They might be tired – Gameweek 5

The alternate title for this gameweek’s edition of They Might Be Tired was “International Men of Mystery” as we try to guess which premier league players are going to get rested this weekend or who might not be at their best following the international break which featured two games for most FPL players who also suit up for their national team.  There were over 150 FPL players who travelled with their national team for matches over the past 10 days, but only 50 are popular enough to have more than 5% ownership among fantasy squads.  Those are the ones I’ll cover below.

Will midweek goals from some of our consistent stars mean the good form will tick over into gameweek 5 this weekend… or they’ll need a breather?  Below I’ve captured the minutes played (up to 180 as most squads played two fixtures), signficant travel (outside of Europe), any new injuries, and any attacking returns that we know about.  As you make your final moves and adjust your lineups, add this to the rest of our calculus about who to start (every Man City player you can fit in your lineup), who to captain (a well-rested Mohamed Salah or Sergio Aguero perhaps), and who to transfer out (Wolves players if you’ve got any left).  Good luck this week!

Before the complete rundown, here are a few highlights.  Thankfully, no major injuries.  Four players showed incredible scoring form, with Harry Kane, Raheem Sterling, Kevin De Bruyne and Bernardo Silva each tallying four or more attacking returns across their two games.  Teemu Pukki also scored in both games (#pukkiparty #cantstopwontstop).  Notable at the team level: Liverpool, Man City, Man United, Spurs, and Everton could be the most tired or prone to some rotation as they had the most regular starters playing significant time over the break.  Also, many popular players (for example, Aguero, Salah, Sadio Mane, Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang, Jamie Vardy) were excused from or didn’t have matches for their country and got a good rest.

You can see the full details of these international fixtures – including lesser-owned players – in the Scout Notes articles here (and the international break preview article here) as well as in the Members Area.  Check out those articles all for the information.

Ok, let’s see who’s been busy over the break…

ARSENAL

·        Dani Ceballos (13% FPL ownership) – 77 minutes, 0 minutes

·        Matteo Guendouzi (9%) – 0 minutes, 0 minutes

·        Bernd Leno (6%) – 0 minutes, 0 minutes

ASTON VILLA

·        Tom Heaton (7%) – 0 minutes, 0 minutes,

·        John McGinn (7%) – 62 minutes, 4 minutes, 1 goal

·        Tyrone Mings (5%) – 0 minutes, 0 minutes

BOURNEMOUTH

·        Nathan Ake (12%) – 9 minutes, 0 minutes

·        Josh King (10%) – 58 minutes, 90 minutes, 2 goals

·        Callum Wilson (10%) – 0 minutes, 0 minutes

·        Ryan Fraser (7%) – 90 minutes, 0 minutes, 1 assist

BRIGHTON AND HOVE ALBION

·        Mat Ryan (13%), 90 minutes, travel to Kuwait

BURNLEY

·        Nick Pope (12%) – 0 minutes, 0 minutes

CHELSEA

·        Mason Mount (21%) – 23 minutes, 27 minutes

·        Christian Pulisic (7%) – 90 minutes, 0 minutes, travel to USA

CRYSTAL PALACE

·        Patrick van Aanholt (12%) – 0 minutes, 0 minutes

·        Wilfried Zaha (11%) – 0 minutes, 0 minutes

EVERTON

·        Lucas Digne (29%) – 10 minutes, 90 minutes

·        Jordan Pickford (12%) – 90 minutes, 90 minutes

·        Richarlison (7%) – 84 minutes, 74 minutes, travel to USA

·        Gylfi Sigurdsson (6%) – 90 minutes, 90 minutes, 1 goal

·        Yerry Mina (5%) – 90 minutes, 0 minutes, travel to USA

LEICESTER CITY

·        James Maddison (12%) – 0 minutes, 0 minutes

·        Kasper Schmeichel (7%) – 90 minutes, 90 minutes

LIVERPOOL

·        Virgil van Dijk (50%) – 90 minutes, 90 minutes

·        Trent Alexander-Arnold (26%) – 0 minutes, 90 minutes

·        Andrew Robertson (21%) – 90 minutes, 90 minutes

·        Roberto Firmino (12%) – 83 minutes, 63 minutes, travel to USA

MANCHESTER CITY

·        Raheem Sterling (46%) – 71 minutes, 90 minutes, 2 goals and 4 assists

·        Kevin De Bruyne (34%) – 76 minutes, 90 minutes, 1 goal and 3 assists

·        Ederson (23%) – 90 minutes, 90 minutes, travel to USA

·        Oleksandr Zinchenko (14%) – 90 minutes, 90 minutes, 2 goals (deployed in central midfield role)

·        Bernardo Silva (13%) – 90 minutes, 90 minutes, 1 goal, 3 assists

MANCHESTER UNITED

·        Aaron Wan-Bissaka (29%) – withdrew with minor back injury

·        Marcus Rashford (20%) – 90 minutes, 5 minutes, 1 assist

·        David de Gea (18%) – 0 minutes, 90 minutes

·        Harry Maguire (17%) – 90 minutes, 90 minutes

·        Mason Greenwood (15%) – 31 minutes, 29 minutes

·        Daniel James (12%) – 90 minutes, 50 minutes, 1 goal

NEWCASTLE UNITED

·        No players with FPL ownership above 5% had international duties this break

NORWICH CITY

·        Teemu Pukki (38%) – 85 minutes, 90 minutes, 2 goals

·        Todd Cantwell (18%) – 0 minutes, 29 minutes

·        Michael McGovern (5%) – 23 minutes, 0 minutes

SHEFFIELD UNITED

·        No players with FPL ownership above 5% had international duties this break

SOUTHAMPTON

·        No players with FPL ownership above 5%

TOTTENHAM HOTSPUR

·        Harry Kane (24%) – 77 minutes, 90 minutes, 4 goals, 1 assist, and 1 penalty miss

·        Hugo Lloris (8%) – 90 minutes, 90 minutes

·        Toby Alderweireld (6%) – 90 minutes, 90 minutes

WATFORD

·        No players with FPL ownership above 5%

WEST HAM UNITED

·        No players with FPL ownership above 5% had international duties this break

WOLVERHAMPTON WANDERERS

·        Raul Jimenez (15%) – 0 minutes, 90 minutes, travel to Argentina (longest distance award)

·        Leander Dendoncker (13%) – 0 minutes, 90 minutes, recovered from knock to play second match

·        Rui Patricio (10%) – 90 minutes, 90 minutes

·        Ruben Neves (9%) – 0 minutes, 90 minutes

·        Joao Moutinho (6%) – 5 minutes, 0 minutes

·        Diogo Jota (6%) – 0 minutes, 0 minutes