GW13 Free Hit + Pope assist city rotation in danger?

---

Chelsea, Manchester City and Newcastle United are all in action in the UEFA Champions League (UCL) on Tuesday.

Here, we take a look at their developments, the key talking points, and what the implications are for Fantasy Premier League (FPL) managers heading into Gameweek 13 and beyond.

RESULTS

Team	They will oppose	Results	Target	Help
Chelsea	Barcelona (k)	won 3-0	Kounde (own goal), Estevao, Delap	James, Enzo
City of Man	Leverkusen (h)	2-0 defeat	There isn’t any	There isn’t any
Newcastle	Marseille (a)	2-1 defeat	Barnes	There isn’t any

SELECTION/ROTATION

Team	Changes from GW12 starting XI	Players who retained their place (minutes played)	Minutes for other famous players
Chelsea	5	Enzo (90), Cucurella (90), Chalobah (90), Sanchez (90), James (82), Neto (76)	Caicedo (90), Fofana (90), Estevao (82), Gusto (45), Delap (31)
City of Man	10	Niko (90)	Reijnders (90), Savinho (90), Trafford (90), Marmoush (65), Foden (45), O’Reilly (45), Doku (45), Haaland (25)
Newcastle	3	Guimaraes (90), Tonali (90), Barnes (90), Thiaw (90), Pope (90), Livramento (61), Murphy (61), Schar (61)	Bakar (90), Gordon (72), Hall (29), Woltemade (18)

Man City’s rotation is good for Free Hitters

In truth, there isn’t much to read into Man City’s second consecutive defeat, as Pep Guardiola made 10 changes to his line-up against Bayer Leverkusen. If you think about it, the amount is excessive.

“Too many changes. What I’m saying, I always believe in a long season, a game every two or three days, everyone has to be involved. Maybe that’s too much.” – Pep Guardiola on why this defeat happened

Like from Jeremy Doku (£6.5 million), Phil Foden (£8.0 million), Nico O’Reilly (£5.0 million), Gianluigi Donnarumma (£5.7 million), If Guard (£5.8m) and a goal machine Erling Haaland (£14.9m) started on the bench.

Down in the first half, Guardiola slotted in the first three goals, bringing Norway’s star striker into the lineup after conceding again.

This should give all managers a heads up to use Gameweek 13 Free Hits wherever possible Tijjani Reijnders (£5.4m) played 90 minutes. Their home game against promoted Leeds United is one of three straight after the FPL deadline, meaning some early team news could arrive in time.

Will Pope lose his place?

Meanwhile, it was Newcastle who beat Man City last Saturday, however, in Marseille, the Magpies proved once again that they are well traveled and cannot come from behind.

In fact, it was three straight trips where they took the lead and ended up losing – often because of a Nick Pope (£5.2m) big mistake.

This time, the keeper made a surprising decision to make a 30-yard strike on a loose ball that looked like it could never be won. Former Arsenal and Chelsea striker Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang managed to finish from a tight angle, and scored again a few minutes later.

It invalidates the form Harvey Barnes‘ (£6.3m) early opener, his fourth goal in three games.

On Tyneside, the talking point is whether Aaron Ramsdale (£4.8m) will finally get a run of games in goal. This will concern more than 1.3 million FPL bosses, but Eddie Howe has a soft spot when it comes to player loyalty.

“I think it’s a worry when we concede, regardless of who’s at fault. I think we have to look at everything with a balanced mind. He’s saved us many times. He made some good saves against Manchester City two days ago. That’s the life of a goalkeeper. But I’ll definitely back him.” – Eddie Howe on Nick Pope

Manage Woltemade minutes

Howe’s starting XI featured less rotation than expected. Only three changes from the weekend, as Bruno Guimaraes (£6.6 million), Sandro Tonali (£5.4 million) and Malick Thiaw (£4.9m) all took another 90 minutes.

Dan BurnsA suspension (£5.1m) in Gameweek 12 kept him fresh for the south of France, as the visitors opted for a full-back system.

Minutes of Lewis Hall (£5.2m) did, having just made his first league start since Gameweek 5.

It owns 19.4% of its shares Nick Woltemade (£7.4m), he started 15 consecutive games for Newcastle and Germany, making this break important. Expect him in the Gameweek 13 lineup at Everton.

Estevao fascinates Chelsea

At Stamford Bridge, Estevao (£6.5m) beat 18-year-old wonderkid Lamine Yamal by scoring a superb solo goal, the second of Chelsea’s three goals against 10-man Barcelona.

The Brazilian has scored in his last seven starts for club and country. It’s a shame this has never happened in the league – not since Gameweek 6. Cole Palmerhis return (£10.3m) in the near future would 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 whose game plan the 11 players are.” [who start].

“In probably the most difficult game of the season, Barcelona, ​​we decided to play with Estevao; I’m not a coach who doesn’t allow players to get minutes. It’s always about the game plan. Many people say we are unpredictable, but the game plan dictates the starting 11.” – Enzo Maresca in Estevao

Defending in midfield, Enzo Fernandez (£6.7m) scored at Burnley and was in fine form again here, seeing two goals disallowed but providing an assist Liam Delapstrike (£6.2m). He played all 90 minutes but is unlikely to be rotated in Sunday’s tough top-two clash with Arsenal.

Besides that, Joao Pedro (£7.5m) was an unused substitute, strongly suggesting he will start.

And now, the Blues have recorded four clean sheets in five matches. Third best at preventing shots (112) in the Premier League, only Arsenal have conceded fewer attempts on target (31).

It’s a shame they’re ranked second worst in our Fixture Ticker over the next eight Gameweeks.

---