The main Fantasy talking points from Newcastle United v Sheffield United and Wolverhampton Wanderers v Luton Town kick off our Gameweek 35 Scout Notes.
SCHAR INJURY NEWS
Owners of Fabian Schar (£5.7m) saw a clean sheet go up in smoke after five minutes of Saturday’s win over now-relegated Sheffield United.
Worse was to follow, as the Swiss stopper failed to emerge for the second half.
The update from Eddie Howe after full-time was about as positive as it could be when it comes to hamstring injuries.
“I think he had a bit of tightness in his hamstring. We don’t think it’s a big injury – there’s not one moment where you think he’s pulled his hamstring – but it was enough to make him feel uncomfortable. He couldn’t fully sprint, so he had to come off.
“We were going to make the change [in the first half], he said he was fine and wanted to carry on. And then at half-time, it became clear so he couldn’t, so that’s why we made the change.” – Eddie Howe on Fabian Schar
Tino Livramento (£4.0m) and Lewis Hall (£4.2m) returned to the back four. Livramento has been battling ongoing ankle pain recently but lasted 90 minutes here, which could bode well for Double Gameweek 37. If and when Kieran Trippier (£6.6m) returns, Livramento does have the capacity to switch flanks (and Howe has largely preferred him to Hall).
“Tino will be better for today. We had a meeting yesterday, and he said he felt fit to play. He said he felt good. I backed him, and I thought he gave a really good performance for us.” – Eddie Howe
WILSON + ISAK TOGETHER
There’s not much left to say about Alexander Isak (£8.2m) and Anthony Gordon (£6.2m), who continued their fine form with double-digit hauls.
Isak is now the leading (active) forward for minutes per goal (M/G) this season:
For the second match running, we got to see Isak paired with substitute Callum Wilson (£7.8m)- rather than the latter eating into Isak’s minutes. Isak played just off Wilson, who went on to score Newcastle’s fifth, in a 4-4-2/4-2-3-1.
You wonder if Howe might try this again, from the start, before the season is out.
“I thought he looked great today when he came on, he probably could have scored more than the one he did but the one he did get was an incredible finish.
“To see him and Alex link in the way that they did and see how threatening they were on the pitch together is a great sign for us team.” – Eddie Howe
One word of warning: three of Newcastle’s remaining four fixtures are on the road. They’ve been considerably worse on their travels than at home this season. Gordon, for instance, has blanked in all but two of his away fixtures.
AIT-NOURI’S “KNOCK”
Also picking up an injury was Rayan Ait-Nouri (£4.8m), who hobbled out of Wolves’ win over Luton.
Gary O’Neil’s press conference isn’t available online but a journalist who was present brought some fairly encouraging news:
Ait-Nouri, back at wing-back after his recent moonlighting in the front three, was predictably less of a goal threat, although still advanced down the left flank.
Wolves are likely off the menu for most Fantasy managers now, with a tricky run of remaining games. Even Crystal Palace, on current form, will pose problems.
What Gary O’Neil’s side can be are clean sheet busters.
Goals have been harder to come by in the absence of Hwang Hee-chan (£5.6m), Matheus Cunha (£5.4m) and Pedro Neto (£5.5m). Recently we have seen Ait-Nouri, teenage strikers, and midfielders like Tommy Doyle (£4.4m) having to provide emergency cover in attack.
Hwang and Cunha are now fit, while Neto is on his way back.
The win over Luton was remarkably the first time in which Cunha and Hwang had been in the same starting XI in 2024. The pair duly combined for Wolves’ first goal.
“It’s amazing the difference having a couple of attackers available to you can make. We’ve not been able to name Cunha and Channy in the same starting XI since December 30. Although they’re both not fully fit at this moment, to have them both starting is a massive boost to everybody and Pedro’s not too far away either.” – Gary O’Neil
Wolves scored in every match from Gameweeks 2-16, just to underscore how potent their attack can be at full strength.
ADEBAYO RETURNS
Talking of attacks being bolstered, Luton welcomed back Elijah Adebayo (£4.8m) as a substitute on Saturday after a lengthy absence.
He appears high up the minutes per goal table above. When he’s ready to start, we may see Carlton Morris (£4.8m) move back to one of the support striker slots – a tactic that Rob Edwards was employing before Adebayo’s injury.
Morris had notched his tenth goal of the season when scoring the Hatters’ consolation.
Luton have now scored in 22 of their last 23 league fixtures (Arsenal being the only team to keep them out), so clean sheets have become a rarity for opposing defences.
