What are Lundstram’s chances of starting for Sheffield United?

Fantasy Premier League managers learned more about some interesting £4.0m defenders in Saturday’s friendlies.

There were further starts for bargain bucket options available at Sheffield United and Norwich.

Each one deserves some scrutiny to see if they can become viable assets this season…

Meanwhile, Watford rolled out a new formation in a win at QPR.

Barnsley 1-4 Sheffield United

Goals: Ben Osborn (£5.0m), Callum Robinson x2 (£5.5m), Luke Freeman (£5.5m)

Assists: John Lundstram x2 (£4.0m), L Freeman, George Baldock (£4.5m)

Interest in Sheffield United’s John Lundstram (£4.0m) continues to rise after another impressive performance on Saturday.

The central midfielder, classified as a defender on FPL, has been involved in every single one of the Blades’ pre-season friendlies so far this summer and his total of 334 minutes is the second-highest at the club.

Crucially, defensive midfielder Lundstram has also been contributing to the attacking phase of the game this summer, increasing the excitement around him as an FPL asset.

Against Barnsley he came away with two assists, bringing his pre-season tally to three, also impressing with his ability to win the ball back in midfield.

Sheffield United have just one friendly left before Gameweek 1 as they travel to face Stade de Reims and Fantasy managers will be hoping to see Lundstram involved again.

However, we must still assess his competition for a place in the Blades’ midfield before the start of the campaign.

Chris Wilder currently has five options to choose from for Sheffield United’s three central midfield slots including Lundstram, Oliver Norwood (£5.0m), John Fleck (£5.0m), Luke Freeman (£5.5m) and Ben Osborn (£5.0m).

As things stand, Norwood and Fleck have played the most minutes behind Lundstram, 310 and 297 respectively, while Freeman and Osborn are behind on 268 and 90.

However, applying some context to the pre-season game-time for all five midfielders does attach some remaining risk to Lundstram starting in Gameweek 1.

Freeman and Osborn both arrived at the club over the summer which, certainly in the case of the latter, could explain why they have not been as heavily involved in pre-season preparations as the three who were on the books at Bramall Lane last year.

All five central midfielders can offer reasons why they could start against Bournemouth on Saturday August 10 too.

With Lundstram, his extensive use in pre-season, plus Wilder’s recent comments on his usefulness, indicate he is in the frame.

🗣 | Wilder on £4.0m #FPL defender John Lundstram: “I thought he yet again impressed. He’s possibly a player that many would have thought we’d have moved on in the summer but he’s got a definite part to play.”#FantasyPL #FFScout #sufc pic.twitter.com/ehKbAk8vZZ

— Fantasy Football Scout (@FFScout) July 24, 2019

With Norwood, he is the creative heart of Sheffield United’s midfield, registered 43 starts last season, and may even have claimed the penalty-taking duties.

Fleck started all but one of the Blades’ league fixtures in 2018/19 and also came away with two goals and 10 assists.

Recent addition Osborn earned plenty of credit at Nottingham Forest and quotes from Wilder upon his arrival should keep Sheffield United’s central midfielders on their toes.

“He will want to play, as all of them will, that’s the attitude we want from everyone. He’s not just come here to make the numbers up. He’s an intelligent footballer who plays in a number of position and he’ll put enormous pressure on our current players who might think they’re cemented into the team.” – Chris Wilder

Meanwhile, the case for Luke Freeman (£5.5m) to start in that central midfield trio is also strong, especially after his most recent outing.

Coming on for Lundstram in the 64th minute he added a goal and assist to his increasing total of pre-season attacking returns (two goals, three assists).

In fact, no Sheffield United player has been involved in more goals this summer than Freeman (five) and Wilder recently name-checked the player in his list of options to help his side find the back of the net in the Premier League.

“I’ve said all along we need to score goals in the Premier League. We’ve already got Billy Sharp, David McGoldrick, Callum Robinson, Luke Freeman, Ravel Morrison. We’re not coming in to sit back on our own box. We will go out to win football matches.” – Chris Wilder

Therefore, despite the encouragement of Lundstram’s displays and heavy involvement so far, we will have to wait for the final pre-season friendly and possibly any other quotes from Wilder before being able to guarantee starts for him.

Meanwhile, it appears that Mark Duffy (£5.5m) is unlikely to be in with a shot of starting, despite proving an important player last season.

