Not much rest for the weary this week – 16 Premier League teams were in action on Tuesday and Wednesday in the third round of Carabao (aka League) Cup matches and the results were interesting indeed. Most teams passed through, but not all, as five of the top-flight squads failed to advance. This can be seen as a blessing or a curse depending on how you look at it. It’s surely disappointing for the fans of Bournemouth, Brighton, Sheffield United, Spurs, and West Ham. In particular, Spurs lost a squeaker on penalties to League Two’s Colchester United and my team, West Ham, suffered a 4-0 loss at Oxford United. Kudos to Colchester and Oxford United on those important wins – they played well.
The silver lining for fantasy managers is that those five teams that failed to advance to the next round of Carabao Cup action will have fewer midweek games coming up and should fare better in their Premier League matches. At least I hope that’s the case! Upcoming Carabao Cup round-of-16 games won’t take place until the last week of October. 11 Premier League teams remain and the next round features five clashes that pit two of them against each other. We’re much more likely to see the full lineup of top XI players from each squad in those midweek games, including Liverpool when they take on Arsenal and Chelsea who face Manchester United.
As is now customary, this article covers what happened with the most popular FPL players midweek (those owned by more than 5% of fantasy managers), including minutes played, any new injuries, and any attacking returns that we know about. You can see the full details of these cup fixtures – including lesser-owned players – in the FFS Scout Notes articles.
The main headline is that most Premier League teams rested the vast majority of their popular fantasy assets midweek (fewer than 20 started and played more than a half of football). There were some notable exceptions among premium fantasy assets who did log significant minutes, including Raheem Sterling along with both Bernardo Silva and David Silva from Manchester City. Sterling started and played well (and was subbed off after a goal and an assist). Another exception was that most of Everton’s well-owned FPL players started and played a majority of their midweek game, so they might be feeling a bit more tired when they face Man City on Saturday.
Good luck with your team selection this week as you make decisions on who to bench, captain or transfer.
TUESDAY GAMES
ARSENAL
Defeated Nottingham Forest 5-0 (home), next play away at Manchester United on Monday
- Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang (24% FPL ownership) – 0 minutes, did not travel for the match
- Dani Ceballos (12%) – 19 minutes
- Matteo Guendouzi (10%) – 0 minutes, did not travel for the match
- Ainsley Maitland-Niles (7%) – 0 minutes, did not travel for the match
- Bernd Leno (6%) – 0 minutes, did not travel for the match
- David Luiz (6%) – 0 minutes, did not travel for the match
BRIGHTON AND HOVE ALBION
- David Button (25%) – 90 minutes
- Matt Ryan (13%) – 0 minutes, did not travel for match
- Lewis Dunk (11%) – 0 minutes, did not travel for match
EVERTON
Defeated Sheffield Wednesday 0-2 (away), next play at home vs. Man City on Saturday
- Lucas Digne (27%) – 90 minutes
- Jordan Pickford (11%) – 90 minutes
- Maarten Stekelenburg (9%) – 0 minutes
- Richarlison (8%) – 67 minutes
- Gylfi Sigurdsson (5%) – 24 minutes
LEICESTER CITY
Defeated Luton Town 0-4 (away), next play at home vs. Newcastle on Sunday
- James Maddison (11%) – 0 minutes, did not travel for the match
- Jamie Vardy (9%) – 0 minutes, on bench
- Kasper Schmeichel (7%) – 0 minutes, on bench
- Ricardo Pereira (6%) – 0 minutes, on bench
- Caglar Soyuncu (5%) – 0 minutes, did not travel for the match
- Youri Tielemans (5%) – 90 minutes, 1 assist
MANCHESTER CITY
Defeated Preston 0-3 (away), next play away at Everton on Saturday
- Raheem Sterling (40%) – 73 minutes, 1 goal + 1 assist
- Kevin De Bruyne (40%) – 0 minutes, did not travel for the match
