Aston Villa, Fulham and Hull City all continued their pre-season preparations on Tuesday, with plenty of talking points emerging ahead of the new Premier League campaign.

There were returns from injury, tactical clues, standout individual performances and further opportunities for summer signings to impress. We round up the key Fantasy Premier League (FPL) talking points from all three matches below.

READ MORE: FPL 2026/27 Pre-season Minutes, Goals + Assists Tracker

ASTON VILLA 2-4 REAL SOCIEDAD

• Goals: Hemmings, Madjo
• Assists: Buendia, Maatsen

Aston Villa XI: Bizot (Wright 46′); Cash (Broggio 68′), Kéba Cissé (Bogarde 46′), Mings (Pau 46′), Maatsen (Borland 75′); João Gomes (Rowe 75′), Barkley (Nedeljković 68′); Hemmings (Lynch 46′), Buendía (Jimoh-Aloba 75′), Burrowes; Madjo (Carroll 68′)

SCOUT NOTES

• Aston Villa suffered their second defeat of pre-season after a 4-2 loss to Real Sociedad on Tuesday evening.
• The result will disappoint Unai Emery, but there were still several positives for Fantasy Premier League managers. Pau Torres (£4.5m) made his first appearance of pre-season, João Gomes (£5.5m) earned his first start and Brian Madjo also continued his impressive goalscoring form.
• Villa remain without several key players following the FIFA World Cup. Ollie Watkins (£8.0m), Ezri Konsa (£4.5m), Emiliano Martínez (£5.0m), John McGinn (£5.5m), Victor Lindelöf (£4.5m) and new signing Johan Manzambi (£6.0m) all missed out after extended summer breaks.
• There was encouraging news away from the pitch. McGinn has now returned to training at Bodymoor Heath alongside Evann Guessand (£5.5m). Both are expected to feature during Villa’s pre-season tour of Asia.
• Boubacar Kamara (£5.0m) remains sidelined through injury. Lucas Digne (£4.5m) was also absent as his proposed move to Paris Saint-Germain continues to progress.
• Summer signing João Gomes started alongside Ross Barkley (£5.0m) in midfield. Modou Kéba Cissé also kept his place in central defence.
• Villa settled after an early spell of pressure from Sociedad. Ian Maatsen (£5.0m) almost opened the scoring when his close-range effort forced Álex Remiro into a smart save. The Dutchman looked dangerous throughout the first half. He regularly burst forward, whipped inviting crosses into the box and defended well whenever Sociedad attacked his flank.
• Madjo also went close early on. His close-range effort was saved before Bradley Burrowes (£4.5m) fired the rebound straight at Remiro.
• Villa deservedly took the lead after 14 minutes. Maatsen burst forward again before providing the assist for George Hemmings (£4.5m). The youngster curled an excellent finish inside the far post.
• Real Sociedad responded well. Carlos Soler equalised after reacting quickest to his own saved effort.
• Villa continued to threaten before half-time. Matty Cash (£4.5m) delivered several dangerous balls into the penalty area and failed to test Remiro with a long-range effort. He and Maatsen also shared indirect free-kick duties.
• At the other end, Marco Bizot (£4.5m) produced another smart save to deny Soler. Cissé then recovered brilliantly to stop Orri Óskarsson from racing through on goal.
• Emery made four changes at the break. Pau Torres, Lamare Bogarde (£5.0m), James Wright and Luka Lynch all came on. Torres completed the entire second half after missing Villa’s previous friendlies. His return is another positive ahead of the new season.
• Sociedad started the second period strongly. Óskarsson bundled home from close range to give the visitors the lead.
• Villa responded within minutes. Emiliano Buendía (£6.0m) cleverly nudged the ball into Madjo’s path. The striker finished confidently for his third goal of pre-season.
• Madjo was again one of Villa’s standout performers. He led the line well. His strength caused constant problems and he remained lively throughout the evening. His competitive debut must still wait. Villa continue to await the outcome of their appeal to the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) regarding his registration following his move from Metz.
• Sociedad regained the lead midway through the second half through Gorka Carrera. Iñaki Rupérez then added a fourth late on after Wright could only parry a dangerous cross.
• Villa continued to rotate their squad. Jake O’Brien, Kosta Nedeljković (£4.0m), Travis Rowe, Jamaldeen Jimoh-Aloba, Tom Carroll and Kyrie Pierre Borland all featured. Nedeljković followed up his encouraging display against Porto with another solid outing.
• Most of Villa’s senior players had been withdrawn by the 76th minute as Emery carefully managed workloads ahead of the club’s tour of Asia.
• There were plenty of positives despite the defeat. Madjo scored again, Hemmings continued his encouraging pre-season and Pau returned without any issues. Maatsen also impressed at both ends of the pitch.
• Defensively, though, Villa still have work to do. Conceding four goals with Cash, Tyrone Mings (£4.5m), Cissé, Maatsen and Bizot all starting will concern Emery, even at this stage of pre-season.

