We round up the key Fantasy Premier League (FPL) talking points of the day in FPL Daily, a weekday series that serves non-Premier League matchdays and days when we don’t bring you a team news/press conference round-up.
WALKER HANDED THREE-MATCH EUROPEAN BAN
Manchester City’s Kyle Walker (£5.4m) has been banned for three UEFA Champions League matches, following his red card against RB Leipzig.
As a result, the England right-back will miss both legs of his side’s last 16 tie against Sporting, plus the first-leg of the quarter-finals if they progress, increasing the likelihood of Premier League starts in the surrounding fixtures.
MAN CITY’S FEBRUARY/MARCH SCHEDULE:
- Saturday 5 February: FA Cup fourth round – Fulham (h)
- Wednesday 9 February: Gameweek 24 – Brentford (h)
- Saturday 12 February: Gameweek 25 – Norwich City (a)
- Tuesday 15 February: Champions League last 16 – Sporting (a)
- Saturday 19 February: Gameweek 26 – Tottenham Hotspur (h)
- Saturday 26 February: Gameweek 27 – Everton (a)
- Wednesday 2 March: FA Cup fifth round
- Sunday 6 March: Gameweek 28 – Manchester United (h)
- Wednesday 9 March: Champions League last 16 – Sporting (h)
- Monday 14 March: Gameweek 29 – Crystal Palace (a)
- Saturday 19 March: Gameweek 30 – Brighton and Hove Albion (h) *
*possible blank due to clash with FA Cup quarter-finals
DIAZ TO LIVERPOOL?
According to reports, Liverpool are trying to sign Colombia winger Luis Diaz from Porto, with several outlets suggesting a medical is pencilled in for the weekend.
The deal, if completed, is expected to be worth £37m plus add-ons, and would represent an exciting addition to Jurgen Klopp’s squad.
However, for FPL managers, it could have implications, with Diaz bolstering an area which already includes Mohamed Salah (£12.7m), Sadio Mane (£11.7m), Roberto Firmino (£8.7m) and Diogo Jota (£8.4m), plus squad options like Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain (£5.8m).
In all likelihood, the winger would be eased in gently, perhaps acting as an option off the bench, though it would certainly be one to monitor if a deal does go through.
CHAMBERS JOINS VILLA
Calum Chambers’ (£4.2m) move to Aston Villa from Arsenal came as a surprise to many when it was announced on Thursday night.
The defender, who has agreed a three-and-a-half-year contract and arrives on a free transfer, can operate at both centre-back and right-back, and at least initially, is expected to be a back-up option to both Ezri Konsa (£4.9m) and Matty Cash (£5.1m).
“I’m very excited. It’s a great club with a great manager, a great squad. I know a few of the boys here so I’m extremely excited. It’s all happened pretty quickly to be honest. It was a few days ago I was (made) aware of the interest and yeah, since then, its felt like it’s happened pretty quick so it’s exciting times.
I’ve played at Villa Park a few times, it’s a great stadium and it’s got a great set of fans, and obviously the manager as well. He (Gerrard) did very well at Rangers and he’s a young, exciting manager and I can’t wait to work with him. We spoke a few times, it’s all really positive and I can’t wait to get started with it all.” – Calum Chambers
AFCON LATEST
This weekend, the Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) reaches the quarter-finals stage, with the likes of Mohamed Salah, Sadio Mane, Ismaila Sarr (£5.7m) and Romain Saiss (£5.0m) all in action for their respective nations.
AFCON QUARTER-FINALS:
Premier League involvement | |
Gambia v Cameroon | – |
Burkina Faso v Tunisia | Bertrand Traore (Aston Villa) |
Egypt v Morocco | Mohamed Elneny (Arsenal), Trezeguet (Aston Villa), Mohamed Salah (Egypt) | Adam Masina, Imran Louza (Watford), Romain Saiss (Wolves) |
Senegal v Guinea | Edouard Mendy (Chelsea), Cheikhou Kouyate (Crystal Palace), Nampalys Mendy (Leicester), Sadio Mane (Liverpool), Ismaila Sarr (Watford) | Naby Keita (Liverpool) |
For Salah, if Egypt defeat Morocco in their quarter-final tie on Sunday, that will ensure a stay in Africa until Sunday 6 February, as there is a third-place play-off taking place on the same day as the tournament final (assuming Liverpool don’t attempt to wrestle him away from that bronze-medal clash).
Liverpool are in Gameweek 24 action four days after AFCON ends so, while Salah could easily be back in the UK in time for the clash with Leicester City, it remains to be seen whether Klopp would entertain the idea of including FPL’s leading points-scorer in his starting XI after he previously featured in seven international matches in the space of four weeks.
2 years, 2 months ago
Best move ( 6.6 m in bank)-
A Gray to Bruno -
B Dennis to Ronaldo ( play over Gray)
C Gray to Salah and Dennis to Broja-4
DDG
TAA Dalot Digne Cancelo
KDB (c) Jota Raphinha Bowen Gray
Antonio
Sanchez Dawson King Dennis