Fantasy Football Scout

Check out our predicted XIs for the Fantasy Premier League (FPL) Gameweek 5 clash between Tottenham Hotspur and Brentford.

The match at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium kicks off at 15:00 BST on Saturday 21 September.

RECENT FORM

Over the last six Gameweeks, these are both sides’ best players for expected goal involvement (xGI):

PREDICTED FPL GAMEWEEK 5 LINE-UPS

More in-depth team news is available here.

TOTTENHAM

BRENTFORD

Tottenham Hotspur host Arsenal on Sunday in the first north London derby of the season.

Kick-off is at 14:00 BST.

Ange Postecoglou makes four changes to his Spurs starting XI, with Dominic Solanke back fit to lead the line.

Micky van de Ven, Rodrigo Bentancur and Brennan Johnson also come into the side.

Radu Dragusin, Pape Sarr and Wilson Odobert drop to the bench, but Yves Bissouma misses out after returning from international duty with a minor injury.

As for Arsenal, Mikel Arteta is without the suspended Declan Rice and Martin Odegaard, who picked up an ankle injury playing for Norway.

Jorginho and Gabriel Martinelli replace them.

New signing Raheem Sterling is named among the substitutes, as is Gabriel Jesus.

LINE-UPS

Tottenham Hotspur XI: Vicario, Porro, Romero, van de Ven, Udogie, Bentancur, Kulusevski, Maddison, Johnson, Son, Solanke

Subs: Forster, Spence, Davies, Dragusin, Gray, Sarr, Bergvall, Odobert, Werner

Arsenal XI: Raya, White, Saliba, Gabriel, Timber, Jorginho, Partey, Saka, Havertz, Martinelli, Trossard

Subs: Neto, Kiwior, Kacurri, Heaven, Lewis-Skelly, Sterling, Nwaneri, Jesus, Kabia

Alongside team form, check out our predicted XIs for the Fantasy Premier League (FPL) Gameweek 4 clash between Tottenham Hotspur and Arsenal.

The match at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium kicks off at 14:00 GMT on Sunday 15 August.

RECENT FORM

Over the last six Gameweeks, these are both sides’ best players for expected goal involvement (xGI):

PREDICTED FPL GAMEWEEK 4 LINE-UPS

TOTTENHAM

ARSENAL

See our Team News tab for more details

It’s derby time! With the north London derby on Sunday, Spurs fan Sam from FPLFamily previews the match and explains what it might mean for FPL.

Obviously I am hoping for a huge Spurs win this Sunday – it’s the hope that kills you, right? But before I don my uniform (the new home shirt) and prepare for battle, there are the implications on FPL to consider.

And if you know your history…

Historically home advantage has played a big part in the result of the north London derby.

Spurs have won five of the last nine Premier League matches at home. There have been two draws in that time with Arsenal winning twice, including a win last season where Spurs were unlucky not to salvage the draw, especially when Micky van de Ven‘s (£4.5m) late goal was judged to be offside.

Above: North London derbies at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium (and Old White Hart Lane)

The last few seasons have seen some standout FPL picks in these fixtures. Bukayo Saka (£10.1m) returned 25 points against Spurs across both games last season. This was more than he returned against any other club. Kai Havertz (£8.1m) also enjoyed his last visit to the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium with a goal and an assist in the 2-3 victory.

Likewise, Spurs captain Son Heung-min (£10.0m) has registered three goals and an assist in the last four matches between these sides at Spurs. This rises to six goals and an assist in home and away fixtures in the last three seasons. Of course, the now-departed Harry Kane’s legacy in north London derbies will always be remembered fondly by Spurs fans.

Current state of play

Arsenal

Arsenal have started the 2024/25 campaign with two wins and a draw. Meanwhile Spurs have recorded a win, a draw and a defeat. Although they, like I am, will still be wondering how they haven’t won all three of their opening fixtures!

Saka and Havertz have begun the season in excellent form. Havertz has registered two goals and an assist in the opening three fixtures, picking up 22 points. Meanwhile, Saka has returned in all three Premier League matches so far. The Englishman has a goal and three assists to his name and is currently averaging eight points- per match. His 24 points is the fourth-best tally by a midfielder over the opening weeks.

