
Sunderland defender Dan Ballard was the top FPL scorer last weekend with 17 points
Ahead of the latest round of Premier League fixtures, here is all the key injury news alongside essential Fantasy Premier League statistics.
The gameweek kicks off with West Ham at home to Chelsea on Friday night (20:00 BST) – here is the full fixture list.
This article will be updated as Premier League managers give their weekly news conferences.
For more FPL help, don’t miss our regular Friday Q&A from 15:30 BST live on the BBC Sport website, with one of our four experts answering your questions
Friday
West Ham v Chelsea (20:00 BST)
West Ham midfielder George Earthy is available to face Chelsea after recovering from an ankle injury sustained in early July.
Luis Guilherme remains out with a shoulder problem, while Edson Alvarez is unlikely to be considered as he nears a move to Fenerbahce.
Chelsea defenders Tosin Adarabioyo and Wesley Fofana are both fit to return to the matchday squad but Romeo Lavia and Benoit Badiashile remain sidelined.
Head coach Enzo Maresca confirmed that Nicolas Jackson, who was suspended for the opening weekend, and Christopher Nkunku will not be part of the squad as they seek moves to other clubs.
Players out: West Ham – Guilherme, Summerville Chelsea – Badiashile, Colwill, Jackson, Lavia, Nkunku
Key FPL notes:
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West Ham’s new left-back El Hadji Malick Diouf (£4.5m) led the Hammers for expected goal involvement in their season-opening loss at Sunderland, combining three shots – one of which forced a goal-line clearance – with two chances created.
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Cole Palmer (£10.5m) is now without a goal from open play in 17 Premier League games following last weekend’s blank against Crystal Palace. However, Chelsea’s talisman did score on his most recent visit to the London Stadium last September.
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Liam Delap (£6.5m) also scored when he last visited West Ham, and will be hoping to be given a chance to do so again from the starting line-up after positional rival Joao Pedro’s quiet display versus Palace.
Saturday
Manchester City v Tottenham (12:30 BST)
Team news will appear here later on Friday.
Key FPL notes:
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Tijjani Reijnders (£5.6m) starred for Manchester City last weekend, becoming only the second Sky Blue in history – alongside Sergio Aguero – to register a goal and assist on his Premier League debut. He’s now City’s most-owned outfielder in Fantasy, with a place in more FPL squads than any midfielder bar Cole Palmer and Mohamed Salah.
Bournemouth v Wolves (15:00 BST)
Team news will appear here later on Friday.
Key FPL notes:
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Antoine Semenyo (£7.1m) scored twice on the opening day trip to Anfield, and – alongside Evanilson, who equalled his tallies of three shots and four penalty box touches – is likely to be Bournemouth’s key attacking outlet again versus a Wolves side that shipped four goals at home. In Gameweek 1, only Erling Haaland had more big chances (three) than Semenyo.
Brentford v Aston Villa (15:00 BST)
Brentford midfielder Mikkel Damsgaard returns after missing the opening weekend to attend the birth of his child.
Head coach Keith Andrews has confirmed that Yunus Konak, Paris Maghoma and Ethan Pinnock are also available.
Aston Villa team news will appear here later on Friday.
Players out: Brentford – Janelt, Nunes, Wissa Aston Villa – Konsa
Key FPL notes:
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Brentford could hand a first start to new club record signing Dango Ouattara (£6.0m) – who delivered a fairly efficient seven goals and four assists from 21 starts at Bournemouth last season – this weekend, while also welcoming back playmaker Mikkel Damsgaard and fellow winger Kevin Schade.
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Emiliano Martinez (£5.0m) should be back in goal for Aston Villa after serving his one-match suspension last Saturday. He will be aiming to build on Villa’s streak of seven clean sheets in their previous 11 Premier League outings, a run which started with a shut-out on Brentford turf in March.
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After managing just one shot in last weekend’s goalless stalemate versus Newcastle, Ollie Watkins (£9.0m) will fancy his chances of getting off the mark against his former side. The English striker has scored six goals and assisted two more in seven Premier League appearances against Brentford, with all but one of those returns coming in the last two seasons.
Burnley v Sunderland (15:00 BST)
Burnley manager Scott Parker says new striker Armando Broja could “possibly” be involved this weekend.
Defenders Bashir Humphreys and Axel Tuanzebe have also returned to training.
Sunderland boss Regis Le Bris said Jenson Seelt is available despite being forced off injured during last week’s 3-0 win over West Ham.
Defender Nordi Mukiele is in contention to make his debut at Burnley after signing from Paris Saint-Germain last weekend, while Arthur Masuaku is available for selection for the first time this season.
Players out: Burnley – Amdouni, Benson, Beyer, Roberts Sunderland – Alese, Cirkin, Hjelde, Mundle, O’Nien
Key FPL notes:
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Burnley lacked a killer touch up front in their season-opening loss to Spurs, with winger Jaidon Anthony (£5.5m) unable to convert any of his four shots. There were some promising signs of life from Scott Parker’s side, though, including a joint-high five chances created by midfielder Josh Cullen.
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Sunderland enjoyed a barnstorming return to the Premier League with a 3-0 win over West Ham and Dan Ballard (£4.5m) was the stand-out performer. The Black Cats’ centre-back bagged a goal with one of his three total shots in the six-yard box and delivered plenty of defensive contributions including a goal-line clearance that preserved his side’s clean sheet.
