Dugout Discussion
16 August 2025 656 comments
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Three more Premier League matches follow on from the goalless draw at Villa Park.

Sunderland and Burnley contest their first top-flight games since promotion from the Championship, while two of the sides who just missed out on Europe last season meet at the Amex.

Guiu Dubravka

Budget Fantasy picks take centre stage today.

Burnley have four £4.0m defenders – Kyle Walker being the odd one out – and a £4.0m goalkeeper in their starting XI this afternoon, with Martin Dubravka getting the nod between the posts.

Lyle Foster, a £5.0m forward, leads the line.

The Clarets make their Premier League return against Tottenham Hotspur, who make three changes from the Super Cup clash with Paris Saint-Germain.

Lucas Bergvall, Brennan Johnson and Archie Gray come in for Joao Palhinha, Kevin Danso and Rodrigo Bentancur.

In the north-east, the big hope from the £4.5m forward pool, Marc Guiu, is on the bench.

The Black Cats have two £4.0m defenders in their team, Jensen Seelt and Reinaldo Mandava.

Mandava is one of seven new signings in their starting XI, alongside Granit Xhaka, Habib Diarra, Noah Sadiki, Chemsdine Talbi, Simon Adingra and Robin Roefs.

Mads Hermansen is straight into the West Ham United team, with Alphonse Areola having to settle for a place on the bench.

El Hadji Malick Diouf gets his Premier League debut but £4.5m midfielder Freddie Potts drops to the bench, despite having started West Ham’s final three friendlies.

Finally, at the Amex, Fabian Hurzeler makes just one change from his final pre-season line-up: Carlos Baleba is in for Diego Gomez.

Danny Welbeck is only among the substitutes.

Fulham boss Marco Silva matches Hurzeler in making one change from last weekend.

It’s an enforced alteration, too, with Ryan Sessegnon missing out. Jorge Cuenca comes in.

LINE-UPS

Brighton and Hove Albion XI: Verbuggen, Dunk, van Hecke, Wieffer, De Cuyper, O’Riley, Ayari, Baleba, Minteh, Mitoma, Rutter.

Subs: Steele, Gruda, Welbeck, Milner, Boscagli, Kadioglu, Gomez, Veltman, Coppola.

Fulham XI: Leno, Tete, Bassey, Anderson, Cuenca, Lukic, Berge, Wilson, Iwobi, Jimenez, King.

Subs: Lecomte, Reed, Muniz, Cairney, Adama, Pereira, Castagne, Diop, Emile Smith Rowe.


Sunderland XI: Roefs, Hume, Seelt, Ballard, Reinaldo, Sadiki, Xhaka, Diarra, Talbi, Mayenda, Adingra

Subs: Patterson, Neil, Guiu, Roberts, Rigg, Alderete, Isidor, Le Fee, Jones

West Ham United XI: Hermansen, Todibo, Kilman, Aguerd, Wan-Bissaka, Rodriguez, Ward-Prowse, Diouf, Bowen, Paqueta, Fullkrug

Subs: Areola, Walker-Peters, Alvarez, Wilson, Mavropanos, Soucek, Scarles, Potts, Irving


Tottenham Hotspur XI: Vicario, Porro, Romero, van de Ven, Spence, Gray, Bergvall, Kudus, Sarr, Johnson, Richarlison 

Subs: Kinsky, Danso, Joao Palhinha, Tel, Vuskovic, Solanke, Odobert, Bentancur, Davies.

Burnley XI: Dubravka, Sonne, Walker, Ekdal, Esteve, Hartman, Mejbri, Cullen, Laurent, Anthony, Foster. 

Subs: Weiss, Worrall, Bruun Larsen, Ugochukwu, Edwards, Tchaouna, Flemming, Ramsey, Lucas Pires.

656 Comments Login to Post a Comment
  1. Count of Monte Hristo
    • 12 Years
    8 months, 3 days ago

    Sunderland goal, get in!