However, Saka is also the most highly sold Arsenal asset heading into the weekend. The Gunners have back-to-back away matches against Spurs and then Manchester City. Mostly as a result of that, over 330,000 managers have offloaded him; he is currently the most-sold midfielder in the game. Over 105,000 of those sellers have moved the midfielder on in favour of Mohamed Salah (£12.7).

The defence have also started the season well with two clean sheets in the opening three. They were looking comfortable defensively until Declan Rice‘s (£6.4m) red card against Brighton and Hove Albion. Were it not for that, they looked set to join Liverpool on three consecutive clean sheets.

Injuries

Martin Odegaard (£8.4m) picked up an ankle injury on international duty for Norway on Monday evening. Pictures of him boarding a private jet back to the UK on crutches have sparked fear.

As such, he is currently the most transferred-out player since the injury. Over 214,000 managers have sold the Arsenal captain since the Gameweek 3 deadline passed. This is ahead of word from Arsenal over the seriousness of the injury and his availability for the weekend.

Odegaard has been vital to Arsenal since the start of last season and would be a big loss to the Gunners.

Above: Odegaard stats since the start of the 2023/24 season

One player we do know will definitely be missing for Arsenal is Rice. The Englishman picked up his first ever Premier League red card in Gameweek 3 and is now suspended for the derby at the weekend. If Odegaard does miss out alongside Rice, this will have ramifications for both Arsenal and FPL managers. It could mean that we see Havertz drop back into midfield, which would displease the 18% of managers who are enjoying owning Havertz as the Arsenal number nine. It could also see Raheem Sterling (£6.8m) get his first start for Arsenal since his summer move from Chelsea.

For the home team, Dominic Solanke (£7.5m) and Van de Ven are expected to be available for Postecoglou to select this weekend. This will be music to the ears of both FPL managers and Spurs fans alike. Just under 8% of managers have held Solanke throughout his injury and will have been disappointed to see him miss out in the last two matches.

Spurs

Spurs have created 36 chances so far this season but with Solanke missing the last two games, they have been wasteful in front of goal.

Spurs are also tied second for attempts on goal this season (48) but their goal conversion rate is down at just 12.5%. Spurs have scored on six occasions but four of those came against Everton in Gameweek 2.

Spurs have also boasted one of the best defences in terms of shots conceded. However, they have still proved leaky with against-the-run-of-play goals against both Newcastle and Leicester.

The positive thing for managers who own one of the Spurs defenders is that we have already had attacking returns for van de Ven, Cristian Romero (£5.0m) and Pedro Porro (£5.5m) this season. This means that even if the clean sheet goes, which always looks likely, there’s always an opportunity for an attacking return with their style of play.

Bench? Hold? Sell?

Many managers may find themselves invested on both sides of north London. When that happens it is difficult to decide what to do with assets. Do you play them against each other? Do you play some and bench others? Or do you look to offload some to remove the headache all together?

The Gunners have six players who are currently owned by over 10% of managers.

Meanwhile, Spurs have just one in Porro.

Both sides are scoring goals, so if you have an attacking player from either side, I’d still be in favour of playing them. The defenders are more contentious. With Porro, Gabriel Magalhaes (£6.0m) and Ben White‘s (£6.5m) attacking threat, I would start them. I personally will be starting Porro on Sunday.

My Arsenal defender is William Saliba (£6.0m). The Frenchman has less of an attacking threat and therefore if the clean sheet goes, he will likely register just two points. So, I will have a decision to make as to whether I start him over Antonee Robinson (£4.6m), who is at home to West Ham United this weekend.

Generally speaking, my view on premium players is that they are in your squad to be played. It feels wrong to bench Saliba, even against my own team, in a game I back us to score in.

I will be playing Saka and Porro and would also be starting the likes of Havertz and Solanke (unless he is ruled out) if I had them. Whilst I understand that it is a desire for the likes of Salah and Erling Haaland (£15.2m) that are driving managers to sell Saka and Havertz, I do think they could punish sellers this weekend.

Three Premier League games take place on Sunday with a double-header up first at 13:30 BST. Chelsea host Crystal Palace in west London, while Newcastle United meet Tottenham Hotspur at St James’ Park.

Enzo Maresca makes just one change from the 6-2 win over Wolverhampton Wanderers, with Pedro Neto handed his first Premier League start for the club.

He gets the nod over Mykhailo Mudryk, who drops to the bench.

Noni Madueke keeps his place in the starting XI.