Amid discussions between him and Wilder over a new contract, which the manager seems unwilling to discuss, he has not been used in any of the last three friendlies.

“He came to see me on Thursday, I think it was, and talked about a new contract. I reminded him that he signed one 18 months back and got a rise to Premier League money. Unless it’s a special case, my work has to be improving the first-team squad by bringing players in. Not looking after players already under contract. He’s had a rise. That’s a decision I will make (whether he will rejoin the main group). He clearly felt his future was elsewhere. If you ask the best manager in the business, if a player isn’t happy, well.” – Chris Wilder

Also impressing in pre-season and potentially offering value as an out-of-position asset for Fantasy managers is Callum Robinson (£5.5m).

After plenty of time on the flanks of attack at Rotherham, he was classified as a midfielder by FPL but Robinson looks set for life as an out-and-out centre-forward at Sheffield United.

After he scored twice for the Blades in their 4-1 win at Barnsley, taking his pre-season tally to three goals and one assist, Wilder explained that Robinson will be used exclusively in the middle this season, which bodes well for Fantasy managers.

“We don’t really play with wide forwards so he’s a forward. He links, he stretches and he wants to run in behind. He’s just an athletic modern-day centre-forward. Part of his game is that he can score and we need that in our game.” – Chris Wilder

In terms of whether Robinson will start games this season, his chances do look good.

Billy Sharp (£6.0m) is very nailed on in the front pair of the 3-5-2 formation, but it’s probably between Robinson and David McGoldrick (£5.5m) for that second slot.

The latter is ahead on pre-season minutes (264 to 200) but there are mitigating circumstances here. McGoldrick got 45 and 62 minutes in the first two friendlies, with Robinson getting just 15 in the second one as it was shortly after signing.

In the last three pre-season matches, Robinson has played up-front for 185 out of a possible 270 minutes while McGoldrick has been there for just 157.

Elsewhere, there was an interesting development in defence as Wilder shifted wing-back Enda Stevens (£5.0m) into the centre-back trio with Jack O’Connell (£4.5m) reportedly out with a minor ankle injury.

Finally, Dean Henderson (£4.5m) made his first appearance of pre-season at Oakwell and, given he was the first choice in 2018/19, the Manchester United man should start in goal against Bournemouth in Gameweek 1.

Sheffield United XI (3-5-2): D Henderson; Stevens, Egan, Basham; Osborn (Bryan 75′), Lundstram (L Freeman 64′), Norwood, Fleck, Baldock; McGoldrick (Sharp 70′), Robinson (Morrison 75′).

Luton Town 1-5 Norwich City

Goals: Marco Stiepermann (£5.5m), Josip Drmic x3 (£5.5m), Patrick Roberts (£5.5m)

Assists: Kenny McLean (£5.0m), Max Aarons (£4.5m), Todd Cantwell (£4.5m), Roberts

Teemu Pukki (£6.5m) missed a second pre-season match in a row with a slight toe problem as Norwich beat Norwich on Saturday.

“We didn’t want to take any risks with Teemu’s toe and get another hit. I am pretty sure he will be available for these last two tests.” – Daniel Farke

In his absence, Josip Drmic (£5.5m) has started both matches, not offering a great deal against Brentford but netting a hat-trick at Kenilworth Road.

His first two were intelligent poacher’s finishes, while the third was a towering header from a corner.

As we discussed in our recent Scout Report, Drmic has a long way to go to prove whether he can offer the same level of reliable goal-scoring as the injured Pukki, but this performance will have no doubt helped his confidence.

Those concerned about Liverpool’s defensive potential after a 3-0 defeat to Napoli can take some encouragement about Gameweek 1 from further fitness issues in Norwich’s attack.

Not only is Pukki currently out, but creative midfielder Emi Buendía (£5.5m) also missed the Luton game as Daniel Farke revealed his struggles with a few injuries during the pre-season.

“Emi has been out with a few little injuries and he needs some more game time but with no setbacks, he will get that.” – Daniel Farke

Patrick Roberts (£5.5m) is certainly making a strong case to start on the right flank of attacking midfield in Gameweek 1.

The Manchester City loanee has been involved in every friendly match for Norwich so far this summer, has been taking corners, and has now been involved in more goals than any of his colleagues.

