The key Fantasy Premier League (FPL) notes, quotes and stats from Sunday’s three fixtures are covered in our Scout Notes.
All the key numbers from the day’s football, from bonus points to expected goals (xG), can be found here.
Any numbers and graphics you see in this article are taken from our Premium Members Area, where you can access Opta player and team data from every single Premier League fixture.
IN-FORM GUNDOGAN
Ilkay Gundogan (£7.3m) was the star of the show again for Manchester City on Sunday, with two goals and an assist helping his side to a 3-0 win at Goodison Park. The German, who netted a brace against Leeds United in Gameweek 35, claimed 19 points, taking his tally to 32 across his last two league outings.
It’s worth noting his four goals have arrived from just five shots and 1.24 xG, yet he is already FPL’s most-bought player since Saturday’s deadline, earning 87,000+ new owners at the time of writing.
“Ilkay shows again and again the quality, his importance and his commitment to all of us and the club. Not just scoring goals, but he has his momentum because against Leeds he was the player and today again. He can do everything and he does it well. He doesn’t talk much. But when he does, everyone listens. This is the power of the leader.
He’s shown it in every training session, arriving on time, living his job 24 hours and plays like he’s playing. He’s a guy close to the box with an incredible sense of goal and can do it as a holding midfielder defensively without a problem. He proved it years ago when Fernandinho was injured and he played a lot of times in that position. I remember against Burnley with the long balls it looks like you need a physical holding midfielder but he’s so intelligent and clever and handles the pressure really well.” – Pep Guardiola on Ilkay Gundogan
Erling Haaland (£12.4m) didn’t touch the ball until the 26th minute but registered his 36th Premier League goal of the season by nodding in from close range just moments after Gundogan’s opener.
Elsewhere, there was an assist for Riyad Mahrez (£7.4m), his fifth in his last four matches, while Ederson (£5.4m) kept his first clean sheet since Gameweek 27, claiming two bonus points at the death after completing 90% of his 31 attempted passes.
The victory means Man City are one win away from the Premier League title and could be crowned champions as early as Saturday should Arsenal fail to win at Nottingham Forest. But even if the Gunners do win, three points at home to Chelsea the following day would see Man City take the title.
For FPL managers, however, it complicates matters, given that Pep Guardiola could choose to rotate his squad in Double Gameweek 37 if it’s already decided.
MAN CITY’S FIXTURES:
- Wednesday 17 May: Real Madrid (h) – Champions League semi-final
- Sunday 21 May: Chelsea (h) – Double Gameweek 37
- Wednesday 24 May: Brighton (a) – Double Gameweek 37
- Sunday 28 May: Brentford (a) – Gameweek 38
- Saturday 3 June: Man Utd (n) – FA Cup final
- Saturday 10 June: Champions League final
ESTUPINAN HAULS
Pervis Estupinan (£4.9m) scored his first Premier League goal on Sunday, as Brighton and Hove Albion secured a stunning 3-0 win over Arsenal in north London.
The Ecuadorian, who also served up the assist for Julio Enciso’s (£4.6m) opener, claimed a whopping 17 points in another marauding display, his first double-figure haul of the campaign.
In his last six matches, Estupinan has racked up eight shots in the box and three Opta-defined ‘big chances’, league-leading totals in his position.
Tactically, Roberto De Zerbi nailed it, lining his troops up in a 4-2-3-1 formation, with Moises Caicedo (£5.0m) excellent at right-back and Pascal Gross (£5.4m) and Billy Gilmour (£4.2m) thriving in the engine room.
That freed Alexis Mac Allister (£5.6m) up to perform a no. 10 role, although he was shifted deeper on the hour mark following Danny Welbeck’s (£6.5m) introduction.
Above: Alexis Mac Allister’s touch heatmap v Arsenal in Double Gameweek 36
Further forward, the lively Enciso and Kaoru Mitoma (£5.7m) flanked Evan Ferguson (£4.6m).
Mitoma actually started on the right but was switched over to his favoured position on the left after 30 minutes, immediately causing problems for Ben White (£5.0m) with his direct running and dribbling ability.
The win moves Brighton up to sixth in the table, with four matches still to be played, including the second part of their Gameweek 36 double-header at Newcastle United on Thursday.
