We again take a look back at the Premier League line-ups from the weekend just gone, analysing the systems and personnel used by the 20 top-flight clubs in Gameweek 2.
Arsenal v Burnley
Having not started any of his summer signings in Gameweek 1, Unai Emery brought in David Luiz and Dani Ceballos into his starting XI for the visit of Burnley.
Luiz took the place of Calum Chambers at centre-back, while Ceballos effectively replaced the injured Granit Xhaka.
Starting as a number ten, Ceballos interchanged with Joe Willock throughout the game, with Emery saying afterwards:
With him, it’s for us to use his qualities in the best position in our team with our ideas. I spoke with him – before coming here – to play like an eight and a 10. Today he started like a 10, but a lot of times he was changing with Willock into the eight position, where he can feel better on the pitch.
Emery kept faith with a 4-2-3-1 and the only other change to the starting XI saw Alexandre Lacazette return up front, with Henrikh Mkhitaryan making way and Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang moving to the right flank.
The half-time introduction of Nicolas Pepe for Reiss Nelson saw Aubameyang switch to the left to accommodate Pepe on the opposite wing.
The Burnley team news was much more straightforward, with Sean Dyche unsurprisingly naming the same starting XI that defeated Southampton on the opening weekend.
Charlie Taylor was on the bench for the first time this season, while Jay Rodriguez replaced Chris Wood for the final half an hour.
Arsenal XI (4-2-3-1): Leno; Maitland-Niles, Luiz, Sokratis, Monreal; Ceballos (Torreira 83′), Guendouzi; Nelson (Pepe 45′), Willock, Aubameyang; Lacazette (Kolasinac 71′)
Burnley XI (4-4-2): Pope; Lowton, Tarkowski, Mee, Pieters; Gudmundsson (Lennon 72′), Cork, Westwood, McNeil; Wood (Rodriguez 61′), Barnes.
Aston Villa v Bournemouth
Dean Smith made just the one change from the defeat to Spurs, with Douglas Luiz replacing Conor Hourihane at the base of the midfield.
Villa were again in a 4-1-4-1 (or 4-3-3), with Jack Grealish and John McGinn getting well forward to support the front three.
Jota replaced Anwar El Ghazi late on, with Trezeguet switching flanks.
Eddie Howe ditched the wing-back system and went back to a tried-and-tested 4-4-2, with Chris Mepham the surplus centre-back to make way.
Harry Wilson came in on the opposite flank to Ryan Fraser, with Charlie Daniels replacing Diego Rico at left-back.
Aston Villa XI (4-1-4-1): Heaton; Elmohamady, Engels, Mings, Taylor; Douglas Luiz; Trezeguet (Davis 87′), McGinn, Grealish, El Ghazi (Jota 75′); Wesley.
Bournemouth XI (4-4-2): Ramsdale; Smith, Cook, Ake, Daniels; H. Wilson (Solanke 76′), Billing (Surman 46′), Lerma, Fraser; C. Wilson, King.
Brighton and Hove Albion v West Ham United
Brighton were again in the 3-4-3 formation that Graham Potter rolled out in Gameweek 1, with new signing Leandro Trossard coming in for Jurgen Locadia on the left flank.
New signings Neal Maupay and Aaron Mooy had to make do with substitute appearances, with Maupay replacing Pascal Gross on the right midway through the second half.
Manuel Pellegrini made five changes to the side that were beaten by Manchester City, the most surprising of which saw Angelo Ogbonna replace Fabian Balbuena at the heart of the defence.
Arthur Masuaku came in for Aaron Cresswell at left-back, while injured pair Felipe Anderson and Sebastien Haller were replaced by Robert Snodgrass and Javier Hernandez.
New signing Pablo Fornals made his first start, with Michail Antonio dropping out.
There was much rejigging of tactics from the Chilean during the game, with Snodgrass starting on the right and Fornals drifting in from the left.
The unimpressive Jack Wilshere, playing in between Declan Rice and the front four, was hooked at half-time, with Michail Antonio replacing him.
That change saw Antonio support Hernandez up top in what resembled a 4-4-2, with Fornals switching over to the right, Lanzini move to the left and Snodgrass pushed infield.
Brighton and Hove Albion XI (3-4-3): Ryan; Burn, Dunk, Duffy; March, D Stephens, Pröpper, Montoya; Trossard (Mooy 85′), Murray (Andone 74′), Groß (Maupay 67′).
West Ham United XI (4-2-3-1): Fabianski; Masuaku, Ogbonna, Diop, Fredericks; Rice, Wilshere (Antonio 45′); Fornals (Yarmolenko 77′), Lanzini, Snodgrass; Chicharito (Sánchez 83′).
