We continue our midweek round-up of Champions League action with a look at the key Fantasy Premier League (FPL) talking points from a pair of victories for Liverpool and Chelsea.

• READ MORE: Tuesday notes (pt. 1) – Haaland’s 90 mins, Foden subbed again + time for Guehi
• READ MORE: Tuesday notes (pt. 2) – Rests for Gabriel + Rice… but 90 mins for Saka

WEDNESDAY’S RESULTS

SELECTION/ROTATION

SALAH IS BACK – AND UP FRONT!

He may not have scored or assisted upon his return to the Liverpool squad, but Mohamed Salah (£14.0m) was at least named in the Reds’ starting XI against Marseille upon his return from the Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON).

What’s more, he started up front!

Arne Slot opted for a 4-2-2-2, as we saw him do on a couple of occasions towards the end of last year when Alexander Isak (£10.3m) was (semi-)fit. This time it was Salah leading the line alongside Hugo Ekitike (£8.9m), who himself was a nuisance for the OM backline, having a goal ruled out for offside in the opening period before hitting the woodwork in the second half.

Salah was less productive with the handful of chances that came his way, perhaps looking a little rusty after so long out of the team, but this sort of role does further negate the need for him to track back, which appeared to be a real sticking point in his game when the Egyptian first dropped out of the Liverpool line-up. Perhaps Slot will choose to experiment with this set-up again during Saturday’s trip to leaky Bournemouth.

SZOBO SCORES + FRIMPONG HIGH

The twin No10s behind Ekitike and Salah were Florian Wirtz (£8.3m) and Dominik Szoboszlai (£6.6m), the latter of whom broke the deadlock just before half-time by sneaking his free-kick under the Marseille wall.

While his attacking output has been relatively sparse domestically (a fact not helped by last weekend’s penalty miss, of course), that effort took the Hungarian – probably Liverpool’s most consistent performer this season – up to seven returns (four goals, three assists) in as many Champions League appearances. Szoboszlai also teed up Ekitike for both of the Frenchman’s aforementioned key chances.

Wirtz, meanwhile, tested Marseille goalie Geronimo Rulli with one of Liverpool’s four shots on target, but is yet to open his own UCL account for the Reds despite scoring three in his last five Premier League games.

Instead, it was Jeremie Frimpong (£5.8m) who forced the doubling of the visitors’ lead when his cross was turned in by Rulli. He was again eye-catching going forward (as the above average position graphic showed), offering the width from right-back in this narrow formation.

The finishing touch came from late sub Cody Gakpo (£7.3m) scoring off an assist from Ryan Gravenberch (£5.7m), who had earlier won the foul leading to Szoboszlai’s opener.

KONATE MISSES OUT

One surprise omission from Liverpool’s squad on Wednesday was Ibrahima Konate (£5.4m), with the reason for the French defender’s absence given as personal matters.

That meant Joe Gomez (£4.9m) deputised alongside Virgil van Dijk (£5.9m), which could be repeated in Bournemouth on Saturday evening if Konate is given an extra few days off; he was already given permission to return to France ahead of last night’s game.

We’ll hear from Slot again before then, though.

The Reds’ defence did very well without the Frenchman, restricting their hosts to under 1.0 xG:

JORGENSEN INJURY CEMENTS SANCHEZ SPOT

Wednesday brought some good news for current or prospective owners of Robert Sanchez (£4.9m). His spot as Chelsea’s first-choice goalkeeper looks to have been solidified – for the time being, at least – by an apparent injury to his positional rival.

Filip Jorgensen (£4.3m) started this must-win Champions League outing against Cypriot side Pafos, but was withdrawn at half-time after signalling repeatedly to the bench that he was feeling some discomfort. Liam Rosenior kept his cards close to his chest in his post-match press conference, only saying Jorgensen had “picked something up”.

The half-time substitution of skipper Reece James (£5.7m) – who started in defensive midfield, as he has done on a few occasions this season – will have been of much more concern to Chelsea fans and the roughly 10% of FPL managers who own him. Thankfully for all parties involved, Rosenior confirmed this was nothing more than a pre-planned move to manage the Englishman.

