Fantasy Football Scout

We finish Gameweek 14’s Scout Notes by summarising the key Fantasy Premier League (FPL) talking points from two matches: Fulham v Brighton and Hove Albion, plus Bournemouth v Tottenham Hotspur.

The numbers and graphics you see in this article come from our Premium Members Area. Here, you can access Opta player and team data from every single Premier League fixture.

PEDRO ASSISTS, WELBECK INJURY

The carnage of Wednesday night’s rests and rotations preceded even more here. For example, over 2.1 million Danny Welbeck (£5.9m) owners are turning to their bench for autosubs – if any remain – because he wasn’t part of Brighton’s squad.

“It is a small issue that he got after conceding a foul against Southampton. We have to take care of him and hopefully he will be back on Sunday.” – Fabian Hurzeler to Amazon Prime, pre-match

Consequently, the much-owned Joao Pedro (£5.8m) played their centre-forward role and was a menace to Fulham’s backline. A couple of shots inside the box included one on target from a tight angle but, just as worries of a second successive blank began to form, the Brazilian controlled a long pass with a gorgeous touch, into the path of Carlos Baleba’s (£5.0m) left-footed, long-range equaliser.

Having narrowly missed out on bonuses, Pedro ended on five points. Perhaps the bigger concern is whether – after registering 79 minutes here – the Sunday trip to Leicester City will be his turn to begin on the sidelines.

Of the other notable Brighton assets, Kaoru Mitoma (£6.5m) was unable to make it three goals in three matches. But he set up promising Matt O’Riley (£5.5m) and Simon Adingra (£5.3m) efforts that failed to reach the net.

Defender Jan Paul van Hecke (£4.5m) received a yellow card, as did centre-back partner Lewis Dunk (£4.4m) on his comeback from injury.

REST FOR RAUL JIMENEZ

As for goalkeeper Bart Verbruggen (£4.5m), an error led to one of two Alex Iwobi (£5.6m) strikes, taking the Fulham man to four goals and a couple of assists in six matches. He’s being far more productive than midfield colleague Emile Smith Rowe (£5.6m), whose latest three outings have accumulated 0.12 expected goal involvement (xGI).

Marco Silva’s main decision concerned forward Raul Jimenez (£5.6m). The Mexican international entered with a five-game goalless streak and, during such a hectic period, a start was handed to Rodrigo Muniz (£5.5m) instead. And autosubs were prevented when Raul came on for a late cameo. Whether he returns to the line-up against Arsenal remains to be seen but sales are likely to increase beforehand.

Fulham went 2-1 ahead when Andreas Pereira’s (£5.1m) corner went in off the back of Brighton’s O’Riley. Then, Iwobi’s beautiful edge-of-the-box turn allowed him to curl a low shot into the far corner for three. Those still with Antonee Robinson (£4.7m) will be delighted to pick up an assist for it.

AWFUL SPURS BENCH PORRO + SON

Meanwhile, Spurs lived up to their ‘Jekyll and Hyde’ label by miserably losing at Bournemouth. It was one of the most dominant 1-0 wins you’ll ever see, with the Cherries having far more attempts inside the box (17 v 7), big chances (5 v 0) and expected goals (3.31 v 0.58).

Back in the starting XI after illness kept him out of last weekend’s proceedings, Dominic Solanke’s (£7.5m) main moment came early on when defender Dean Huijsen (£4.3m) mistakenly misjudged the ball’s bounce and let him in, though Solanke blazed over the bar. Still, this was more than anything Brennan Johnson (£6.7m) could muster. The Welshman had zero attempts and just 0.01 xGI.

Head coach Ange Postecoglou tried to replicate Gameweek 15 opponents Chelsea by strategically managing the minutes of star players ahead of Sunday’s big clash. He disappointed over 3.3 million managers by benching Pedro Porro (£5.6m), placing him alongside FPL legend Son Heung-min (£9.8m).

“Just rotation, mate. We’ve got so many games. Kulusevski had a rest at the weekend, it’s Sonny’s turn today. We’ve just got to be really careful, we’re kind of thin on numbers and we’ve got to look after our players.” – Ange Postecoglou on his team selection, speaking ahead of kick-off

The duo came on around the hour mark and almost made an impact. Son’s rebound tap-in was rightly flagged offside, while Porro zipped a fast shot at Kepa Arrizabalaga (£4.5m) following a corner.

