Isak’s injury + will Guiu start in Gameweek 9?

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Three other Premier League clubs are in Champions League action on Wednesday. Here, we look at how Liverpool, Chelsea and Tottenham Hotspur are faring, assessing their matches from a Fantasy Premier League (FPL) perspective.

WEDNESDAY RESULTS

Team	They will oppose	Results	Target	Help
Liverpool	Frankfurt	won 5-1	Ekitike, van Dijk, Konate, Gakpo, Szoboszlai	Robertson, Gakpo, Szoboszlai, Wirtz x2
Chelsea	Ajax (k)	won 5-1	Guiu, Caicedo, Enzo (pen), Estevao (pen), George	Fofana, Gittens, Estevao, Enzo
Tottenham	Monaco (a)	0-0 draw

SELECTION/ROTATION

Team	Changes from the GW8 starting XI	Players who retained their place (minutes played)	Minutes for other famous players
Liverpool	5	van Dijk (90), Szoboszlai (90), Mamardashvili (90), Konate (74), Group (74), Isak (45)	Wirtz (90), Robertson (90), Ekitike (74), Bradley (71), Frimpong (19), Salah (16)
Chelsea	10	Lavia (90)	Jorgensen (90), Estevao (90), Caicedo (49), Enzo (45), Guiu (45), Chalobah (45), Tosin (45)
Tottenham	3	Porro (90), Vicario (90), van de Ven (90), Danso (90), Palhinha (90), Kudus (79), Odobert (70), Bentancur (60)	Richarlison (70), Bergvall (60), Xavi (30), Johnson (20), Kolo Muani (20)

WRONG Stool

Arne Slot made five changes to a team that had just lost its fourth game in a row, of which the most prominent decision was the bench Mohamed Salah (£14.3 million). Doing this in a crucial Champions League game would have been unthinkable last season, but it confirms what most of us already knew: Salah today is not the same player as the one who broke FPL’s all-time points record last season.

After eight games, Salah has collected 36 points from two goals and two assists. In the 2024/25 season, he has already collected 74, five and five now. This is an alarming decline. In fact, he had never recorded such a low record in his previous eight seasons at Anfield.

EKITIKE STAR

Instead, Slot chooses to play Alexander Isaac (£10.5 million) and Hugo Ekiit (£8.6 million) upfront, supported by Cody Agat (£7.5 million) and Florian Wirtz (£8.1 million).

Although Liverpool fell behind, from a move that started with winning the ball from Wirtz, they rallied through Ekitiké’s breakthrough goal.

The Frenchman was superb against his former club, showing pace, finishing prowess and a mentality that showed he is used to it at Anfield.

“The first goal we scored was really special. You could see the speed in a moment like that. This was also the moment we were hoping for. As I said before the match, in the last few weeks we were able to create a lot of chances, but unfortunately we weren’t always able to score.” – Arne Slots at Hugo Ekitike

SOB INJURY

However, the same could not be said for Isak, who squandered the two chances he had and then suffered a groin injury which meant he had to be sent off in the first half.

Isak has scored one goal in 11 appearances (all competitions), making just one assist in four Premier League games.

“He had to come off because he had groin pain. A lot of people told me they wanted me to play him more and we had to find a balance and unfortunately that balance didn’t work out perfectly for us today. Let’s hope for the best.” – Arne slots on Alexander Isak

“He didn’t come back [from the international break] with injury. I said he missed it [on] pre-season and not training for a long time with the team. He came on September 1, so we had to bring him in once a week and now we are trying to bring him in twice a week, which he is doing for the national team. But he was very fit when he came back from the national team.” – Arne slots on Alexander Isak

Interestingly, when Isak was pulled out, he was replaced by Federico Chiesa (£6.4 million) compared to Salah, who only appeared in a 20-minute cameo. The move paid off, when Liverpool scored four goals in the second half.

Encouraging owner Wirtz, the playmaker produced a pair of assists for Gakpo and Dominik Szoboszlai (£6.5 million). But Liverpool will not face weak defenses in the Premier League.

ALL ONE

Arguably, the Reds’ most interesting investment at the moment is Gakpo, who is playing very well and taking several corner kicks.

Virgil van Dijk (£6.0m) scored from a set piece to put Liverpool 2-1 up, and it’s almost impossible to imagine a team without Gakpo in it at the moment. He started seven of the eight league matches, scoring goals in the last two.

Another central defender who scored a header was Ibrahima Konate (£5.4m), although van Dijk remains the more lively threat. The captain also ranked highly in defensive contribution points (DefCon).

FRIMONG INJURY

Unfortunately, there were also other setbacks Jeremie Frimpong (£5.8m), who had to come off after 19 minutes.

