The Liverpool penalty curse struck again as the previously dependable Fabinho missed from the spot in Liverpool’s 3-1 win over Torino last night.
Eden Hazard returned to action in a Chelsea shirt along with three others of the Blues’ World Cup contingent, with Ross Barkley strengthening his case for inclusion in Maurizio Sarri’s Gameweek 1 line-up.
Elsewhere, we round up the three outstanding pre-season friendlies contested over the weekend, with Southampton, Watford and Wolverhampton Wanderers in action.
Liverpool 3-1 Torino
- Goals: Roberto Firmino (£9.5m), Georginio Wijnaldum (£5.5m), Daniel Sturridge (£6.0m)
- Assists: Mohamed Salah (£13.0m), Roberto Firmino, Xherdan Shaqiri (£7.5m)
Liverpool signed off their pre-season campaign with a 3-1 win over Torino last night, with Roberto Firmino (£9.5m) registering a goal and an assist on his return to Anfield.
The plot thickened over who will be first in line to take the Reds’ spot-kicks this season: Fabinho (£6.0m), who had converted 19 of his 20 penalties during his time at Monaco, missed from the spot in the first half after Sadio Mane (£9.5m) had been brought down.
Mane had already scored twice from the spot in pre-season and his case for being afforded the responsibility on a full-time basis would have been strengthened last night by Fabinho’s fluffed attempt.
James Milner (£5.5m) missed from the spot in pre-season and twice in 2017/18, while Firmino and Mohamed Salah (£13.0m) were also wasteful with one of their attempts from 12 yards in the season just gone.
Salah’s exquisite through-ball for Firmino set Jurgen Klopp’s side on their way last night before the Brazilian forward returned the favour for Georginio Wijnaldum (£5.5m) to add a second for the Reds.
Andrea Bellotti pulled a goal back for the Italian side before the break, before substitutes Xherdan Shaqiri (£7.5m) and Daniel Sturridge (£6.0m) combined for the latter’s 86th-minute header – his sixth goal of the summer – to cap off the victory.
Jordan Henderson (£5.5m) featured in a 20-minute cameo after his exertions in Russia and, despite the England midfielder having had just three days of training following his post-World Cup break, Klopp refused to rule out his possible involvement in the Gameweek 1 match against West Ham United on Sunday:
[I’m] not sure, don’t know – we have to see how he reacts. But it is Hendo, so to be honest in the first session it looked like he trained for the whole three weeks. He was in a really good shape, so we thought a few minutes tonight should be possible. He’s experienced enough not to bring himself in difficult situations where he has to run two or three miles in two minutes. He can control the game and that’s good, really good, and for us he is a very important option of course. I have no clue in the moment what we will do at the weekend. It is always this kind of mix – Hendo of course needs a kind of pre-season, but not as much as the others because he was not as long off.
Nathaniel Phillips started the match at centre-back alongside Virgil van Dijk (£6.0m), with Joe Gomez (£5.0m) missing out through injury. Klopp, however, suggested that Gomez should win his race to be fit for the season opener at Anfield this weekend:
I think yes. It [Gomez’s injury] was nothing serious but for tonight it was not possible. He played on Saturday and now it’s Tuesday, but he should be [fine]. Dejan [Lovren] is in, he had not a very long holiday. For Raggy [Klavan] and Joel [Matip], probably they are not fit and cannot play for the weekend, but we don’t need 12 centre-halves, we only need two at least and one to change would be extremely cool. Nat [Phillips] is there, though. I really liked his pre-season, it was really strong and proved a lot and that was cool.
Salah, Firmino and Mane started the match in their usual front three positions, although there is less certainty about the midfield trio behind them with Henderson returning to the fray.
Milner missed the match with a head injury sustained in the win over Napoli at the weekend, while Wijnaldum once again impressed in the middle. Fabinho has more pre-season minutes to his name (456) than any other Liverpool player and would seem likely to start at Anfield on Sunday, along with fellow summer recruit Naby Keita (£7.5m).
Fantasy owners of Andrew Robertson (£6.0m) would have been concerned to see the Scottish left-back’s name missing from what was essentially an otherwise first-choice XI in the first half, although Robertson did replace Alberto Moreno (£4.5m) at the break and has more pre-season minutes to his name (419 to 391) than his fellow full-back.
LIVERPOOL XI (4-3-3): Alisson (Karius 72′); Alexander-Arnold (Clyne 63′), Phillips (Johnston 88′), van Dijk (Jones 45′, Camacho 88′), Moreno (Robertson 45)’; Keita (Grujic 45′), Fabinho (Henderson 70′), Wijnaldum (Lallana 45′); Salah (Shaqiri 45′), Firmino (Sturridge 45′), Mane (Ings 45′)
Chelsea 0-0 Lyon (5-4 penalties)
Eden Hazard (£10.5m) was among four returning World Cup participants to make their first Chelsea appearances of pre-season as the Blues and Lyon played out a goalless draw at Stamford Bridge.