But ultimately, it was all for nothing and they’re still missing important defender Cristian Romero (£5.0m).

WHICH CHERRIES ATTACKER?

Furthermore, it has to be said how great Bournemouth were. They recently picked up seven points from a spell against Arsenal, Aston Villa and Manchester City, making Spurs their newest victims.

Only one team has racked up more overall shots (219) and none have hit the woodwork on more occasions (eight). Combine all this with their place on top of our Season Ticker for the next six Gameweeks and it feels almost necessary to own one of their attackers.

However, ahead of meetings with Ipswich Town, West Ham United, Crystal Palace and Everton in this period, which one?

Antoine Semenyo (£5.7m) is the popular option amongst active FPL managers because he’s second throughout the league for goal attempts (54). By such standards, this was a quiet night of only two, coming to 0.11 expected goals (xG). But he could’ve assisted a couple of Marcus Tavernier (£5.5m) chances near the end.

The latter constantly threatened, possessing the highest xGI (0.74) and whipping in the corner that set up Huijsen’s winner. A close-range header from Milos Kerkez’s (£4.5m) cross forced a big save from Fraser Forster (£4.3m).

Beyond those, last Saturday gave us three times where Justin Kluivert (£5.4m) scored a penalty and three times where Evanilson (£6.1m) registered an assist. August’s big-money arrival is the centre-forward at the epicentre of all this, scoring a few goals along the way. Here, he pounced on a second-half error but was deemed offside, shortly after creating Ryan Christie’s (£4.9m) shot that hit the post.

So maybe it’s not as straightforward as grabbing Semenyo for these brilliant-looking fixtures.

1.30pm team news: Garnacho + Calvert-Lewin benched, no Solanke  Fantasy Football Scout

Manchester City are looking to arrest a four-match losing run in the Saturday evening kick-off.

Tottenham Hotspur are the visitors to a wet Etihad Stadium, where the action gets underway at 17:30 GMT.

Pep Guardiola has made three changes off the back of City’s most recent defeat, a 2-1 reverse at Brighton and Hove Albion.

John Stones and Manuel Akanji are back in the side after their recent fitness issues, lining up together at centre-half.

Jahmai Simpson-Pusey moves down to the bench, while Josko Gvardiol shifts across to his usual left-back role.

Rico Lewis doesn’t drop out of the side, however. It looks like the England international will be lining up in midfield today, alongside Ilkay Gundogan and the recalled Bernardo Silva.

Matheus Nunes is demoted to substitute duty, while Mateo Kovačić is absent through injury.

Phil Foden is fit to start after his international withdrawal, while Nathan Ake and Jack Grealish have also recovered to take their places among the substitutes.

There’s still no start for Kevin De Bruyne, who warms the bench, but Erling Haaland leads the line as expected.

The Norwegian was the most-sold forward of Gameweek 12, with over 580,000 transfers out.

Spurs also make three changes after their dismal 2-1 loss to Ipswich Town.

Two are enforced as Sergio Romero is injured and Rodrigo Bentancur is suspended.

Ben Davies and Yves Bissouma fill in for those two.

The third alteration is more of a surprising one, as James Maddison returns to the starting XI at the expense of the benched Brennan Johnson.

LINE-UPS

Manchester City XI: Ederson, Walker, Stones, Akanji, Gvardiol, Lewis, Gundogan, Silva, Savinho, Foden, Haaland.

Subs: Ortega, Ake, Grealish, De Bruyne, Nunes, Wright, Simpson-Pusey, O’Reilly, McAtee.

Tottenham Hotspur XI: Vicario, Porro, Dragusin, Davies, Udogie, Sarr, Bissouma, Maddison, Kulusevski, Son, Solanke.

Subs: Forster, Spence, Hardy, Gray, Bergvall, Olusesi, Johnson, Werner, Lankshear.

CHECK YOUR LIVE FPL RANK

If you haven’t seen it already, the beta version of our new Premium Members Area gives you a customised dashboard detailing your latest points and where you rank in the world.

Check out our predicted XIs for the Fantasy Premier League (FPL) Gameweek 12 clash between Manchester City and Tottenham Hotspur.

The match at Etihad Stadium kicks off at 17:30 GMT on Saturday 23 November.

PREDICTED FPL GAMEWEEK 12 LINE-UPS

More in-depth team news is available here, updated with the latest press conference information.

