Pérez scores again as Brighton stick with 3-4-3

Leicester and Brighton concluded their pre-season friendlies on Friday night and both provided interesting insight for Fantasy Premier League managers.

The Foxes made some changes from the side that drew with Stoke while Brighton have now used the same system for two matches running – useful for Fantasy managers ahead of the new campaign.

Meanwhile, one half of the Bournemouth squad lost to Lazio amid a poor defensive performance.

Leicester City 2-1 Atalanta

Goals: Ayoze Pérez (£6.5m), Jamie Vardy (£9.0m)

Assists: Ricardo Pereira (£6.0m), Christian Fuchs (£4.5m)

Ayoze Pérez (£6.5m) reminded Fantasy managers of his potential as he scored in his King Power Stadium debut on Friday night.

The former Newcastle United man was deployed on the right flank of a 4-3-3 system, joined in the front-three by Jamie Vardy (£9.0m) and Marc Albrighton (£5.5m).

Pérez’s goal came as he ran inside across the defence and curled an effort into the far corner from the edge of the box.

Where he will fit into the side from Gameweek 1 onwards still has some uncertainty hanging over it though.

Pérez has played in just three of Leicester’s five pre-season matches missing the second and third through injury.

Across his three appearances, the Spaniard does have two goals, a relatively impressive tally but he has also been used in three different systems as Brendan Rodgers continues to experiment.

Against Scunthorpe, Pérez was on the right of midfield in a 4-1-4-1, at Stoke he was up-front with Jamie Vardy (£9.0m) in a 4-4-2 diamond while the Atalanta match saw Rodgers roll out a 4-3-3 formation.

It is possible that he tailored his side to opponents Atalanta on Friday night as they were reportedly chosen to best help Leicester prepare for facing Wolves in Gameweek 1.

Atalanta finished third in Serie A last season, scoring more league goals than anyone in Itlay’s top-flight, but more importantly, they operate with a 3-5-2 system, much like Wolves.

The fact that both Pérez and Vardy managed to score against a high-quality opponent, who will play in the Champions League in 2019/20, is encouraging, especially considering the supposed similarities between Atalanta and Wolves.

“We started a little bit slowly in the first 15 minutes, but then once we adjusted and got tighter, and in particular the second half with our pressing, we got into contention a bit more and then you saw our quality.” – Brendan Rodgers

“It was a very unusual system, it’s something we’re not used to, but I think we adapted to it well in the second half and towards the back-end of the first half.” – Hamza Choudhury

Not surprisingly, Harry Maguire (£5.5m) was absent from the matchday squad amid reports in the media that Manchester United have agreed on a transfer fee with Leicester for his services.

Coming into the side was Caglar Söyüncü (£4.5m) who partnered with Jonny Evans (£5.0m) and helped keep out Serie A’s top-scorers from last season until the 89th minute.

Leicester only conceded from the penalty spot late on after Pereira unintentionally clattered into Musa Barrow.

Leicester City XI (4-3-3): Schmeichel; Chilwell (Fuchs 62′), Söyüncü, Evans, R Pereira; Tielemans, Choudhury, Maddison (A Silva 68′); Pérez (D Gray 76′), Vardy, Albrighton (H Barnes 68′).

Bournemouth 3-4 Lazio

Goals: Jefferson Lerma (£5.0m), Dominic Solanke (£5.5m), Jack Stacey (£4.5m)

Assists: Jack Simpson (£4.0m), Ryan Fraser (£7.5m), Jordon Ibe (£5.0m)

Jordon Ibe (£5.0m) continues to push for a starting role for Bournemouth as he increased his attacking returns tally against Lazio on Thursday night.

He played on the right flank of a 3-4-3 formation and added his third of the summer and has now been involved in four goals – more than any other Bournemouth player.

Dominic Solanke (£5.0m) also scored for the second match in a row and could be putting some pressure on the forwards at Bournemouth.

“Dominic has been very impressive in pre-season. He took his goal well tonight and I thought his all-round play was strong.” – Eddie Howe

That said, the Cherries are playing again on Saturday with the other half of the squad, which Eddie Howe split across the two fixtures.

Players not involved against Lazio, who are expected to turn out on Saturday afternoon include Nathan Aké (£5.0m), Callum Wilson (£8.0m) and Josh King (£6.5m).

Despite the trio of goals scored by Bournemouth at the Vitality Stadium, there were plenty of signs that might put Fantasy managers off a selection of their assets.

The Cherries were woeful defensively, run ragged by the attacking force of Lazio’s players.

Not only did the Italian visitors find the net four times, but they also enjoyed 59% possession, registered three times as many shots on target, had a goal disallowed by VAR and hit the bar.

It was too easy for Lazio to bear down on the Bournemouth goal with the right-hand side of the 3-4-3 formation particularly susceptible.

Wing-back Jack Stacey (£4.5m), who admittedly got his first goal later in the game, looked a little exposed for pace on the right, offering little protection for the centre-back trio of Jack Simpson (£4.0m), Chris Mepham (£4.5m) and Matt Butcher.

“We weren’t decisive in our defending but you had young defenders in there and Charlie coming back in from a long absence.” – Eddie Howe

While such a poor defensive performance might be enough to put Fantasy managers off options at the back for Bournemouth, there was further frustration when it came to the goalkeeper situation.

