There were more pre-season friendlies contested over the past few days, so we’re bringing you the headline Fantasy Premier League (FPL) updates from each one.
First up is Arsenal, Bournemouth, Everton and Luton Town, with Scout Notes on Saturday and Sunday’s action to follow.
We’re also keeping tabs on the minutes played in all of these warm-up fixtures, with Premium Members of Fantasy Football Scout able to access this information at the bottom of this article.
NURNBERG 1-1 ARSENAL
- Goals: Saka
- Assists: White
Arsenal were held to a 1-1 draw against German side Nurnberg in their second pre-season outing.
Bukayo Saka (£8.5m) gave the Gunners the lead with a trademark finish from a Ben White (£5.5m) assist, before a freak Jorginho (£5.5m) own goal gifted the hosts an equaliser.
Arsenal used 22 players during the game, including Kai Havertz (£7.5m), who made his debut as a half-time substitute. The German slotted into the left-sided no. 8 position as expected, taking over from Leandro Trossard (£7.0m), but was quiet and struggled to make much of an impact.
Discussing his best position, Mikel Arteta said:
“We will see. We have to see how he adapts and get to know each other and build relationships. Football is about that and time will tell where he sees best.” – Mikel Arteta on where he sees Kai Havertz playing
Meanwhile, a late change to the starting XI saw Fabio Vieira (£5.5m) replace Martin Odegaard (£8.5m) after the Norwegian picked up a slight knock in the warm-up, while Trossard also picked up a minor injury during the match itself.
“Martin [Odegaard] and Leo [Trossard] are struggling and we had other players with issues picked up in the week so we have to be cautious. It’s pre-season and some of them have only had two or three training sessions so we’ll take it step by step.” – Mikel Arteta on injuries
However, both players have since been named in Arsenal’s squad for their pre-season tour of the USA, along with Oleksandr Zinchenko (£5.0m) and Gabriel Martinelli (£8.0m), plus new signings Jurrien Timber (£5.0m) and Declan Rice (£5.5m).
Elsewhere, William Saliba (£5.0m) started his first game of pre-season, completing 45 minutes, while Folarin Balogun (£4.5m) made his first Arsenal appearance since returning from a season-long loan at Reims. He hit the woodwork and nearly won it in the dying stages when he rounded the goalkeeper but could only find the side-netting.
Arsenal XI: Ramsdale (Hein 45); White (Walters 77), Saliba (Cedric 45), Gabriel (Trusty 60), Kiwior (Tierney 45); Partey (Jorginho 45), Vieira (Nwaneri 60), Trossard (Balogun 55); Saka (Jesus 45), Nelson (Havertz 45), Nketiah (Lewis-Skelly 78)
BOURNEMOUTH 4-0 HIBERNIAN
- Goals: Brooks, Anthony, Billing x2
- Assists: Moore, Christie, Kluivert x2
Andoni Iraola’s first game as Bournemouth head coach ended with a 4-0 win over Hibernian in Marbella.
David Brooks (£5.0m), Jaidon Anthony (£5.0m) and Philip Billing (£5.5m) were all on target, as the Cherries dominated from the off.
In a game that was played with three 30-minute periods due to the heat, new signing Justin Kluivert (£5.0m) was excellent, laying on both assists for Billing. He initially replaced Anthony on the left wing but featured as the central striker later on.
A number of first-team players, including Marcus Tavernier (£5.5m) and Dominic Solanke (£6.5m), were not involved, but the latter did get minutes over the weekend, which we’ll discuss in our next Scout Notes round-up.
Bournemouth XI: Travers (Randolph 31, Neto 61); Smith (Zabarnyi 54), Mepham (Bevan 61), Senesi (Hill 48), Greenwood; Brooks (Ouattara 61), Kilkenny, Cook (Billing 61), Anthony (Kluivert 48); Christie; Moore (Sadi 61)
STADE NYONNAIS 1-2 EVERTON
- Goals: Kouyate, Maupay (pen)
- Assists: Iwobi, Okoronkwo
Everton began their pre-season with a 2-1 win over Stade Nyonnais in Switzerland.
Youngster Katia Kouyate put the visitors ahead before Neal Maupay (£5.0m) scored from the spot shortly after.
Playing in a 4-4-2 formation with Tom Cannon and Maupay up top, the Toffees showed flashes of good play, with Alex Iwobi (£5.5m) and Dwight McNeil (£5.5m) their main creators from wide positions.
Other notable players to feature included Nathan Patterson (£4.5m), Michael Keane (£4.5m) and James Tarkowski (£4.5m), but Dominic Calvert-Lewin (£6.0m) failed to make it, with Sean Dyche being cautious with his fitness given the issues he’s faced over the past two campaigns.
Everton XI: Virginia (Crellin 72); Patterson (Hunt 46), Keane (Welch 72), Tarkowski (Doucoure 46), Godfrey (Astley 72); Iwobi (McNeil 72), Gueye (Kouyate 46), Warrington, McNeil (Onyango 46); Maupay (Cannon 72), Cannon (Okoronkwo 46)
LUTON TOWN 3-1 PETERBOROUGH
- Goals: Morris, McAtee, Pereira
- Assists: Berry, McAtee
In a behind-closed-doors friendly at St George’s Park, Luton Town started their pre-season with a 3-1 win against Peterborough United.
Carlton Morris (£5.5m) was on the scoresheet in the first half, before John McAtee (£4.5m) and Dion Pereira (£4.5m) later found the net.
Elsewhere, there were chances for Alfie Doughty (£4.5m) and Elijah Adebayo (£5.0m), with the latter partnering Morris up front.
The Hatters handed a debut to summer signing Mads Andersen (£4.0m) in defence, who played the first 45 minutes, with Luton completely changing their starting Xi for the second half, giving a run-out to a number of youngsters.
Luton Town XI (first half): Shea, Doughty, Burke, Andersen, Potts, Onyedinma, Clark, Berry, Campbell, Adebayo, Morris
Luton Town XI (second half): Macey, Pereira, Francis-Clarke, Bateson, Odell-Bature, Johnson, Nelson, Watson, McAatee, Taylor (Luker 89), Woodrow
10 months, 1 day agoWho knows whether Jesus and a 4.5 def will get you more points than TAA and a 4.5 fwd - but it certainly gets you more players.