In this article, we round up the key Fantasy Premier League (FPL) talking points from the weekend’s FA Cup action.
- READ MORE: FPL Gameweek 21 deadline to be moved
BOWEN INJURY LATEST
Jarrod Bowen (£8.1m) suffered an ankle injury in West Ham United’s 1-1 draw against Bristol City on Sunday.
The 33.1% owned midfielder, who has already been drafted in by over 730,000 managers ahead of Friday’s Gameweek 21 deadline, had previously opened the scoring but had to be assisted off the field by two members of the physio team late on.
In what could prove to be a costly afternoon, defenders Konstantinos Mavropanos (£4.5m) and Vladimir Coufal (£4.7m) also picked up issues, while Lucas Paqueta (£6.0m) went down with a recurrence of the left knee injury that ended his game against Arsenal in Gameweek 19.
David Moyes admitted he was particularly “worried and disappointed” for Paqueta, but was unsure about the rest.
“I couldn’t give you any update at all. I’ve not even to spoken to the medical team since the end of the game, so I couldn’t give you anything on that.” – David Moyes
“You will pick up injuries and you have to deal with it. We’ve been quite fortunate this season as we’ve not picked up too many, but today we just felt as if we had one or two injuries. We had a few knocks and bruises, but that’s what happens this time of year.” – David Moyes
West Ham are already without Mohammed Kudus (£6.9m) because of Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) duty, leaving Moyes with an anxious wait.
The Hammers’ next Premier League match isn’t until Sunday 21 January, allowing additional recovery time for Bowen and co, but FPL managers should be aware we might not get a proper update from Moyes until next week, after Friday’s deadline.
INJURY UPDATES
If you’re looking for a quick round-up of what’s new, the players listed below were freshly flagged in recent days, having either missed out, come off with an injury or been handed a ban.
As for Virgil van Dijk (£6.3m), he missed out through illness, while Dominic Solanke (£7.1m) had a “small issue” so Andoni Iraola decided not to risk him.
Neither Liverpool or Bournemouth are in action until Saturday 21 January, however, so there is no immediate cause for concern.
- Arsenal: Gabriel Jesus (knee injury, 75%)
- Aston Villa: Pau Torres (ankle injury, 75%)
- Burnley: Charlie Taylor (shoulder injury, 75%), Lyle Foster (foot injury, 75%)
- Chelsea: Christopher Nkunku (hip injury, 75%)
- Everton: Dwight McNeil (ankle injury, 75%), Dominic Calvert-Lewin (Red card, three-match ban)
- Man City: Manuel Akanji (knock, 75%)
- Newcastle: Joelinton (thigh injury, 75%
- Nott’m Forest: Anthony Elanga (knock, 75%), Divock Origi (knock, 75%)
- Tottenham: Ben Davies (hamstring injury, 25%), Eric Dier (muscle injury, 75%), Giovani Lo Celso (muscle injury, 75%)
- West Ham: Vladimir Coufal (knock, 75%), Konstantinos Mavropanos (knock, 75%), Jarrod Bowen (ankle injury, 75%)
- Wolves: Joao Gomes (red card, three-match ban)
PEP ON KDB / FODEN’S CENTRAL ROLE
Phil Foden (£7.8m) scored a brace of goals with Julian Alvarez (£7.0m) also on target, as Manchester City strolled to a comfortable 5-0 win over Huddersfield Town.
However, the return of Kevin De Bruyne (£10.2m) from injury was perhaps the biggest talking point for Fantasy managers.
The Belgian came on in the 57th minute and it didn’t take him long to make an impact, as he provided the assist for Jeremy Doku (£6.5m), who was also back from injury.
Pep Guardiola praised De Bruyne in his post-match presser but did suggest he’d ease him back in.
“He played really good minutes, and we thought it was better in the second-half when there was more space because they defended really, really deep and the spaces were so hard to find. But in the second half there were more spaces and we played with good intention, and it was really, really good.
“Now what I said before, he needs to accumulate training sessions, training sessions more than games. Still he is not ready for 90 minutes but against Newcastle he has another chance and after two weeks to make good training in the second part of the season. We are incredibly delighted he is back.” – Pep Guardiola on Kevin De Bruyne
Foden once again caught the eye in a central role, racking up four shots and one key pass, meanwhile.
