We assess the key Fantasy Premier League (FPL) talking points from Tottenham Hotspur v Chelsea in our next Gameweek 25 Scout Notes.
The numbers you see in this article are taken from our Premium Members Area, where you can access Opta player and team data for every single Premier League fixture.
CHELSEA’S WOES
Chelsea suffered yet another defeat as they were beaten 2-0 by Spurs on Sunday.
This was Graham Potter’s 18th Premier League match in charge since he was appointed five months ago. In that time, he has won just five.
Goalscoring is their biggest problem, with just 15 scored at an average of 0.83 per match under Potter. For context, only four Premier League sides have scored fewer from his appointment onwards: Crystal Palace (14), Everton, Nottingham Forest and Southampton (12).
It’s not even like they can claim to be unlucky, as they rank 14th for minutes per expected goal (xG), on 83.4.
Against Spurs, they managed just one shot in the box all afternoon, with their total of 10 efforts combining for a pitiful 0.41 xG. Joao Felix (£7.6m) looked lively and tried to make things happen but faded as the match wore on.
It’s a shame, too, as this is a period that should see FPL managers furiously scouting their assets, with fixtures against Leeds United, Leicester City, Everton and Aston Villa on the horizon.
“I think it’s a combination of a few things. It’s an easy question to ask – and not a bad question at all – it’s not the easiest one to answer either. Sometimes you go through moments when you create chances and don’t score them, which we had against Dortmund and Southampton.
Today I don’t think was a game of that. There were minimal chances for both teams in a tight game. The first goal was always going to be important and we didn’t get it. There was an element of players coming back from injury, getting them up to speed, and integrating a couple of new ones.
So as a team, we’ve not quite there in how we want it to look and function in a good way. And scoring goals is the difficult part of the game.” – Graham Potter on his side’s goalscoring issues
POTTER ON ROTATION
Graham Potter made six changes to his first XI from the 1-0 loss to Southampton, with Benoit Badiashile (£5.0m) and Mason Mount (£7.2m) the highest profile omissions, certainly from a Fantasy perspective.
So many alterations indicate Potter doesn’t yet know his best XI, although injuries/fitness are clearly the driving factors.
“The fact there was a third game in a week [after Dortmund] made it difficult to keep picking the same XI. We played in Dortmund on a Wednesday, returned at 4am, then played a Premier League game on a Saturday. There was one change to the Dortmund game today, which was Raheem [Sterling] in for Misha [Mykhailo Mudryk].
Ruben Loftus-Cheek, for example, Thiago Silva and Reece James were unable to play against Southampton. That is just where we’re at. I’ve tried to explain many times about long-term injuries, players are just not able to play three games in a week [after them]. I have a duty of care to them, and to their welfare, to make sure they’re not on the pitch and risking injury.
If Reece James, god forbid, injures himself because of an overload issue because he hasn’t had time to recover or play three games in a week, that is on me. Obviously, I take the consequences which are we change the team. But from West Ham to Dortmund to this game, I don’t think there are too many changes.” – Graham Potter
Against Spurs, Thiago Silva (£5.5m) was forced off when he appeared to hurt his knee. However, Wesley Fofana (£4.3m) came on, not Badiashile.
Mateo Kovacic (£4.9m), meanwhile, missed out through illness.
“I’m not sure. Hopefully it’s not too serious but I haven’t spoken to the doctor enough to have a diagnosis for you.” – Graham Potter on Thiago Silva
SPURS’ IMPROVING DEFENCE
Second-half goals from Oliver Skipp (£4.3m) and Harry Kane (£11.7m) handed Spurs a big win on Sunday.
The hosts, who were unchanged from last weekend’s 2-0 victory over West Ham United, were defensively sound, as they sat deep and played on the counter.
The Leicester City game aside, it feels like their defence is solid again. Indeed, they have now kept clean sheets in four of their last five Premier League matches.
“It is more about unit work and helping each other. More than defensive situations, it’s about this. It is about transition and how quick you are to recover position. Sometimes like today from the start it is about to cover the space quickly, slide and break the line together. Working together, it’s more about this. We have been having an inconsistent season to say the least, but maybe now is the time to capitalise on other teams under-performing and finish the campaign on a high.” – Cristian Stellini
As for Skipp, he is benefitting from Rodrigo Bentancur’s (£5.4m) season-ending injury. He has now started each of Spurs’ last two games and costs just £4.3m.
Tottenham’s next game is at Sheffield United in the FA Cup on Wednesday, before they face Wolverhampton Wanderers (a) and Nottingham Forest (h) in the Premier League.