Hazard, Olivier Giroud (£8.0m), N’Golo Kante (£5.0m) and Gary Cahill (£5.5m) all featured as second-half substitutes as Maurizio Sarri blooded a largely second-string starting XI for the visit of the French side, with several of his presumed first-choice players reduced to cameos from the bench.
Sarri’s positive post-match comments about Hazard – long linked with a move away from west London – will have intrigued FPL managers, particularly given Chelsea’s favourable-looking start to the season (the Blues face Huddersfield Town, Newcastle United, Bournemouth and Cardiff City in the first five Gameweeks):
I don’t see this problem in this moment. I’ve spoken with Eden two or three times in the last two days. We’ve spoken about everything. This Hazard problem is not present.
Sarri also urged patience and warned that his rebuilding job at Chelsea, particularly given the disjointed nature of the Blues’ World Cup-affected pre-season, would take “months” to bring about:
I’m very happy and at last, I can work with all my players for the first time [together]. We have only three days to prepare for the next match and it will be very important for us. I think we have to work, but we started to work [together] two days ago. Potentially, in two or three months, we can become a very good team.
That Ross Barkley (£6.0m) was brought on alongside Kante and Jorginho (£5.0m) on the hour mark may have been a significant move by Sarri in this final pre-season friendly for the Blues. Jorginho and, when match-fit, Kante would seem likely to feature in the Italian manager’s central midfield three, with Barkley perhaps now the front-runner to line up alongside them in Gameweek 1.
Sarri had praised the former Everton midfielder after the Community Shield defeat to Manchester City on Sunday, a match in which Barkley had played the full 90 minutes, and suggested that Barkley and Cesc Fabregas (£6.5m) were unlikely to feature together on a frequent basis:
I like him, he’s a technical player. I like him very much. He has to improve on the defensive phase, I think.
It’s difficult in this moment to play with Jorginho, Cesc [Fabregas] and Ross all together. But I like him. I think he will be a very useful player for us.
Fabregas, along with Pedro (£6.5m), Alvaro Morata (£9.0m), David Luiz (£5.5m) and budget buy Callum Hudson-Odoi (£4.5m), was an unused substitute in last night’s friendly.
Cesar Azpilicueta (£6.5m), Marcos Alonso (£6.5m) and Antonio Rudiger (£6.0m) all emerged from the bench with around a quarter of an hour remaining and look likely to feature in Sarri’s back four at Huddersfield on Saturday.
Thibaut Courtois (£5.5m) was absent at Stamford Bridge as he nears the exit door, with rumours swirling that a deal for Atheltic Bilbao goalkeeper Kepa Arrizabalaga is imminent.
The possible arrival of Mateo Kovacic, set to be undergoing a medical at Chelsea on Wednesday, would further complicate the midfield picture, meanwhile.
CHELSEA XI (4-3-3): Bulka (Green 74′); Zappacosta (Azpilicueta 74′), Christensen (Cahill 74′), Ampadu (Rudiger 74′), Emerson (Alonso 74′); Loftus-Cheek (Barkley 59′), Bakayoko (Jorginho 59′), Drinkwater (Kante 59′); Moses (Piazon 68′), Abraham (Giroud 68′), Willian (Hazard 68′)
Southampton 0-3 Borussia Monchengladbach
Cedric Soares (£4.5m) was once again missing from the Southampton team as Mark Hughes’ side succumbed to a worrying 3-0 home defeat to their German opponents.
The Portuguese full-back, who featured for his country in Russia this summer, has not played a minute of pre-season football for the Saints but is by far their most popular asset in FPL, sitting in over 14% of Fantasy squads.
Hughes’ comments after the match though were more positive about the right-back’s prospects of being involved in their Sunday lunchtime meeting with Burnley:
I think if it was anybody other than Cedric in terms of fitness and worrying whether he could hit the ground running.
Cedric is the one guy we wouldn’t worry too much about because he is a fitness guy who loves playing football and loves keeping himself in first-class condition.
The fact he’s been off, all he’s missed is game time. If he has to go in straight away and I feel that is the right thing for the team then that’s what I will do.
Matt Targett (£4.5m) was deployed at right wing-back on Saturday, with Ryan Bertrand (£5.0m) once again lining up on the opposite flank in Hughes’ 3-5-2 formation.
The struggles of Jan Bednarek (£4.0m) and Wesley Hoedt (£4.5m) at centre-back would be a concern for the 6.5% of Fantasy managers who own Bertrand, not just for the negative impact on his clean sheet potential but also regarding his starting position. Bertrand featured at centre-half early in pre-season and would be a possible alternative to Hoedt on the left side of Southampton’s defensive three, though whether Hughes would be willing to sacrifice Bertrand’s attacking contributions from wing-back in order to shore up his leaky backline is questionable.
Charlie Austin (£6.0m) and Manolo Gabbiadini (£6.0m) were paired together in attack but struggled to make any sort of impression, and indeed the Saints looked more of a threat when Nathan Redmond (£5.5m) and Mohamed Elyounoussi (£6.5m) were introduced in the second half as part of a switch to 3-4-3.
