While Fantasy Premier League (FPL) may be on hiatus, there are 14 Premier League teams in FA Cup fourth-round action over this (long) weekend.
Our Scout Notes will cover the main FPL talking points from each of their games.
These will be briefer than the usual notes, as a) many Premier League teams fielded glorified reserve sides and b) 10 of these clubs, including all three in this article, were facing Football League opposition. A lot of the on-field action will consequently have little relevance come Gameweek 27.
RESULTS
| Team | Opposition | Result | Goals | Assist |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Chelsea | Hull City (a) | 4-0 win | Neto x3, Estevao | Delap x3 |
| West Ham United | Burton Albion (a) | 1-0 win | Summerville | Mayers |
| Burnley | Mansfield Town (h) | 1-2 loss | Laurent | Foster |
SELECTION / ROTATION
| TEAM | CHANGES FROM GAMEWEEK 26 | PLAYERS WHO KEPT THEIR PLACES (+ MINS) | OTHER PLAYERS (+ MINS) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Chelsea | 7 | Sanchez (90), Santos (90), Estevao (77), Caicedo (61) | Sarr (90), Hato (90), Neto (90), Garnacho (90), Delap (88), Fofana (77), James (60), Enzo (30), Acheampong (29), Tosin (13), Derry (13), Mheuka (2) |
| West Ham | 10 | Mavropanos (120) | Areola (120), Mayers (120), Kilman (120), Walker-Peters (120), Magassa (120), Kante (105), Wilson (105), Scarles (83), Traore (82), Lamadrid (71), Taty (38), Summerville (37), Potts (30), Orford (15), Disasi (15) |
| Burnley | 9 | Laurent (90), Esteve (90) | Weiss (90), Hartman (90), Ekdal (90), Foster (90), Ward-Prowse (90), Florentino (81), Barnes (81) Bruun Larsen (66), Tchaouna (66), Hannibal (24), Edwards (24), Flemming (9), Ugochukwu (9), Pires (1) |
PALMER’S ABSENCE EXPLAINED
There was no Cole Palmer (£10.6m) in the Chelsea squad on Friday. It doesn’t sound like the 140k+ managers who have made Palmer the most-bought midfielder of Gameweek 27 have much to worry about, however.
“Managing. Managing him.” – Liam Rosenior on Cole Palmer’s absence
Minute management was the order of evening, indeed, with Reece James (£5.6m) and Moises Caicedo (£5.7m) starting but limited to an hour, Enzo Fernandez (£6.9m) handed a much-needed cameo instead of a start, and Joao Pedro (£7.7m) completely unused on the bench. Trevoh Chalobah (£5.8m) also had the night off.
All nicely rested, then, for the plum Burnley fixture in Gameweek 27.
“Brilliant to see Reece [James] back on the pitch. Brilliant for him to get those 60 minutes. I was planning on giving Enzo [Fernandez] 45 minutes with Moi [Caicedo]. I’m trying to manage their minutes. In the end, I felt it was right for Moi to stay on for 60. I’m delighted they’ve all come through unscathed and now, for the first time in a long time, they’ve got a full week to prepare for Burnley.” – Liam Rosenior
CUCURELLA INJURY LATEST
One absent regular who we’re not expecting to be back in Gameweek 27 is Marc Cucurella (£6.1m).
Liam Rosenior had this to say about his left-back on Friday night.
“Yes, at the moment he’s not fit. There’s an issue with his hamstring. I don’t know. I can’t give you a time frame on it at the moment.” – Liam Rosenior on Marc Cucurella
Subsequent reports suggest he could be out for up to a month, which could keep him out for four Gameweeks.
Marc Cucurella is hoping to return in 3-4 weeks having had a scan on his hamstring.
As he has explained, Chelsea manager Liam Rosenior is generally cautious about putting time-frames on injuries to avoid putting pressure on players when going through their recovery. pic.twitter.com/XeRkZ6EE23
— Nizaar Kinsella (@NizaarKinsella) February 14, 2026
Jorrel Hato (£4.6m) will possibly get a short-term minutes boost, then.
SARR A THREAT TO CHALOBAH?
Mamadou Sarr (£4.5m) made his Chelsea debut on Humberside, turning in a solid showing. Essentially playing the left-sided Chalobah role (or at least the Chalobah role when right-sided centre-back Wesley Fofana (£4.4m) is fit), he mopped up well and impressed with his distribution. One sensational long pass for Estevao (£6.4m) should have resulted in an assist, only for the winger to blaze over after rounding the ‘keeper.