Oliver Glasner makes three changes to his side, with Nathaniel Clyne, Will Hughes and Daichi Kamada drafted in to replace Chadi Riad, Jefferson Lerma and Odsonne Edouard.

Newcastle make just one alteration from Gameweek 2, as Harvey Barnes comes in for Jacob Murphy.

Tino Livramento and Lloyd Kelly continue in the full-back spots, keeping Kieran Trippier and Lewis Hall on the bench.

Micky van de Ven is not in the Tottenham squad this afternoon. He is replaced by Radu Dragusin.

The only other change from the 4-0 win over Everton is Pape Sarr coming in for Brennan Johnson.

Spurs are without Dominic Solanke and Richarlison, so Son Heung-min will start up front again.

LINE-UPS

Chelsea XI: Sanchez, Gusto, Fofana, Colwill, Cucurella, Caicedo, Enzo, Madueke, Palmer, Neto, Jackson

Subs: Jorgensen, Disasi, Tosin, Mudryk, Felix, Nkunku, Dewsbury-Hall, Casadei, Veiga

Crystal Palace XI: Henderson, Clyne, Guehi, Richards, Munoz, Wharton, Hughes, Mitchell, Kamada, Eze, Mateta

Subs: Matthews, Ward, Sarr, Schlupp, Doucoure, Rodney, Umeh, Devenny, Agbinone

Newcastle United XI: Pope, Livramento, Krafth, Burn, Kelly, B Guimaraes, Longstaff, Joelinton, Gordon, Barnes, Isak

Subs: Dubravka, Trippier, A Murphy, Targett, Osula, Hall, Tonali, J Murphy, Almiron

Tottenham Hotspur XI: Vicario, Porro, Romero, Dragusin, Udogie, Bissouma, Sarr, Maddison, Kulusevski, Odobert, Son

Subs: Forster, Davies, Bentancur, Spence, Devine, Bergvall, Gray, Johnson, Werner

Gameweek 1 of Fantasy Premier League (FPL) concludes this evening at the King Power Stadium.

Kick-off for Leicester City and Tottenham Hotspur is at 20:00 BST.

The Monday night game is a tale of two strikers: one making his Spurs debut, the other back from injury to bolster Leicester’s goal-shy frontline.

The Foxes didn’t score in any of their last three pre-season friendlies but they were without Jamie Vardy for all of them.

He returns to the squad this evening and is a surprise starter – but a surprise only if you take Steve Cooper’s team news at face value.

Summer recruits Bobby Decordova–Reid and Facundo Buonanotte make their competitive Leicester debuts.

And making his Spurs bow is £65m signing Dominic Solanke.

He leads the line for the Lilywhites but it is Dejan Kulusevski, who has looked good in pre-season, and not Brennan Johnson who makes way to accommodate him.

Spurs are pretty much at full strength, although Yves Bissouma is not considered for selection tonight after his off-the-field antics.

Richarlison is among the substitutes after recovering from injury.

Leicester’s backline contains £4.0m defenders Wout Faes and Jannik Vestergaard. Harry Winks, Fantasy Premier League’s most-owned £4.5m midfielder by some distance, faces his former club.

LINE-UPS

Leicester City XI: Hermansen, Kristiansen, Faes, Vestergaard, Justin, Winks, Ndidi, Buonanotte, Decordova-Reid, Fatawu, Vardy.

Subs: Ward, Ricardo, Nelson, Choudhury, Soumare, McAteer, Mavididi, Cannon, Okoli.

Tottenham Hotspur XI: Vicario, Porro, Romero, Van de Ven, Udogie, Bentancur, Maddison, Sarr, Johnson, Solanke, Son.

Subs: Dragusin; Richarlison, Gray, Bergvall, Werner, Spence, Kulusevski, Davies, Austin.

Are there any team news shocks awaiting us in the pre-match press conferences for Gameweek 1?

The first pressers for 2024/25 got underway on Wednesday, with Marco Silva facing reporters.

Seven more Premier League bosses fulfil their media duties on Thursday, including Ange Postecoglou and Erik ten Hag.

And we’ll be bringing you the latest key quotes and injury updates in the ‘live’ article below. Quotes will be gradually added as and when they become available.

The other dozen top-flight managers look set to hold press conferences on Friday. For the latest on their clubs, there’s our team news summary from earlier this week.

