An eight-goal thriller at Old Trafford rounded off Gameweek 16 of Fantasy Premier League (FPL).
Here are our Scout Notes from the 4-4 epic.
A NEW SYSTEM – AND A NEW, MORE ATTACKING UNITED?
Manchester United’s ‘new’ set-up wasn’t a complete revolution, more of a tweak on what went before.
Instead of a 3-4-2-1 on the ball, it was more 4-4-2/4-2-4. Where one ‘wing-back’, Diogo Dalot (£4.4m), became more of a full-back, the other, Amad Diallo (£6.3m), pushed right up the, er, right to become a winger. Often, when attacking, United had a frontline of Amad on the right, Mason Mount (£7.9m) on the left, and Bryan Mbeumo (£8.2m) and Matheus Cunha (£7.9m) through the middle.
“It’s for you to discuss, not for me. I will say the same thing. You can play with the same players, [it] looks like one thing, [it] is another thing. Now, guys, it’s for you to [discuss]. I know that you guys know that I trained this week, the back four. I don’t know how, but that is a good thing for you guys to discuss this week.” – Ruben Amorim, when asked if United were building up in a back four
Whether it was the formation or the mindset, it led to a barnstorming first half in which United produced one of their best attacking displays of recent times.
United’s already decent attacking numbers are now (30 goals, 30.77 xG) second only to Manchester City, thanks to Monday’s injection.
The question is: what happens now? Two key cogs in the system, Amad and Mbeumo, exit for the Africa Cup of Nations. Will it be back to a less fluent 3-4-2-1? Or could Dalot potentially take up the advanced Amad role on the right, with the fit-again Benjamin Sesko (£7.2m) joining Cunha centrally? Dalot is already on a run of three attacking returns in as many Gameweeks as it is.
One to watch in the weeks ahead.
SHOT-HAPPY CUNHA
Cunha, for the second game running, had a whopping eight shots:
He netted what was only his second goal of the season here. After some wayward finishing, he could barely miss this chance when the ball fell his way in the Bournemouth box.
Cunha was also inches away from converting Dalot’s cross that Amad nodded in from on the goalline.
The Brazilian has taken up plenty of more central, threatening positions in the last two Gameweeks. Having had only one ‘big chance’ in the first 14 Gameweeks, he’s had three in the last eight days.
Will it continue now Sesko is back?
Mbeumo couldn’t sign off for AFCON with a return, blazing the best of his four chances over. Still, if he’s to reprise this role when he returns, the signs look fairly promising.
United, remarkably, now boast FPL’s top three midfielders for shots in 2025/26:
TWO ‘CMS’ HAUL
For all the talk about exciting frontlines, it was two central midfielders who hauled big.
Bruno Fernandes (£9.3m) rocketed right back to the top of the FPL midfielders’ points table with a third double-digit haul in four Gameweeks.
While his assist for Casemiro‘s (£5.5m) header was fortunate (Djorde Petrovic (£4.5m) should have stopped it), his free-kick goal was pure class.
Similarly, Marcus Tavernier‘s (£5.5m) central midfield stationing – he’s dropped back a bit during the recent injury/suspension crisis – didn’t hamper him. Both assist and goal came from distance: a through-ball to Evanilson (£7.0m) from deep and a direct free-kick of his own.
He even gatecrashed the box for a big double chance in the first half.
SEMENYO NEARS BAN + CASEMIRO SUSPENDED
The signs have been there in recent weeks that Antoine Semenyo (£7.5m) was going to get back among the attacking returns.
He duly delivered on Monday, scoring Bournemouth’s first of the evening.
“Antoine is playing well. The other day, he scored and was disallowed by a nothing offside. I think he’s been a threat for us. Today he showed also personality, good aerially, winning duels, and I think he’s in a good, good moment. I don’t analyse Antoine just because he hasn’t the scored the last, I don’t know how many games. I think it’s about team performance, how much he helps us.” – Andoni Iroala on Antoine Semenyo
The worry for his owners is that a first-half booking at Old Trafford took him to four for the season. One more caution in the next three Gameweeks will lead to a one-match ban.
He gets the plum fixture against Burnley in Gameweek 17, at least, and that might be enough. With the matches that follow, his remaining owners might cash in over Christmas, regardless of availability.
Speaking of that Gameweek 17 clash with the out-of-form Clarets, owners of Eli Kroupi (£4.6m), especially Bench Boosters, might be hoping for a cheeky start, especially after his equaliser here. However, we know how much Iraola loves Evanilson, and the Brazilian was also on the scoresheet to end his drought.
With plenty of rest on either side of Burnley’s visit, there’s scant reason to rotate, too. Kroupi’s best hope is probably a role with Evanilson (like in Gameweek 12), not in place of him.
United meanwhile lost one of their own to suspension, in the shape of Casemiro. It’s five bookings for the season for him, so no trip to Villa Park.
A CASE FOR TO TARGET THE DEFENCE
Finally, we’ve championed the attacks of both sides – but chaos reigns at the back.
With United, they’re still only on one clean sheet for the season. This 4-4-2 of sorts looked brilliant going forward but with four players effectively all playing out of position at the rear – including Leny Yoro (£4.3m) at right-back – it was chaos defensively.
The Cherries nearly won it, indeed, with two big, late chances for David Brooks (£5.0m).
With Casemiro banned next week, Villa attackers will fancy their prospects.
As for Bournemouth, the central midfield crisis isn’t helping. They lost Tyler Adams (£5.0m) after just a few minutes on Monday, with Iraola saying he thinks it’s an MCL (not season-ending but enough to keep him out) injury.
This was the seventh match in 11 Gameweeks that the Cherries have shipped 2+ goals.
Above: The leading players for defensive contributions at Old Trafford on Monday
Marcos Senesi (£4.9m) went huge on the defensive contributions, delivering 21 in Manchester, but that still only amounted to a one-point net return.
After Burnley, he’ll likely be relying on DefCon exclusively in the following six Gameweeks.
