy (£5.5m) among those on the scoresheet.
In these Scout Notes, we pick out the key Fantasy Premier League (FPL) talking points from Ipswich Town 0-1 Crystal Palace and Leicester City 3-1 West Ham United.
Palace got their first away league win of the season at Portman Road, with Jean-Philippe Mateta’s second-half goal the difference.
The Frenchman’s strike, his first since Gameweek 9, was real quality, as he showed fantastic finesse to chip the ‘keeper.
He nearly added a second, too, with his shot well saved by Arijanet Muric (£4.4m).
A genuine goal-scoring threat, Mateta has now racked up 17 shots and eight Opta-defined ‘big chances’ in his last five matches.
Above: Players sorted by big chances (BCT) in Gameweeks 10-14
Eberechi Eze (£6.6m) also got into some dangerous positions and should have given Palace the lead. He did at least supply the assist for Mateta’s winner, however, as he continues to work his way back to fitness after a hamstring injury.
“You can see today: he [Eze] found me when he turned. When he does this, I can score a lot of goals.” – Jean-Phillipe Mateta
At the back, Palace impressed defensively, restricting Ipswich to just nine shots and 0.49 expected goals (xG).
The Eagles fixtures start to improve in mid-January, which is when Daniel Munoz (£4.7m) and co should start to pick up a bit of Fantasy interest.
Notably, Oliver Glasner’s side have not conceded more than two goals in a single Premier League game this season. They might not have always played well, but they’ve generally remained competitive.
“We’re pleased with our defensive performance, we didn’t allow them a chance from open play, just one from a set piece in the first half and one in the second half. If you don’t score three or four goals, you have to be stable in defending. This back three didn’t have many trainings together when we started but we get used to how we want to play and the structure is clear. It’s important everyone works for the team in defending. That’s why a clean sheet is always at least one point and when you score one, you win.” – Oliver Glasner
“We wanted to create more energy and intensity, create more pressure around their goal. It’s difficult, to be fair the back five they’ve settled with is really strong. Newcastle found it difficult to find penetration through them at the weekend as well. So we didn’t create as much as what we would like but at the same time we were solid, and no lack of effort. We just didn’t manage to open them up.” – Kieran McKenna
Ipswich remain the only Premier League team without a home win this season. On Tuesday, they lacked intensity and attacking threat.
Dean Henderson (£4.4m) saved well from Harry Clarke’s (£4.0m) flick-on and later tipped a Jacob Greaves (£4.0m) header onto the post, but there was no spark from open play.
On his return, Greaves looked fine for most of the match but was left behind for Mateta’s goal. He also went into the book for a late tackle on Ismaila Sarr (£5.7m).
It only took Leicester City a few minutes to score under Ruud van Nistelrooy – and it came from Jamie Vardy.
With the West Ham United defenders holding a surprisingly high line, the veteran striker easily got in behind, scoring his fifth goal of the season with a trademark finish.
A constant threat on the counter, Vardy was withdrawn just before the hour mark, having previously received his fourth caution of the season.
Creator-in-chief Bilal El Khannouss (£4.8m) produced the assist, before scoring himself in the second half.
Substitute Patson Daka (£4.8m) added a third late on.
The Foxes certainly rode their luck at times on Tuesday, conceding 31 shots and 3.09 xG, but they were absolutely clinical going forward.
Van Nistelrooy made three changes from Saturday, with Wout Faes (£4.1m) the highest-profile casualty.
Tactically, Leicester defended in a 4-4-2 which transitioned into a 4-2-3-1 in attack, with the lively El Khannouss tucking in off the left. The main concern is defensively, but they definitely looked more confident on the ball.
“I said after the game, they’re buying into some new ideas like the 4-4-2 formation and being very compact and together. Winning our duels and playing the ball. I think we have the profiles to do ball recoveries and playing forward. If we want to get a breather then we need to get possession on a more consistent basis, if not then we get out-pressed.
“We know the Premier League is brutal. We know what our task is. We also know how much possession and how many shots West Ham had. We know how tough the Premier League is and we saw that today with a West Ham team, we had to give everything for the three points. On a long-term basis, we know the performances need to get better and it’s something we have to persist with. The 3-0 was a relief. It was a very good finish from Patson [Daka].” – Ruud van Nistelrooy
As for West Ham, they dominated possession and had plenty of chances, but often looked vulnerable on the counter-attack.
Jarrod Bowen (£7.4m) was particularly unlucky, registering four shots, five key passes and 1.55 expected goal involvement (xGI).
Most of those efforts were saved by Leicester’s keeper Mads Hermansen (£4.5m), who kept his side in the game.
Above: West Ham’s xG shot map in Gameweek 14
They finally found the back of the net in injury time, when substitute Niclas Fullkrug (£6.7m) got on the end of a Crysencio Summerville (£5.7m) flick-on.
However, it was another desperately disappointing night for the Hammers, with Julen Lopegegui under mounting pressure.
“It’s a frustrating night as we deserved much more. Playing football is not easy. We had 31 shots in the oppositions box, normally you have to win this match. We had many chances but did not score. Tomorrow we will start looking for the next challenge, knowing we are able to change the situation. They want to win for them, for me and the club. Football is about the win. Today is a day where we deserved much more. The next will be the most important, we must be focussed.” – Julen Lopetegui