Dilemmas of the Week - GW 2 (26/27)

Thankfully, we have not - so far - suffered the slew of training injuries that are usually so common early in the season. And it seems that even 2nd Round games in the League Cup and Brighton's Europa Conference League play-off return leg against Tromso have failed to produce any further casualties in midweek. So, it looks like there are only a few minor concerns this week.

To keep these posts more manageable, I'm 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. 

The Fantasy Premier League site itself now has a 'Player Availability' page (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.]

I've recently discovered this additional resource, the weekly Predicted Lineups from Fantasy Football Edits. My longtime standby for this sort of news, Fantasy Footall Scout, does usually provide some explanatory commentary on its predictions, even including reminders of the key injury concerns, and sometimes also some discussion of possible alternate selections; so, if you like a bit more detail with your 'probable lineups' for the week, that could still be the preferable roundup to look at. But because FPL Edits is so stripped-down, it's rather more straightforwardly accessible, easier to scan through quickly; and I think it's also perhaps a tad more reliable with its expected formations and lineups, and a little quicker to update.

So, what are the conundrums we face ahead of Gameweek 2?

Does anybody need to be moved out because of injury?

Brighton's Giorginho Rutter and Jack Hinshelwood both apparently picked up a 'knock' in training early in the week and had to miss yesterday's Conference League tie against Tromso. Hinshelwood has been one of the week's most popular acquisitions with 135,000 new owners piling in for him after his brace against Villa.

Liverpool's Federico Chiesa, very rarely a starter anyway, has picked up another muscle injury this week, once again ruling him out of contention altogether for a while.

Amad Diallo was a late omission against Hull last week because of a 'niggle'; no word yet on whether that continues to keep him out of the action.

Newcastle striker Will Osula suffered a foot injury in the Liverpool game last week, and could be out for a while.

James Maddison, only just back from his long ACL injury, hurt his shoulder against Brentford last week, and might be doubtful for this week's game against Newcastle.

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

Villa's new central midfielder Joao Gomes is starting a three-match ban after getting himself sent off for a retaliatory kick in his debut last weekend.

Did anyone give other cause to consider dropping them?

Robert Sanchez was so bad in goal for Chelsea on Monday night that there must be a serious risk of him being dropped (and who would really have wanted him in their Fantasy squads anyway?). Emi Martinez is said to be joining the club from Villa, but that might not get sorted in time for him to appear for them this weekend.

The Ollie Watkins transfer to Al Hillal is said to be very nearly finalized, so it seems he won't be turning out for them this weekend. But Villa and Spurs were both so awful in their opening games that all their FPL assets have surely become toxic for the time being anyway. With Ismaila Sarr, Jean-Philippe Mateta, Daniel Munoz, and Adam Wharton all said to be on the brink of departure, Crystal Palace are likely to be in severe disarray also, and are surely best avoided.

Savinho and Omar Marmoush could become more attractive prospects in FPL after their moves to Spurs from City (Marmoush only on loan; presumably he would be recalled the instant there's any sign of an injury problem for Haaland... or Semenyo); but they'll need time to settle in; and Spurs evidently need time to find their feet again under De Zerbi.

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

As I said yesterday, Cole Palmer was absolutely sensational against Fulham on Monday - and is perhaps the one player who might be worth using an early transfer on. Joao Pedro and Morgan Rogers were also very good in that game, but they were heavily owned by the start of the season already, and they surely weren't quite 'good enough' to convince anyone to revise their initial squad selections. Fulham's Josh King was also outstanding in that match, and could be worth keeping an eye on as cheap 5th-midfielder option. 

As I noted this morning, I think the sudden enthusiasm for Maxim De Cuyper and Mamadou Sangaré is excessive; De Cuyper might have been a smart pre-season pick, but doesn't justify using an early transfer on now, while Sangaré is still probably only the 5th or 6th most tempting pick.... from the Brentford mifield! I might have been tempted by Brighton's Jack Hinshelwood (well, I was tempted by him for my initial squad, but decided against him), but he's now struggling with a knock. 

Arsenal's new Greek left-winger, Christos Tzolis, is also looking a very lively prospect at just 6.5-million, but as with De Cuyper, is heavily owned already, and probably not worth using a transfer on this week; in any case, Martin Odegaard, also priced at only 6.5 this year, is currently looking even better (and Bukayo Saka better still - though it's really difficult to afford his 9.5 million asking price without giving up on Haaland and/or Fernandes!). The 'must-haves' from Arsenal for the start of the season, though, are looking like Riccardo Calafiori and/or Ben White.

BEST OF LUCK, EVERYONE!