It has been unclear all summer long which of the shot-stoppers are first-choice in Howe’s eyes and that remains the case with just one match left before Gameweek 1.

Mark Travers (£4.5m) started against Lazio but was replaced at half-time by Asmir Begovic (£4.5m).

With Aaron Ramsdale and Artur Boruc (£4.5m) set for the Lyon squad on Saturday, it looks unlikely that one individual will emerge as the favourite from pre-season minutes.

Meanwhile, the appeal of budget defender Diego Rico (£4.0m) took a hit on Friday night as Charlie Daniels (£4.5m) made a return from a long-term injury.

A recent knock to Lloyd Kelly (£4.5m) had suggested Rico could get some game-time but with Adam Smith (£4.5m) capable of playing on either flank and with Daniels potentially back in the mix, it is very hard to guarantee the cheap left-back will get minutes in Gameweek 1.

“The positive boost that has given everybody cannot be underestimated. It’s a huge boost. When I talk about the players that we’ve missed, his experience (is important).” – Eddie Howe

Bournemouth XI (3-4-3): Travers (Begovic 46′); Butcher (Surridge 76′), Mepham, Simpson; Daniels (Jordan 79′), Surman (Dobre 66′), Lerma, Stacey; Fraser, Solanke, Ibe.

Brighton 2-1 Valencia

Goals: Glenn Murray (£6.0m), Shane Duffy (£5.0m)

Assists: Pascal Groß (£6.5m)

Graham Potter went with a 3-4-3 formation for the second match in a row as Brighton rounded off their pre-season campaign with a 2-1 win over Valencia.

The former Swansea City manager made no changes to the side that beat Birmingham 4-0 last Saturday as he showed faith in the front three of Glenn Murray (£6.0m) supported by Leandro Trossard (£6.0m) and Jürgen Locadia (£5.5m).

As before, the trio were very fluid in their movement, given the freedom to interchange positions at varying times.

This could be particularly encouraging for those interested in Trossard, a midfielder in FPL, as he drifted into a central position at times. The new signing is also playing a key role in set pieces while on the pitch too.

Against Valencia, Trossard and Locadia were also credited for forming decent partnerships with the wing-backs supporting them.

Solly March (£5.0m) and Martín Montoya (£4.5m) were once again fulfilling those roles on the left and right respectively and look likely to start Gameweek 1 in those positions.

With the quality of opposition a little higher this time, Brighton didn’t quite hit the heights of their big win at St Andrew’s.

However, the Seagulls still displayed plenty of exciting attacking play and coming from behind to beat a team that finished fourth in La Liga last season is not to be sniffed at.

After conceding an early goal, Brighton fought back and Murray levelled things in the 38th minute after converting a penalty he had won himself.

It is worth noting that this 3-4-3 system that Potter has settled on for the last two matches may not have an obvious role for Pascal Groß (£6.5m), who tends to operate best as a number 10.

With the German midfielder featuring only as a substitute in the last two pre-season outings, it would appear that Murray has a stronger hold on penalty kicks simply because he might be on the pitch more.

However, Groß was given a stab at the right forward role in the 63rd minute when he came on for Locadia.

In fact, it was his corner that led to Brighton’s winning goal, although he took it after Trossard had left the field of play.

His ball into the box was converted by Shane Duffy (£5.0m), who ends the pre-season campaign with three goals to his name.

The former Everton centre-back was joined in the three-man defence once again by ever-present Lewis Dunk (£4.5m) as well as Dan Burn (£4.5m).

The latter has been a part of that defensive trio for both of the last two matches of pre-season suggesting he could be in with a chance of starting Gameweek 1.

His prospects are boosted by the fact that Leon Balogun (£4.5m) did not register a single minute for Brighton this summer after time away with Nigeria, while Matthew Clarke (£4.5m) joined Derby on loan earlier this week.

“It was the last game going into the Premier League season, so it was nice to finish it off by playing well and getting a win against a very good side. We’ll have to wait and see what happens, but I’ve been working really hard and enjoyed playing in the games I have done. I know that I’ve given absolutely everything I can to try and get myself into the manager’s plans and I hope it’s enough. If it’s not, then so be it.” – Dan Burn

The fact that Potter has chosen an unchanged line-up and formation for the last two matches of pre-season is certainly encouraging, especially given his reputation.

However, we must still place a disclaimer over Brighton considering that Potter has historically been a man for chopping and changing his team.

“They’ve done themselves no harm, and I think the subs did really well when they came on too – they had an impact on the game and showed a great attitude. The guys have trained really well every day and that’s what you want. You want headaches and selection problems because you’ve got a group of guys that want to play and help the team. You’ve got to pick only 11, and of course, people will be disappointed with that, but that’s just part of the job and part of the realities of football at this level. You need competition, but you could see from the guys coming onto the pitch that there wasn’t any disappointment, they were totally professional. Everyone is fighting and wants to play, so that’s good for me.” – Graham Potter

Brighton and Hove Albion XI (3-4-3): Ryan; Dunk, Duffy, Burn; March (Bernardo 79′), Stephens, Pröpper (Jahanbakhsh 79′), Montoya; Trossard (Kayal 79′), Murray (Andone 71′), Locadia (Groß 63′).