  2. HuttonDressedasLahm
    • 16 Years
    8 months, 3 days ago

    Richarlison punt justified

  3. Moon Dog
      8 months, 3 days ago

      WOW. Incredible goal from Richarlison!

    • Dont give a fuchs
      • 12 Years
      8 months, 3 days ago

      Just realised Kudus got banned last year for grabbing Richarlison by the throat

      1. Ze_Austin
        • 7 Years
        8 months, 3 days ago

        All is forgiven now 🙂

    • The Philosopher
      • 5 Years
      8 months, 3 days ago

      AWB CS mudded

    • Towsor44
      • 13 Years
      8 months, 3 days ago

      City starting 11

      Trafford, Lewis, Stones, Dias, Ait-Nouri, Gonzalez, Silva, Reijnders, Bobb, Doku, Haaland

      1. Count of Monte Hristo
        • 12 Years
        8 months, 3 days ago

        City will concede a barrel load this season.

      2. Fifa las vegas
        • 13 Years
        8 months, 3 days ago

        Marmoush already got with the Pep roulette

    • WVA
      • 9 Years
      8 months, 3 days ago

      Told everyone on here to go O’Reily, hope you all listened, I bottled it and went Reijnders

      1. The Philosopher
        • 5 Years
        8 months, 3 days ago

        I told everyone to go Rutters and didn't go myself.

    • Tonyawesome69
      • 7 Years
      8 months, 3 days ago

      Oft Richy scissor kick goal

    • jacob1989
      • 4 Years
      8 months, 3 days ago

      West ham cleanie wiped. Areola benching hurting less now

    • fantasist
      • 15 Years
      8 months, 3 days ago

      Bowen flop
      CS flop
      West Ham flop

    • Zilla
      • 8 Years
      8 months, 3 days ago

      A bowen goal would be massive now

    • Bobby Digital
      • 8 Years
      8 months, 3 days ago

      What a volley by Richarlison!

      1. Gizzachance
        • 11 Years
        8 months, 3 days ago

        Sane combo as per first goal?

    • Pedersen
      • 7 Years
      8 months, 3 days ago

      Spurs lacking creativity. They should definitely look into buying Son Heung-min

    • AC/DC AFC
      • Fantasy Football Scout Member
      • 10 Years
      8 months, 3 days ago

      GOAL

      Sunderland

      1. AC/DC AFC
        • Fantasy Football Scout Member
        • 10 Years
        8 months, 3 days ago

        Mayenda

      2. Gizzachance
        • 11 Years
        8 months, 3 days ago

        Good

    • _Freddo
      • Fantasy Football Scout Member
      • 16 Years
      8 months, 3 days ago

      I bet I’m the only one on this site to go…..

      Mayennnnnnnnnnnndaaaaaaaaaaa!

    • F4L
      • 11 Years
      8 months, 3 days ago

      is porro doing anything down the right side? kudus huge haul

      1. DeSelby
        • 3 Years
        8 months, 3 days ago

        Porro is doing some things. Kudus took a ball off him when he had about a 90% of scoring.

        Kudus is on 10 points. That's not a huge haul. It's just a haul.

        1. F4L
          • 11 Years
          8 months, 3 days ago

          cheers

          meh 10 for 6.5 is great. could still get more

    • DeSelby
      • 3 Years
      8 months, 3 days ago

      Richarlison is a horrible, dirty, cheat of a player who I will never put on my team. Nice goal though.

      1. Freshy
        • Fantasy Football Scout Member
        • 15 Years
        8 months, 3 days ago

        the angry Brazilian

    • Bobby Digital
      • 8 Years
      8 months, 3 days ago

      Kudus the vanilla pick on two assists

    • denial
      • Fantasy Football Scout Member
      • 16 Years
      8 months, 3 days ago

      Went Fulkrug over kudus. Brilliant.

      1. Bobby Digital
        • 8 Years
        8 months, 3 days ago

        Went Bruno over Kudus. Brilliant.

        1. The Philosopher
          • 5 Years
          8 months, 3 days ago

          Went Wirtz over Kudus ffs

        2. Gizzachance
          • 11 Years
          8 months, 3 days ago

          Rogers over kudus!