- Sergio Aguero (29%) – 0 minutes, did not travel for the match
- Ederson (22%) – 0 minutes, did not travel for the match
- Kyle Walker (18%) – 0 minutes, did not travel for the match
- Bernardo Silva (13%) – 90 minutes
- Oleksandr Zinchenko (11%) – 0 minutes, did not travel for the match
- David Silva (10%) – 63 minutes, 1 assist
- Nicolas Otamendi (5%) – 0 minutes, on bench
SOUTHAMPTON
Defeated Portsmouth 0-4 (away), next play away at Spurs on Saturday
- Jannik Vestergaard (7%) – 0 minutes, did not travel for the match
TOTTENHAM HOTSPUR
Lost to Colchester United on penalties 0-0 / 4-3 (away), next play at home vs. Southampton on Saturday
- Harry Kane (21%) – 0 minutes, did not travel for the match
- Hugo Lloris (9%) – 0 minutes, on bench
- Heung-Min Son (9%) – 24 minutes
- Toby Alderweireld (7%) – 0 minutes, did not travel for the match
- Lucas Moura (5%) – 90 minutes
- Erik Lamela (5%) – 12 minutes
WATFORD
Defeated Swansea City 2-1 (home), next play away at Wolves on Saturday
- No players with FPL ownership above 5%
WEDNESDAY GAMES
ASTON VILLA
Defeated Brighton & Hove Albion 1-3 (away), next play at home vs. Burnley on Saturday
- Tom Heaton (7%) – 0 minutes, did not travel for match
- John McGinn (7%) – 66 minutes
- Tyrone Mings (6%) – 0 minutes, on bench
- Douglas Luiz (5%) – 90 minutes
BOURNEMOUTH
Lost to Burton 2-0 (away), next play at home vs. West Ham on Saturday
- Nathan Ake (12%) – 0 minutes, did not travel for match
- Callum Wilson (11%) – 29 minutes
- Diego Rico (10%) – 0 minutes, did not travel for match
- Josh King (9%) – 0 minutes, did not travel for match
- Jack Simpson (7%) – 90 minutes
- Ryan Fraser (6%) – 90 minutes
CHELSEA
Defeated Grimsby Town 7-1 (home), next play at home vs. Brighton on Saturday
- Tammy Abraham (31%) – 0 minutes, on bench
- Mason Mount (25%) – 0 minutes, on bench
- Cesar Azpilicueta (6%) – 0 minutes, did not travel for match
- Kepa Arrizabalaga (5%) – 0 minutes, did not travel for match
- N’Golo Kante (5%) – 0 minutes, did not travel for match
- Christian Pulisic (5%) – 90 minutes, 1 assist
LIVERPOOL
Defeated MK Dons 0-2 (away), next play away at Sheffield United on Saturday
- Virgil van Dijk (48%) – 0 minutes, did not travel for match
- Mohamed Salah (42%) – 0 minutes, did not travel for match
- Trent Alexander-Arnold (28%) – 0 minutes, did not travel for match
- Sadio Mane (21%) – 0 minutes, did not travel for match
- Andrew Robertson (20%) – 0 minutes, did not travel for match
- Roberto Firmino (13%) – 0 minutes, did not travel for match
- Adrian (7%) – 0 minutes, did not travel for match
- Joel Matip (5%) – 0 minutes, did not travel for match
MANCHESTER UNITED
Defeated Rochdale on penalties 0-0 / 5-3 (home), next play at home vs. Arsenal on Monday
- Aaron Wan-Bissaka (25%) – 90 minutes
- David de Gea (18%) – 0 minutes, did not travel for match
- Harry Maguire (16%) – 0 minutes, did not travel for match
- Marcus Rashford (15%) – 0 minutes, flagged as injured
- Mason Greenwood (13%) – 90 minutes, 1 goal
- Daniel James (12%) – 30 minutes
- Paul Pogba (4.4%) – owned by just under 5%, but did come back from injury and play 90 minutes
SHEFFIELD UNITED
Lost to Sunderland 0-1 (home), next play at home vs. Liverpool on Saturday
- John Lundstram (27%) – 0 minutes, did not travel for match
WEST HAM UNITED
Lost to Oxford United 4-0 (away), next play away at Bournemouth on Saturday
- Lucasz Fabianski (6%) – 0 minutes, on bench
- Sebastien Haller (6%) – 33 minutes
- Issa Diop (5%) – 90 minutes
- Felipe Anderson (5%) – 24 minutes
WOLVERHAMPTON WANDERERS
Defeated Reading on penalties 1-1 / 4-2 (home), next play at home vs. Watford on Saturday
- Raul Jimenez (10%) – 0 minutes, did not travel for match
- Leander Dendoncker (10%) – 0 minutes, did not travel for match
- Rui Patricio (9%) – 0 minutes, on bench
- Ruben Neves (8%) – 90 minutes
- Willy Boly (5%) – 0 minutes, did not travel for match
- Joao Moutinho (5%) – 0 minutes, on bench
- Diogo Jota (5%) – 0 minutes, did not travel for match