MAN CITY

TOTTENHAM

RECENT FORM

Over their last six Gameweeks, these are both sides’ best players for expected goal involvement (xGI):

We kick off our Scout Notes from Sunday with some key takeaways from Manchester United 3-0 Leicester City and Spurs 1-2 Ipswich Town.

IN-FORM FERNANDES

Ruud van Nistelrooy concluded his spell as Manchester United’s interim manager with a 3-0 win over Leicester City.

In a clinical display, Bruno Fernandes (£8.3m) was the star of the show.

The Portuguese put United in front with a curling finish, before his header took a deflection off Viktor Kristiansen (£4.5m) and found its way into the net.

He later supplied the assist for Alejandro Garnacho’s (£6.4m) stunner, resulting in a huge 17-point haul for his 10.3% ownership.

There are still questions about how Fernandes will fit into Ruben Amorim’s 3-4-3 formation, if he reprises his Sporting Lisbon system that is, but his impact under van Nistelrooy has been immense.

In his two league matches under the Dutchman, Fernandes has racked up six shots, 11 key passes and 1.76 expected goal involvement (xGI), the most by any midfielder in that period.

Above: Players sorted by expected goal involvement (xGI) in Gameweeks 10 and 11

Amad Diallo (£4.9m), who started at the expense of Garnacho on the wing, picked up from where he left off in Europe, combining well with Fernandes for the opener.

There was another clean sheet, too, United’s fifth of the season so far.

It coincided with Manuel Ugarte’s (£4.9m) best performance in a United shirt. His central midfield partnership with Casemiro (£4.8m) has blossomed under van Nistelrooy, restoring some balance to a team that was previously so open.

There was disappointment for Diogo Dalot (£5.2m) owners, however.

He had a tough time up against Abdul Fatawu (£5.3m) and was hooked on 56 minutes, with his positioning particularly poor in the first half.

United return to action following the international break away at Ipswich Town, a game which will be new head coach Amorim’s first in charge.

VARDY INJURY LATEST/BUONANOTTE BAN

Jamie Vardy (£5.7m) missed his first Premier League game of the season at Old Trafford.

The veteran forward has a back problem which now requires further assessment.

“Jamie is a bit inconclusive. He picked up a nasty knock to his back last week and didn’t manage to shake it off, even though we were a week away.

“We’ll have to see how that goes. We’re still trying to work out what that is.” – Steve Cooper on Jamie Vardy

Steve Cooper also revealed that Ricardo Pereira (£4.2m) has been ruled out for four months with a hamstring injury.

Without Vardy, Leicester City failed to score in a Premier League match for the first time this season.

The Foxes had enough possession but failed to create clear-cut opportunities, with No 10 Wilfred Ndidi (£5.0m) providing the visitors’ best moment.

As for Facundo Buonanotte (£5.0m), he supplied three key passes but earned himself a one-match ban with his fifth booking of the season.

INCONSISTENT SPURS

Tottenham Hotspur’s inconsistent season continued on Sunday, as they fell to a shock 2-1 home defeat to Ipswich Town.

Ponderous and one-dimensional for the most part, Spurs huffed and puffed but ultimately fell short.

Dominic Solanke (£7.7m) had a goal ruled out for handball by VAR, before Rodrigo Bentancur (£5.0m) pulled it back to 2-1 with a wonderful header from Pedro Porro’s (£5.5m) corner.

However, despite chasing the game, there was only one further chance of note as Arijanet Muric (£4.4m) denied Solanke late on, his fourth attempt of the match.

The forward seemed to pick up an injury in the first half but carried on, with Ange Postecoglou hopeful no significant damage has been done.

“Dom jarred his knee, it was pretty sore but he wanted to continue. Hopefully, it is nothing serious.” – Ange Postecoglou on Dominic Solanke

Elsewhere, Dejan Kulusevski (£6.3m) and Son Heung-min (£9.9m) tried to make things happen but underwhelmed, while Brennan Johnson (£6.8m) missed a decent chance from close range early on.

Above: Tottenham’s shot map in Gameweek 11, including Brennan Johnson’s close-range miss

It was a surprise, then, that James Maddison (£7.6m) took so long to appear, only stepping off the bench on 84 minutes.

“It’s just down to me. I’m not getting consistent performances from the players. It’s something I need to address. I’m the person in charge so that’s usually the way it goes. I take responsibility. We can’t give ourselves those kinds of mountains to climb.” – Ange Postecoglou

Defensively, Porro claimed an assist and four points, but Tottenham’s only clean sheet in 21 top-flight home games came in August’s 4-0 win against Everton, a real concern for his 27.6% ownership.

