Following up on his 17-pointer in Gameweek 26, Virgil van Dijk (£5.9m) produced another double-digit haul on Sunday.
Kicking off our Sunday Scout Notes, it’s Nottingham Forest 0-1 Liverpool.
ANOTHER VAN DIJK HAUL
After scoring the winner at the Stadium of Light in Gameweek 26, van Dijk once again played a pivotal role for Liverpool on Sunday.
The Dutchman provided the assist for Alexis Mac Allister’s (£6.2m) late strike, when the Argentine slammed home the rebound after his header was parried away.
van Dijk’s third attacking return in five Gameweeks, as well as his second consecutive clean sheet, has led to a rise in demand for his services.
Indeed, he’s the second most-bought player of Gameweek 28 so far:
It’s not just the recent returns in van Dijk’s favour, it’s also Liverpool’s upcoming fixtures:
Liverpool rank third-best for expected goals conceded (xGC) since the start of December, but for large spells on Sunday, particularly in the first half, they looked very untidy.
SLOT ON WIRTZ
The back issue suffered by Florian Wirtz (£8.4m) in the warm-up probably didn’t help, as it forced Arne Slot into a last-minute change.
Initially named in the Liverpool starting XI, the German schemer had to be replaced by Curtis Jones (£5.4m).
Slot at least doesn’t think it is serious, a relief for his 13.9% ownership.
“We don’t think it is very serious, but he felt his back too much during the warm-up to start. He wasn’t able to be 100% or even close to 100%. I think after being in this league for six, seven or eight months, he now understands no matter how good you are on the ball, you need to be 100% at this level. So, we decided not to play him. We hope and expect he will be able to be with us again next week but you never know how things work out.” – Arne Slot on Florian Wirtz
SALAH’S RECENT FORM
Liverpool had eight days to prepare for this fixture, whereas Forest only returned from Istanbul on Friday. However, you would never have guessed, as the visitors found themselves confined to their own half for large periods.
It impacted Mohamed Salah (£14.0m), who created a ‘big chance’ for Jones but failed to register a single shot on goal.
He’s been ticking over with assists lately, but notably, it’s now nine Premier League games without a goal for the Egyptian.
Subbed off on 77 minutes, his replacement, Rio Ngumoha (£4.3m), had a much bigger impact.
“The first goal that was disallowed was mainly because of him – and a great cross for Hugo [Ekitike] and normally you would expect that to be a goal. Especially for Hugo as he’s such a good finisher. A good action of him and one-v-one. It was what this game needed. Either a set-piece or a moment like this.
“That’s why I brought him on. First off the left, where there was not a lot of involvement. Then off the right, where there was much more involvement. He already plays a big part for a 17-year-old. Tell me wherever in the Premier League a player has had so many minutes. That tells you what kind of a talent he is, and how much we appreciate him.” – Arne Slot on Rio Ngumoha
Hugo Ekitike (£8.9m), meanwhile, missed a very decent chance late on and was poor overall.
A quick word on Dominik Szoboszlai (£6.8m), too. He started at right-back at the City Ground, but in response to problems all over the pitch, shifted into a central midfield role half-an-hour in, with Jones consequently dropping into the back four. Liverpool looked a bit more solid after, with Szoboszlai finishing the match with five chances created, the most of any player on Sunday.
Jeremie Frimpong (£5.7m) should be back for the visit of West Ham United next weekend, too, so he could stay in central midfield.
FOREST UNDER PEREIRA
Above: Nottingham Forest’s average position map v Liverpool
Buoyed by their midweek win in Turkey, this was a really positive performance by Forest. It ultimately ended in defeat, but make no mistake, Vitor Pereira’s troops were well on top.
If it weren’t for an excellent early save from Alisson Becker (£5.4m) to deny Callum Hudson-Odoi (£5.7m), they would have taken the lead.
Pereira named an unchanged line-up from the team that won at Fenerbahce, with Morgan Gibbs-White (£7.3m) superb in the first-half.
Elliot Anderson (£5.4m) was the standout performer, however.
In an all-action display, he racked up four shots and two chances created. He also took three of Forest’s five corners and banked defensive contribution (DefCon) points for the 11th (!) consecutive Gameweek, a period which has seen him average 4.8 points per start.
Next up for Anderson and co: a home clash with Fenerbahce on Thursday, followed by a trip to Brighton and Hove Albion next weekend.
“We are creating. In the first half, we crossed a lot of balls into the box and tried to shoot a lot. We tried to get one-on-one situations. Every time, we were ready to attack and not allow them chances. We played very good football. The second half was not the same because it was impossible to have the same energy.” – Vitor Pereira
