It’s the third gameweek in seven days for Fantasy Premier League managers, and there are some exciting fixtures this weekend. Leaders Arsenal will take on veteran manager Unai Emery and his hugely popular Aston Villa, while Manchester City will host Sunderland, who have enjoyed an impressive run since promotion. Under-pressure Tottenham manager Thomas Frank could find himself in another nail in the coffin as he hosts his former club Brentford.
Chelsea and Liverpool will aim to get back to winning ways at Bournemouth and Leeds respectively, while Wolves will aim for their first win of the season against Manchester United at home after a disappointing draw with West Ham at Old Trafford. Express Sport brings you the injury news you need and FPL tips for GW15…
injury news
Two of the biggest injuries involve Arsenal. With Gabriel Magalhães (£6.3m) out for several weeks, the fitness of centre-back partner William Saliba (£6m) has been a hot topic. Mikel Arteta admitted the Frenchman was suffering from a “bit of pain” after suffering a shock in training.
“I hope it will be over within a few days,” was the Spaniard’s assessment. That means Saliba is on hold if you own him. However, we will not sign him this week in case he misses the trip to Villa. Declan Rice (£7.1m) was Arsenal’s other major injury, limping off against Brentford in midweek with a calf strain, but the midfielder is expected to be fit for the trip to Villa Park.
In the same match, Emiliano Martinez (£5.1m) is also a high-profile injury. The Villa goalkeeper faces a late fitness test but could still be sidelined. Villa are hosting Arsenal, who are in good form, so even if Martinez does play, I would recommend keeping him on the bench.
Another popular pick from the FPL is Crystal Palace winger Ismaila Sarr (£6.6m). He will be unavailable for the next few weeks and could only play once for Senegal before heading to the African Cup of Nations. Sarr is currently one of the most salable assets in the game.
tips
Phil Foden (£8.3m) is someone most managers would be keen to have in their team and it’s easy to see why. City’s playmaker is in fine form, having scored four goals in his last two games, with Josep Guardiola’s side continuing to enjoy strong games against Sunderland (H), Crystal Palace (A), West Ham (H), Nottingham Forest (A) and Sunderland (A). He’s a must-buy player.
In terms of salable assets, his playing time is guaranteed, but Liverpool’s defense is not. Virgil van Dijk’s transfer fee is believed to be £6m, which they will need to sacrifice so they can use that money for other things. They don’t keep enough clean sheets to compensate, and despite Van Dijk’s aerial threat, Liverpool don’t score many set-piece goals.
Crystal Palace are a team that aims to defend. Three of the four highest-scoring defenders this season are Daniel Muñoz (£6.1m, 89 goals), Marc Guehy (£5.1m, 83 goals) and Maxence Lacroix (£5.1m, 78 goals). This is outstanding value given Gabriel’s price tag of £6.3m for his 81 points.
Antoine Semenyo (£7.7m) is another player who has left a number of teams. The Bournemouth winger hasn’t scored more than four points since Golden Week 7, so it would be easy to make space for the in-form Foden. However, given that he is a key player for the Cherries and a player who can consistently play 90 minutes, there is a case for keeping Semenyo. Two cheap midfielders who could save money for Foden include Yankuba Minte (£6.3m) and Elliot Anderson (£5.4m).
premier league match schedule
Saturday
12:30pm: Aston Villa vs Arsenal
3pm: Everton vs Nottingham Forest
3pm: Newcastle vs Burnley
3pm: Man City vs Sunderland
3pm: Tottenham vs Brentford
3pm: Bournemouth vs Chelsea
5.30pm: Leeds vs Liverpool
Sunday
2pm: Brighton vs West Ham
4.30pm: Fulham vs Crystal Palace
Monday
8pm: Wolves vs Manchester United
