FPL GW3 Weekly Summary: Eye Test + players who impressed

The next instalment of the weekly summary, focusing on all the matches played over the course of Gameweek 3.

Tottenham Hotspur vs Wolverhampton Wanderers

Result: 1-0

Scorers: TOT – Kane 64’ (A. Perišić)

WOL – None

MOTM: Ivan Perišić (TOT)

Line-ups:

Tottenham Hotspur: Lloris, Sanchez, Dier, Davies, Emerson, Højbjerg, Bentancur, Perišić (Sessegnon 76’), Kulusevski (Bissouma 86’), Son (Richarlison 76’), Kane.

Wolverhampton Wanderers: Sá, Jonny, Collins, Kilman, Ait-Nouri (Semedo 71’), Neves, Nunes, Moutinho (Dendoncker 58’), Podence (Jiménez 59’), Neto (Traoré 71’), Guedes (Hwang 81’).

The one goal in the second half for Tottenham was enough to secure the three points for the first opening game of the weekend. After a disappointing first half, Tottenham fought back to get the decisive goal to secure 7 points from 9, especially having not hit top form yet. Wolves were unlucky not to secure any points from the game, despite having an excellent first half, however the chances still lack a solid number 9 to finish them off.

It was a quiet first half for the front three for Spurs, not seeing much of the ball but it was the second half that Dejan Kulusevski (£8.2m) came to life. Finding space and attacking down the right-hand side caused a lot of problems for Wolves, sending dangerous balls into the box which would have increased the score line.

Son Heung-Min (£11.9m) was the quietest one out of the forward three and not one of his best performances. His crosses were mediocre by his usual standards, and only had one brilliant chance with his shot hitting the side of the post from a Kulusevski pass.

Harry Kane (£11.4m) finished the game with another goal, being in the right place at the right time to read the flight of the ball flicked across the box by Perišić in the air and score the easy tap in header. A quiet first half but kept very central and direct up front, by the second half he caused Wolves a lot of problems with his dangerous headers, hitting the post and scoring the only goal. With his goal, he adds to his tally of 185 goals in the Premier League, putting him 4^th of all-time Prem goal scorers.

Ivan Perišić (£5.4m), his first full game in the Premier League since joining Spurs, showcased a brilliant performance. Making 3 key passes during the game and created the assist by turning a poor corner into a brilliant one, flicking a headed pass upwards towards the back post for Kane to header in. Rewarding FPL managers who kept faith in him with a clean sheet and an assist in his first full game, will prove how vital the Croatian will be for Spurs this season.

With an uninspiring first half, Spurs were spurred on in the second half, the match stats from MOTD below indicate a drastic difference from the first half to the second. Tottenham manager Antonio Conte must take so much credit for this in order to drive his team forward and perform the way that they did.

Despite this name now putting Wolves to ten games without a win, Wolves had a fantastic first half and showcased an advert to any striker that might be wanting to join them before the transfer window closes. An excellent performance across the pitch except missing the minor detail – the deadly finish. I can see Wolves being one striker away from becoming a brilliant side.

Wolves had João Moutinho (£4.9m) back in the line-up today which will give Wolves more attacking threat with Moutinho’s ability to play good passes through the oppositions’ defence.

There was a debut for record breaking signing Matheus Nunes (£5.0m). Nunes put in a decent performance, close to scoring a goal with a header that went just wide of the post and made some good attacking runs lurking in the box from time to time. I’m sure he will be an asset for Wolves in future games.

Wolves also welcomed back Raúl Jiménez (£6.9m) that was substituted on in the 59^th minute. He will be a boost for Wolves with his track scoring record and put in a decent shift, looking dangerous in the final third and making good forward runs.

Crystal Palace vs Aston Villa

Result: 3-1

Scorers: CRY – Zaha 7’ (A. Édouard), 58’, Mateta 71’ (A. Mitchell).

AVL – Watkins 5’ (A. Bailey).

MOTM: Wilfried Zaha (CRY)

Line-ups:

Crystal Palace: Guaita, Ward, Andersen, Guéhi, Mitchell, Schlupp (Hughes 82’), Doucouré, Eze (Richards 90+1’), Ayew (Olise 70’), Zaha (Milivojevic 82’), Édouard (Mateta 70’).