FULHAM 1-1 AL-AHLY

• Goal: Sessegnon
• Assist: Iwobi

Fulham XI: Leno (Lecomte 46′); Tete (White 80′), Andersen (Cuenca 63′), Bassey (Amissah 80′), Sessegnon (Nwoko 68′); Reed (Lukić 63′), Iwobi (Dibley-Dias 80′); King (Harris 80′), Smith Rowe (Kevin 62′), Zepa (Ali Wahid 69′); Muniz (Kusi-Asare 69′)

SCOUT NOTES

• Fulham continued their pre-season with a 1-1 draw against Al-Ahli in Portugal.
• Álvaro Arbeloa named a relatively strong starting XI for just his second game in charge. Bernd Leno (£4.5m), Kenny Tete (£4.5m), Joachim Andersen (£5.0m), Calvin Bassey (£4.5m), Ryan Sessegnon (£4.5m), Harrison Reed (£4.5m), Alex Iwobi (£5.5m), Emile Smith Rowe (£5.5m) and Rodrigo Muniz (£5.5m) all started as Fulham again lined up in a 4-2-3-1 formation. Most of the senior players completed at least an hour before Arbeloa turned to his substitutes.
• The Fulham boss was encouraged by the performance afterwards, but said there is “a big room to improve”. However, he felt his side showed clear progress from their opening pre-season defeat to Norwich City.
• Fulham looked the better side throughout the opening half. Sessegnon was the standout performer, regularly breaking forward from left-back and delivering dangerous balls into the penalty area.
• The Whites almost took an early lead from a set-piece. Reed’s inswinging corner from the left found Muniz, but the Brazilian’s close-range header was brilliantly saved by Abdulrahman Alsanbi.
• Muniz remained heavily involved. He later latched onto a long ball, but his low strike lacked power and was comfortably gathered by the goalkeeper.
• Reed handled Fulham’s left-sided corners during the first half, while Zepa delivered from the opposite side.
• Al-Ahli threatened for the first time midway through the half. Andersen made an excellent block to deny Ricardo Mathias inside the penalty area. However, the visitors took the lead moments later when Mathias headed home from the resulting corner.
• Fulham responded well. Smith Rowe delivered an inviting ball into the box for Josh King (£5.5m), whose effort drifted just past the post.
• King continued to find dangerous positions. Sessegnon then picked him out with another dangerous cross into the area, but the youngster lashed his finish wide.
• Fulham deservedly levelled five minutes before half-time. Iwobi slipped a clever pass into Sessegnon, who fired a superb left-footed finish into the far corner from a tight angle to score the first goal of the Arbeloa era.
• Arbeloa was particularly pleased with Fulham’s first-half display afterwards.

“We control the game much better than the other day. We have the ball, we move the ball quick one side to other side. We press when we lose the ball. I think we were aggressive.”

• However, he admitted there is still work to do in the final third, adding:

“We need to create more chances, more one-v-one situations. I think we can finish more plays.”

• Benjamin Lecomte (£4.0m) replaced Leno at the interval and was quickly called into action with a smart save to deny Meshal Almutairi. The Frenchman looked less convincing during the remainder of the half as Fulham struggled to regain their first-half rhythm.
• The Whites created fewer clear-cut opportunities after the restart as Al-Ahli defended with greater discipline.
• Kevin (£5.5m) remained Fulham’s main set-piece threat. His first direct free-kick sailed comfortably over the crossbar before another effort later in the half forced a smart save from Alsanbi.
• Saša Lukić (£5.0m), wearing the captain’s armband after coming on, also tested the goalkeeper with a low strike from another Fulham free-kick.
• Summer signing Jonah Kusi-Asare (£4.5m), who joined permanently from Bayern Munich this summer, produced another encouraging cameo. The Swedish forward won several dangerous free-kicks late on and continued to show promising movement after replacing Muniz.
• One of those set-pieces almost produced a late winner. Kevin’s free-kick was parried by Alsanbi before Farhaan Ali-Wahid saw his follow-up effort also kept out.
• There were further minutes for Jorge Cuenca (£4.5m), Luke Harris, Josh Dibley-Dias, Tyrese White and several academy players as Arbeloa continued to assess his squad.
• Two matches into pre-season, clear patterns are beginning to emerge under Arbeloa. Fulham have consistently lined up in a 4-2-3-1 formation and looked far more comfortable in possession than they did against Norwich. Sessegnon has been Fulham’s standout performer so far, repeatedly getting into advanced positions and now opening his pre-season account. King has also impressed with his movement, while Muniz continues to get into promising goalscoring positions despite still waiting for his first pre-season goal.
• Fulham controlled much of the first half and created the better chances, but they were again punished from a set-piece after conceding from a corner.
• Fulham will also need to replace the attacking output lost by Harry Wilson this summer. His departure leaves a creative void, which could hand players such as Sessegnon, King, Iwobi and Smith Rowe greater responsibility in the final third over the coming weeks.