Owners of Spurs assets now face a decision, with a tough run of fixtures on the horizon.

DELAP ON TARGET

Ipswich Town’s long wait for a Premier League win is finally over, as Liam Delap (£5.6m) inspired the Tractor Boys to three points in north London.

The former Manchester City striker scored and assisted, bringing his season tally to six goals and one assist in 10 starts and one sub appearance.

In fact, Delap is now joint-seventh in the Premier League top goalscorers list.

His six goals have arrived from just 17 shots – so only three forwards (Yoane Wissa, Chris Wood and Joao Pedro) have a better conversion rate than Delap (35.3%) in the competition this season.

Above: Forwards sorted by goal conversion rate in 2024/25

Sam Szmodics (£5.8m) had previously put Ipswich ahead with an overhead kick.

Elsewhere, Omari Hutchinson (£5.2m) was lively, revelling in the space provided to him on the break, while Cameron Burgess (£3.9m) nodded Leif Davis’ (£4.5m) corner off the woodwork.

There was an out-of-position run-out for Ben Johnson (£4.0m) on the wing too, with Axel Tuanzebe (£4.0m) lining up on the right side of defence.

We’ve put together an early draft of our Fantasy Premier League (FPL) Scout Picks for Gameweek 11.

As ever, we will finalise our selection much closer to Saturday’s deadline.

Plenty can change between now and then, of course.

The upcoming Scout Squad nominations will help shape the final Scout Picks, while the midweek European ties and the pre-match press conferences will also influence our thinking.

If you’re new to this feature, there are certain restrictions for our picks:

An £83.0m budget for our starting XI

An overall squad limit of £100.0m

No more than three players per team

GAMEWEEK 11 FIXTURES

Above: The Gameweek 11 fixtures sorted by difficulty on our Season Ticker

THE LIKELY LADS

It makes sense to start with Tottenham Hotspur this week.

Fresh from Sunday’s emphatic win over Aston Villa, Ange Postecoglou’s side have now served up 15 goals across their five league matches at home this season.

They are also top for StatsBomb expected goals (xG).

Above: Teams sorted by StatsBomb xG per 90 minutes in 2024/25

Spurs have admittedly had problems with consistency but those figures point towards a triple-up, given that opponents Ipswich Town have kept just one clean sheet and are bottom for Opta-defined ‘big chances’ conceded.

‘The likely lads’ are currently Dominic Solanke (£7.6m), Son Heung-min (£9.9m) and Pedro Porro (£5.5m).

Others are very much in the conversation, however, including Brennan Johnson (£6.7m) and Dejan Kulusevski (£6.3m).

Above: Spurs players sorted by StatsBomb NPxG & xG assisted per 90 minutes in 2024/25 (at least 600 minutes played)

Elsewhere, Mohamed Salah (£12.8m) has hit the ground running under Arne Slot, with seven goals and five assists in his first 10 games. Only injury can keep the Egyptian out of the Scout Picks at present.

Bruno Fernandes (£8.2m) feels likely, too, having scored his first goal of the 2024/25 Premier League campaign on Sunday. In his two matches under Ruud van Nistelrooy, the Portuguese has racked up nine shots and eight key passes. Alejandro Garnacho (£6.3m) and Rasmus Hojlund (£6.9m) are cheaper alternatives should his price prove problematic.

Finally in this section, Wolverhampton Wanderers are in a bit of a mess right now, but the opposition (Southampton) are perhaps the most important factor here.

Matheus Cunha (£6.6m) and Jorgen Strand Larsen (£5.6m) are both competing for forward spots.

As for Rayan Ait-Nouri (£4.7m), he’ll surely end up in the mix too given his attacking threat: only two defenders have registered more shots in the box over the season. He’s also joint-sixth for key passes.

IN CONTENTION

Erling Haaland (£15.3m) blanked for the fourth time in five matches on Saturday but he’s still top for StatsBomb xG over the same period. Just one goal has arrived from 4.14 xG, the type of underperformance rarely associated with the Norwegian.

So, having dropped Haaland from the Scout Picks in Gameweek 10, should he now be reinstated for Manchester City’s trip to Brighton and Hove Albion on Saturday evening? Price could prove to be the main obstacle.