He joins Isak and Ryan Gravenberch (£5.7m) is on the growing injury list, as this hamstring injury looks set to keep him out of action for several weeks. One of Conor Bradley (£5.0m) get minutes at right-back, or Szoboszlai will be deployed there again.

“I hope it’s not too bad because if – if – if he’s out for a few weeks, that will set him back. So let’s wait. Jeremie had a hamstring problem. He came back from a hamstring injury a few weeks ago and played for the national team in one game, came back to us and now, unfortunately, he’s out.” – Arne slots on Jeremie Frimpong

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WILL GUIU START AT GAMEWEEK 9?

Meanwhile, at Stamford Bridge, Enzo Maresca made mass rotations against Ajax, deciding that the opponents were fragile enough that he kept only one player, Romeo Lavia (£4.9 million), from the team that beat Nottingham Forest.

The gamble paid off, as Chelsea’s young stars shone through. Marco Guiu (£4.3 million), Stephen (£6.5 million) and Tyrik George (£4.9m) – all teenagers – hit the mark Moises Caicedo (£5.9 million) and Enzo Fernandez (£6.7m) resulted in a goalscoring advantage.

With Joao Pedro (£7.5m) suspended, Guiu took advantage of his chance to score. This is more than the Brazilian has done recently, mustering just two shots – not on target – and 0.07 expected goals (xG) in four consecutive shots.

By sending off Guiu at half-time at 4-1, FPL managers can now speculate that Maresca rested the 19-year-old in preparation for the game at home to Sunderland.

If the FPL’s cheapest striker gets the nod, then a fully rested Joao Pedro could play the role of a seemingly better number 10, boosting the prospects of both.

PENA ESTEVAO

But Guiu wasn’t the only player to stand out, as there were other strong players from Estêvão.

He is now Chelsea’s youngest goalscorer in the Champions League, aged 18 years 181 days. From an FPL perspective, the Brazilian took the second penalty and sent it confidently into the top corner.

The first penalty kick had been won and scored by Enzo, but the Argentinian generously gave Estêvão the chance to take the next kick, after committing a foul.

Whether this means he will continue taking it in the future remains to be seen. And while this may make owner Joao Pedro even more nervous, he is not being ignored. He wasn’t playing around.

“Estêvão is a polite person, he is humble, he wants to learn. His family has a big job there. We are happy not only with his performance, but he is a good boy.

“I think in the Premier League he needs more time. He is very similar to Cole Palmer. I had him, the same age, with the Manchester City Under-23 team. Cole played wide and now he is inside. Now Estêvão plays wide but in the future I think he is more of an inside player.” – Enzo Maresca in Estêvão

Once again, Chelsea’s life was made easier by the sending off of Ajax captain Kenneth Taylor in the 17th minute, with the game still goalless.

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THE SHARED VICAR

Elsewhere, the goals did not flow as much as in Monaco. Spurs’ game ended 0-0, which was perhaps a relief as they struggled to overcome the Ligue 1 side.

Thomas Frank made just three changes to the team that lost at home to Aston Villa. Enter Archie Grey (£4.8 million), Lucas Bergvall (£5.4 million) and Richarlison (£6.6 million) for Djed Spence (£4.5 million), Xavi Simons (£6.9 million) and Call Mathys (£6.3 million). But things didn’t go well, they only achieved a goalless draw for the first time in 125 matches.

apart from Micky van de VenHis header (£4.7m) over the bar, all courtesy of Monaco, left Spurs indebted to a superb goalkeeping performance from William Vicar (£5.1 million). The Italian made four brilliant saves in the first half and another three later on, while former Liverpool midfielder Takumi Minamino squandered three more chances for the hosts, whose xG of 2.56 dwarfed Spurs’ 0.85.

“I thought he was really good today. I thought some of his saves were great tonight, and that was a big part of the reason we got a hard-fought point, but at the end of the day, it could have been a crucial point.” – Thomas Frank on Guglielmo Vicario’s display

MUANI GLIMPSE/OBERT WIRE INJURY

On the positive side, Spurs fans can see a little Creation of Redican (£6.9m), who has been mostly injured since arriving from Paris Saint-Germain. He appeared lively during his 20-minute runout.

“Kolo Muani, who we believe can make a difference, I thought he looked positive when he came on, but he had that injury, so of course there are some of them, no complaints, that’s how it is. My job is to make the most of the players available.” – Thomas Frank

On the downside, it seems Wilson Odobert (£5.3m) suffered an injury, although Frank was unsure of the severity.

“We replaced it because there was pain, but I don’t know the consequences.” – Thomas Frank on Wilson Odobert’s injury

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