Aston Villa: Martínez, Cash, Konsa, Mings, Digne, McGinn (Luiz 73’), Kamara, Ramsey, Bailey (Ings 66’), Buendía (Coutinho 73’), Watkins.

A tight game with plenty of chances for both teams. Aston Villa hit the ball rolling with a long ball expertly headered on from Bailey into Watkins that sent their team ahead. It was a fast response from Palace, who broke quickly on the counterattack with Odsonne Édouard (£5.5m) flicking the ball into Zaha to tuck in a lovely finish. Chances came for both teams with a Palace goal marginally ruled out for offside and a Bailey effort hitting the bar. The second goal for Palace came from a penalty after a handball by Lucas Digne (£4.9m) that was initially saved by Emiliano Martínez (£5.0m), but the rebound gave Zaha a second chance to finish. The game was wrapped up with Palace finding a third.

Eberechi Eze (£5.5m) was creative during the game, with three chances created and one big chance respectively. All of Palace’s dangerous come through the link up play between Eze and Zaha, they give a level of threat and quality and have been playing with such confidence.

Wilfred Zaha (£7.1m) is by far the standout player for Palace so far. With two goals here and a goal last weekend, he is proving to be a very dangerous player this season. His dribbling was magnificent, creative with three chances created and a goalscoring machine. Zaha has the third most goals in the Premier League this year, with only Tottenham duo Harry Kane and Son Heung-Min ahead of him. With only three very difficult games in the next 14 Gameweeks, Zaha could be a good option for FPL managers.

Only a few dangerous chances for Villa, with Ollie Watkins (£7.4m) and Leon Bailey (£4.9m) the standouts from the game. Bailey had only the one shot all game which was the effort to hit the post and Watkins with only two shots in the box. Aston Villa now have four difficult fixtures in a row and might be the time to offload any assets.

Everton vs Nottingham Forest

Result: 1-1

Scorers: EVE – Gray 88’ (A. Pickford).

NFO – Johnson 81’.

MOTM: Dean Henderson (NFO)

Line-ups:

Everton: Pickford, Holgate, Coady, Tarkowski, Patterson, Davies (Onana 57’), Iwobi, Mykolenko, Gordon, Gray, Rondón (McNeil 57’).

Nottingham Forest: Henderson, Worrall, Cook, McKenna, Williams, Mangala (Yates 55’), O’Brien, Toffolo, Lingard (Kouyaté 84’), Johnson, Awoniyi (Gibbs-White 61’).

Another even game with chances for both teams during much of the game. A tight affair with both goalkeepers not really being tested. Newly promoted Nottingham Forest took the lead late on with an initial Ryan Yates (£5.0m) shot saved but parried for Brennan Johnson (£5.9m) to quickly pounce and score. From then on, Everton dominated the ball and finally the chance came with an advanced Jordan Pickford (£4.5m) sending the ball up for Gray to react and sprint to reach the ball and tuck in a lovely finish to equalise.

Demarai Gray (£5.5m) was by far the liveliest player on the pitch, getting a goal for his efforts. He was always cutting inside the box, whipping in dangerous crosses and having 6 shots around the box. All Everton’s chances came with the linkup play between himself and teammate Gordon.

Anthony Gordon (£5.5m) was creative on set pieces with 3 chances created, he looked dangerous inside the box with a total of 5 shots. It is important to mention that Chelsea are interested in signing Gordon, with the London club prepared to pay £60million for the English asset.

Neco Williams (£4.1m) had a great game with many attacking runs. He was highly advanced and was also taking set pieces including a direct free kick. He created 2 chances with also a shot inside the box.

Fulham vs Brentford

Result: 3-2

Scorers: FUL – Cordova-Reid 1’, Palhinha 20’ (A. Pereira), Mitrovic 90’ (A. Mbabu).

BRE – Nørgaard 44’ (A. Jensen), Toney 71’ (A. Wissa).

MOTM: Ivan Toney (BRE)

Line-ups:

Fulham: Leno, Tete (Mbabu 77’), Adarabioyo, Ream, Robinson, Reed, Palhinha, Stansfield (Cairney 77’), Pereira, De Cordova-Reid, Mitrovic (Duffy 90+2’).

