Another bunch of Scout Notes from the EFL Cup fourth-round, this time covering the Fantasy Premier League (FPL) implications of Arsenal v Brighton and Hove Albion, plus Swansea City v Manchester City.
RESULTS
Team Opponent Result Goals Assists
Arsenal Brighton (h) 2-0 win Nwaneri, Saka Lewis-Skelly, Harriman-Annous
Man City Swansea (a) 3-1 win Doku, Marmoush, Cherki Ait-Nouri, Cherki, Gvardiol
SELECTION/ROTATION
Team Changes from GW9’s starting XI Players who kept their places (mins played) Mins for other notable players
Arsenal 10 Eze (82) Lewis-Skelly (90), Nwaneri (90), Saka (20), Gabriel (20), Timber (20), Rice (13)
Brighton 6 van Hecke (90), Baleba (90), Kadioglu (90), Georginio (67), De Cuyper (67) Ayari (45), Minteh (23), Welbeck (12)
Man City 10 Bobb (90) Doku (90), Marmoush (90), Cherki (90), Ait-Nouri (63), Foden (27), Gvardiol (27)
AN INJURY UPDATE ON HAALAND
When a team makes 10 changes for a cup game, it’s easy to dismiss their manager’s convenient mention of a ‘knock’, but Erling Haaland‘s (£14.8m) shin did collide with a goal post at Aston Villa last Sunday.
The Norwegian, owned by 68.7% of FPL squads, missed out on the Swansea encounter, but Pep Guardiola thinks he’ll be back to face Bournemouth.
“Yeah, I hope so” – Pep Guardiola on whether Erling Haaland will be fine for Sunday
Only Oscar Bobb (£5.4m) stayed in from the Villa Park starting XI, as Josko Gvardiol (£5.9m) and Phil Foden (£8.0m) made second-half cameos.
In fact, across these three Premier League teams, the only starters in over 3% of Fantasy squads were Jeremy Doku (£6.5m), Rayan Ait-Nouri (£5.8m) and Eberechi Eze (£7.6m).
MARMOUSH IS UP + RUNNING
FPL notes: Arsenal rests + an update on Haaland
Fellow Man City attacker Omar Marmoush (£8.3m) just missed a month because of his knee injury.
Here, he was given all 90 minutes and scored the second goal in their 3-1 comeback win over a mid-table Championship side.
It was assisted by Rayan Cherki (£6.3m), so, with the 22-year-old also back in action and amongst the goals, competition has increased in midfield. It could make Tijjani Reijnders‘ (£5.6m) remaining owners feel uncomfortable about these busy winter months, although his complete absence from this match likely means he’ll start against the Cherries.
RESTS FOR GYOKERES + CALAFIORI
Elsewhere, Arsenal also made 10 changes to their lineup. But it didn’t stop yet another clean sheet, making them the first side in English top-flight history to win all six games in a month without conceding a single goal. That’s across the Premier League, Champions League and EFL Cup.
FPL notes: Arsenal rests + an update on Haaland 1
Only Eze remained in a youthful XI that included 17-year-old Andre Harriman-Annous (£4.5m), 18-year-old Ethan Nwaneri (£5.2m), 19-year-old Myles Lewis-Skelly (£5.2m) and another piece of history, Max Dowman (£4.4m). Aged 15 years and 302 days, he is now the Gunners’ youngest ever starter.
Highly-owned FPL assets Bukayo Saka (£10.0m), Gabriel Magalhaes (£6.5m), Jurrien Timber (£6.1m) and Declan Rice (£6.7m) were later called upon, with the game finely balanced, but Viktor Gyokeres (£9.0m), David Raya (£5.8m) and Riccardo Calafiori (£5.8m) weren’t.
Perhaps the imminent trip to Burnley, who’ve conceded the most attempts (165) and shots on target (51), will finally give Gyokeres some goals. His confidence needs boosting after five consecutive FPL blanks.
NEW BRIGHTON SYSTEM?
As for Brighton, Fabian Hurzeler reacted to the defeat at Manchester United by reverting to a three-man defence. This formation brought him success at St Pauli, though it could be a one-off here, caused by the cup circumstances.
The Seagulls’ highest-owned starters were the 2.1% duo Maxim De Cuyper (£4.4m) and Carlos Baleba (£4.7m). That will make owners of Yankuba Minteh (£6.0m) and Danny Welbeck (£6.4m) confident of a start at home to Leeds United.
price change predictions