Everton v Watford
Marco Silva’s only change was an enforced one, with Jean-Philippe Gbamin making his first start in place of the suspended Morgan Schneiderlin.
Andre Gomes passed a fitness test to start alongside Gbamin in central midfield, with the Toffees again in a 4-2-3-1.
An injury to Lucas Digne saw Mason Holgate brought on at right-back and Seamus Coleman switch flanks to fill in for the departed Frenchman.
Javi Gracia also only made one change from the side that lost at home to Brighton, with Roberto Pereyra coming in for Andre Gray.
Pereyra was in his usual left-wing position as Gerard Deulofeu, who had occupied that role in the first half against the Seagulls, returned up front alongside Troy Deeney.
Danny Welbeck was thrown on midway through the second half for his first minutes in a Watford shirt.
Everton XI (4-2-3-1): Pickford; Coleman, Keane, Mina, Digne (Holgate 73); Gomes, Gbamin; Richarlison (Walcott 63′), Sigurdsson, Bernard; Calvert-Lewin (Kean 72′).
Watford XI (4-4-2): Foster; Femenia, Dawson, Cathcart, Holebas; Pereyra, Doucoure, Capoue (Gray 83′), Hughes (Welbeck 67′); Deulofeu (Cleverley 78′), Deeney.
Norwich City v Newcastle United
Daniel Farke’s only change saw Moritz Leitner step in for Kenny McLean in central midfield, with the Scotsman only fit enough for a place on the bench after being a major doubt for this clash with Newcastle.
Todd Cantwell kept his place on the left flank with Onel Hernandez having been ruled out for three months with a knee injury.
Steve Bruce kept the 3-5-2 shape that he used against Arsenal in Gameweek 1 but made two changes to his starting XI, with Emil Krafth replacing Javier Manquillo at right wing-back and Ki Sung-yueng ousting Sean Longstaff in central midfield.
Allan Saint-Maximin missed out with a hamstring problem.
Norwich City XI (4-2-3-1): Krul; Lewis (Byram 90′), Godfrey, Hanley, Aarons; Leitner, Trybull (Tettey 87′); Cantwell, Stiepermann (Vrancic 84′), Buendía; Pukki.
Newcastle United XI (3-5-2): Dúbravka; Dummett, Lascelles, Schär; Ritchie, Ki (S Longstaff 74′), Shelvey, Hayden, Krafth; Joelinton (Muto 67′), Almirón.
Southampton v Liverpool
The exertions of the Super Cup evidently had a bearing on Jurgen Klopp’s team selection at Southampton, with Jordan Henderson, Fabinho and Joe Gomez all dropping out after 120-minute run-outs in Istanbul.
Georginio Wijnaldum, Roberto Firmino and Trent Alexander-Arnold – who all started on the bench in that midweek match – returned to the starting XI.
Firmino, Sadio Mane and Mohamed Salah were all in the starting line-up for the first time this season, as Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain made his first league start since April 2018.
Ralph Hasenhuttl dropped a forward – namely Danny Ings – and brought in an extra central midfielder in the form of Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg as he switched from a 3-4-3 to a 3-5-2 in a bid to stifle their visitors; Hasenhuttl had used this system against the Reds at the back-end of 2018/19.
Maya Yoshida replaced Jack Stephens as the middle centre-half, meanwhile.
With the Saints trailing 1-0 midway through the second half, Oriel Romeu was sacrificed and Ings was thrown on up front as Hasenhuttl briefly reverted to his Gameweek 1 shape.
Summer signing Moussa Djenepo saw his first Premier League minutes as a late substitute.
Southampton XI (3-5-2): Gunn; Bednarek, Yoshida, Vestergaard; Valery, Ward-Prowse, Romeu (Ings 64′), Hojbjerg, Bertrand (Djenepo 77′); Adams (Armstrong 68′), Redmond.
Liverpool XI (4-3-3): Adrian; Alexander-Arnold, Matip, van Dijk, Robertson; Oxlade-Chamberlain (Henderson 89′), Wijnaldum, Milner (Fabinho 74′); Salah (Origi 79′), Firmino, Mane.
Manchester City v Tottenham Hotspur
Pep Guardiola made four changes to the side that beat West Ham 5-0 last time out, with Sergio Aguero replacing Gabriel Jesus up top and Bernardo Silva – rested in Gameweek 1 as a precaution – ousting Riyad Mahrez on the right flank.
Nicolas Otamendi filled in for the injured John Stones at centre-half, with Ilkay Gundogan preferred to David Silva in central midfield.
City were in their usual 4-3-3, with all of Guardiola’s second-half changes like for like.
