This article is part of our Ball Watching series.
Pardew's Promise
The new Crystal Palace boss promised that he would go on the offensive with the Eagles, and he did not disappoint. The south London club attempted 21 shots, 15 of which came from inside the box, both best in the league last weekend. This means that the likes of Wilfried Zaha and Jason Puncheon have massive value, if started. This also means that Fraizer Campbell, and whoever else plays at the forward position have potential value. Let's hope that with quantity of shots, come quantity of goals.
Cut ties with Santi Cazorla
My colleague Chris Mosinski loves what Santi Cazorla has done (four goals and three assists in 20 games). I, however, am focusing on his future. Specifically, his rotation-bound future. Theo Walcott and Meszut Ozil returned from long-term injuries last weekend and Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain has been back for some time. We all know that Alexis Sanchez is not going anywhere and, if anything, Arsenal will add a striker option to replace the imminently outbound Yaya Sanogo. That leaves little consistent playing time for, at least, Cazorla. Cash in on the profit you can likely still get for him now.
Manchester United's defense is both bad and lucky.
The topical stats don't show this, but dig a little deeper, and there are a couple of big red flags. According to Adam Bate of Sky Sports, the Red Devils have committed the fourth-most errors that lead to shots (18) this season. Only Everton, Liverpool, and Arsenal have committed more such errors (23, 22, and 19, respectively). In the case of the teams not named Manchester United, those mistakes have led to 24 goals (a 37.5 percent rate). In the case of Manchester United, these errors have lead to only a single goal (5.5 percent rate). That is testament to two things: 1. That David De Gea has been fantastic in net and 2. That the defense has gotten very lucky. Either the errors must drop (unlikely given personnel) or the conversion rate must go up (more likely). Sell while you can.
Swansea on Gylfi Sigurdsson's Shoulders
The Icelandic midfielder had six attempts on goal last weekend, which was tops in the league amongst all midfielders. Combined with his passing/crossing abilities, this means that he is the focal point of the Swans' offensive threats. However, the imminent permanent departure of Wilfried Bony to Manchester City clouds the potential ceiling for Sigurdsson. I'm trying to be cautiously optimistic, but finding it more difficult.
Kieran Trippier's Simmering Value
The Burnley right-back does not have the offensive yield of an elite defense option, but if he consistently performs at his current rate, he'll be overflowing with value. His total number of crosses (42) and crosses completed (10) over the past four matches is tops in the league among defenders. At some point, his teammates are going to start converting the chances Trippier is creating. I'm possibly overly-optimistic over the young Englishman's potential value.
