While Manchester City players were mostly underwhelming at the Etihad, there were more anticlimactic goings-on at Brentford.
The Bees’ most-owned defender and midfielder, Michael Kayode (£4.6m) and Mamadou Sangare (£5.7m), both came off at half-time, while Igor Thiago (£8.0m) blanked for the third straight match.
So too did Brian Brobbey (£5.9m), Sunderland’s most-owned player, while the Black Cats’ most selected defender, Trai Hume (£4.5m), was benched.
Rubbing salt into the wounds, Enzo Le Fee (£5.9m), sold by over 300,000 FPL managers ahead of Gameweek 3, scored from the spot.
Masochists, read on…
COLLINS INJURY + TWO £4.5M DEFENDERS AT CENTRE-BACK
Another negative we didn’t touch on in the introduction was an injury to Nathan Collins (£5.5m), the Bees’ skipper and DefCon-amassing centre-back.
He had to come off with a muscular injury after just 17 minutes, the extent of which is not yet known. He was at least walking on the pitch after full-time without too much discomfort.
“Just that it’s a calf strain. I don’t know the extent.” – Keith Andrews
That meant a Premier League debut for summer signing Jannik Schuster (£4.5m). The 20-year-old Austrian did well, and even bagged DefCon points:
“Obviously, it’s unfortunate that the skipper had to come off, but it was an introduction for Jannik, which I thought he relished. I thought he wanted that battle, that fight. It was against [Brian] Brobbey, and then [Wilson] Isidor comes on as well. I thought he stood up to that in a really mature way.” – Keith Andrews on Jannik Schuester
While we await to hear the seriousness of Collins’ issue, Brentford look set to proceed with two £4.5m defenders at centre-half. Sepp van den Berg (£4.9m) isn’t too far away, though, and should be available come Gameweek 6.
ANDREWS EXPLAINS SUBBING OF SANGARE + TWO OTHERS
So, then, onto Keith Andrews’ bold half-time changes.
Kayode, Sangare and Dango Ouattara (£6.4m) all came off at the interval, with Aaron Hickey (£4.5m), Yehor Yarmoliuk (£4.9m) and Jaidon Anthony (£6.0m) replacing them.
Kayode was cooked by Nilson Angulo (£5.0m) in the first half, not that he was helped by Dango – who managed to rack up 11 defensive contributions despite this – in front of him. Hickey and Anthony really shored things up after the break.
As for Sangare, he had been booked, seemed to be getting frustrated, and was struggling against Sunderland’s own combative midfield spoilers. Again, Yarmoliuk made a big impression when coming on.
It’ll be interesting to see what Andrews does in Gameweek 4 (Anthony for Dango seems likely but the other changes, less so), although he was keen to stress there was nothing “personal” behind the decisions.
“We didn’t hit the levels [in the first half] that we had in recent weeks, which can happen. That’s why we have a squad; we’re able to make changes. That’s why I thought the subs coming on, the approach in the second half, was more like us.
“I think it’s important to stress that our players aren’t robots. This isn’t a computer game. We’re dealing with human beings that try every single day to be really good people and really good players – and in the main, they are. They’re an amazing bunch of players and nothing is ever personal when you make those decisions, because you feel it is right. It’s always to try to produce the right type of performance. That’s why we have a squad, where we’re able to make those changes. The fine margins, sometimes, between someone starting and not starting; it would be wrong if we didn’t introduce subs to change the flow of a game. And I thought the boys did that as part of the rest of the group in the second half.” – Keith Andrews on his half-time substitutions
MORE XG-DODGING FROM THIAGO
There were more near-misses from Igor Thiago, who remains goalless after three weeks.
There’s nothing wrong with his numbers – only Erling Haaland (£15.5m) has a greater xG this season.
Above: The biggest xG underachievers in FPL this season (as of Saturday night)
His latest big chance came from less than six yards out, when he failed to make good contact on a teasing Keane Lewis-Potter (£5.5m) cross.
Lewis-Potter was good again, and was the Bees’ top player for shots (three) and chances created (three). Alas, as a midfielder playing at left-back, he’s a bit of a Fantasy non-starter.
Kevin Schade (£6.0m), incidentally, didn’t have a single shot. It’s often feast or famine with him.
Vitaly Janelt (£5.0m) notched Brentford’s goal, his second in three Gameweeks. Slightly offsetting that are three yellow cards in as many matches – and he’s now just two away from a ban.
LE FEE SCORES FROM THE SPOT
Lewis-Potter did blot his copybook by fouling Sunderland sub Wilson Isidor (£5.5m) for the Mackems’ late penalty.
Up stepped Le Fee, banishing memories of last season’s failed Panenka against Brentford to score from 12 yards.
Remember, his some-time spot-kick rival, Habib Diarra (£5.4m), was ruled out for 6-8 weeks on Thursday.
DANSO DEBUT, HUME BENCHED, MEUNIER ‘OOP’
Kevin Danso (£5.0m) made his Sunderland debut, quickly promoted to the starting XI despite the Black Cats’ Gameweek 2 clean sheet.
To accommodate him, Nordi Mukiele (£5.5m) moved to right-back and Thomas Meunier (£4.5m) pushed up to the right wing. Hume dropped out.
Mukiele sometimes struggled to get DefCon points from full-back last season but didn’t here, banking them alongside Dan Ballard (£5.0m).
And it was interesting to see, despite Hume’s demotion, Regis Le Bris still go with a right-back ‘out of position’ on the wing. He clearly likes the extra security that gives his side, with a more natural winger – first Angulo, then new signing Malick Fofana (£5.5m) – on the left.
DESERVED POINT FOR SUNDERLAND
Sunderland’s leveller came late but they were due a goal. They surprisingly bossed the first half, with Brentford registering just two shots before the break.
Ballard saw a goal perhaps harshly ruled out for offside, while Le Fee smashed the upright, Meunier had a shot cleared off the line, and Noah Sadiki‘s (£5.0m) goalbound effort struck one of his own players.
It was impressive stuff from the Mackems, who might provide tough opposition to Arsenal assets in Gameweek 4 – just as they did on Wearside in 2025/26.
