We continue our round-up of an all-action night of Champions League football by picking out the key Fantasy Premier League (FPL) talking points from a pair of victories for Liverpool and Tottenham Hotspur, two teams with very different fortunes in Europe than domestically.
WEDNESDAY’S RESULTS
| Team | Opponent | Result | Goals | Assists |
| Liverpool | Qarabag (h) | 6-0 win | Mac Allister x2, Wirtz, Salah, Ekitike, Chiesa | Van Dijk x3, Ekitike, Szoboszlai |
| Tottenham Hotspur | Eintracht Frankfurt (h) | 0-2 win | Kolo Muani, Solanke | Romero |
SELECTION/ROTATION
| Team | No. of starting XI changes made from GW23 | Players who kept their places (mins played) | Mins for other players |
| Liverpool | 2 | Alisson (90), Frimpong (4), Gravenberch (90), Van Dijk (90), Mac Allister (90), Salah (90), Szoboszlai (75), Gakpo (74), Wirtz (67) | Robertson (90), Endo (86), Ekitike (67), Ngumoha (23), Nyoni (23), Chiesa (16), Nallo (15) |
| Tottenham Hotspur | 5 | Vicario (90), Danso (90), Romero (90), Spence (90), Simons (90), Odobert (73) | Palhinha (90), Udogie (89), P.Sarr (90), Gray (90), Kolo Muani (84), Solanke (17), Scarlett (6), Byfield (1) |
EKITIKE BACK IN THE XI AS REDS HIT QARABAG FOR SIX
It was a six-goal thriller – of sorts – at Anfield on Wednesday night. All six goals were scored by the hosts in a rampant victory that will serve as a needed confidence boost for Arne Slot’s men following last weekend’s loss to Bournemouth.
A thoroughly dominant display – 38 total shots, 27 inside the box, 12 on target, 5.66 expected goals (xG), 67 touches in the opposition box and 14 corners – meant this was a well-deserved win, too. Qarabag offered very little to threaten their hosts in response.
Slot switched from a 4-2-2-2 at the Vitality Stadium to a more familiar 4-2-3-1 set-up here, with Hugo Ekitike (£8.8m) returning to lead the line. He duly delivered the goal his FPL backers have been waiting weeks for.
The Frenchman’s calm, composed finish to a fast break in the second half was one of his match-high six shots on the night:
There were three Liverpool goals before that – one of which Ekitike set up directly, after being involved in another.
The Frenchman got the first touch to an early corner, flicking it on at the near post before Alexis Mac Allister (£6.2m) later nodded the ball home. Minutes later, Ekitike did brilliantly to keep possession under pressure before laying off for Florian Wirtz (£8.3m), who drilled a well-taken effort low into the corner to continue his upturn in personal form. That marked the fifth time the pair have assisted one another in all competitions this season, the sign of an increasingly strong partnership.
Encouragingly, both Wirtz and Ekitike were taken off midway through the second half. It suggests Slot had one eye on Saturday’s clash with Newcastle United.
SALAH’S FIRST LIVERPOOL GOAL IN ALMOST THREE MONTHS
The first goal after the break came from a Mohamed Salah (£14.0m) free-kick, which was nudged to him by Dominik Szoboszlai (£6.6m). This was his third consecutive start since returning from the Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON); it suggests past grievances will be left in the past, for now.
It was also Salah’s first Liverpool goal since November 1. He was responsible for four shots and seven key passes in total, despite being doubled up on for much of the evening.
Mac Allister made it five just past the hour mark, capitalising on poor defensive work from Qarabag to bundle in his second of the match. Fit-again substitute Federico Chiesa (£6.3m) rounded off the scoring.
Cody Gakpo (£7.3m) was the only member of Liverpool’s starting front four not to score but it wasn’t for lack of trying. The Dutch forward racked up six shots, level with Ekitike, and a match-high three of those were on target.
But could he be the man to drop out of the attack at the weekend, if anyone does?
FRIMPONG, GOMEZ, KONATE + JONES LATEST
It wasn’t all good news for Liverpool, with Jeremie Frimpong (£5.8m) limping off early.
The Dutch full-back has been hampered by recurring hamstring issues since his arrival at Anfield last summer, and he was visibly distraught after pulling up mere minutes into Wednesday’s clash.
Slot confirmed post-match that it was a “muscle” injury. It looks set keep his countryman out of Saturday evening’s visit of Newcastle at the very least:
“It is obvious if a player goes out, [we] don’t expect him to play Saturday against Newcastle. Jeremie is out, let’s see what the future holds. Let’s first see how Jeremie is. Maybe he’s not available to play Saturday, but maybe able to play later.
“It’s a muscle injury, but I don’t know how long that is going to be. It’s a muscle so it’s not a knee [injury] and a muscle usually has to do with overloading a player. Not always, of course, because he stretched in the moment, but it is the risk.
“That’s why I took Hugo [Ekitike] and Florian [Wirtz] off tonight as well, because those are the players that are not as used as Macca [Alexis Mac Allister] or Dom [Szoboszlai], who play longer at both of these levels.” – Arne Slot addressing Jeremie Frimpong’s latest injury setback
Elsewhere, Joe Gomez (£4.9m) and Ibrahima Konate (£5.4m) missed out again. Gomez picked up a knock in last weekend’s defeat at Bournemouth, while Konate missed a third match due to being on compassionate leave following the death of his father.
Curtis Jones (£5.4m), meanwhile, was absent due to illness.
