Fit again Danny Ings (£8.4m) makes a welcome return to Southampton’s starting line-up, following his winning penalty in last Monday’s cameo at Brighton.
The England striker had contributed five goals and two assists in the season’s first seven matches, until a knee injury sustained at Aston Villa.
He replaces Moussa Djenepo (£5.4m) in Ralph Hasenhuttl’s only change, having kept the same team during the previous three games. It moves Theo Walcott (£5.8m) back to the left-wing, keeping Nathan Redmond (£6.4m) on the bench.
Fellow forward Che Adams (£6.0m) has shaken off the rotations of last season. Not only has he started every match but he has completed all 90 minutes of the last five. However, now Ings is back, the routine Adams substitution may reappear.
As expected, the defence of Kyle Walker-Peters (£4.7m), Ryan Bertrand (£5.0m) and recent goal scorers Jan Bednarek (£4.6m) and Jannik Vestergaard (£4.9m) remains untouched, with the latter pair scoring four goals in the last seven FPL gameweeks.
That’s mostly because of set-piece king James Ward-Prowse (£6.2m), who himself has become highly-owned because of his three double-digit hauls since Gameweek 6. The only Saints asset with a larger ownership is goalkeeper Alex McCarthy (£4.6m).
Visitors Sheffield United are rooted in last place with just one point so far – the worst ever start by a Premier League team. Therefore, their players are barely-owned by FPL managers – certainly not since the defensive superstar of last season John Lundstram (£5.0m) was reclassified as a midfielder and simultaneously eased out of the Blades’ side.
Perhaps the only player of interest is striker Rhian Brewster (£4.5m). Highly-rated at Liverpool, the youngster made a £23.5m move to Bramall Lane over the summer, yet has only started on three occasions.
Without a goal, Brewster is again on the Sheffield United bench, disappointing those owners who may need him to step in for the injured Diogo Jota (£7.0m) or James Rodriguez (£7.7m).
Manager Chris Wilder has made four changes to the line-up which lost 2-1 to Leicester, with Ethan Ampadu (£4.3m), Enda Stevens (£5.1m) and captain Billy Sharp (£5.6m) coming in. Bargain defender Kean Bryan (£4.0m) makes way for equally cheap Phil Jagielka (£4.0m).
The Blades are also without a clean sheet, denting the early season appeal of goalkeeper Aaron Ramsdale (£4.8m).
Southampton XI (4-4-2): McCarthy; Walker-Peters, Vestergaard, Bednarek, Bertrand; Armstrong, Ward-Prowse, Romeu, Walcott; Ings, Adams
Sheffield United XI (5-3-2): Ramsdale; Baldock, Basham, Egan, Jagielka, Stevens; Berge, Ampadu, Fleck; McBurnie, Sharp
Lessons learned from FPL Gameweek 12
- Leeds United 1-2 West Ham United
- Wolves 0-1 Aston Villa
- Newcastle United 2-1 West Bromwich Albion
- Manchester United 0-0 Manchester City
- Everton 1-0 Chelsea
- Southampton 3-0 Sheffield United
- Crystal Palace 1-1 Tottenham Hotspur
- Fulham 1-1 Liverpool
- Arsenal 0-1 Burnley
- Leicester City 3-0 Brighton and Hove Albion
