Dilemmas of the Week - Gameweek 8 (25/26)

There were a few scares, but.... it looks as though we've come through this latest international break relatively unscathed.

I'm trying to streamline these weekly round-ups a bit from last year, restricting myself for the most part to just the injuries etc. affecting players that are likely to have a major significance in FPL; and also, of course, only to new injuries - I figure everyone should be aware of players who've already been ruled out for some time!  

[For some years, I have found the 'Injuries & Bans' summary on Fantasy Football Scout the most reliable resource for this kind of information; although this site, Premier League Injuries, is a very good alternative (often a little quicker to update, I think - though it did go through a bit of a glitchy period for a while last year).  Go check these out for more comprehensive coverage. 

I see the Fantasy Premier League site has added an improved 'Player Availability' page this year (though hidden under 'The Scout' tab?!). That also seems to be reasonably comprehensive and up-to-date, but god knows how it's supposed to be 'organised' - maybe by 'date of injury'? Obviously, arranging it by club and alphabetical order would be more sensible; but the denizens of FPL Towers seem to have a deep aversion to the sensible.]

So, what are the conundrums we face ahead of Gameweek 8 of the season?

Does anybody need to be moved out because of injury?

Martin Odegaard is injured again, coming off early in the GW7 West Ham game with a knee problem which seems likely to keep him out for some weeks at least.

Ollie Watkins picked up a 'knock' with England, but should be OK for Sunday's visit to Spurs.

Bournemouth's David Brooks tweaked a hamstring on duty with Wales: not too serious, but will be out this week, at least. At least Justin Kluivert finally seems to be ready for a start again.

Brighton's new star Diego Gomez suffered a heavy knock playing for Paraguay this week, but is expected to be OK to play against Newcastle.

Burnley striker Lyle Foster got a dead leg playing for South Africa, but Scott Parker hopes he'll be able to play this weekend. There is also still a question-mark over Jaidon Anthony - currently the second highest-returning midfielder in FPL - after he appeared to suffer a muscle injury last time out against Villa, although his withdrawal there was described as mainly 'precautionary', so he too is odds-on to still start.

Enzo Fernandez is a doubt for Chelsea this week, after withdrawing from the Argentina squad with discomfort in one of his knee joints; Facundo Buonanotte will probably deputise for him, if that issue doesn't resolve. Benoit Badiashile has also joined their long injury roster, and Pedro Neto and Moises Caicedo also reportedly missed training with minor problems after returning from the internationals this week. And Enzo Maresca has recently said that Cole Palmer's troublesome groin strain will probably keep him out for another 6 weeks or so - Chelsea in all sorts of problems!

Leeds's Swiss winger Noah Okafor, a goalscorer for them in Gameweek 7, seems likely to miss out because of a thigh problem - making space for a second chance for Jack Harrison.

Ibrahima Konate had to come off with a thigh problem against Chelsea two weeks ago, but has been pictured in training this week, so will probably be OK to start.

Rodri's problematic knee broke down again in the last league game against Brentford, and he looks like he'll be out 'for a while'. The evidence of last season suggests that City will be a lot more vulnerable in his absence (and they haven't been looking that great so far, even with him).

Noussair Mazraoui has been out of training for United with an unspecified problem, and Casemiro must be doubtful to start this week after two full games for Brazil and a long flight back. (Surely no-one in FPL owns Casemiro, but... his absence may have a knock-on effect on other United selections; e.g., maybe Mount will play in central midfield...)

Chris Wood was another struggling with knee discomfort during the internationals, but is expected to be able to turn out for Forest this weekend (though he has rapidly lapsed into irrelevance for FPL, as his and his team's form has tanked under the stewardship of Ange Postecoglou).

Sunderland's Omar Alderete (suddenly one of the most popular cheap defender picks, with over 400,000 piling in for him in the last couple of weeks) also picked up a muscle problem playing for Paraguay, and is 50/50 to start this week, probably needing a last-minute fitness test.

Niclas Fullkrug is out again, this time with a thigh problem. Will Callum Wilson finally get a chance to start? Perhaps not: the ultra-cautious Nuno still seems to doubt his stamina or resilience, and may prefer to use someone like Paqueta as a 'false 9'.

Hwang Hee-Chan has picked up a knock, and Jeanricner Bellegarde has missed training with an illness.

Do we have any players who are dropped, or not looking likely to get the starts we hoped for?

Sunderland's Mozambican fullback Reinildo is serving the last instalment of a three-game ban.

Loanee Jack Grealish is ineligible to play for Everton against Manchester City this week.

Did anyone give other cause to consider dropping them?

I still wouldn't go anywhere near Manchester United (Mason Mount was very good against Sunderland; but there must be a worry about his fitness, or how often he'll start - in competition for the place with Cunha) or West Ham players (except Bowen, maybe??).

Did anyone play so well, you have to consider bringing them in immediately?

I continue to think that Brentford's Igor Thiago looks the most impressive of the (non-Haaland!) forwards at the moment, although Nick Woltemade ('Voldemort') is rapidly becoming a popular pick (in the continuing absence of any form from Isak, Joao Pedro, or Gyokeres...). I suspect Jorgen Strand Larsen - if he's fully fit again, after a troublesome Achilles strain - could soon get back into that conversation too. Ismaila Sarr is suddenly becoming very popular again, with nearly 300,000 transferring him in over the international break, after a goal and an assist in his last two outings; however, I feel that move is probably a little premature, as Palace's next two fixtures are tough; like many teams, they hit a more gentle run of opponents from Gameweek 10.

Donyell Malen looked very promising as a strike partner for Ollie Watkins (and he's a 'midfielder'!!), but I doubt if that alone can turn Villa's fortunes around - particularly with the rather grim run of fixtures they've got over the next 4 games.

I fancy back-from-injury Bukayo Saka is about to explode. (It's astonishing how wary people have been about bringing him back in....)

Liverpool's excellent new stand-in keeper Giorgi Mamardashvili could be a tempting short-term option (how long is Alisson going to be out for??); he only costs 4.3 million (and, remarkably, only 29,000 have taken that punt so far....).

BEST OF LUCK, EVERYONE!