“Curtis was sick, so we have to wait and see how it evolves.
“Joe might be tight [for Saturday]. [I am] hoping and expecting to have Ibou [Konate] but I cannot guarantee this yet, but we are hoping Ibou will be back with us. Joe will be tight.” – Arne Slot
SZOBOSZLAI BACK TO RIGHT-BACK?
The absences of Gomez and Konate meant Ryan Gravenberch (£5.7m) had to step into central defence. In turn, that pulled Szoboszlai back into the central midfield pairing with Mac Allister.
The Hungarian still managed three shots but as ever, they were from distance. A fresh injury concern for Frimpong, meanwhile, could further limit Szoboszlai’s potential for open-play returns if he is tasked with filling in at right-back. He did reasonably well there earlier this season when Frimpong and Conor Bradley (£5.0m) were both out.
Last night, it was Wataru Endo (£4.9m) who deputised at right-back when Frimpong was deemed unable to continue. He had a solid match in an unfamiliar position, albeit without much being asked of him by Qarabag’s largely muted frontline.
At least Liverpool have both of their left-backs available. It was Andrew Robertson (£5.7m) who started on Wednesday, with Tottenham transfer speculation seemingly put to rest, as Milos Kerkez (£5.6m) remained an unused substitute.
VVD’S RECORD
Finally, on Liverpool, a word on Virgil van Dijk (£5.9m). Despite registering his highest FPL score of the season in Gameweek 23, the Dutchman was much maligned for his overall performance at Bournemouth, having been responsible for two of the Cherries’ three goals.
He answered his critics with a clean sheet this time, plus an impressive hat-trick of assists. This is the first time a central defender has ever set up three goals in a single Champions League match!
His on-target header, following Ekitike’s flick-on from Szoboszlai’s corner, was helped over the line by Mac Allister to open the scoring. That was one of four shots – joint with Wirtz and Salah – taken by the Reds’ skipper.
Van Dijk then played a long ball out – possibly just a clearance, but we’ll give him the credit – which Ekitike collected for Liverpool’s fourth goal, before charging forward himself to receive the ball from Salah and knock it over to the just-about-onside Chiesa.
TWO IN THREE FOR SOLANKE
Switching our focus to Spurs, this was another fairly comfortable win to nil in Europe for Thomas Frank’s men. It’s a far cry from the domestic form that has left them 14th in the Premier League table.
Indeed, this latest clean sheet was Tottenham’s sixth from eight Champions League games, giving Guglielmo Vicario (£4.8m) the lead in the competition’s Golden Glove race!
The Lilywhites were on top throughout against already eliminated opposition in Frankfurt, but it wasn’t until Randal Kolo Muani (£6.9m) poked in from close range that they took the lead.
Their advantage was then doubled late on by super sub Dominic Solanke (£7.2m) – the only regular first-teamer on Frank’s bench – racing onto a poorly-placed defensive header before delivering a clinical finish.
The Englishman, who has been plagued by an ankle issue for most of the season, now has two goals in his last three appearances as he builds back to match fitness. He started last weekend’s draw against Burnley and looks set to lead the line again in Gameweek 24.
“Yeah, I’m so happy not only to have him in the Champions League squad, but also it was a tough decision. It was a big game tonight, and I wanted to start Dom [Solanke], but we need to take clever decisions like we’ve done throughout, because we have been pushing him to the limit.
“So we know every sign, every experience says that it was the right thing not to start him. So I’m happy that it turned out to be a very good decision.” – Thomas Frank on Dominic Solanke
Spurs had 15 shots in all, four of them coming from the fit-again Pape Matar Sarr (£4.5m). Wilson Odobert (£5.3m), starting for the sixth time in Spurs’ last seven between the Champions League and Premier League, was unlucky not to score, drilling a low shot against the post when the scores were still level.
ROMERO’S ATTACKING THREAT
One man who has not been short of goals this season is Cristian Romero (£5.0m).
The fiery skipper netted his fourth goal of the Premier League campaign last weekend, the joint-most of any FPL defender. His underlying stats have spiked recently as well; seven of his 14 shots have come in the last four Gameweeks, a period in which Romero has also created five chances (including two ‘big chances’).
Romero had one shot against Frankfurt but it was his creative abilities that made the Argentine stand out on this occasion. Among the three chances he created was his third assist in six Champions League games this season.
Spurs now face a daunting run of Premier League fixtures, beginning with Sunday’s home clash with Manchester City before matches away to Manchester United and at home versus Newcastle and Arsenal.
Whether Romero can keep up that rate of recent attacking returns against sterner opposition – his back-to-back league goals in Gameweeks 22-23 came against West Ham and Burnley – remains to be seen, but he does at least have a solid record of defensive contribution (DefCon) points recently, hitting the threshold in five of his last six league appearances.
FRANK STICKS WITH THE 3-4-3
Thomas Frank again stuck with his new 3-4-3 formation, as illustrated below:
Micky Van de Ven (£4.6m) may be back in this three-man defence on Saturday, as he was only absent with a minor injury.
In the pacey Dutchman’s absence, Joao Palhinha (£5.5m) dropped into the back three alongside Romero and Kevin Danso (£4.2m). Djed Spence (£4.3m) and Destiny Udogie (£4.3m) were stationed as wing-backs.
This backline will largely stay the same for City’s visit on Sunday, other than Van de Ven coming back in for Palhinha if he’s deemed ready to do so.