Remember that Rosenior knows Sarr very well already after managing him at Strasbourg last season. A situation to monitor going forward.
“Mamadou was everything that I expect. I know Mamadou so well. I think the climatisation adaptation process for him hopefully will be faster because he understands the way I want to play, and he already showed that today.” – Liam Rosenior on Mamadou Sarr
TWO ‘HAT-TRICKS’
‘It was only Hull’ is of course a valid point re Sarr, as it is regarding the headline-makers in attack.
Pedro Neto, (£7.0m) playing in an unusual ’10’ role that he’s not likely to feature much in when Palmer/Enzo start, bagged a hat-trick, two of them teed up by Liam Delap (£6.2m). Another strike from the Portuguese midfielder flew straight in from a corner.
Delap also assisted Estevao to complete a treble of his own, having earlier contrived to miss this:
How did that stay out!? 🤯
A big chance missed by Liam Delap for @ChelseaFC against his former club 😯
📺 Watch live on @BBCMOTD and @footballontnt pic.twitter.com/MWqtDLjTsK
— Emirates FA Cup (@EmiratesFACup) February 13, 2026
BOWEN RESTED AS SUMMERVILLE’S SCORING STREAK CONTINUES
West Ham have been much improved in the Premier League of late, with just one (late) defeat in the last five matches.
On Saturday, Nuno Espirito Santo opted to rotate most of the players that have performed well for him recently. It showed, too, with the B team serving up a flat performance against some League One strugglers. The Hammers’ first shot, a long-range one at that, didn’t even arrive until the 38th minute.
Callum Wilson (£5.8m) was responsible for that effort, one of a game-high five attempts he had. Really, though, the likeliest source of a goal seemed to be centre-half Konstantinos Mavropanos (£4.4m) from a set play – which says a lot about West Ham’s overall display.
Mavropanos, the only Gameweek 26 starter to keep his place, had four efforts against Burton.
Enter Crysensio Summerville (£5.6m). Thrown on in the 83rd minute, the in-form winger produced a rare bit of quality as the game entered extra time, driving in from the left flank before scoring (with an admittedly deflected effort) from just outside the box. It’s six goals in seven in all competitions for the budget FPL midfielder now.
“He’s in a good moment, Summerville. He’s full of confidence. Everything that he does seems to go well. So, we have to take advantage of it.” – Nuno Espirito Santo on Crysencio Summerville
Jarrod Bowen (£7.6m) was one of several regulars rested at the Pirelli Stadium, not even making the bench.
“He needed this break, Jarrod. The players that stayed at home, doing treatment and recovering, are getting ready for the fight that we have ahead of us.” – Nuno Espirito Santo on Jarrod Bowen’s absence
Unless there’s an appeal, Nuno will be without Freddie Potts (£4.4m) for the next three Gameweeks. He was sent off for serious foul play just after Summerville’s opener, leading to a frantic ending as Burton pressed for a leveller.
FIRST WARD-PROWSE START AS BURNLEY SLUMP
Another club whose first XI was made to look better by the understudies flopping on Saturday.
From the highs of the midweek win at Selhurst Park to the lows of this, a fourth-round exit at the hands of a mid-table League One side.
Josh Laurent (£4.8m), one of two Gameweek 26 starters to keep their place, finished off a well-worked opener but even that 21st-minute opener barely masked a timid start from the Clarets, who had just two shots on target in the first 75 minutes of this game.
Even so, the unconvincing front three of Ashley Barnes (£4.2m), Jacob Bruun Larsen (£5.3m) and Loum Tchaouna (£4.9m) all spurned other/further glaring opportunities. Substitute Zian Flemming (£5.3m) did likewise.
That profligacy was duly punished.
Mansfield levelled with a headed effort as Quilindschy Hartman (£4.0m) rolled around looking for a free-kick, while a direct free-kick of the Stags’ own won the Football League side the game late on.
The most minor of consolations was a decent-ish first start from James Ward-Prowse (£5.6m), who at least looked to make things happen. Unsurprisingly, he was also on set plays.
But is all that feelgood factor from Gameweek 26 now gone in a matter of days? Owners of Chelsea players will be hoping so ahead of next weekend.
