FPL notes: Flekken injury, Saka timeline confirmed + Pedro elbow

Completing the Gameweek 18 Scout Notes before Sunday begins yet another round of Fantasy Premier League (FPL) action, here is a round-up of Arsenal v Ipswich Town and Brighton and Hove Albion v Brentford.

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• READ MORE: FPL notes – Fabianski injury, £4.9m forward + why Evanilson was benched

The numbers and graphics you see in this article come from our Premium Members Area. Here, you can access Opta player and team data from every single Premier League fixture.

FLEKKEN INJURY

Friday’s first encounter brought a surprising 0-0 between Brighton and Brentford. The first half quickly became a sequence of Julio Enciso (£5.4m) shots and Mark Flekken (£4.5m) saves. Brighton’s attacking midfielder made his first league start of the season and racked up a huge eight shots in those first 45 minutes alone. No player has exceeded this throughout any entire 2024/25 match.

ABOVE: Julio Enciso’s eight first-half shots (green ones were on target)

A few of these were on target and fairly straightforward for highly-selected stopper Flekken but, combined with keeping out a Brajan Gruda (£5.4m) free kick and low Matt O’Riley (£5.5m) strike, he’d already saved six attempts by the 30^th minute.

However, that was the moment when the Dutchman asked for some treatment on his knee. He couldn’t last longer and needed replacing by Hakon Valdimarsson (£3.9m), whose 54 minutes weren’t enough for clean sheet points.

“On both Flekken and Mee, we have no real update. We’ll know more tomorrow when we really assess them. Hopefully, the injuries aren’t too big.

“I was pleased to see the way Hákon [Valdimarsson] played. He showed great composure, he was brave in his area, he was good in the build-up – it was very impressive.” – Thomas Frank

Of course, this is particularly unfortunate for the FPL managers with both Flekken and West Ham United’s Lukasz Fabianski (£4.1m), who was stretchered off early in their 1-0 victory over Southampton. According to LiveFPL, 4.52% of the top 100k currently own both.

In fact, a defensive crisis similar to that of Tottenham Hotspur is developing. Not only is Flekken hurt alongside centre-backs Ethan Pinnock (£4.5m), Kristoffer Ajer (£4.4m) and Sepp van den Berg (£4.1m) but Ben Mee (£4.2m) limped off in the closing stages. That could be good news for Arsenal assets.

ALMOST A JOAO PEDRO RED

His sixth goalless game may have delivered only two points but Joao Pedro’s (£5.8m) 2.1 million owners may feel thankful for that, considering a late VAR check could and arguably should have recommended a red card.

Pulled back by Yehor Yarmoliuk (£4.4m), the Brazilian lost his mind and threw a huge elbow that – like all chances since his Gameweek 12 goal – missed. By swiping at fresh air, he avoided a big ban.

ABOVE: Joao Pedro’s underlying stats since last netting in Gameweek 12

So now attention needs turning to the 23-year-old’s poor form. A fourth-minute defensive error almost led to an assist, had Enciso not hit the post but the only notable attempt for himself was a second-half shot drilled straight at Valdimarsson.

Managers will be pleased that the penalty-taker continues to start matches in Danny Welbeck’s (£5.6m) absence but, with Aston Villa and Arsenal up next, some may be tempted to upgrade if they have money from selling Saka.

RARE CLEAN SHEETS

Brighton’s first clean sheet since Gameweek 8 comes with Brentford’s second of the season. It keeps the Seagulls winless in six and the Bees as this season’s joint-worst away team. It’s now up two points from nine trips.

Chances came at both ends, though. Yoane Wissa (£6.2m) finished well in the 13^th minute but was marginally offside, later coming close but for a crucial Jan Paul van Hecke (£4.5m) block. If a second-half counter-attack didn’t end with such a weak shot from the forward, Bryan Mbeumo (£7.6m) would’ve registered an assist. But that and a solitary wide shot were all the latter could produce, tallying 0.10 expected goal involvement (xGI). Still, he’s perhaps worth holding for the Southampton clash in Gameweek 20.

The match’s final effort came from substitute Solly March (£6.5m). Home fans continually chanted for him and were rewarded by seeing the winger’s first appearance in over 14 months.

PLUS ANOTHER FOR ARSENAL

Meanwhile, the night’s big winners were those putting faith in multiple parts of Arsenal’s backline. An uneventful meeting with newly-promoted Ipswich was won by a 23^rd-minute Kai Havertz (£7.9m) strike and the completion of a fourth consecutive home clean sheet. They move up to second place.

Furthermore, Jurrien Timber (£5.7m) and William Saliba (£6.3m) gained three and one bonus points respectively. By limiting the Tractor Boys to three overall attempts, each from outside the penalty area, David Raya (£5.6m) made no saves and looked fairly bored at times.

What held Gabriel Magalhaes (£6.3m) back from additional success was a big miss at the back post. He shrugged off his marker to meet Declan Rice’s (£6.2m) corner, only to somehow miss the target. It would likely have meant a 15-point haul for the Brazilian.

SAKA INJURY LATEST

Days after a hamstring injury forced Bukayo Saka (£10.4m) out of action for months – according to Mikel Arteta’s newest update – we got to assess alternative ways of covering the Gunners’ attack.

“Bukayo Saka will be out for many, many weeks – probably more than two months. He underwent surgery. Now it depends how the scar tissue starts to heal, the mobility of that”. – Mikel Arteta’s post-match injury update

After a promising display at Crystal Palace, Gabriel Martinelli (£6.8m) remained on the right flank but couldn’t muster any shots. His 0.07 xGI was disappointing, as was the 0.10 of Gabriel Jesus (£6.8m) – an individual bought over 700,000 times since the Gameweek 17 deadline. He was removed in the 71^st minute with just an offside goal of note.

Havertz’s tap-in ended a well-worked attack that saw Leandro Trossard (£6.8m) cross from the left, grabbing successive goals after only one in his previous eight. Although he was shown a yellow card.

Instead, it was midfielder Martin Odegaard (£8.4m) showing the most promise. The Norwegian had a match-high of 12 box touches and four attempts, one of which had him wriggling his way close to goal but firing over the crossbar. Later on, his clever corner led to a fierce Rice shot.

Managers who have yet to replace Saka can do a lot worse than Odegaard.

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