GAMEWEEK 1 TEAM NEWS: WEDNESDAY + THURSDAY UPDATES

Tottenham Hotspur: Fully fit squad, Bissouma suspended, Ange on Solanke

Brighton and Hove Albion: Estupinan, Lamptey + Ferguson back in training

Manchester United: Mazraoui and de Ligt in the squad, Shaw out

Everton: Branthwaite among five set to miss out

West Ham United: Late decision to be made on Wan-Bissaka, no injury issues reported

Nottingham Forest: No “big” issues reported by Nuno

Southampton: Kamaldeen, Stewart + Lallana all getting closer

Fulham: No known fitness concerns for the Cottagers

THURSDAY’S PRESS CONFERENCE TIMES

TOTTENHAM HOTSPUR

Ange Postecoglou says that Spurs have virtually a fully fit squad for Monday’s game.

That includes Richarlison (calf) and Fraser Forster (foot), who haven’t played any part in pre-season friendlies.

“Knock on wood – at the moment, everyone’s training. Obviously guys like Richy and Fraser, they have been the last two into the training group. They have had a good week of training but no game time. They are training, which is the main thing, and everyone else seems to be in good condition.” – Ange Postecoglou, speaking to club media

“Richie is good. Obviously, he hasn’t played at all so that’s match minutes – we’re going to have to try and get that into him over the next few weeks. But he’s trained fully, he doesn’t feel any effects of the injury, which is really positive for us.” – Ange Postecoglou, speaking in his press conference

Postecoglou did confirm, however, that the Lilywhites have suspended Yves Bissouma for the clash with Leicester. This came after footage emerged of the midfielder appearing to inhale laughing gas.

“He won’t be available for Monday. We have suspended him for Monday’s game. Beyond that, there is also some trust-building that needs to happen between Biss and me, and Biss and the group.” – Ange Postecoglou

As for Dominic Solanke, the question we Fantasy managers want an answer to is if he’s ready to start against the Foxes.

Postecoglou was asked that question, not quite giving an unequivocal response.

“Thankfully, it’s what we expected. He’s a top pro, a good guy, has settled into the dressing room really well. Footballing-wise, you can see that he has the attributes that fit into what we’re trying to do.

“There’s still an adjustment period there, obviously, because we play a little bit differently, we train differently. We’ve seen that with every new signing that comes in.

“So far he’s fitted in really well with the group and with training. We’ve still got a couple of sessions to go but so far, so good.

“Yeah he should be [good to go on Monday].” – Ange Postecoglou on Dominic Solanke

BRIGHTON AND HOVE ALBION

Look away now, Valentin Barco owners: as well as the Seagulls potentially moving for Ferdi Kadioglu, they also have Pervis Estupinan (ankle) back in training.

The last we heard from Roberto De Zerbi, the Ecuadorian left-back wasn’t expected to be fit until the autumn. That was also the case with Evan Ferguson (ankle) but both players are now back on the grass, if still a doubt for Gameweek 1.

Tariq Lamptey, who hasn’t featured since the pre-season friendly against Kashima Antlers three weeks ago, is also in training.

“There are quite a few players who came back this week. I can’t say if they’re already ready for the first game at Everton.

“Pervis is back on the pitch, Tariq is back on the pitch, Ferguson will be back on the pitch. So it’s great news but I’m not sure if they’re ready for the first match.” – Fabian Hurzeler

Solly March (knee), who like Estupinan and Ferguson has been out since last season, remains sidelined.

A brand-new signing, attacking midfielder Brajan Gruda, could be involved at Goodison Park, however.

“He took part in the pre-season at Mainz so he is completely in training. Let’s see if he’s ready for Everton because in the end, he’s also a young player. It’s a new land here, everything is like a little bit stressful for him so we have to take care of him but I will have a talk with him and if he feels ready, I’m also [ready].” – Fabian Hurzeler

There was no fresh update on Bart Verbruggen or Julio Enciso, however.

It was confirmed in mid-July that Verbruggen had suffered an unspecified injury and would be a doubt for the start of the campaign.

Enciso suffered a knee injury while playing for Paraguay at the Olympics at the beginning of August. He was only expected to be out for a couple of weeks, with Hurzeler confirming last weekend that he wouldn’t be sidelined for much longer.

No one involved in the final friendly against Villarreal is a concern.