Team-mate Phil Foden (£9.2m) isn’t in great form but loves facing Albion, so there are cheaper routes into the champions’ attack. He’s racked up six goals and one assist in his last four trips to the Amex.

Foden will be competing with the likes of Bryan Mbeumo (£7.8m), Jarrod Bowen (£7.5m), Dwight McNeil (£5.8m), Emile Smith Rowe (£5.7m) and Antoine Semenyo (£5.6m) for a spot in our four/five-man midfield, given that Salah, a Spurs option and Fernandes feel fairly nailed on at this early stage of the week.

Further forward, solid budget options like Chris Wood (£6.5m), Yoane Wissa (£6.0m) and Raul Jimenez (£5.8m) could all stake a claim.

At the back, it feels much harder to call.

In addition to Porro and Ait-Nouri, we’ve currently opted for Noussair Mazraoui (£4.5m), who was arguably United’s best player against Chelsea on Sunday. That said, opponents Leicester City have scored in every game they’ve played this season.

Trent Alexander-Arnold (£7.0m) and Josko Gvardiol (£6.2m) are pricier defensive options if we can afford them.

Andre Onana (£5.0m) and Caoimhin Kelleher (£4.4m) are alternative routes into some of those aforementioned backlines, but we’ve currently settled on budget enabler Lukasz Fabianski (£4.0m) in goal.

THE LONG SHOTS

With Chelsea and Arsenal squaring off in a London derby, we could potentially overlook the likes of Cole Palmer (£11.0m) and Bukayo Saka (£10.1m), instead focusing on players with ‘easier’ fixtures, at least on paper.

Anthony Gordon (£7.2m) and Alexander Isak (£8.3m) are other names who could emerge as differential shouts, but at this stage, it feels unlikely.

That’s because only Liverpool rank better than Nottingham Forest for clean sheets, goals conceded and expected goals conceded (xGC) this season.

Perhaps Matz Sels (£4.6m) or Ola Aina (£4.6m) could sneak into our picks, then.

GAMEWEEK 11 BUS TEAM

Tottenham Hotspur v Aston Villa starts the day’s Gameweek 10 action.

Kick-off in north London is at 14:00 GMT.

Ange Postecoglou makes four changes to the side that lost at Crystal Palace last time out.

Son Heung-min returns having recovered from a thigh issue, while Radu Dragusin, Rodrigo Bentancur and Pape Sarr also come in.

Micky van de Ven is absent, as expected, through injury.

Yves Bissouma, James Maddison and Mikey Moore are the other players to drop out.

As for Aston Villa, they are unchanged from the 1-1 draw with Bournemouth.

It means Ollie Watkins and Morgan Rogers get the nod up front once again, with Jhon Duran having to settle for a place on the bench.

LINE-UPS

Tottenham Hotspur XI: Vicario, Porro, Romero, Dragusin, Udogie, Bentancur, Sarr, Johnson, Kulusevski, Son, Solanke

Subs: Forster, Davies, Gray, Bissouma, Bergvall, Maddison, Moore, Werner, Richarlison

Aston Villa XI: Martinez, Cash, Konsa, Pau, Digne, McGinn, Onana, Tielemans, Ramsey, Rogers, Watkins

Subs: Olsen, Maatsen, Carlos, Mings, Kamara, Philogene, Buendia, Bailey, Duran

Check out our predicted XIs for the Fantasy Premier League (FPL) Gameweek 10 clash between Tottenham Hotspur and Aston Villa.

The match at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium kicks off at 14:00 GMT on Sunday 3 November.

PREDICTED FPL GAMEWEEK 10 LINE-UPS

More in-depth team news is available here, updated with the latest press conference information.

TOTTENHAM

ASTON VILLA

RECENT FORM

Over their last six matches, these are both sides’ best players for expected goal involvement (xGI):

There’s nothing like a midweek round of cup ties to wreck Fantasy Premier League (FPL) plans – and injuries were laying waste to some managers’ teams on Wednesday night.

Yes, it’s the EFL Cup: the scourge of the early transfer-maker.

There were 13 Premier League teams in Carabao Cup action over the last two days, eight of them progressing to the quarter-finals. That’ll be another fixture to cram in between Gameweeks 16 and 17.

We begin our Scout Notes round-up with Aston Villa 1-2 Crystal Palace and Tottenham Hotspur 2-1 Manchester City.