Brentford: Raya, Hickey (Lewis-Potter 60’), Jansson, Mee, Henry, Dasilva (Baptiste 74’), Nørgaard, Jensen (Janelt 60’), Mbuemo, Wissa (Ghoddos 83’), Toney.

An entertaining game which started right from the get-go with Fulham taking the lead within 50 seconds. Fulham continued to dominate with a goal scored by Mitrovic was flagged for offside but took their lead to two with a João Palhinha (£5.0m) header from a Pereira cross. Brentford managed to close the deficit with a goal from Jensen just before half-time. In the second half, Brentford continued to try and find their way back with a goal from Toney but was ruled out for offside however, they completed the comeback in the 71^st minute with a goal finally this time from inform Toney following Yoane Wissa’s (£5.4m) cross. Fulham saw more of the ball after Brentford’s equaliser with David Raya (£4.5m) being exceptionally busy keeping out a free kick and two shots to deny Mitrovic. In the last few minutes of the game, a Kevin Mbabu (£4.5m) cross found the dangerous Mitrovic to score the winner with a header.

Aleksandar Mitrovic (£6.6m), the main target man was proving to be dangerous all game. Seven shots inside the box, missing four big chance involvements, and thirteen penalty area touches which deservedly got his goal in the end.

Andreas Pereira (£4.5m) also impressed during the game. Firstly, being on set pieces with four chances created and getting the assist from the corner. Being a very cheap midfielder and on a lot of FPL teams’ benches, he is someone from time to time to be brought on when Fulham have an easier game.

Fulham struggled the last time they were in the Premier League but seemingly have learnt lessons for this time round. They are impressive by the way they have adapted and an obvious difference with the statistics from MOTD.

Possession has obviously gone down seeing as Fulham are now facing better oppositions. The passing accuracy is more deliberate seeing as they are taking more risks and going more direct. Passing forward has gone up seeing you want to score goals and get points and longer passes have increased respectively. Fulham showed the intent and played more courageous. Seven men were committed forward in the first minute when they scored their goal which set the tone and intent for the match.

Brentford played their part in the thriller and hard to criticise after coming back from behind as they did in the opening game to level against Leicester and here again only losing in the final minutes.

Ivan Toney (£7.2m) continued his impressive form with a goal and having two shots in the box plus one chance created. It takes him now to 8 goals and 5 assists from the last 14 games which shows he is only getting better and better with 2 goals disallowed in the game also. Would recommend having him in your FPL teams now with a 17% selection rate and 382,000 managers so far bringing him in for Gameweek 4.

Both Bryan Mbeumo (£6.0m) and Mathias Jensen (£5.1m) shared the set pieces in the game today. Mbeumo with three chances created and Jensen with two respectively. Brentford have brilliant fixtures coming up so would recommend bringing in some assets.

Leicester City vs Southampton

Result: 1-2

Scorers: LEI – Maddison 54’.

SOU – Adams 68’ (A. Bella-Kotchap) 84’ (A. Ward-Prowse).

MOTM: Che Adams (SOU)

Line-ups:

Leicester City: Ward, Castagne, Amartey, Evans, Justin, Ndidi, Pérez (Tielemans 65’), Maddison, Dewsbury-Hall, Barnes (Iheanacho 76’), Vardy (Daka 65’).

Southampton: Bazunu, Walker-Peters, Bella-Kotchap, Salisu, Djenepo, Ward-Prowse, Lavia, Aribo (Lyanco 88’), Elyounoussi, A.Armstrong (S.Armstrong 70’), Mara (Adams 59’).

Sub-lime saints once again stole the headlines with an impressive win. After a slow first half, Leicester took the lead after a delightful free kick by Maddison but it was not to last with Adams getting the equaliser that had been coming. The Saints took the lead with an impressive volley by substitute Adams after an initial Ward-Prowse cross. Adams had the chance to make it a hattrick within 30 minutes from coming on, but his attempt hit the post. Leicester were extremely poor in the second half and continue to concede more goals, the most conceded out of all teams.