HULL CITY 2-1 ÇAYKUR RIZESPOR

• Goals: McBurnie, Dowell
• Assists: Ömür, Dowell

• Hull City made it two pre-season wins from two with a 2-1 victory over Turkish Süper Lig side Çaykur Rizespor in Slovenia.
• After comfortably beating Konyaspor in their previous outing, Sergej Jakirović’s side faced a much tougher examination this time. Rizespor carried a greater attacking threat throughout and regularly tested Hull, making this another valuable workout ahead of the Premier League season.
• The Tigers again lined up in a 4-2-3-1 formation, with Jack Butland (£4.5m) starting behind a back four of Lewie Coyle (£4.0m), Semi Ajayi (£4.0m), John Egan (£4.0m) and Ryan Giles (£4.0m). Regan Slater (£4.5m) and Kieran Dowell (£4.5m) featured in midfield, while Liam Millar (£5.0m), Abu Kamara (£5.0m) and Oli McBurnie (£5.5m) completed the attack.
• Rizespor started brightly and Butland was quickly called into action. The summer signing first denied Ali Sowe before producing an excellent one-handed save to tip Qazim Laci’s powerful 25-yard strike over the crossbar early in the second half.
• Hull’s first meaningful chance arrived midway through the opening period when Liam Millar (£5.0m), fresh from representing Canada at the World Cup, cut inside onto his stronger right foot before forcing Yahia Fofana into a save with a powerful long-range effort. Moments later, Slater skipped past his marker before curling an effort narrowly over from the edge of the penalty area.
• Ryan Giles (£4.0m) also continued to share set-piece responsibilities, taking several indirect free-kicks during the match to further enhance his Fantasy EFL appeal.
• There was an injury concern before the break as both Kamara and captain Coyle required treatment. Coyle was eventually forced off in first-half stoppage time and replaced by Cody Drameh (£4.0m), while Kamara made way for Abdüş Ömür (£5.0m) at half-time. Both situations are worth monitoring ahead of Hull’s final pre-season fixture.
• Hull took control after the restart. Dowell produced an inviting cross from the right on 56 minutes and McBurnie met it with a powerful header that crashed in off the underside of the crossbar to give Hull a deserved lead.
• Just two minutes later, Ömür threaded a delightful pass into the area for Dowell, who stayed composed before steering his finish in off the inside of the post to double Hull’s advantage.
• Dowell was Hull’s standout performer. Operating centrally once again, he produced a goal and an assist while regularly linking play in the final third. The midfielder has now featured prominently in successive friendlies and is beginning to emerge as one of Hull’s most encouraging options ahead of the new campaign.
• McBurnie also continued his encouraging pre-season. Having impressed from the bench against Konyaspor, he rewarded Jakirović with a goal after being handed a start. The experienced striker consistently occupied dangerous positions inside the penalty area and is clearly Hull’s leading option through the middle.
• Jakirović made wholesale changes shortly after the hour mark, with the remaining outfield starters all making way. Butland was the only player to complete the full 90 minutes, another indication that he is establishing himself as Hull’s first-choice goalkeeper.
• Rizespor pulled a goal back through Emrecan Bulut’s looping header from a corner before Butland preserved Hull’s lead late on. The goalkeeper reacted brilliantly to keep out Siaka Bakayoko’s close-range header before comfortably gathering Dal Varešanović’s low strike during a busy closing spell.
• From a Fantasy EFL perspective, Butland continues to strengthen his case as Hull’s starting goalkeeper after another assured display. Completing the full 90 minutes after playing just one half in the previous friendly was another positive sign as he continues to build momentum ahead of the Premier League opener.
• Dowell’s creativity and attacking involvement have also stood out across Hull’s last two friendlies, while McBurnie has backed up his lively cameo against Konyaspor with a goal after earning a start.
• Ryan Giles also produced another steady display at left-back after impressing in the previous match. Although he was unable to register an attacking return this time, he again looked comfortable pushing into advanced positions, remained involved from indirect free-kicks and continues to look one of Hull’s most attack-minded defenders.
• Off the pitch, Hull completed the signing of Hidemasa Morita (£5.0m) from Sporting CP this week.
• Two matches into pre-season, several patterns are beginning to emerge under Jakirović. Hull have consistently lined up in a 4-2-3-1 formation, Butland appears to be establishing himself as the club’s first-choice goalkeeper, while Dowell and McBurnie are building strong cases to become key fantasy assets. Just as importantly, Hull have now passed two very different tests, with Rizespor providing a sterner challenge than Konyaspor as preparations for the Premier League continue.