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Fantasy managers will be eager to see whether cheap Chelsea loanee Marc Guiu (£4.5m) can earn any minutes up front for Sunderland against their former Championship foes, especially given the goal-scoring exploits of the teenager’s main positional rivals Eliezer Mayenda and Wilson Isidor in Gameweek 1.
Arsenal v Leeds (17:30 BST)
Team news will appear here later on Friday.
Key FPL notes:
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Just under a quarter of Arsenal’s league goals last season were either scored or assisted by Bukayo Saka (£10.0m – 17 out of 69, or 24.6%), despite the England star only starting 20 of a possible 38 matches due to injury.
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The Gunners’ winner last weekend came from a corner. It was their 31st such Premier League goal since the start of the 2023-24 campaign, which is 11 more than any other team. Their prowess from set-pieces creates a favourable mismatch against Leeds, who conceded nine of their 30 goals last season from dead-ball situations, and could spell more joy for Arsenal’s aerial threats including Gabriel (£6.0m) and their most recent goal-scorer, Riccardo Calafiori (£5.5m).
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Leeds’ new left-back Gabriel Gudmundsson (£4.0m) will likely have his hands full defensively, then, but the Swede impressed at both ends of the pitch in his Premier League debut, combining three shots and two created chances with eight defensive contributions.
Sunday
Crystal Palace v Nottingham Forest (14:00 BST)
Team news will appear here later on Friday.
Key FPL notes:
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Crystal Palace will be relying more heavily on the likes of Jean-Philippe Mateta (£7.5m) and Ismaila Sarr (£6.5m) for goals and creativity, with Eberechi Eze seemingly on his way out. The pair both impressed during pre-season and will need to step up here if Oliver Glasner’s side are to avoid extending their winless streak against Forest to 10 matches.
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Nottingham Forest put a lacklustre pre-season behind them by the time Gameweek 1 rolled around, as Chris Wood (£7.6m) emulated his strong 2024-25 campaign-opening form with a pair of goals versus Brentford. The Kiwi striker was at his clinical best last Sunday, finding the back of the net with his only two shots against the Bees.
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Palace allowed Chelsea a total of 19 total shots last week, which could be a concern given Forest will have plenty of attacking options at their disposal, such as Morgan Gibbs-White (£7.5m), Elliot Anderson (£5.5m) and last weekend’s debut scorer Dan Ndoye (£6.0m).
Everton v Brighton (14:00 BST)
Everton team news will appear here later on Friday.
Brighton midfielder Jack Hinshelwood is available after a return to training.
This game will likely come too soon for Charalampos Kostoulas and Stefanos Tzimas with both lacking match fitness.
Players out: Brighton – March, Webster
Key FPL notes:
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Everton allowed Leeds to take 21 shots on Monday night, but just three of them were on target – and the Toffees’ backline was eventually breached by a controversial penalty. James Tarkowski (£5.5m), the much-discussed king of defensive contributions last season, was at least on hand to notch two extra Fantasy points thanks to his 15 clearances, blocks, interceptions and tackles.
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After handing a debut to Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall in Gameweek 1, David Moyes might now look to give fellow summer arrival Jack Grealish (£6.5m) his first starting berth against Brighton after the Manchester City loanee had to settle for a place on the bench last weekend.
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Georginio Rutter (£6.0m) led the line for Brighton against Fulham in Gameweek 1 and could continue as an out-of-position centre forward – making the Frenchman, who also won the penalty to give the Seagulls the lead, a potential hidden gem.
Fulham v Manchester United (16:30 BST)
Team news will appear here later on Friday.
Key FPL notes:
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Bryan Mbeumo (£8.0m) and Matheus Cunha (£8.0m) fired off a combined nine shots on goal – five of them on target – against Arsenal in Gameweek 1, with Manchester United totalling the most opening weekend shots (22) of any Premier League club.
Monday
Newcastle v Liverpool (20:00 BST)
Newcastle striker Alexander Isak remains unavailable for selection.
Jacob Ramsey is likely to be involved after his £39m transfer from Aston Villa while fellow midfielder Joe Willock has returned to training this week.
Liverpool defender Jeremie Frimpong will be sidelined for at least a month with a hamstring issue.
Midfielder Ryan Gravenberch is back after serving a one-match suspension.
Players out: Newcastle – Isak Liverpool – Frimpong
Key FPL notes:
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In Alexander Isak’s continued absence, and Newcastle’s ongoing struggles to sign a new centre forward, it looks like Anthony Gordon (£7.5m) will remain Eddie Howe’s striker. The England international racked up a Gameweek 1-leading seven shots last weekend, and was on the scoresheet in the corresponding fixture against Liverpool last season as well as in the prior campaign.
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A different centre-back has found the net for Newcastle in three of their last four outings against Liverpool: Sven Botman (£5.0m) in January 2024, Fabian Schar (£5.5m) in December 2024, and Dan Burn (£5.0m) in March’s League Cup final.
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Mohamed Salah (£14.5m) scored at St James’ Park last season, and has netted four goals in his last three Premier league fixtures against the Magpies. Two of those matches have ended in a six-goal scoreline: the 3-3 draw in the North East last December, and a 4-2 to the Reds at Anfield last January.
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