With the usual Leaky Leicester, it’s advisable to not completely depend on Danny Ward (£4.0m) with 8 goals conceded so far and clean sheets will be extremely rare.

James Maddison (£8.0m) scored a lovely free kick during the game but had only one shot in the box with one chance created. With two goals and an assist from the first three games, Maddison is easily the best asset from Leicester.

Both Jamie Vardy (£9.4m) and Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall (£5.0m) were exceptionally quiet today. With Southampton pressing and dominating in the second half, Vardy played deep and throughout the whole game had no shots in the box. Dewsbury-Hall only had one chance created and Leicester now face difficult games with Chelsea in Gameweek 4 and Manchester United in Gameweek 5.

Che Adams (£6.4m) had a brilliant game and unlucky not to get the hattrick after his first two goals. Southampton’s next two Gameweeks are difficult, with Manchester United in Gameweek 4 and Chelsea in Gameweek 5 however Gameweeks 6-9 might be the perfect time to consider Southampton assets.

James Ward-Prowse (£6.5m) was the other standout player from the game. Very creative with four chances created and two big chances, while also being dangerous on set-pieces.

AFC Bournemouth vs Arsenal

Result: 0-3

Scorers: BOU – None

ARS – Ødegaard 5’, 11’ (A. Jesus), Saliba 54’ (A.Xhaka).

MOTM: Martin Ødegaard (ARS)

Line-ups:

AFC Bournemouth: Travers, Mepham, Senesi (Anthony 45’), Kelly, Lerma, Smith, Tavernier, Pearson (Cook 45’), Zemura, Moore, Billing (Christie 65’).

Arsenal: Ramsdale, White (Tomiyasu 75’), Saliba, Gabriel, Zinchenko, Partey, Xhaka, Saka, Ødegaard (Smith Rowe 74’), Martinelli (Nketiah 74’), Jesus.

A comfortable win for the transformed Gunners that make it 3 wins out of 3, their best start of the season since the Invincibles. Bournemouth responded to last week’s heavy defeat with Scott Parker selecting a physical side with an intention to unsettle Arsenal. However, it was not enough with Arsenal’s slick cut passing and the Cherries left sluggish with all outfield players being pinned back in their own half. Changes at half time brought out a vast improvement, only for Arsenal to add a third goal to put the game to bed.

Bournemouth will be looking for reinforcements before the transfer window closes on September 1^st, especially in defence and up front with new signing Marcos Senesi (£4.5m) struggling against an electrifying Jesus. They will be able to have more strength up front when Dominic Solanke (£5.9m) returns from an ankle injury, but against the sheer quality of Arsenal, the squad looks short of Premier League quality.

Gabriel Jesus (£8.1m) continued his excellent form with another electrifying performance. He was unlucky not to be on the scoresheet with a goal disallowed by VAR and their blurry cameras and a good chance saved by the Bournemouth goalkeeper. The most owned FPL player of all time did give owners a small margin of points, securing an assist from a touch that fell into the path of Ødegaard to find the back of the net.

New Arsenal captain Martin Ødegaard (£6.4m) was the star of the show, scoring Arsenal’s two opening goals. The first a rebound after Bournemouth’s Mark Travers (£4.5m) saved Martinelli’s initial shot and the second hammered in after a Jesus heavy touch teed him up. The Norwegian delivered FPL owners his highest ever points haul with 16 points.

Gabriel Martinelli (£6.3m) rewarded FPL owners with another assist taking his total points tally to 22 points, the second highest of all Arsenal assets.

Bukayo Saka (£7.9m) continues to disappoint FPL managers with another blank, with the majority favouring cheaper alternative Martinelli. Saka failed to register a single touch or shot in the box all game. With Fulham at home in their next fixture and previous oppositions creating their chances more often on Saka’s flank, it might not all be doom and gloom.

William Saliba (£4.6m), last year’s League 1 young player of the year whilst on loan at Marseille, had his best performance yet. On the back of an own goal last week, he more than made up for it with a sumptuous strike that found its way into the top right-hand corner of the goal.

Oleksandr Zinchenko (£5.2m) gave Arsenal a level of control; he can read danger, zero panic when defending opposition attacks and give quick, accurate forward passes. With Zinchenko having the highest win percentage out of all premier league players, past and new, he sets the standard for his new team and is becoming a real talent.

