Dugout Discussion

Jimenez, Doherty and Adama benched as Klopp keeps rotation to a minimum

The final two matches of Gameweek 20 overlap one another, with Liverpool v Wolverhampton Wanderers kicking off at 16:30 GMT and Manchester City v Sheffield getting underway at 18:00 GMT.

Despite having threatened to utilise his peripheral squad players in his pre-match press conference, Jurgen Klopp has kept the changes to a minimum for the Reds’ final match of 2019.

Klopp’s only alteration sees Adam Lallana (£5.8m) replace Naby Keita (£5.8m) in central midfield, so there are starts for popular Fantasy assets Mohamed Salah (£12.3m), Sadio Mane (£12.3m), Roberto Firmino (£9.2m), Virgil van Dijk (£6.4m), Trent Alexander-Arnold (£7.4m) and Andrew Robertson (£7.0m).

There isn’t such positive news for owners of some of Wolves’ most-owned FPL players.

Having beaten Manchester City in a five-goal thriller less than 48 hours ago, Nuno Espirito Santo has understandably freshened up his side for this trip to Anfield.

Raul Jimenez (£7.5m), Adama Traore (£5.5m), Matt Doherty (£6.1m) and Romain Saiss (£4.4m) all drop to the bench, with Pedro Neto (£5.0m), Ruben Vinagre (£4.2m), Ryan Bennett (£4.9m) and Max Kilman (£4.0m) all drafted into the starting XI.

Diogo Jota (£6.1m) keeps his place up front, however.

Adama was the fourth-most-bought FPL asset of Gameweek 20.

Salah and Mane were both among the top five most-captained players this weekend, with the Egyptian second only to Jamie Vardy (£10.1m) for armband duties among the top 10k.

Wolves are unbeaten in their last seven away league games, although Liverpool have, of course, only dropped two points all season.

The big news at the Etihad is that the most-owned ‘defender’ in FPL, John Lundstram (£5.1m), has failed a late fitness test and misses out.

Mo Besic (£4.4m) replaces Lundstram in midfield, with Lys Mousset (£4.9m) and Callum Robinson (£5.0m) getting starts up front in place of David McGoldrick (£5.4m) and Oli McBurnie (£5.7m).

The Blades are, remarkably, still unbeaten on the road this season.

All three of Pep Guardiola’s changes are made at the back.

Teenage centre-half Eric Garcia (£4.5m) replaces Nicolas Otamendi (£5.0m), while Oleksandr Zinchenko (£5.2m) is in for Benjamin Mendy (£5.5m) at left-back.

Claudio Bravo (£4.8m) starts in goal in place of the suspended Ederson (£6.0m).

It’s the same front six that started at Molineux on Friday, meanwhile, with Sergio Aguero (£11.7m) leading the line.

Gabriel Jesus (£9.5m) is back on the bench after recovering from illness.

City have scored in every match over the last 11 Gameweeks, averaging 2.27 goals per game in that time.

Kevin De Bruyne (£10.5m) is the second-most-popular captaincy option in Gameweek 20, having been handed the armband by 764,890 FPL managers.


Liverpool XI: Alisson, Alexander-Arnold, Gomez, van Dijk, Robertson, Lallana, Henderson, Wijnaldum, Salah, Firmino, Mane.

Wolves XI: Patricio, Jonny, Kilman, Coady, Dendoncker, Bennett, Neves, Moutinho, Vinagre, Jota, Neto.

Manchester City XI: Bravo, Walker, Garcia, Fernandinho, Zinchenko, Rodrigo, Bernardo, De Bruyne, Sterling, Mahrez, Aguero.

Sheffield United XI: Henderson, Baldock, Stevens, O’Connell, Basham, Egan, Besic, Norwood, Fleck, Robinson, Mousset.

3,724 Comments Post a Comment
  1. Am sorry to say again it�…
    • Fantasy Football Scout Member
    • 5 Years
    4 years, 3 months ago

    VAR isn't the problem. The problem is the offside rule.

    1. Yank Revolution
      • 12 Years
      4 years, 3 months ago

      B I N G O !

    2. Magic Zico
      • Fantasy Football Scout Member
      • 5 Years
      4 years, 3 months ago

      Yes, tell them!

  2. OverTinker
    • 5 Years
    4 years, 3 months ago

    Don't you guys think that there should be some sort of a tolerance limit on Var offside rulings?

    1. Collie01
      • Fantasy Football Scout Member
      • 6 Years
      4 years, 3 months ago

      Of course. If it's that close, give the benefit of doubt to the attacker.