It was his corner that found Drmic against Luton, while Roberts finished off the Kenilworth Road rout with an impressive strike from range. He now has one goal and three assists across the course of pre-season.

Just as he showed against Brentford, Max Aarons (£4.5m) showed off some more exciting runs, his advanced positioning contributing to Drmic’s opening goal.

Exchanging passes with Todd Cantwell (£4.5m), his squared ball to the centre-forward was played from inside the six-yard box.

With five of Norwich’s pre-season matches played, centre-back Grant Hanley (£4.0m) remains the most-used player by Daniel Farke this summer.

His pre-season minutes tally of 384 is 47 more than the second-placed Jamal Lewis (£4.5m) on 337 and could indicate that a start in Gameweek 1 is on the cards.

Admittedly, central defence has proved problematic for Farke this summer with Christoph Zimmermann (£4.5m) sustaining an injury that should see him miss the start of 2019/20.

Meanwhile, Timm Klose (£4.5m) himself had to recover from a minor knock before he could contribute to pre-season matches.

Despite having both Klose and Ben Godfrey (£4.5m) available to start against Luton, Farke still opted to play Hanley ahead of the latter.

The former Newcastle man himself also went off with a minor knock against Luton, as did Marco Stiepermann (£5.5m) but Farke is not too worried about either player.

“Just a dead leg for Marco. He got a knock in the first half and it got more painful. Grant went to make a tackle and stretched his groin a little. The initial diagnosis was not too bad, but we got him off and now we see how he will react.” – Daniel Farke

Even if Hanley does get some appearances at the start of the campaign, Hanley may not hold on to his place for too long as Zimmermann is reportedly ahead of schedule in his recovery.

“I don’t expect him to miss more than two or three games. I expect him to be back much earlier than the first international break. We’ll see how it develops. We still have to be careful in his rehab and scan the knee often to judge how the knee reacts but it looks good and he is not far away.” – Daniel Farke

Norwich City XI: Krul; Lewis (Heise 59′), Klose, Hanley (Godfrey 80′), Aarons (Byram 59′); McLean, Trybull (Leitner 73′); Cantwell (O Hernandez 73′), Stiepermann (Srbeny 59′), Roberts (Idah 73′); Drmic.

QPR 0-1 Watford

Goals: Etienne Capoue (£5.0m)

Assists: None

Javi Gracia experimented with a 3-5-2 formation as Watford beat QPR 1-0 on Saturday.

The Hornets manager has typically been a fan of either 4-4-2 or 4-2-2 but he changed things up at Loftus Road.

Christian Kabasele (£4.5m), Craig Dawson (£5.0m) and Sebastian Prödl (£4.0m), making his first appearance of pre-season, were the three centre-backs chosen.

Gracia introduced Adrian Mariappa (£4.5m), Craig Cathcart (£4.5m) and right-back Dimitri Foulquier for those centre-backs around the hour-mark.

The system allowed Adam Masina (£4.5m) and Kiko Femenía (£4.5m) to play as wing-backs and have opportunities to involve themselves in the attacking phase of the game.

Watford were somewhat reliant on Ben Foster (£5.0m) at Loftus Road as some sloppy losses of possession allowed QPR plenty of chances in the game.

In the end, there was a stroke of luck about Etienne Caopoue‘s (£5.0m) winner as he tried to place an effort on goal, the ball finding the net after taking a wicked deflection off Ryan Manning.

Troy Deeney (£6.5m) and Isaac Success (£5.0m) led the line as a strike partnership with Andre Gray (£6.0m) and Stefano Okaka replacing them on the hour-mark.

Meanwhile, Gerard Deulofeu (£6.5m), Jose Holebas (£5.0m) and Nathaniel Chalobah (£4.5m) all missed the game with injuries.

“Little problems all of them. Chalobah, even Holebas, Gerard – our players today who we preferred to rest. But, in a couple of days hopefully, they will be ready. In this moment we prefer to be prudent.” – Javi Gracia

Watford XI: Foster; Kabasele (Foulquier 60′), Prödl (Mariappa 60′), Dawson (Cathcart 60′); Masina, Quina, Hughes, Capoue (Cleverley 60′), Femenía (Janmaat 60′); Success (A Gray 60′), Deeney (Okaka 60′).