Bruno Fernandes (£9.0m) and Bryan Mbeumo (£8.0m) both emerged with double-digit hauls as Manchester United edged Burnley on Saturday.
Two of Bruno’s key selling points as a Fantasy pick are that he’s a 90-minute man and on penalties. Both were key to him salvaging a 10-point return from the jaws of a blank as he netted a stoppage-time spot-kick.
But for FPL managers opting for Matheus Cunha (£8.1m) as their route into the United attack, there was more misery.
Our first Scout Notes of Gameweek 3 takes in the five-goal thriller at Old Trafford.
CUNHA + MOUNT INJURY LATEST
Cunha succumbed to a hamstring injury after just half an hour of Saturday’s win.
It got worse for Ruben Amorim, too. Mason Mount (£6.0m) – who was arguably United’s best player in the first half – also came off at half-time.
Both will be assessed.
“It was hard to lose Cunha and Mason Mount, because Mason Mount played 30 minutes with an injury. I’m concerned about that, because they are so important for us. We will see.” – Ruben Amorim to Sky Sports
“I don’t know [how they are], I don’t know. We will check them. We need those guys really bad to be really competitive.” – Ruben Amorim in his post-match presser
AMORIM ON SESKO’S FITNESS
Joshua Zirkzee (£5.9m), and not Benjamin Sesko (£7.4m), was brought on for Cunha when the Brazilian hobbled off.
And Kobbie Mainoo (£4.9m) was the man introduced for Mount at the interval.
Sesko didn’t appear until the 72nd minute, indeed, and Amorim is clearly being careful with the Slovenian striker’s fitness.
“Everything is connected. So, he finished the game [against Grimsby] with cramps, really in the limit and that’s why we protected Ben from the penalties and today was that reason also because Josh [Zirkzee] is also a striker, he’s an international striker.
“But I was thinking that Ben, during the pre-season, didn’t do 90 minutes and he did that [for the first time] against a fourth-division team. He did that on Wednesday.
“With the problem of Cunha, you don’t know if that full game in the middle of the week has something to do with the injury today. With the problem with Mason Mount, I was not risking another player not knowing if they are able to play so many minutes. So everything was connected – the penalty, the game on Wednesday and the number of minutes I was thinking for Ben today.” – Ruben Amorim on Benjamin Sesko
BRUNO STILL ON PENS – AND BACK IN THE ’10’
Despite his miss from 12 yards in Gameweek 2, Fernandes retained control of penalty-taking duties when United were given their last-gasp spot-kick on Saturday.
“I was not expecting Bruno to miss two penalties in a row. So, I was really confident.” – Ruben Amorim
It was another all-rounder display from the Portuguese playmaker on Saturday. Producing defensive contribution (DC/DefCon) points for the second match in a row (he was one away from doing so in Gameweek 1, too), he also racked up six chances created and four shots.
Above: Bruno Fernandes is now ranked third among FPL midfielders for defensive contributions (DC)
Fernandes started off in central midfield against the Clarets but when Mount went off, he was afforded more of an attacking role.
Mainoo on for Mount at HT + goes next to Casemiro. Fernandes has shifted to No 10. Presume injury to Mount, who had been playing well. #MUFC
— Laurie Whitwell (@lauriewhitwell) August 30, 2025
Fernandes may indeed be there in Gameweek 4, depending on the fitness states of Mount, Cunha and Sesko. It sounds like Amorim would still prefer ‘runners’ in the dual-10 roles, however:
“In the second half, we lack a little bit of pace because Bruno can control more the game as a number 10 but we lack a little bit one more guy to stretch the play like Brian [Mbeumo].” – Ruben Amorim
Fernandes still has plenty of appeal in a deeper role, of course: five of his six chances created came in the first half. And a central midfield role helps with DefCons, of course: he hit his target by half-time on Saturday.
He would have had an assist, too, had Casemiro‘s (£5.5m) opener gone straight in rather than hit the woodwork and rebound in off Josh Cullen (£5.0m).
MBEUMO OFF THE MARK
United players topped the Premier League data tables on Saturday. Collectively, they racked up more attempts (26) and xG (3.54) than any other team. Zirzkee had more shots (seven) than any other top-flight player. Fernandes created more chances (six).
Mbeumo was at the summit for non-penalty expected goal involvement (NPxGI, 1.29), meanwhile.
Lively in the first half especially and going close with two efforts from the right-hand side of the box, he was on hand from closer range to sweep home Diogo Dalot‘s (£4.5m) cut-back after the break.
He is the ‘out ball’ in this United side, something that may be in his favour in the next two matches (City/Chelsea) in particular when the Red Devils counter.
Dalot incidentally was given the nod over Patrick Dorgu (£4.5m) at left wing-back.
BUDGET PAIR SCORE, DUBRAVKA EXCELLENT
Burnley were non-existent as an attacking force in the first half but rallied after the break. They, along with Leeds United and Sunderland, look a tad more competent than last year’s promoted trio, even if it still might not be enough to save them from the drop come May.
Lyle Foster (£5.0m) is FPL’s joint-cheapest starting forward at present and bagged his first goal of 2025/26 here. He was denied a second by a marginal offside call, too, having been thwarted by VAR last week. At least his finishing is on point.
Meanwhile, Jaidon Anthony (£5.5m) made it three attacking returns in three games by prodding in the second equaliser.
Martin Dubravka (£4.0m) had a fine game between the posts, too, despite conceding on three occasions. None of the goals he could do much about, and he even nearly produced a miracle save to keep out Cullen’s own-goal.