    2. TomSaints
      • Fantasy Football Scout Member
      • 6 Years
      4 years, 3 months ago

      Then you end up with another line though. What’s marginal, 1cm or 5 or 20?

      With offside no easy fix

  3. Brosstan
    • 9 Years
    4 years, 3 months ago

    Big club.bias at it again
    ..

    1. Bushwhacker
      • 4 Years
      4 years, 3 months ago

      Nonsense; both were correct.

  4. fantasyfog
    • 8 Years
    4 years, 3 months ago

    stop the game now, I'll happily take this

  5. Peter Ouch
    • Fantasy Football Scout Member
    • 5 Years
    4 years, 3 months ago

    Football is dead

  6. Fudgy
    • 4 Years
    4 years, 3 months ago

    Liverpool have fixed the league

    1. F4L
      • 9 Years
      4 years, 3 months ago

      its so obvious now

    2. Bushwhacker
      • 4 Years
      4 years, 3 months ago

      Both calls were correct; even if the second was stupid.

      1. Bourbon, Pot Still or Islay…
        • 9 Years
        4 years, 3 months ago

        Im a Liverpool fan and VAR is killing the game. The Man City Wolves game was ridiculous.
        Mane's goal was a goal
        Neto's goal should have stood

        That Neto one is like Firmino's earlier this year and a few others...... soul destroying....If I wanted sterile, clinical action I'd watch a surgeon do a routine operation.....

  7. SB007
    • 6 Years
    4 years, 3 months ago

    VaR need to build in tolerance of a boot rather than these silly mm decisions. Pukki goal yesterday was class but left toe nail was offside. Ridiculous.

    1. Manani
      • 12 Years
      4 years, 3 months ago

      should have cut his toe nail before the match like a professional

    2. Karhumies
      • 11 Years
      4 years, 3 months ago

      Pukki's toenails and feet were completely onside. His shoulder was leaning forward ahead of his feet 5mm offside. Apparently, any body part eligible to touch the ball counts for offside, not just feet and head.

  8. Bob_the_builder
    • 7 Years
    4 years, 3 months ago

    Nuno to unleash Traore and Jimi out of spite in the 2nd half.

  9. manu4life99
    • 14 Years
    4 years, 3 months ago

    Another var decision goes lpool way....

  10. Rust Cohle
    • Fantasy Football Scout Member
    • 6 Years
    4 years, 3 months ago

    The league is letting referees destroy its product.

  11. Unfathomable Ruination
    • Fantasy Football Scout Member
    • 7 Years
    4 years, 3 months ago

    They seem to have started to side with the defender in these VAR calls

  12. Jindaljain
    • 9 Years
    4 years, 3 months ago

    January transfer window approximately Price of VAR??

    1. Liberate HK - antichinazi
      • 5 Years
      4 years, 3 months ago

      Vardy 10.1
      Abraham 7.8
      Rashford 9.1

  13. DycheDycheBaby
    • 8 Years
    4 years, 3 months ago

    VAR is a yoke. Do you agree?

    1. DA Minnion (Former great)
      • 11 Years
      4 years, 3 months ago

      Some yoke alright.

    2. tiger
      • Fantasy Football Scout Member
      • 12 Years
      4 years, 3 months ago

      eggsactly

      1. Am sorry to say again it�…
        • Fantasy Football Scout Member
        • 5 Years
        4 years, 3 months ago

        You smart.

        1. tiger
          • Fantasy Football Scout Member
          • 12 Years
          4 years, 3 months ago

          😉

      2. sminkypinky
        • Fantasy Football Scout Member
        • 12 Years
        4 years, 3 months ago

        Purrfect tiger

  14. Bartowski
    • 13 Years
    4 years, 3 months ago

    Var needs to go in the bin and just be something weird we show our kids a YouTube video of and they can't even fathom.

  15. have you seen cyan
    • 4 Years
    4 years, 3 months ago

    VAR officials, do everyone a favour and do what Stan told the Jewelry channel host to do.

  16. Sailboats
    • 8 Years
    4 years, 3 months ago

    F#CK VAR

  17. Piggs Boson
    • 12 Years
    4 years, 3 months ago

    On balance, it's probably best we have fast inaccurate referee decisions than slow inaccurate VAR decisions.

    1. SB007
      • 6 Years
      4 years, 3 months ago

      Not inaccurate but not in spirit of game. What does offside mean? Not that your armpit is offside

      1. Piggs Boson
        • 12 Years
        4 years, 3 months ago

        Still think there should be a margin of error applied to the decisions. Only overturn if it appears wrong by a certain amount.