I am sure Arsenal will face harder tests ahead, but the Gunners have already set the bar high with their excellent start to the new season.

Leeds United vs Chelsea

Result: 3-0

Scorers: LEE – Aaronson 33’, Rodrigo 37’ (A. Harrison), Harrison 69’ (A. Rodrigo).

CHE – None

MOTM: Rodrigo Moreno (LEE)

Line-ups:

Leeds United: Meslier, Kristensen, Koch, Llorente, Struijk, Adams, Roca (Forshaw 61’), James (Sinisterra 70’), Aaronson (Klich 83’), Harrison (Greenwood 83’), Rodrigo (Gelhardt 83’).

Chelsea: Mendy, James, Silva, Koulibaly, Loftus-Cheek, Jorginho (Ziyech 64’), Mount (Chilwell 77’), Gallagher (Pulisic 64’), Cucurella, Havertz, Sterling (Azpilicueta 87’).

Leeds put on a masterclass performance as they breeze pass ten-man Chelsea to take them third in the Premier League table. Chelsea started the game brightly but after an Edouard Mendy (£5.0m) howler Leeds were able to press high up the pitch with Brenden Aaronson (£5.5m) able to pounce and score the opener. The game got worse for Chelsea with a delightful free kick put in dangerously for Rodrigo to capitalise and send Leeds two-nil up. The game was wrapped up with Rodrigo flicking the ball on inside the box for Harrison to find the back of the net. Chelsea’s day finished with Koulibaly sent off after a second yellow 6 minutes before the end of the game.

Leeds showed energy and pressing from the get-go to not give Chelsea a moment to recuperate. They gave them little chance to settle into the game with Leeds given the freedom to play and cause all sorts of problems. The attitude never changed even when the game was home and dry, the commitment was always there to try and find more opportunities to score more.

Jack Harrison (£6.0m) was quality on the wing, always looking to bring the ball forward and never going backwards. His crossing was perfection and got the assist from sending the ball dangerously into the box from the free kick. Everything he did just came off and even when Chelsea managed to attack, he was there to defend well. The stats show how impressive Harrison and Rodrigo have been for Leeds so far.

Rodrigo Moreno (£6.3m) has been in fantastic form and continues to flourish after this game also. Rodrigo was direct, dangerous inside the box with a total of five shots. With a goal and an assist here, he is proving to be the real deal this season, with already being selected by over 23% of FPL managers and almost one million transfers in for Gameweek 4. Even without Patrick Bamford (£7.4m), both players have developed and are becoming two very important players for Leeds.

Kalidou Koulibaly (£5.6m) struggled after his good game last week. With a yellow card received within the first ten minutes, it was always going to be a long afternoon for him and obviously sent off after a second yellow. He is the type of player to get sent off with six sending offs since 2017/18, which is the most out of any player from all clubs in the top five European Leagues. You would feel that oppositions will target this.

The game highlighted once again that Chelsea really are missing that number 9. Chelsea had chances during the game but did not take them and you would expect a club of Chelsea’s stature to have that focal point in the team. Raheem Sterling (£9.9m) plays a very different game when playing through the centre and does tend to drift over to the left and right-hand sides.

West Ham United vs Brighton and Hove Albion

Result: 0-2

Scorers: WHU – None

BHA – Mac Allister 22’ (Pen), Trossard 66’ (A. Groß).

MOTM: Robert Sánchez (BHA)

Line-ups:

West Ham United: Fabianski, Coufal (Johnson 75’), Zouma, Kehrer, Cresswell, Soucek, Rice, Bowen, Fornals (Scamacca 62’), Benrahma (Lanzini 75’), Antonio (Cornet 75’).

Brighton and Hove Albion: Sánchez, Veltman, Dunk, Webster, March (Mwepu 85’), Mac Allister, Caicedo, Trossard (Mitoma 90+3’), Groß, Lallana (Estupiñán 63’), Welbeck.

