Chelsea, Manchester City and Newcastle United were all in UEFA Champions League (UCL) action on Tuesday.
Here, we take a look at how they got on, the main talking points and what implications there may be for Fantasy Premier League (FPL) managers ahead of Gameweek 13 and beyond.
RESULTS
TeamOpponentResultGoalsAssistsChelseaBarcelona (h)3-0 winKounde (own goal), Estevao, DelapJames, EnzoMan CityLeverkusen (h)2-0 defeatn/an/aNewcastleMarseille (a)2-1 defeatBarnesn/a
SELECTION/ROTATION
TeamChanges from GW12’s starting XIPlayers who kept their places (mins played)Mins for other notable playersChelsea5Enzo (90), Cucurella (90), Chalobah (90),
Sanchez (90), James (82), Neto (76)Caicedo (90), Fofana (90), Estevao (82), Gusto (45), Delap (31)Man City10Nico (90)Reijnders (90), Savinho (90), Trafford (90), Marmoush (65), Foden (45), O’Reilly (45), Doku (45), Haaland (25)Newcastle3Guimaraes (90), Tonali (90), Barnes (90), Thiaw (90), Pope (90), Livramento (61), Murphy (61), Schar (61)Burn (90), Gordon (72), Hall (29), Woltemade (18)
Man City rotation is good for Free Hitters
In truth, there’s not much to read into Man City’s second successive defeat, as Pep Guardiola made 10 changes to his starting lineup versus Bayer Leverkusen. An excessive amount, in hindsight.
“Too many changes. What I said, always I believe the long seasons, games every two or three days, everyone has to be involved. Maybe it was too much.” – Pep Guardiola on why this defeat happened
The likes of Jeremy Doku (£6.5m), Phil Foden (£8.0m), Nico O’Reilly (£5.0m), Gianluigi Donnarumma (£5.7m), Josko Gvardiol (£5.8m) and goal machine Erling Haaland (£14.9m) began on the bench.
Losing at half-time, Guardiola brought on these first three, throwing his star Norwegian forward into the mix after conceding again.
This could give clues to all managers about to use a Gameweek 13 Free Hit, as could Tijjani Reijnders (£5.4m) playing all 90 minutes. Their home clash against newly-promoted Leeds United is one of three matches straight after the FPL deadline, meaning some early team news could arrive in time.
Is Pope about to lose his place?
Meanwhile, it was Newcastle who beat Man City last Saturday, but, in Marseille, the Magpies proved once more that they travel terribly and can’t come from behind.
In fact, that’s three trips in a row where they’ve taken the lead and ended up losing – often due to a Nick Pope (£5.2m) blunder.
This time, the goalkeeper made a staggering decision to charge 30 yards towards a loose ball that never looked winnable. Former Arsenal and Chelsea striker Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang duly took it around him to finish from a tight angle, scoring again several minutes later.
It undid in-form Harvey Barnes‘ (£6.3m) early opener, his fourth goal in three matches.
On Tyneside, the talking point is whether Aaron Ramsdale (£4.8m) will finally get a run of games between the sticks. That will concern over 1.3 million FPL bosses, but Eddie Howe has a weakness for player loyalty.
“I think it’s a concern when we concede goals, regardless of who’s at fault. I think we have to look at everything with a balanced head. He saved us many times. He made some really good saves against Manchester City just two days ago. That’s the life of a goalkeeper. But I’ll certainly back him.” – Eddie Howe on Nick Pope
Managing Woltemade’s minutes
Howe’s starting XI featured less rotation than anticipated. Just three changes from the weekend, as Bruno Guimaraes (£6.6m), Sandro Tonali (£5.4m) and Malick Thiaw (£4.9m) all racked up another 90 minutes.
Dan Burn‘s (£5.1m) Gameweek 12 suspension kept him fresh for the south of France, as the visitors opted for a wing-back system.
The minutes of Lewis Hall (£5.2m) were managed, having just made his first league start since Gameweek 5.
As for 19.4%-owned Nick Woltemade (£7.4m), he’d started 15 consecutive matches for Newcastle and Germany, making this rest essential. Expect him in Gameweek 13’s lineup at Everton.
Estevao dazzles for Chelsea
At Stamford Bridge, Estevao (£6.5m) outdid fellow 18-year-old wonderkid Lamine Yamal by scoring a superb solo goal, the second of Chelsea’s three against 10-man Barcelona.
The Brazilian has scored in each of his last seven starts for club and country. It’s just a shame that these never happen in the league – not since Gameweek 6. Cole Palmer‘s (£10.3m) imminent return will further muddy the waters.
“If he doesn’t play, then Pedro Neto plays wide in that position and Pedro Neto is good. We are happy with Pedro. It depends on the game plan who are the 11 players [who start].
“In probably the most difficult game of the season, Barcelona, we decided to play with Estevao; I am not a coach who doesn’t allow players to play minutes. It’s always about the game plan. A lot of people say we are unpredictable, but the game plan defines the starting 11.” – Enzo Maresca on Estevao
Staying in midfield, Enzo Fernandez (£6.7m) netted at Burnley and performed well again here, seeing two goals disallowed but assisting Liam Delap‘s (£6.2m) strike. He played all 90 minutes but is unlikely to be rotated in Sunday’s tough top-two meeting with Arsenal.
Additionally, Joao Pedro (£7.5m) was an unused substitute, strongly hinting that he’ll start.
And that’s now four clean sheets in five for the Blues. Third-best at preventing opposition shots (112) in the Premier League, only Arsenal have conceded fewer attempts on target (31).
It’s just a shame that they rank second-worst on our Fixture Ticker over the next eight Gameweeks.