“I think that the squad who played against Villarreal, all of them should be ready for Everton.” – Fabian Hurzeler

MANCHESTER UNITED

Matthijs de Ligt and Noussair Mazraoui could be set to make their debuts in Friday’s clash with Fulham.

Erik ten Hag said in his pre-match presser that Manchester United’s two new signings will be available for the Premier League curtain-raiser.

“They will be in the squad.” – Erik ten Hag on whether his two new defensive recruits will be ready to start on Friday

The Dutchman also confirmed that Harry Maguire is fit to feature despite picking up a knock last weekend.

Luke Shaw (calf) was added to the injury list earlier this week and looks set to remain out until after the September international break.

“I think he will return in the short term, it doesn’t take long. We are looking forward [to him recovering], of course, Luke Shaw is a very important player for our team.

“He is massively important so we want to get him back as soon as possible but we can’t force this process.” – Erik ten Hag on Luke Shaw

United have three other players red-flagged.

New signing Leny Yoro will be sidelined for three months after he sustained a foot injury in the pre-season friendly against Arsenal. He later underwent surgery.

Rasmus Hojlund suffered a hamstring injury in that same game in late July, subsequently being ruled out for six weeks.

Tyrell Malacia will also remain absent for the first two months of 2024/25 as he recovers from a long-term knee issue.

EVERTON

Everton look set to be without several players in Gameweek 1.

Jarrad Branthwaite is still recovering from groin surgery, while Seamus Coleman suffered a calf injury in the final pre-season friendly against Roma.

Meanwhile, James Garner (calf) hasn’t featured since late July Nathan Patterson (hamstring) hasn’t been seen since April, and Youssef Chermiti (foot) will miss the start of the season.

“They’re a little bit behind. There’s Seamus as well. Jimmy Garner was unfortunate, not too serious. Should be joining pretty soon. Patto is making good progress.

“Youssef, he had a minor operation but that’s going to be weeks rather than days.

“They’re making good progress but they’re not there yet.” – Sean Dyche when asked about Jarrad Branthwaite and other injury concerns

Michael Keane has returned to training this week and is fit.

WEST HAM UNITED

Julen Lopetegui will make a late decision on whether midweek signing Aaron Wan-Bissaka will feature against Aston Villa.

“Let’s see, it’s tomorrow we are going to have this answer. He has played in pre-season with Manchester United enough minutes… but it’s true that his first training session was yesterday. We will see tomorrow.” – Julen Lopetegui on Aaron Wan-Bissaka’s prospects of featuring in Gameweek 1

Lopetegui added that there was “no bad news” on the injury front. Whether that includes Edson Alvarez is doubtful.

The club website, indeed, states that there is “potentially only Edson Álvarez absent after the Mexico captain suffered a hamstring injury while in action for his country at the Copa América”.

NOTTINGHAM FOREST

Never the most open with sharing information on injuries, Nuno Espirito Santo gave a vaguely positive response to the season’s opening team news question.

“We always have issues but no, not big ones, fortunately. We are okay.” – Nuno Espirito Santo

As it happens, we weren’t aware of any injury issues affecting Forest after pre-season.

Taiwo Awoniyi marked his return to fitness with substitute appearances in the Tricky Trees’ latest two friendlies.

SOUTHAMPTON

Russell Martin almost has a fully fit squad for the trip to Tyneside.

Kamaldeen Sulemana (ankle), who was ruled out for three to four weeks with an ankle injury at the beginning of August, is close to recovery.

So too are Adam Lallana and Ross Stewart, who didn’t get any pre-season minutes. Lallana hasn’t featured since joining the club, while Stewart has been blighted by injury for the last two seasons.

“Kamaldeen is nearly fit, Ross Stewart is nearly in contention and Adam Lallana is nearly back, so the squad is in a good way.” – Russell Martin

Juan Larios has recently featured for the under-21s after his own lengthy spell on the sidelines.

FULHAM

Team news was in short supply in Marco Silva’s press conference.

Despite the broadcast section of the presser lasting half an hour, there were no questions asked about injuries.

Dominic Solanke’s arrival at Tottenham Hotspur was confirmed on Saturday, for a fee that could rise to £65m depending on add-ons.

Priced up at £7.5m by Fantasy Premier League (FPL) upon the game’s relaunch earlier this summer, the 26-year-old is in contention to feature in Spurs’ Premier League opener against Leicester City.

