We round up the key Fantasy Premier League (FPL) notes from Monday night’s Gameweek 7 meeting between Fulham and Chelsea.
The numbers and graphics you see in this article are taken from our Premium Members Area. Here, you can access Opta player and team data from every single Premier League fixture.
New month, a new shirt sponsor and a new passion for goals. After a global pizza brand piled in on Chelsea mockery for their lack of a September league goal, it felt inevitable that the Blues would find themselves 2-0 up by the 19th minute to end the drought.
Mykhailo Mudryk (£6.3m) scored his first-ever Chelsea goal thanks to a lofted pass from Levi Colwill (£4.5m). Then, just 20 seconds after the restart, a mistake from Tim Ream (£4.5m) allowed Armando Broja (£4.9m) to double their lead in this west London derby.
DOES STERLING GET BACK IN?
FPL interest in Chelsea has shrunk with the suspensions of Nicolas Jackson (£6.9m) and Malo Gusto (£4.2m), plus Ben Chilwell’s (£5.6m) hamstring injury. Tonight’s shock team news added to that, as Raheem Sterling (£7.1m) was reduced to substitute duties. As it turns out, he’s not been feeling well.
“There was a problem in midweek with Raheem [Sterling], he had a virus so he wasn’t able to train with us. I think that is why it is important to give Armando [Broja] the opportunity to play.” – Mauricio Pochettino
However, considering Sterling has blanked in five of his six starts, the strong performances of Mudryk and Cole Palmer (£4.9m) ask an interesting question about the England international.
He may be the Premier League player with the most penalty area touches (76) so far but Chelsea grabbed a big, much-needed win without Sterling. When Mudryk picked up a knock that forced a half-time substitution, it was Ian Maatsen (£5.2m) who entered the field. Furthermore, once Sterling did come on, he was soon booked for kicking the ball away, ensuring he ended with zero points for the 11.1% ownership.
“He felt something in his quad which we need to assess. He didn’t feel comfortable to keep playing. We hope it’s not a big issue, we hope it’s nothing big and he can be available for Saturday.” – Mauricio Pochettino on Mykhailo Mudryk’s half-time withdrawal
In such a competitive midfield market, expect the price drops to continue for Sterling. Managers activating their Wildcards ahead of Gameweek 8 have a plethora of attractive options, so blanks and line-up uncertainties will not help his cause.
DOES JACKSON GET BACK IN?
FULHAM v CHELSEA FPL LINE-UPS
Fulham XI: Leno; Castagne, Diop, Ream, Robinson; Palhinha, Reed (Cairney 65′); Wilson (Iwobi 53′), Andreas (Lukic 75′), Willian; Jimenez (Vinicius 53′)
Chelsea XI: Sanchez; Cucurella, Disasi, Silva, Colwill; Enzo (Matos 90+5′), Caicedo (Madueke 90+5′), Gallagher; Palmer (Ugochukwu 78′), Broja (Sterling 65′), Mudryk (Maatsen 46′)