RESULTS, GOALS + ASSISTS

TEAM SELECTION/ROTATION

SAVINHO BLOW, GVARDIOL CONCERN + CITY INJURY LATEST

With six players already out, Manchester City could ill-afford further injury blows. Almost inevitably, more arrived on Wednesday evening.

The scarcely believable bad luck continued. Manuel Akanji (£5.5m) pulled out of the starting XI in the warm-up, Savinho (£6.5m) was stretchered off and a slightly dazed-looking Josko Gvardiol (£6.2m) was down receiving treatment at full-time.

Pep Guardiola even suggested that Ruben Dias (£5.5m), who went off at half-time, was “struggling”.

“Akanji yesterday, didn’t know it, last action felt something miniscule in a muscular part of his body and today in the warm-up he didn’t feel good. He said, ‘No, I can take the risk’. I said, ‘Nuh-uh, no risk’.

“Ruben is struggling sometimes as well in some moments.” – Pep Guardiola

“The guys who played, finished most of them with problems. We’ll see how they recover.” – Pep Guardiola

“I don’t know, I didn’t speak. Every time I went in, [someone] was on the table [having] a massage so was too busy, too crowded! So I don’t know.” – Pep Guardiola on whether Josko Gvardiol has picked up an injury

“He has a knock in the 18-yard box, a potential penalty and we will see tomorrow what happen.

“We have to see if it was just a knock or something else. It was in the bone. Hopefully it’s nothing dangerous but we will see tomorrow.” – Pep Guardiola on Savinho

As for the pre-existing injuries, there’s not much hope of anyone recovering in time for Gameweek 11 let alone Gameweek 10.

“Kyle Walker, Jack Grealish – no chance to play the next games.” – Pep Guardiola to Sky Sports

“No [it’s not likely Walker or De Bruyne will be back this week]. I think after the international break. Three of them – Jack Grealish as well.” – Pep Guardiola in his post-match press conference

WHY HAALAND DIDN’T FEATURE

One City player escaping the carnage was Erling Haaland (£15.4m). A substitute in north London, he remained unused even with City attempting to overturn a 2-1 deficit.

Guardiola wasn’t taking any risks with the big Norwegian.

“The plan was not [to] play today. So, play a lot of minutes that we needed for this week, we have not [much] recovery, not [many] players and I didn’t want to waste energy for him.” – Pep Guardiola on Erling Haaland, to Sky Sports

“Tomorrow we have two ‘keepers and Erling Haaland to the a training session. The rest… we don’t have anything else.” – Pep Guardiola in his post-match press conference

LEWIS “TIRED” – BUT HAS TO PLAY

Rico Lewis‘s (£4.8m) minutes continue to look good as we approach Gameweek 10. As above, Kyle Walker (£5.3m) looks set to remain out until after the November international break.

What condition Lewis’ll be in at Bournmeouth is another question. Ninety minutes on Wednesday followed 90 on Saturday. There were four successive starts before the international break and one for England during it.

Fatigue may be setting in – but Lewis looks set to go again at the Vitality Stadium.

“Yeah.

“I cannot have an alternative. My captain is injured so I have no alternative.” – Pep Guardiola when a reporter suggested that Rico Lewis looks “exceptionally tired”

VAN DE VEN BLOW, ROMERO REASSURANCE

It wasn’t just City encountering fitness issues in north London.

Micky van de Ven (£4.7m) hobbled off after 14 minutes, while there were also concerns over the withdrawals of Cristian Romero (£5.1m) and Timo Werner (£6.2m).

Only van de Ven appears to be a worry, however.

“Micky felt something in his hamstring. I haven’t got the full update on him but he definitely felt something, so we’ll see how he is.

“Cuti [Romero] was a bit tired. I contemplated changing him at half-time, losing Micky as well I didn’t want to lose another centre-half. He said he felt ok but my gut was telling me there’s no point taking a risk as we had Benny [Davies] who could come on.

“Timo hasn’t played a lot so I felt it was more fatigue hopefully than anything else.” – Ange Postecoglou

Dominic Solanke (£7.7m) and Brennan Johnson (£6.7m), much like Lewis, looked out on their feet. Solanke completed the full game, with Johnson hooked midway through the second half.

A FOOTBALL MATCH BREAKS OUT

Amid all the carnage, there was the small matter of a football game taking place.

Spurs progressed to the quarter-finals, for what it’s worth. That at least gives City the consolation of a free midweek (their only one of the month) in mid-December.