      2. Pedersen
        • 7 Years
        8 months, 3 days ago

        Went Salah over Kudus

    • Tonyawesome69
      • 7 Years
      8 months, 3 days ago

      Wolves XI: Sá, Doherty, Agbadou, Gomes, Hoever, Gomes, André, Wolfe, Bellegarde, Munetsi, Larsen

      Subs: Johnstone, Bueno, Bueno, Mosquera, Gomes, Arias, Hee-chan, Kalajdžić, Lopez Gonzalez

      Manchester City XI: Trafford, Lewis, Stones, Dias, Aït-Nouri, González, Silva, Bobb, Reijnders, Doku, Haaland

      Subs: Ortega, Aké, Akanji, Khusanov, Cherki, Gündoğan, Nunes, O'Reilly, Marmoush

      1. F4L
        • 11 Years
        8 months, 3 days ago

        cheers

        reijnders looks good as an 8 tbf if he stays there

        1. Tonyawesome69
          • 7 Years
          8 months, 3 days ago

          Is he playing as the 8 or 10?

          Reijnders and Silva switch roles

          Haaland
          Doku Reijnders Bobb
          Gonzalez Silva

          1. F4L
            • 11 Years
            8 months, 3 days ago

            yeah could be. only caught highlights of the last preseason match highlights for city but reijnders runs into the box were crazy good . either way hes not sitting today as a 6

      2. dunts1
        • 13 Years
        8 months, 3 days ago

        Starting the season with some good old Pep for Marmoush owners

        Arias starting on bench too.

    • The Night Trunker.
      • 2 Years
      8 months, 3 days ago

      Same old Spam.
      Spam Spam Spam Spam Spam.

    • The Tinkerman
      • 10 Years
      8 months, 3 days ago

      Trafford very tempting if Donnarumma doesn’t come in

      1. Towsor44
        • 13 Years
        8 months, 3 days ago

        They'll definitely get Donnarumma

      2. Tonyawesome69
        • 7 Years
        8 months, 3 days ago

        If they sell Ederson, they will buy another GK

    • Sun Jihai
      • Fantasy Football Scout Member
      • 14 Years
      8 months, 3 days ago

      Kudus looks like the bargain of the 2025/26 season

    • Pedersen
      • 7 Years
      8 months, 3 days ago

      God damn. Was on Kudus until last minute

      1. DeSelby
        • 3 Years
        8 months, 3 days ago

        I had Kudus in about 137 of my 178 drafts.

    • Ajax Hamsterdam
      • 11 Years
      8 months, 3 days ago

      So pleased for mayenda great player just bottled putting him in my team

    • CoracAld2831
      • 5 Years
      8 months, 3 days ago

      Oh well... Mayenda would have stayed on my bench anyway.

      (Had him for a long time then changed to Guiu)

    • Count of Monte Hristo
      • 12 Years
      8 months, 3 days ago

      Feel bad for the teams that stuck with Watkins + Bowen as their front 2.

      1. Ajax Hamsterdam
        • 11 Years
        8 months, 3 days ago

        Bowen still has 30 mins. Watkins will come good.

      2. iFash@FPL
        • 2 Years
        8 months, 3 days ago

        I’m one of them. 🙂

      3. Studs Up
        • Fantasy Football Scout Member
        • 6 Years
        8 months, 3 days ago

        season not 38 gwks?

    • TheBiffas
      • 5 Years
      8 months, 3 days ago

      Hooooold VdV and De Cuyper

    • g40steve
      • 8 Years
      8 months, 3 days ago

      Vorderman bikini shots wtf is this on the site

      1. The Bandit
        • 15 Years
        8 months, 3 days ago

        I’m getting Rachel Riley 😆

      2. Planet Head
        • Fantasy Football Scout Member
        • 9 Years
        8 months, 3 days ago

        Remember the days when there were no cheap clickbait ads and membership was a tenner?

    • Ze_Austin
      • 7 Years
      8 months, 3 days ago

      BJ G