The slow limp to the finish line continues for Liverpool and Chelsea as these two lacklustre underachievers played out a typically unexceptional game at Anfield.
Here are our Scout Notes.
INJURY UPDATES AS ISAK + MAMARDASHVILI RETURN
Alexander Isak (£10.3m) and Giorgi Mamardashvili (£4.1m) returned from injury on Saturday.
Isak was a second-half substitute, and his availability likely means Rio Ngumoha (£4.3m) and temporary centre-forward Cody Gakpo (£7.3m) will be tussling for one spot in the remaining two Gameweeks.
Mamardashvili, meanwhile, ousted Freddie Woodman (£3.9m) from the side. The Georgian himself might be warming the bench soon enough with Alisson (£5.4m) closing in on a return.
The Brazilian ‘keeper, and a certain Mohamed Salah (£14.0m), could well be back in Gameweek 37. Nice timing for those thinking of rolling back the years for a wistful final-day punt on the Egyptian.
“I think Mo [Salah] is close to returning, Ali [Becker] is close to returning.” – Arne Slot
As for the newest concerns, Florian Wirtz (£8.3m) missed out with the stomach bug that affected his ability to train this week.
“He tried everything to be in it. But an infection in the stomach. He wasn’t feeling well during the week. He tried earlier in the week to train, but in the end, things got worse and he wasn’t able to train with us yesterday and isn’t able to be with us today.
“We have to wait and see how he is recovering after what he has. – Arne Slot on Florian Wirtz
Ibrahima Konate (£5.5m) hobbled off during the game, but it may have merely been cramp.
“Konate, we always have to wait and see, [but] the way he limped off, he told me it was cramp. Let’s hope he is right in his assessment, but we have to wait and see tomorrow how he feels and how that will work out.” – Arne Slot
NATIVES RESTLESS
Neither side made it to double figures for shots. Neither side got anywhere near 1.0 xG, either.
Liverpool started strongly, with Ryan Gravenberch (£5.4m) scoring early, but the customary retreat happened. From minute 12 to minute 48, the Reds didn’t have a single shot.
The natives grew restless, and there was full-on mutiny when the lively Ngumoha, who assisted the opener, was taken off midway through the second half.
“No, not injured. He had cramps before that, three minutes [before] where he went to the floor. Then I had contact with him and he said that it was enough, so that’s why I took him off.” – Arne Slot on why he took Rio Ngumoha off
FPL managers ought to be relishing the prospect of Liverpool facing a possible Aston Villa ‘B’ side on Friday. Instead, you’re just expecting more dirge.
SZOBOSZLAI CLOSE
Ngumoha aside, the only real threat came from Liverpool’s two top FPL points-scorers, Virgil van Dijk (£6.1m) and Dominik Szoboszlai (£7.0m).
Virgil should have scored, ballooning a close-range volley over before hitting the bar with a header. Szoboszlai would have claimed the assist on both occasions.
The Hungarian midfielder himself picked up some nice pockets of space in the ’10’ role, which is where FPL managers really want to see him.
Alas, after testing Filip Jorgensen (£4.3m) and hitting the post here, he may be shunted deeper this Friday if Wirtz returns to fitness.
CUCURELLA ‘OOP’!
How would Chelsea cope without any fit wingers? Play Marc Cucurella (£6.1m) as one, that’s how.
It was a pretty successful experiment, too, with the Spaniard getting into some dangerous positions. On several occasions, he got beyond the last man. He saw one shot saved, miscontrolled when clean through in another instance, and played a part in the disallowed Cole Palmer (£10.3m) goal.
“Cucurella is not a winger. He has played there before, he told me, but even when he plays left-back or when he rolls into midfield, his movement off the ball is of a real high quality, the timing, the understanding of when to do it. So, it’s something that is new with him in that position we could maybe expose. I thought he was unlucky not to get an assist and create a lot of problems for them.” – Calum McFarlane
We all love an ‘out of position’ (OOP) defender but it may be a short-lived thing, with Pedro Neto (£7.0m) and Alejandro Garnacho (£6.4m) nearing returns.
“Yeah, we are very hopeful. You have to take these things day by day. We’re hoping that they’ll be available, but we don’t know at this moment in time. They’re going to get back into training, see how they feel, see how it looks. So, fingers crossed.” – Calum McFarlane on if Alejandro Garnacho and Pedro Neto will return for the FA Cup final
ENZO CONTINUES TO THRIVE UNDER MCFARLANE
It’s saying something about Chelsea’s current malaise that a performance in which they produced an xG of 0.30, and a solitary shot after the 40th minute, was seen as an improvement.
There were some positives, on top of Cucurella’s display.
The fit-again Levi Colwill (£4.7m) was good at the back. He makes a big difference to the Chelsea backline, and indeed to the players further forward with his passing.
Above: Colwill banked DefCon points on his first start of 2025/26
Reece James (£5.6m) also got his first minutes in months as a substitute.
Despite Joao Pedro (£7.5m) having a quiet day, he still had three shots, and fired narrowly wide with one effort. Even Palmer wasn’t completely terrible, and ‘wasn’t completely terrible’ is progress of sorts for him.
Enzo Fernandez (£6.5m) seems to be enjoying playing for McFarlane, with three goals in five matches under his current head coach. Let’s be honest, though, for all we’ve highlighted Enzo’s increased threat with McFarlane at the helm, Saturday’s goal was a fluke, a crossed free-kick that sailed all the way in.
And Chelsea will likely be a long way from FPL managers’ thoughts in Gameweek 37. Not only do they have an FA Cup final three days beforehand (who knows what sort of side McFarlane fields in the league, with sixth place potentially out of reach by then), but opponents Tottenham Hotspur are looking much improved under Roberto De Zerbi.