Phil Foden (£9.3m) deputised for Haaland up front, firing over the best of his chances from 10 yards. He’ll not be leading the line in Gameweek 10 but given the extent of the injury crisis, he looks good for a start against Bournemouth.

Savinho and, again, Matheus Nunes (£4.9m) were the pick of the City attackers. The two wingers combined for the visitors’ only goal, crossed by the former and finished by the latter.

Spurs had their own on-song winger in… *checks notes*… Werner. Lively all evening, he lifted some weight off his shoulders with a fifth-minute opener. Will the floodgates now open? Maybe not – he went on to miss more good chances, including a one-on-one after the break.

Dejan Kulusevski (£6.3m), in central midfield again, claimed the assists for both of Spurs’ strikes.

Pedro Porro (£5.5m) and James Maddison (£7.6m) could put their feet up, remaining unused substitutes.

EZE INJURY BLOW

Fitness concerns weren’t just restricted to the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium.

At Villa Park, visitors Crystal Palace lost both Eberechi Eze (£6.7m) and Adam Wharton (£4.8m) to first-half injuries. Wharton’s setback was a recurring groin issue but Eze is more of a worry, as a hamstring problem ended his evening early.

“It was a problem with his hamstring so I do not know how serious it is but a muscle is never the best injury that you can get. I hope that it is not too serious but I do not know.” – Oliver Glasner on Eberechi Eze, via Sky Sports

“I am more positive because it is nothing new. He had this groin problem for weeks and months now.” – Oliver Glasner on Adam Wharton, via Sky Sports

WATKINS + ROGERS RESTED

Unai Emery rotated everyone bar John McGinn (£5.2m) out of his starting XI for this one. The likes of Ezri Konsa (£4.5m), Lucas Digne (£4.7m), Morgan Rogers (£5.4m) and Ollie Watkins (£9.1m) got the night off altogether. Given the energy expended by Spurs, and the new injury blow at the back, Villa should be the fresher of the two sides come Sunday.

Even better for the regulars – their understudies were mostly average to poor. Tyrone Mings (£4.4m) and Boubacar Kamara (£5.0m) impressed after long-term absences, while Jhon Duran (£6.1m) was lively up top and scored yet again. Other than that, not great from the Villa B team.

Glasner went pretty much full strength by contrast, only rotating his goalkeepers.

Eze had opened the scoring before his exit, with replacement Daichi Kamada (£5.1m) netting the winner.

Daniel Munoz (£4.8m) teed up Eze for the first, one of four chances he supplied in an eye-catching showing. No surprise that he and the rest of the Palace backline are looking that bit more secure now that there is consistency of selection at the rear, something that Glasner was unable to do for the first seven Gameweeks.

The most-bought player of Gameweek 8 features in the early kick-off at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, where the action gets underway at 12:30 BST.

Brennan Johnson attracted over 600,000 transfers in ahead of today’s clash with West Ham United.

He starts for the Lilywhites as expected, with last week’s precautionary substitution for Wales not amounting to anything.

And joining Johnson in the Spurs attack is a fit-again Son Heung-min.

The South Korea international returned to training over the international break and is immediately back in the starting XI. He replaces Timo Werner on the left flank.

Yves Bissouma for Rodrigo Bentancur is Ange Postecoglou’s only other alteration.

The hosts do have Richarlison back on the bench after injury, however. The Brazilian returns to the matchday squad after the best part of two months out.

As for West Ham, they are unchanged from the 4-1 win over Ipswich Town in Gameweek 7.

Postecoglou is yet to experience victory over the Hammers.

His side were beaten 2-1 by today’s visitors in this corresponding fixture last season, drawing 1-1 away.

Jarrod Bowen returned in both matches, finding the net in north London last December.

LINE-UPS

Tottenham Hotspur XI: Vicario, Porro, Romero, Van de Ven, Udogie, Bissouma, Maddison, Kulusevski, Johnson, Solanke, Son.

Subs: Bentancur, Bergvall, Dragusin, Forster, Gray, Moore, Richarlison, Sarr, Werner.

West Ham United XI: Areola, Wan-Bissaka, Todibo, Kilman, Emerson, Rodriguez, Soucek, Paqueta, Kudus, Bowen, Antonio.

Subs: Alvarez, Coufal, Cresswell, Fabianski, Ings, Luis Guilherme, Mavropanos, Soler, Summerville.