The concern is that De Bruyne’s comeback will force him out wide, but Guardiola did say there was no reason why both couldn’t play alongside each other in certain situations.
“In some games they can play and, in some games, we have to struggle a little bit. Always I am a big fan first of the talent, so why can’t their talent be joined together? When I was in Barcelona people used to say, ‘no, Xavi and Iniesta – these guys cannot play together’ and I said, why not? Why not? They are good, they are intelligent and smart and normally we associate that talent with they cannot defend – this is not true. But at the same time, for our structure, for 4-4-2, we have to change something if we have to defend and need physicality but some games, in the second half we put a lot of talent in the central positions.” – Pep Guardiola
“I’m enjoying my football at the moment, being in the pockets and in between the lines. It’s where I want to be. I need to keep helping the team with goals and assists and be that decisive player. I’m trying to do that every game.” – Phil Foden
As for Erling Haaland (£13.9m), he watched the FA Cup win from the stands but is back in training and could still yet be handed minutes in Gameweek 21, although a start is perhaps unlikely given that he wasn’t even on the bench here.
LIVERPOOL WIN WITHOUT SALAH
It’s just one match, but Liverpool’s 2-0 win over Arsenal on Sunday suggests they can cope just fine without Mohamed Salah (£13.2m) whilst he is away at AFCON.
The Reds admittedly rode their luck at times, with Martin Odegaard (£8.4m) hitting the bar and Kai Havertz (£7.1m) fluffing several decent chances, but after Jurgen Klopp chose to switch things up at half-time, his side were in control.
In the first half, Liverpool had Darwin Nunez (£7.4m) through the middle, Harvey Elliott (£4.8m) on the right, Luis Diaz (£7.3m) on the left and Cody Gakpo (£7.2m) in midfield.
However, in the second, Gakpo led the line, Elliott dropped back into midfield, Diaz went right and Darwin shifted to the left, with instant improvement. The introduction of Diogo Jota (£7.8m) then got Liverpool really clicking.
Trent Alexander-Arnold (£8.5m) was excellent, too, forcing the own goal whilst moving into midfield following the introduction of Conor Bradley (£4.0m).
“It’s huge. We’ve got a lot of players missing today with the lads on internationals and Virg [van Dijk] not in the squad. We dug deep with two late goals. We changed things around at half-time and we came out and played football, created our chances. The change of system made an impact for us. At times in the first half we were a bit naïve playing out from the back. We stuck with how we play. We have our identity and used the speed of Darwin and Lucho [Luis Diaz]. Darwin went out wide and used his speed against their full-back.” – Trent Alexander-Arnold
OTHER KEY NOTES
Kieran Trippier (£6.7m) was back in Newcastle United’s starting XI and put in a much better performance, as Alexander Isak’s (£7.6m) brace saw the Magpies reach the fourth round at the expense of local rivals Sunderland.
Three other well-owned Fantasy defenders also impressed, with Pedro Porro (£5.7m), Matty Cash (£4.7m) and Pervis Estupinan (£4.9m) all on the scoresheet.
Brighton looked particularly lively in their 4-2 win over Stoke City.
A Joao Pedro (£5.4m) brace sealed the win, but Pascal Gross’ (£6.4m) display shouldn’t be overlooked either, as he played a huge part in three of Albion’s goals.
Elsewhere, there were attacking returns for Chelsea’s Raheem Sterling (£7.1m) and Cole Palmer (£5.6m), while Pedro Neto (£5.6m) continued his comeback from injury with an assist in Friday’s 1-1 draw with Brentford.
FA CUP REPLAYS
Crystal Palace, Everton, Brentford, Wolverhampton Wanderers, Luton Town, Nottingham Forest and West Ham are the seven teams currently facing FA Cup replays.
The replays will sit in the middle of Gameweek 21, which is split across two weekends due to the winter break, adding further complications for FPL managers.
One remaining FA Cup third-round tie – Wigan Athletic v Manchester United – is due to be played on Monday.
