Kabak injury update as two budget FPL defenders could start in Liverpool’s run-in

Liverpool 2-0 Southampton

• Goals: Sadio Mane (£11.7m), Thiago Alcantara (£5.5m)
• Assists: Mohamed Salah (£12.7m), Roberto Firmino (£9.0m)
• Bonus Points: Mane x3 Alisson (£5.9m) x2 Trent Alexander-Arnold (£7.6m) x1 Thiago x1 Rhys Williams (£4.0m) x1

Mohamed Salah (£12.7m) did just about enough to keep his Fantasy managers happy as Liverpool saw off a spirited but wasteful Southampton.

The 36.3%-owned Egypt international spurned decent chances of his own either side of an assist for Sadio Mane‘s (£11.7m) opener – the first time the pair have combined for a league goal since June 2020.

The goal helped Mane earn maximum bonus and only his third double-digit score of an off-and-on season, while Salah produced a fourth attacking return from as many starts to take his overall total past 200 for the fourth straight campaign.

While many heads, and FPL transfer budgets, were turned by Manchester United’s Triple Gameweek 35, a net 83,689 managers preferred instead to buy into Salah for Liverpool’s double offering of the Saints and then Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s side.

That could turn out to be canny business in the short term – United will have played twice before their clash on Thursday – and beyond, with the Reds assured of a game in the reduced schedule of Gameweek 36.

Perhaps even more pertinently, Saturday’s win over Southampton kept Liverpool’s faint hopes of a top-four finish feasible, as manager Jurgen Klopp confirmed post-match:

What that means for our top four hopes? That they’re still alive. That’s all, nothing else. Winning four games is pretty much the only chance we have, so that’s what we should try. It will be difficult but we will try it anyway.

All of Liverpool’s exalted front three have been rotated in recent weeks. Roberto Firmino (£9.0m) was the one to make way against the Saints, although he did produce an assist – a first return since Gameweek 26 – from an 11-minute cameo.

His replacement, Diogo Jota (£7.0m), blanked for a fourth straight start to justify the decision of 96,016 managers to get rid despite the double. He looks the most likely rotation candidate for the United game – he was benched when the original teamsheets were released for the aborted match a week ago – and could arguably be the fall guy for the run-in if Klopp’s men find a way to win at Old Trafford.

At the back, investment has been more modest in a defence that had kept just three clean sheets at Anfield all season heading into this fixture.

Those who did take the plunge were given extra joy as three of the five bonus point winners came from the backline, with goalkeeper Alisson (£5.9m) especially excellent on his way to a first double-digit haul in 14 starts.

And Liverpool may have two, not one, budget-freeing enablers starting in defence during the run-in.

Ozan Kabak (£5.0m) was among three players to miss out through injury for Liverpool on Saturday, with Rhys Williams (£4.0m) joining Nat Phillips (£4.1m) at centre-half in his stead.

Klopp said of Kabak’s condition:

With [James Milner], it’s not a big thing but I expect him back maybe next week or something like that.

With Ozan, we don’t know exactly, we have to wait and see a little bit. It’s a muscle thing, it happened without any real intensity but still serious enough for not being involved. The same for Ben Davies.

Then again, doubts remain about the solidity of Liverpool’s backline and the Gameweek 36 clean sheet was as much down to Southampton’s profligacy in general, and Che Adams (£5.7m) in particular.

The striker led the way for big chances (two) and fluffed them both as the Reds’ defence bent while somehow never breaking despite being put under much pressure by the Saints.

From a Fantasy perspective, most Southampton interest centred on manager Ralph Hasenhuttl’s choice of goalkeeper.

He opted for Fraser Forster (£4.0m), who started instead of Alex McCarthy (£4.4m) for the first time since Gameweek 31.

Hasenhuttl had hinted at Forster starting both Double Gameweek 35 fixtures, so McCarthy may well be in line for a return in Gameweek 36 should his rotation continue as implied.

Liverpool XI (4-3-3): Alisson; Robertson, R Williams, N Phillips, Alexander-Arnold; Thiago, Wijnaldum, Fabinho; Mané (Jones 90+3), Jota |(Firmino 79), Salah (Oxlade-Chamberlain 87).