“Yeah, minutes. And making sure that he’s prepared for we’re playing Wednesday, Saturday, Wednesday, Saturday. And I want to make sure Reece is available as much as possible because he’s an outstanding player and he’s a leader in our group.” – Liam Rosenior on Reece James’ half-time withdrawal

WHERE WAS PALMER?

Cole Palmer (£10.4m) was missing from Chelsea’s squad again on Wednesday, with the England international having felt “something really, really minor” early on in last weekend’s win over Brentford, in which he scored from 12 yards.

However, it sounds as if Palmer should be fine for the Gameweek 23 trip to Crystal Palace on Sunday, with his absence against Pafos described by Rosenior as “precautionary”.

“Precautionary. He felt something really, really minor in the game against Brentford. Actually, quite early in the game. So, credit to him to keep going through it. But I don’t want to risk any players at this stage, especially players of Cole’s quality. He’s got a really good chance to be involved and start the game on Sunday. And we’ll keep preparing him for that.” – Liam Rosenior on Cole Palmer

ENZO IN THE 10 AS CAICEDO SCORES AGAIN

With no Palmer, Enzo Fernandez (£6.5m) was given the opportunity to shift forward once more from defensive midfield – where he started against Brentford – into the No10 slot. Saying that, there wasn’t a Cheslea player who wasn’t advanced in this attack-versus-defence exercise!

Pedro Neto (£7.1m) and Alejandro Garnacho (£6.4m) kept their places on the wings of Rosenior’s 4-2-3-1, with Liam Delap (£6.2m) given the nod up top over Joao Pedro (£7.1m) despite the latter’s Gameweek 22 goal.

Neto was typically influential, putting a first-half cross onto Enzo’s head, which the Argentine converted before the officials harshly ruled it out. Enzo was deemed to have committed a foul when freeing himself from his marker. 

Above: Enzo created a joint-best three chances, while his one shot doesn’t include his disallowed goal

A slightly deflected shot from Neto then forced a save from busy Pafos goalie Jay Gorter before one of his corner deliveries into a dangerous area was nodded back towards Moises Caicedo (£5.7m), who buried his fifth goal of the campaign, having earlier forced a crucial stop from Gorter following another corner.

Elsewhere, Garnacho was simultaneously quiet and wasteful, perhaps opening the door for Jamie Gittens (£6.0m) – who looked bright after replacing him midway through the second half – or Estevao (£6.4m) – who was unlucky not to score with a first-timed volley after replacing James at the interval – to start on Sunday.

CHALOBAH BENCHED

Most of Chelsea’s changes came in the backline, where Rosenior named an entirely new-look unit to the one that started against the Bees.

James moved into defensive midfield alongside Caicedo, given Enzo’s shift forward, which meant it was the fit-again Malo Gusto (£4.9m) at right-back. Jorrel Hato (£4.6m) got a 70-minute run-out on the opposite flank, with Marc Cucurella (£6.0m) rested.

We knew Tosin Adarabioyo (£4.0m) was out with a hamstring injury, but perhaps less expected was the omission of Trevoh Chalobah (£5.5m). He remained an unused substitute as both Wesley Fofana (£4.4m) and Benoit Badiashile (£4.4m) completed the 90.

Chalobah is Chelsea’s highest-owned defender, sitting in some 19% of FPL teams, and also the Blues’ highest-scoring player in terms of FPL points. He has hardly missed a game this season when he’s been available for selection.

Truthfully, we probably don’t have enough evidence to say he may not be as nailed-on a starter as he was under Enzo Maresca. Rosenior may well be applying a similar load management strategy here as he was to the likes of James and Palmer, just without labelling it as such.

In any case, Fofana’s injury record – meaning he’s almost certainly unable to start every three days – plus the absence of Tosin means it’s highly likely we see Chalobah back in the starting XI come Sunday.

Still, it’s worth monitoring if the England international’s minutes do take a hit in the weeks to come, particularly given Rennes defender Jeremy Jacquet is being strongly linked with a move to Stamford Bridge to give Rosenior another option at the back.