Mauricio Pochettino made only one alteration to his starting XI – Christian Eriksen in for Lucas Moura – but abandoned the diamond formation in favour of a more regimented 4-4-1-1.
Erik Lamela was the man tasked with supporting Harry Kane in attack, with Eriksen operating on the left flank and Moussa Sissoko on the right.
The introduction of Lucas for Harry Winks saw the Brazilian lead the line alongside Kane and Lamela move to the right wing.
Manchester City XI (4-3-3): Ederson; Walker, Otamendi, Laporte, Zinchenko; Gundogan, Rodri (D. Silva 78‘), De Bruyne; Bernardo Silva (Mahrez 80′), Aguero (Gabriel Jesus 65′), Sterling.
Tottenham Hotspur XI (4-4-1-1): Lloris; Walker-Peters, Sanchez, Alderweireld, Rose; Sissoko, Winks (Lucas Moura 56′), Ndombele, Eriksen (Skipp 90‘); Lamela (Lo Celso 85‘); Kane.
Sheffield United v Crystal Palace
There were no surprises with the line-ups at Bramall Lane, with Chris Wilder sending the same 11 players out in the 3-5-2 system he used at Bournemouth.
In-game injuries to John Fleck and Callum Robinson saw Luke Freeman and Oli McBurnie replace them directly as the Blades kept their shape.
Roy Hodgson’s one alteration to his starting XI saw ‘out of position’ midfielder Wilfried Zaha come in for Andre Ayew up front, while Jeffrey Schlupp made his comeback from injury when replacing Max Meyer on the left midway through the second half.
Palace were again in a 4-4-2.
Sheffield United XI (3-5-2): Henderson; Basham, Egan, O’Connell; Baldock, Norwood, Fleck (Freeman 29′), Lundstram, Stevens; McGoldrick (Jagielka 89′), Robinson (McBurnie 56′).
Crystal Palace XI (4-4-2): Guaita; Ward, Dann, Kelly, van Aanholt; Townsend (McCarthy 70‘), McArthur (Wickham 82′), Milivojevic, Meyer (Schlupp 65′); Zaha, Benteke.
Chelsea v Leicester City
The Chelsea starting XI showed only one change from the side that took on Liverpool in midweek, with Mason Mount replacing Mateo Kovacic in midfield.
Pedro and Christian Pulisic flanked Olivier Giroud in the Blues’ attack, with Mount starting the match as a ‘number ten’ in a 4-2-3-1 but gravitating towards the left of midfield as Chelsea occasionally resembled a 4-3-3.
Ben Chilwell missed out with a hip injury, with his place at left-back being taken by Christian Fuchs.
That was Brendan Rodgers’ only change to the side that drew 0-0 with Wolves in Gameweek 1, so Ayoze Perez and James Maddison again supported Jamie Vardy in a 4-3-3.
Wilfred Ndidi was at the base of the midfield three, with Hamza Choudhury and especially Youri Tielemans more advanced.
Dennis Praet replaced Choudhury in the middle of the park in the final 20 minutes.
Chelsea XI (4-2-3-1) Arrizabalaga; Azpilicueta, Christensen, Zouma, Emerson; Jorginho (Kovacic 70′), Kante; Pedro, Mount, Pulisic (Willian 70′), Giroud (Abraham 61′).
Leicester City XI (4-3-3): Schmeichel; Pereira, Evans, Soyuncu, Fuchs; Choudhury (Praet 73′), Ndidi, Tielemans; Perez (Albrighton 79′), Maddison, Vardy.
Wolverhampton Wanderers v Manchester United
Having made nine changes for the second leg of Wolves’ Europa League tie against FC Pyunik, Nuno Espirito Santo reverted to the familiar-looking starting XI and 3-5-2 that drew 0-0 with Leicester.
Illness saw Matt Doherty replaced at wing-back by Adama Traore at half-time.
Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s only change saw Daniel James replace Andreas Pereira on the right flank.
Anthony Martial again led the line, with Marcus Rashford stationed out wide on the left of a 4-2-3-1.
Wolverhampton Wanderers XI (3-5-2): Patrício; Boly, Coady, Bennett; Jonny, Neves, Moutinho, Dendoncker, Doherty (Traoré 46′); D Jota (Neto 86′), Jiménez (Cutrone 90+1′).
Manchester United XI (4-2-3-1): De Gea; Shaw, Maguire, Lindelöf, Wan-Bissaka; McTominay, Pogba; Rashford (A Pereira 89′), Lingard (Mata 80′), D James (Greenwood 89′); Martial.
4 years, 8 months agoFPL Changes
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Big improvement for FPL with sites unable to work out GW transfers it seems.
Makes "blocking" much more difficult.