Brighton took all three points from the game against a lethargic West Ham side. Brighton opened the proceedings with an Alexis Mac Allister (£5.5m) penalty goal after Welbeck was fouled by West Ham debutant Thilo Kehrer (£4.5m). Brighton extended their lead following a lovely flick on by Groß to send Trossard through and score. Not many attempts on at goal for either side, with both of Brighton’s two shots on target went in and West Ham’s were saved by goalkeeper Robert Sánchez (£4.5m), who is starting to become a popular choice for FPL managers.

Danny Welbeck (£6.5m) led the line to bring Brighton further up the pitch that brought the team to play, he came short to then sprint in-behind the defenders and looked lively all game. There’s more to his game than goals now and if he stays fit, he will be able to make a lot of difference.

Leandro Trossard (£6.5m) had an excellent performance looking lively and dangerous with his dribbling. Five shots inside the box with two chances created. Pascal Groß (£5.7m) was also very creative today with two chances created and on set-pieces. With a 26-minute debut for Pervis Estupiñán (£4.5m), he looked very dangerous on the flank with his crossing and created one big chance that was headed over by Solly March (£5.0m).

West Ham were far too slow today with many players sitting deep in their own half. It was a very disappointing game for the Hammers. Michail Antonio (£7.4m) was awfully quiet while Tomas Soucek (£5.4m) looked dangerous inside the box with his headers. Aaron Cresswell (£5.0m) also provided two chances from set pieces but nothing too worrying for Brighton.

Newcastle United vs Manchester City

Result: 3-3

Scorers: NEW – Almirón 28’ (A. Saint-Maximin), Wilson 39’ (A. Saint-Maximin), Trippier 54’ (A. Saint-Maximin).

MCI – Gündogan 5’ (A. Silva), Haaland 60’ (A. Rodri), Silva 64’ (A. De Bruyne).

MOTM: Erling Haaland (MCI)

Line-ups:

Newcastle United: Pope, Trippier, Schär, Botman, Burn (Krafth 90+5’), Willock (S. Longstaff 70’), Guimarães, Joelinton, Almirón (Murphy 83’), Saint-Maximin, Wilson (Wood 69’).

Manchester City: Ederson, Walker, Stones, Aké (Dias 21’), Cancelo, De Bruyne, Rodri, Gündogan, Silva, Foden, Haaland.

The shares spoiled as City fight back in a 6-goal thriller. Newcastle fought hard and deservedly earned themselves a draw in a spectacular game. City took the lead within 5 minutes and expectedly to add more in quick succession, however this was not the case, Newcastle dominated since conceding early and turned the game on its head with goals from Miguel Almirón (£5.0m) and Callum Wilson (£7.4m) prior to half time. The Magpies went 3-1 up with an impressive free kick courtesy of Trippier but as Champions do, City fought back to get two goals in 4 minutes to bring the teams level once more.

Allan Saint-Maximin (£6.4m) was just superb today, everything good came from the left-hand side and picked up two assists in the first half. Statistics via Sofascore showed he was Newcastle’s highest-rated player, creating two ‘big chances’, four key passes, winning six duels, three successful dribbles and proving to be an absolute nightmare for Kyle Walker (£5.1m) to deal with on that flank. It is safe to say that his performance today against the reigning champions of all teams was unsurpassed.

Kieran Trippier (£5.0m) scored an astonishing free kick to send their team 3-1 up at the time. Newcastle’s captain continued to reward FPL managers with another 6 points and proving to be an asset in teams. 73,000 new managers so far have brought him in ready for GW4.

Bernardo Silva (£6.8m) was the star for Manchester City today, picking up a goal and an assist to help his side salvage a draw. The assist coming from a brilliant pass to find Ilkay Gündogan (£7.5m) in the box to tuck it away and got the goal to level up the scores from a beautiful pass by De Bruyne. Selected by only 4.5% of managers, they were certainly rewarded earning their teams 13 points.

Kevin De Bruyne (£12.1m) put in another good performance as he created the assist for the leveller. 4 key passes and 3 big chances created during the game shows how important he is to this City side.

Erling Haaland (£11.7m) rewarded owners with another goal. The Norwegian had two other big chances missed with one attempt hitting the post, on another day he could have easily had more goals to his name. There is of course the risk of the ‘Pep rotation’, especially when the cup competitions are looming. Pep Guardiola mentioned that when City “have games every three days that Erling will not play, I will play Julián [Álvarez]”.