        1. Tinkermania
          • 4 Years
          4 years, 3 months ago

          Suggest the margin please? 🙂

  18. SB007
    • 6 Years
    4 years, 3 months ago

    TAA on 2 baps as it stands.

    1. Holmes
      • 10 Years
      4 years, 3 months ago

      And clean sheet pretty much lock as well

  19. Holmes
    • 10 Years
    4 years, 3 months ago

    Traore would have killed VAR referee if it was his goal 😆

  20. Rainer
    • 7 Years
    4 years, 3 months ago

    It’s was clearly offside as offside is fact.

    Not VARs fault as it has implemented the rules correctly.

    With VAR being so precise all attacking advantage is dead.

    1. Collie01
      • Fantasy Football Scout Member
      • 6 Years
      4 years, 3 months ago

      I don't even know if it was clearly offside. Hard to tell with the angles and lines. We are talking millimeters and milliseconds here, who can say exactly when the ball leaves the players boot?

      If it's that close, just give attacker benefit of the doubt. Maybe it's the offside rule itself that needs changing rather than VAR's interpretation, but it's not working in these tight calls.

  21. Lucackadoodledoo
    • 6 Years
    4 years, 3 months ago

    Don't know how manes goal stood. Clear hand ball from lallana piJAMa

    1. F4L
      • 9 Years
      4 years, 3 months ago

      *VVD, but its Liverpool so who cares. Just give them the goal

    2. Yank Revolution
      • 12 Years
      4 years, 3 months ago

      Wrong, 100 pct.

    3. Bushwhacker
      • 4 Years
      4 years, 3 months ago

      That is not handball on any planet.

  22. Fpl-king
    • 6 Years
    4 years, 3 months ago

    Just Can’t Catch A Break... Fpl is so frustrating!!! I guess that’s why we love it.

    300k rank to 860k rank in 2 weeks

    1. TomSaints
      • Fantasy Football Scout Member
      • 6 Years
      4 years, 3 months ago

      It’s been a tough few weeks =[

  23. Am sorry to say again it�…
    • Fantasy Football Scout Member
    • 5 Years
    4 years, 3 months ago

    Without VAR, Mane's goal would have been unfairly ruled out.

    1. how now brown cow
      • 9 Years
      4 years, 3 months ago

      Good

    2. Hazz
      • Fantasy Football Scout Member
      • 6 Years
      4 years, 3 months ago

      If they'd look at VVD, it'd be correctly ruled out.

    3. wulfrunian
      • 7 Years
      4 years, 3 months ago

      What are the pros and cons of VAR though?

      1. Jordan.
        • Fantasy Football Scout Member
        • 14 Years
        4 years, 3 months ago

        con, its killing it ,last rites for footy...

    4. Regin
      • 6 Years
      4 years, 3 months ago

      Yeah. (mane capper)

  24. how now brown cow
    • 9 Years
    4 years, 3 months ago

    Players should have sensors on their chests and use that for offside.

    If they have freakishly long legs to gain an advantage it would add to the game.

  25. Twisted Saltergater
    • 14 Years
    4 years, 3 months ago

    The offside rule was brought in to stop players goal hanging, not to rule out goals by millimetres.

  26. Yank Revolution
    • 12 Years
    4 years, 3 months ago

    Let the salt floowwwww!!!

    1. fantasyfog
      • 8 Years
      4 years, 3 months ago

      284989

  27. AzzaroMax99
    • 7 Years
    4 years, 3 months ago

    Tammy with no bps? What about winning goal points?

    1. TorresMagic™
      • Fantasy Football Scout Member
      • Has Moderation Rights
      • 14 Years
      4 years, 3 months ago

      Hasn't updated.

      1. AzzaroMax99
        • 7 Years
        4 years, 3 months ago

        Thx.

  28. dansmusen
    • 6 Years
    4 years, 3 months ago

    So much jam and i am getting nothing. My ML rivals gets Dunk and Perez from 3rd of bench due to Lundstram. I sold Mane to get Son two weeks ago and got Salah instead of Mane this week for a hit involving Tammy. Thats a lot of jam and lost points.

  29. TomSaints
    • Fantasy Football Scout Member
    • 6 Years
    4 years, 3 months ago

    How many games do you need to play to get a premier league winners medal?

    Asking for the VAR team.

    1. have you seen cyan
      • 4 Years
      4 years, 3 months ago

      1 second

    2. FPL.team
      • Fantasy Football Scout Member
      • 7 Years
      4 years, 3 months ago

      Yawn.

  30. Firminooooo
    • Fantasy Football Scout Member
    • 8 Years
    4 years, 3 months ago

    Mane to Salah on WC. Sorry to all the Salah owners.