Two more Sunday matches to look back on now as we reflect on Manchester City 1-1 Chelsea and Everton 2-4 Brentford. This includes updates regarding the injuries of Josko Gvardiol (£6.1m) and Ruben Dias (£5.7m).
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GVARDIOL + DIAS INJURIES
Both of Man City’s starting centre-backs were subbed off injured in Gameweek 20.
Gvardiol had to be helped off the pitch by two players and was later spotted hobbling badly on the sidelines. Reports suggest he could be out for “weeks”.
Dias was forced off with a muscle issue, too.
“We will see tomorrow [about Gvardiol], but it doesn’t look good for him or Ruben [Dias]. I didn’t speak with the doctor but if Ruben is out it is because he felt something.
“Of course, we have a lot [of injuries]. John Stones is missing for many months; Ruben will be out and Josko will be out. Always we know with Nathan [Ake] that he cannot play regularly.” – Pep Guardiola
Abdukodir Khusanov (£5.4m) and Nathan Ake (£5.3m) replaced the pair on Sunday.
The concern for Pep Guardiola now is that Gvardiol and Dias’ injuries make the backline look threadbare. This should be good news for Nico O’Reilly’s (£5.2m) xMins, but it could also be detrimental to City’s clean sheet potential.
Rodri (£6.3m), meanwhile, made his first start since Gameweek 7, coming in for the injured Nico Gonzalez (£5.9m).
HOW CHELSEA FARED UNDER MCFARLANE
U21 boss Calum McFarlane led Chelsea in this match, opting for a 4-2-3-1 formation.
And he did very well, too, particularly after the break.
The interim manager made five changes to the side that drew 2-2 against Bournemouth in Enzo Maresca’s final match, three of which were enforced due to injury and suspension (more on that later).
After a low-key first-half, McFarlane got Chelsea firmly back on track by bringing on Andrey Santos (£4.5m) for Estevao (£6.4m), thereby shifting goalscorer Enzo Fernandez (£6.4m) into a No 10 role.
With another man in the heart of the midfield, Chelsea posed a real threat on the counter.
“We made a change at half-time to go more man-for-man against the ball and to be able to get more pressure and disrupt their rhythm and hopefully force them to go a little bit longer. I also think Andrey Santos coming on at half-time and moving Enzo up one [helped]. I thought Andrey was exceptional. He really, really controlled the middle of the pitch. So, in terms of in possession and out of possession, the shape change really helped us and the sub we made. And then I thought Liam [Delap] was a good sub as well. Liam gave us a really good outlet to go a little bit more direct and occupy the centre-halves.” – Calum McFarlane
Above: Chelsea’s first (left) and second-half (right) passing networks v Man City
Chelsea are about to embark on a ticker-topping run of fixtures. However, it remains to be seen who is in charge in Gameweek 21, with Liam Rosenior reportedly set for a job interview on Monday.
As for City, they didn’t create a single big chance, although Erling Haaland (£15.1m) admittedly could have had a hat-trick on another day, striking the inside of the post with one of his five efforts.
Instead, Tijjani Reijnders (£5.2m) scored the opener, slamming a shot into the roof of the net.
He’s now found the net in each of his last three starts.
WHY SANCHEZ + FOFANA MISSED OUT
Robert Sanchez (£4.9m) and Wesley Fofana (£4.4m) missed out through injury and illness respectively on Sunday.
“Rob [Sanchez] pulled out yesterday. He felt his injury in the warm-up against Bournemouth, he played through it, and he trained on Friday. Yesterday in training it just didn’t feel right.
“We were trying to get him through, and then Wes [Fofana] pulled out at lunchtime today with a really high temperature.” – Calum McFarlane on Robert Sanchez and Wesley Fofana
Marc Cucurella (£6.1m) was another absentee in Gameweek 20, having only returned to training on Friday.
In better news, Moises Caicedo (£5.7m) will return from suspension against Fulham.
THIAGO 17-POINTER
Up until Sunday, Brentford had been heavily reliant on results at the Gtech Community Stadium this season.
Nevertheless, Igor Thiago’s (£6.9m) superb hat-trick helped Keith Andrews’s side secure a thoroughly deserved victory in Gameweek 20, as they completely outplayed Everton from start to finish.
Sold by over 361,000 managers last week, Thiago shrugged off any fitness concerns (before Sunday, he had not started three games in a week in 2025/26) to end his six-match goal drought in style, racking up six shots and four (!) big chances on Merseyside.
“Strikers live and breathe [goals] and get a lot of confidence from it. He’s played well without scoring recently. His performance today was sensational. He deserves the accolades.” – Keith Andrews on Igor Thiago
Elsewhere, Nathan Collins (£4.9m) scored and assisted to produce his first double-digit haul of the campaign.
The centre-back has quietly produced 35 points over the last five Gameweeks, the joint-most of any FPL defender.
EVERTON EXPOSED
Michael Keane (£4.8m) was passed fit to start on Sunday; however, defensive errors proved costly for Everton.
James Tarkowski (£5.6m) was at fault for the Bees’ opener, while Keane himself didn’t have the best of games either.
Tarkowski did at least bank defensive contribution (DefCon) points, upping his DefCon success rate to 70% this season, a higher figure than every other regular starting defender bar Marcos Senesi (£4.8m).
“We were disappointing defensively today and not as strong as we have been. We are short on a lot of our creative players which showed at times. [But] we didn’t do our defensive duties as well as we could have done.” – David Moyes
Beto (£5.0m) and Thierno Barry (£5.7m) did at least find the net, with Jack Grealish (£6.5m) the provider for both goals.