Injuries: There are fresh injury concerns for Newcastle, Ryan Fraser (£5.3m) was among the substitutes but unable to be utilised from the bench as Magpies head coach Eddie Howe confirmed Fraser picked up a groin injury during the warmup. There were also concerns with forward Callum Wilson, with the Toon’s number nine undergoing a scan following a hamstring issue. The issue could be long term with Newcastle plunging into the transfer marked by agreeing a deal with Spanish side Real Sociedad to sign forward Alexander Isak.

Manchester United vs Liverpool

Result: 2-1

Scorers: MUN – Sancho 16’ (A. Elanga), Rashford 53’ (A. Martial).

LIV – Salah 81’ (A. Carvalho).

MOTM: Marcus Rashford (MUN)

Line-ups:

Manchester United: De Gea, Dalot (Wan-Bissaka 86’), Varane, Martínez, Malacia, Eriksen (van de Beek 86’), McTominay, Elanga (Martial 45’), Fernandes, Sancho (Fred 71’), Rashford (Ronaldo 86’).

Liverpool: Alisson, Alexander-Arnold, Gomez, van Dijk, Robertson (Tsimikas 85’), Milner (Carvalho 73’), Henderson (Fabinho 59’), Elliott, Salah, Díaz, Firmino.

Manchester United looked unrecognisable as they earned a deserved win against Liverpool. Erik Ten Hag picked up his first win as the new United boss with a performance of class and intensity with Liverpool still looking for their first win of the new Season. Goals from Sancho and Rashford were enough to keep out Liverpool, despite Liverpool finding a late goal through Salah. This is now Liverpool’s sixth consecutive game conceding the first goal with clean sheets now becoming scarce.

Marcus Rashford (£6.3m) looked like his old self in the game, playing in a centralised role seemed to have suited him perfectly. He was able to find dangerous positions having 5 shots in the box and grabbing a goal for his efforts.

Jadon Sancho (£7.3m) picked up his goal but scoring from his only shot in the box. Bruno Fernandes (£9.8m) also had a better performance, cutting into advance positions to create one big chance and have a big chance himself.

Both Lisandro Martínez (£4.4m) and Raphael Varane (£4.8m) had exceptional games at the back, with Tyrell Malacia (£4.4m) still adjusting to the Premier League had his first full game and was outstanding. Not many left-backs have been able to keep Salah quiet but did it superbly. It will be difficult and take something special for Luke Shaw (£4.9m) to get back in the starting eleven.

With Mohamed Salah (£13.0m) being the top choice captaincy pick this Gameweek, his Mo-ment finally came and rewarded FPL owners with a goal. Despite being kept out for most of the game thanks to the instrumental Malacia, he did still manage to have three shots in the box with four chances created. If you are considering removing Liverpool assets this week, I do still recommend keeping Salah especially with Bournemouth at home in Gameweek 4.

After his heroics last week, Luis Díaz (£8.0m) was playing deeper and wider compared to Salah, he did manage to have two shots in the box and did miss one big chance. He still looks very dangerous and worth keeping with Bournemouth on the horizon.

Both Trent Alexander-Arnold (£7.5m) and Andrew Robertson (£6.9m) were sharing set pieces with two chances created each, but with four total points in the Fantasy each, FPL managers believe their time is running out. Trent with 332,000 transfers out so far and Robertson with 98,000 so far respectively.

Liverpool definitely lack when it comes to options to change the game. A weak bench and injuries to a lot of major stars gives manager Jürgen Klopp not a lot of options. Prior to the game, Liverpool were without Naby Keita (£4.9m), Ibrahima Konaté (£4.9m), Diogo Jota (£8.9m), Thiago Alcántara (£5.3m), Joel Matip (£5.9m), Curtis Jones (£4.9m) and Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain (£4.9m) through injury and Darwin Núñez (£9.0m) through suspension.

Conclusion

We hope our GW3 Weekly summary helped you gather some useful information before this week’s deadline.

Jordan Williams

Manchester United fan and Fantasy Football enthusiast. Content Writer for Fantasy Football Reports.