Southampton XI (4-4-2): Forster; J Stephens, Vestergaard, Bednarek, Walker-Peters; Tella (Obafemi 66), Armstrong, Ward-Prowse, Redmond; Adams (Djenepo 79), Walcott (Diallo 66). 

Manchester City 1-2 Chelsea

• Goals: Raheem Sterling (£11.0m) | Hakim Ziyech (£7.9m), Marcos Alonso (£5.7m)
• Assists: Sergio Aguero (£10.3m) | Cesar Azpilicueta (£5.9m), Timo Werner (£9.2m)
• Bonus Points: Edouard Mendy (£5.2m) x3 Azpilicueta x2 Ziyech x2

Chelsea moved a step closer to securing a top-four finish with a hard-fought win at Manchester City dominated by Sergio Aguero (£10.3m) for almost entirely the wrong reasons.

A match dubbed variously as The Champions League Final Dress Rehearsal and City’s Coronation Party ended up being, instead, Sergio’s Panenka Shame.

The City legend, with 1.2% FPL ownership a possible differential for the run-in, was handed a second straight start by manager Pep Guardiola.

But while he scored, at Crystal Palace, last time out, he blew two great chances against Chelsea.

First, he mis-controlled a Gabriel Jesus (£9.1m) cross that should have led to a tap-in, with Raheem Sterling (£11.0m) instead sweeping home the pass.

And then the worst…his penalty dink easily saved when a successful spot-kick would have taken City into the break 2-0 up and the game (and league title) as good as won.

So bad was the attempt that he issued a heartfelt message on social media after the match.

But for every loser, there is a winner, and that was the 10.5%-owned Chelsea keeper Edouard Mendy (£5.2m), whose ability to stay upright long enough to catch a floatily feeble back pass earned him both penalty save and maximum bonus points to offset the lack of a third straight clean sheet.

The other big score for a defender came from Cesar Azpilicueta (£5.9m), who set up Hakim Ziyech‘s (£7.9m) equaliser to bring in seven points. Impressively, the Spaniard has blanked in only four of 14 appearances under coach Thomas Tuchel.

Chelsea now have a second match in their Double Gameweek 35, at home to Arsenal, and many FPL managers will be hoping the team’s most popular assets, Mason Mount (£7.3m and 20.1%) and Ben Chilwell (£5.9m/14.6%) will return after weekend rests.

In truth, it was no surprise that both bosses – neither exactly strangers when it comes to rotation – made wholesale changes after their respective midweek Champions League heroics.

Guardiola swapped out nine players, including well-owned pair Ilkay Gundogan (£5.6m/18.7%) and Kevin De Bruyne (£11.8m/13.4%), and Tuchel five. 

De Bruyne was declared “not fully fit” to play by City ahead of kick-off.

While both teams still have league matters to attend to, further rotation looks inevitable with that looming Champions League showdown and, in Chelsea’s case, an FA Cup final still to play.

The likes of Gundogan, who are suddenly in exciting differential territory among the leading FPL managers, could well be back for their appealing Gameweek 36 clash with Newcastle, then.

But the week-to-week uncertainty will drag on, with City assets either playing for their Champions League final places or just as easily getting some rest before the very same occasion.

Chelsea players don’t even have a fixture in Gameweek 36, although that could be a moot point for the 1.4% of managers who own Andreas Christensen (£4.7m) as their man limped out of Saturday’s game with what looked like a re-occurrence of a hamstring issue.

Tuchel was not exactly positive about that post-match:

I hope we can escape with some days and not weeks. But I’m not sure yet, I have no confirmation yet.

Man City XI (3-1-4-2): Ederson; Dias, Laporte, Ake; Rodrigo; Cancelo, Mendy (Zinchenko 80), Torres (Gundogan 71), Sterling; Aguero (Foden 70), Jesus.

Chelsea XI (3-4-2-1): E Mendy; Rüdiger, Christensen (Zouma 45+3), Azpilicueta; Alonso, Kanté (Jorginho 68), Gilmour, R James; Pulisic, Ziyech (Hudson-Odoi 76); Werner.