GameDay Squad EPL Gameweek 3 preview

Round Three is almost here and hopefully your second round was better than mine. Anyhow, let’s look at the matchups and which players you should be picking for your teams.

Chelsea v Fulham: Last week Fulham held United to a 1-1 draw in a game many expected United to score plenty in after good signs in their opening round against Arsenal. Although Chelsea managed to score five in their game, this game is likely to end up much more like the United one; as a cagey affair. Neither team in this fixture has won by more than two goals since 2013 (and then 2004 before that). While there are still likely to be some goals, it does make it hard to pick forwards with the obvious options being Joao Pedro, Pedro Neto and Iwobi (who I like against what, I believe, is still a weaker defence).

Wolves v Everton: Everton performed admirably, particularly in attack, against a solid Brighton team as Jordan Pickford’s penalty save kept their defence’s clean sheet intact. Up against one of the teams expected to be towards the bottom of the table, in Wolves, the Everton attackers should once again perform well. Grealish looked back to his free flowing best last game and he’s very pickable this week, along with Ndiaye. I also expect another clean sheet from Everton, which makes Tarkowski and Pickford both good picks, however, there is the potential that Tarkowski’s aerial impact is limited as he’s up against Strand-Larsen. Beware however, as Everton have only beaten Wolves away twice in their past ten games there.

Tottenham v Bournemouth: On form this one appears to be an evenly matched affair, as, from an eye test perspective, one of the better attacking teams (Bournemouth) take on one of the better defensive teams (Tottenham).Tottenham are yet to concede this season, however I would be cautious about selecting the usual suspects in Vicario, Van de Ven, Porro and Romero given how well Semenyo and Tavernier are operating with Kluivert potentially back in the starting lineup too. I’d avoid Truffert this week, as well as his likely direct opponent in Kudus. I do think Spurs are likely to score and that may be through the impressive Johnson or Richarlison, who looks to have locked in a spot over Solanke for the time being.

Manchester United v Burnley: Once lockout ended, three United players made their way straight into my lineups for this favourable fixture. After their performance against Grimsby in their cup game midweek, with quite a few starters in their lineup, it has me second guessing. Burnley are another of the teams expected to be towards the bottom of the table, but they did manage to see off fellow promoted team, Sunderland, last week. If United can get their attacking groove sorted then all of Bruno Fernandes, Mbeumo and Cunha should be pickable. If you’d like to gamble on a Burnley clean sheet, I'd go for Dubravka.

Sunderland v Brentford: Sunderland were brought back down to Earth at the hands of Burnley as they lost a potential six pointer in what is expected to be a relegation battle. I like the Brentford defenders in this one for multiple reasons. I think there’s big potential for a Brentford clean sheet, and short of that Collins and/or Van den Berg come up against an undersized striker in Mayenda, which is likely to result in the accumulation of defensive points such as aerial duels won. To add further reasoning, Brentford have been one of the teams to implement the long throw into their game with throw specialist Kayode consistently hitting the penalty spot for the likes of Collins and Van den Berg to get on the end of. Other Brentford attackers in Schade, Damsgaard and Thiago could also be considered.

Leeds v Newcastle: Anthony Gordon’s red card suspension throws a spanner into the works for what would have been an obvious attacking selection. Leeds conceded five to Arsenal and there’s the potential for further goals to be shipped in this one. The likes of Elanga and Barnes should be decent picks, while Osula and Murphy might be too risky given either could start. At the other end of the ground Newcastle defenders have good potential for a clean sheet, but I would be careful on selecting them with their depth at centre back potentially resulting in some rotation from the start or late in the game. I believe Schar is more likely to be rotated, meaning I would go with Burn from the defence. With emergencies now fixed, Pope should be a relatively risk free option as if Ramsdale starts then the likelihood is he’ll play the full game and thus allow your emergency to come on if needed.

Brighton v Manchester City: Both teams are coming off losses where they were both expected to win, while both teams also failed to score. This is unlikely to be the case in this fixture as the two have never played a scoreless draw. Haaland has at least one goal contribution in four of his last five against Brighton and I'd bank on that trend continuing. As for the rest of the City team and Pep’s roulette I'd be very hesitant in selecting anyone else. The potential returns of Gvardiol and Rodri as well as the injury doubt of Ait-Nouri and performance of Reijnders (v Spurs) could mean it's anyone’s guess who starts and who is benched.

Nottingham Forest v West Ham: Forest have won the past three of the matches between these teams with the standout player in them being Hudson-Odoi. Forest have made many new attacking additions, however I do think we’re likely to see the usual front three of Hudson-Odoi, Wood and Ndoye all of whom are good chances of goal contributions. I’d also back in Forest for a clean sheet, which they’ve done in two of their past three meetings, meaning Sels, Milenkovic and Murillo are all good options.

Liverpool v Arsenal: The game of the round with two teams who have won both their opening fixtures. Arsenal haven’t beaten Liverpool at Anfield in their past six meetings and neither team have kept a clean sheet in their last four meetings. Salah has scored in four of the past six games against Arsenal at Anfield so still may be a popular pick despite the fixture. Usually, I’d back in Van Dijk, but neither the fixture (for clean sheet purposes) nor the direct opponent (Gyokeres) appear to favour a high GDS score. There is potential to pick one of the goalkeepers in Alisson or Raya if you believe there’ll be a clean sheet, as big points could be on offer with that and the expected saves required against a good attacking team.

Aston Villa v Crystal Palace: Aston Villa come into this game struggling to score, which they also have a knack of against Crystal Palace, failing to do so in their last two meetings. While Villa have failed to score, Palace have scored sixteen goals in their last five matches against Villa. Sarr has scored five goals on his own in his last three games versus Villa, while Mateta has seven goal contributions in his last five against them. Crystal Palace defenders may be a worthwhile punt in this game and with Guehi yet to transfer it could be him, Lacroix, Munoz or Mitchell.

After considering all of the above, here’s my top 10 (top 5 for goalkeepers) for every position, in no particular order, for the round. Plus a few extra uniques.

Goalkeepers:

●     Sels

●     Pickford

●     Pope ⭐️

●     Kelleher

●     Alisson

Uniques: Henderson and Dubravka

Defenders:

●     Tarkowski

●     Milenkovic

●     Murillo

●     Burn

●     Collins ⭐️

●     Van den Berg

●     Lacroix

●     Cucurella

●     Livramento

●     Munoz

Uniques: Kayode and Esteve

Midfielders:

●     Grealish

●     Schade

●     Damsgaard ⭐️

●     H Barnes

●     E Anderson

●     Mbeumo

●     B Fernandes

●     E Fernandez

●     Reijnders

●     Guimaraes

Uniques: Tavernier and Caicedo

Forwards:

●     Haaland

●     Joao Pedro

●     Ndiaye

●     Ndoye

●     Wood

●     Cunha

●     Elanga

●     Salah

●     Sarr ⭐️

●     Mateta

Uniques: Iwobi and Hudson-Odoi

…And that’s a wrap! Best of luck with round three.