NO TONEY, NO PROBLEM
Goals from Bryan Mbeumo (£5.6m) and Yoane Wissa (£5.3m) earned Brentford a deserved 2-0 win over a much-changed West Ham United side on Sunday.
The Bees were without the injured Ivan Toney (£7.3m) for just the third time this season, but it made little difference, as they racked up 24 goal attempts, 18 shots in the box, six big chances and 3.62 xG.
“I think the front three looked exciting. Kevin [Schade], Wissa and Bryan [Mbeumo] together looked good. I would obviously like Ivan [Toney] in the team, but you need other players that can step in and Wissa, again today, stepped in and scored. Fantastic.” – Thomas Frank
It means Brentford have scored in 11 consecutive home league matches since October, with Man City their final opponents at the Gtech Community Stadium on the last day of the season.
As for West Ham, they made nine changes to the side that started Thursday’s UEFA Europa Conference League semi-final win over AZ Alkmaar, with fringe players like Flynn Downes (£4.2m) and Maxwel Cornet (£5.9m) failing to impress. The closest they came to a goal was a Danny Ings (£6.2m) strike which was later ruled out by VAR for handball.
The Hammers still need one more win to guarantee Premier League safety, with Leeds United (h) and Leicester City (a) left to play.
“I made nine changes because of the fatigue and because we had beaten Man Utd and we had beaten Alkmaar. If I’m being honest, if I’m going to keep flogging the same players all the time then I’m going to break them and that’s wrong. We had an injury to Mick [Antonio] today because I’m sure he’s been putting in the miles in the games and I just don’t want it to be anybody else. That was the risk [I didn’t want to take]. The three points against Man Utd gave us a little breathing space. We aren’t completely safe yet, but that gave us the opportunity to do it. We’ll now go into the semi-final, I’ll dust myself down today, get myself back on it tomorrow and we’ll go in there hoping to reach the final.” – David Moyes
INJURY ROUND-UP
GABRIEL MARTINELLI
Gabriel Martinelli (£6.7m) was forced off injured in the first half against Brighton, after getting caught by Caicedo. Mikel Arteta provided a quick update in his post-match presser.
“We don’t know, he’s in a boot at the moment. It was uncomfortable for him to walk, he couldn’t carry on playing – so obviously we need to scan him and see the extent of that injury.” – Mikel Arteta on Gabriel Martinelli’s injury
A period on the sidelines would see interest in Leandro Trossard (£6.6m) ramp-up. The Belgian has provided eight assists since joining Arsenal, the joint-most of any player during that spell along with Riyad Mahrez.
DOMINIC CALVERT-LEWIN
Dominic Calvert-Lewin (£7.9m) was substituted at half-time in the game with Man City after suffering a “tight groin”. However, Sean Dyche said he hoped the withdrawal of the 26-year-old had prevented any serious damage from developing.
Vitalli Mykolenko (£4.1m), meanwhile, missed out with a minor thigh strain.
“Dom got a tight groin and quite obviously I can’t take a risk on that so we had to change that at half-time. Hopefully that will settle down quickly. We’re hoping it’s a precaution. He felt his groin but nothing too drastic so I said, ‘Right, that’s it’, because of his record. He was touch and go whether he wanted to carry on but I said I had to make a call on that and took it out of his hands, so hopefully that’s going to be effective over the next few days and he’s ready to go again.” – Sean Dyche on Dominic Calvert-Lewin’s injury
IVAN TONEY
Ivan Toney was ruled out of Brentford’s match against West Ham with a minor hamstring injury. It was only the third Premier League match the 27-year-old has missed this season, with Wissa tasked with leading the line in his absence.
“It’s a hamstring injury. We’ll assess him during the week and, hopefully, he’s going to be available for Tottenham. That’s what we’re working towards.” – Thomas Frank on Ivan Toney’s injury
OTHERS
Elsewhere, Michail Antonio (£7.0m) had to sit out West Ham’s trip to Brentford with a calf problem, while Julio Enciso hobbled off injured for Brighton late on, holding his thigh, although De Zerbi didn’t think it was anything too serious in his post-match presser.
In addition, Robert Sanchez (£4.5m) was absent, with De Zerbi saying they “Found an agreement that today he’s not going to come here.”, knowing he wasn’t going to start.