Alex McCarthy (£4.5m) played the full 90 minutes in goal and would appear likely to start on Sunday for the Saints’ first league match of 2018/19.
SOUTHAMPTON XI (3-5-2): McCarthy; Bednarek (Stephens 46′), Vestergaard (Yoshida 69′), Hoedt (Davis 79′); Targett (McQueen 79′), Hojbjerg (Romeu 62′), Lemina (Ward-Prowse 62′), Armstrong (Elyounoussi 46′), Bertrand; Austin (Redmond 69′), Gabbiadini (Long 69′)
Watford 1-1 Sampdoria
- Goal: Troy Deeney (£6.0m)
- Assist: Andre Gray (£6.0m)
Watford ended their pre-season unbeaten after a 1-1 draw with Sampdoria, with strike duo Andre Gray (£6.0m) and Troy Deeney (£6.0m) combining for the latter’s second-half equaliser.
Amid a lot of competition, Daryl Janmaat (£5.0m) and Jose Holebas (£4.5m) appear to be the front-runners for the full-back roles after starting the Hornets’ final warm-up match at the weekend.
Holebas indeed was involved in Watford’s goal, his cross being cushioned by Gray into the path of Deeney.
We previously highlighted how Javi Gracia’s 4-4-2 formation allowed the Hornets’ full-backs to maraud down the flanks, and – should they nail down a starting spot – Janmaat and Holebas are differential names to consider (both owned by just 0.5% of FPL managers) for the first three Gameweeks of the season, with Watford facing Brighton, Burnley and Crystal Palace.
Gracia did, however, warn against reading too much into his team selection for the draw with Sampdoria:
There will be many players [who played today] in the next game against Brighton, but I can’t tell you if it will be the same. We have to decide this week. There are some players to come back this week with the team and we will decide what is better for the next game.
We have played against Sampdoria with a style of play, with a diamond, and we need to change something to be better organised as Brighton will be different. They are another team, with another shape, and another style of play.
Roberto Pereyra (£6.0m) played at the tip of Gracia’s 4-4-2 diamond on Saturday, with Ken Sema (£5.0m) and Will Hughes (£5.0m) on the left and right of midfield respectively.
Nathaniel Chalobah (£4.5m), Abdoulaye Doucoure (£6.0m) and Gerard Deulofeu (£5.5m) were once again missing through injury, but Gracia was positive about the midfield trio’s prognoses:
Doucoure will be ready, I hope so. Gerard maybe as well. Chalobah is training this week and we’ll see his evolution in the next days.
WATFORD XI (4-4-2): Foster; Janmaat, Kabasele, Cathcart, Holebas; Hughes (Charles 71), Capoue, Pereyra, Sema; Deeney, Gray
Wolverhampton Wanderers 2-1 Villareal
- Goals: Willy Boly (£4.5m), Raul Jimenez (£5.5m)
- Assists: Helder Costa (£5.0m), Diogo Jota (£6.5m)
Ruben Neves (£5.0m) missed from the spot as Wolves rounded off their pre-season campaign with a win over Villarreal.
Neves has now missed two of his three spot-kick attempts for last season’s Championship winners and it remains to be seen whether the Portuguese midfielder retains penalty-taking responsibilties for Nuno Espirito Santo’s side this season.
Neves has also ceded some set-piece duties to central midfield partner Joao Moutinho (£5.5m), while it was Helder Costa (£5.0m) whose corner-kick was headed in by defender Willy Boly (£4.5m) for Wolves’ equalising goal.
Diogo Jota (£6.5m), stationed on the left of Santo’s front three, was lively throughout, being fouled for Neves’ missed penalty and going close to scoring himself before setting up Raul Jimenez (£5.5m) for the Mexican striker’s first Wolves goal.
Jonny (£4.5m) impressed at left wing-back in the role vacated by the now-departed Barry Douglas, but Romain Saiss (£4.5m) was shaky in central defence and replaced by Ryan Bennett (£4.0m) at the interval. Saiss played nearly all of last season alongside Neves in central midfield but has been dropped into the back three alongside Boly and Conor Coady (£4.5m) since Moutinho’s arrival. While the Moroccan international has played there on numerous occasions for his country, Saiss didn’t instil much confidence in his 45-minute showing against Villarreal and Bennett’s more collected performance in the second half would seemingly stand the budget pick in good stead for the Gameweek 1 encounter with Everton.
Santo’s 3-4-3 set-up looks as settled as ever and the Portuguese manager was assertive in his comments about Wolves’ tactics this season:
When you try to build an identity based on one idea, the easy part is to stick with the good things that you do.
We aren’t going to change, we are going to try to develop our own idea.
We will try to do the same things knowing that we’re going to face better players. We will look at the opponents the same way with all the detail, looking at their strengths and weaknesses. Nothing will change for us.
WOLVES XI (3-4-3): Patricio; Boly, Coady, Saiss (Bennett 46′); Jonny, Moutinho (Gibbs-White 72)’, Neves, Doherty; Jota (Cavaleiro 77′), Jimenez (Bonatini 72′), Costa
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