We run the rule over Solanke in this Moving Target piece, where we have included data and images from our Premium Members Area and StatsBomb, with whom we are partnering for 2024/25.

SOLANKE TO SPURS: IN QUOTES

“We identified him because he has the attributes we are looking for in terms of that position. He gives us some things we probably have been missing in the last 12 months, particularly when Richy [Richarlison] was out last year.

“When Richy played he was very effective for us but it was quite evident when he was out we didn’t really have a player who can make the impact that I know Dom can in the final third and just with his general play. So I think he will be a good fit for us.” – Ange Postecoglou

“Me as a player, I’m ambitious on the pitch, I work hard for the team, score goals, leave it all out there and love winning, so hopefully we can win a few things together. That’s what I’m going to bring, that fighting spirit. I’d say my attributes are movement, goals, hard work and link-up play, so hopefully I can bring all that together at Tottenham.” – Dominic Solanke

SOLANKE: FPL HISTORY

After an indifferent spell at Liverpool, Solanke joined Bournemouth in January 2019.

Signed by Eddie Howe for £19m, he initially struggled to score goals, finding the net just three times in his first 42 Premier League appearances for the club.

He blitzed the Championship in 2021/22, racking up 29 goals, but could only follow that up with six upon his return to the top-flight.

However, he went from strength to strength under Andoni Iraola last season. Coached to stay central and remain higher up the pitch, Solanke scored 19 goals to finish joint-fourth in the race for the Golden Boot.

Above: The leading FPL forwards for goals in 2023/24

Solanke achieved 22 attacking returns overall, while his 175 points ensured he was the third-highest FPL points-scoring forward – an excellent achievement given that he was playing for a bottom-half club.

WHERE DOES SOLANKE FIT IN AT SPURS?

This one is straightforward, simply because Solanke is a pure centre-forward.

Tottenham now have two main options in this position, with Richarlison (£7.0m) set to compete with Solanke for a starting berth.

The Brazilian did a good job of leading the line for Spurs last season, scoring in eight successive winter games, but Solanke is more technically adept for the role and should do a better job.

Dejan Kulusevski (£6.5m) has had a fantastic pre-season playing in the number nine role for Spurs, but he should move to the right or central midfield.

“No, I don’t think [we’ll use Kulusevski there again]. The good thing about Deki is that he can play attacking midfield and out wide. I think the reason why we signed Dom, and hopefully Richy should be ready as well, is that we want to have a player through that area who is a bit more accustomed to that role.

“Deki has done a great job for us but I think his strengths and attributes are more in that attacking midfield or wide role. I think he is really developing and has had a really strong pre-season for us and hopefully, it gives us some more flexibility and potency through the midfield when he is playing because he can get into those scoring areas.” – Ange Postecoglou

… AND WILL HE START IN GAMEWEEK 1?

Every Premier League club bar Arsenal is involved in a pre-season friendly this weekend – and we’ll be covering them all, as usual, in our regular Scout Notes round-ups.

We begin with the two matches on Friday night and the first three to take place on Saturday.

Tottenham Hotspur 1-2 Bayern Munich

Goal: Porro

Assist: Bissouma

Spurs’ pre-season tour of Asia ended without Richarlison (£7.0m) or Destiny Udogie (£5.0m) kicking a ball.

Both players made the trip to the Far East, with Ange Postecoglou previously saying that Udogie could feature against Bayern. He didn’t, and neither did Richarlison.

Dejan Kulusevski (£6.5m) led the line again for the Lilywhites, although that looks like a temporary fix while striking reinforcements are sourced. Dominic Solanke (£7.5m) is among the names linked with the club.

Djed Spence (£4.5m) may save Postecoglou the bother of recruiting any more full-backs, however. He’s featured on both flanks in pre-season, here operating down the left in Udogie’s absence. He didn’t look entirely comfortable but then neither did the rest of the Spurs backline, who were dominated by Bayern in the opening half especially. Just as much space was afforded down Pedro Porro‘s (£5.5m) side.

The Spurs boss has said some complimentary things about Spence recently. With Messrs Royal and Reguilon possibly heading out the door, plus Ben Davies (£4.5m) not convincing as an ‘inverted full-back’, there may yet be a future for him in north London. For us FPL managers, the prospect of a £4.5m attack-minded defender being only an injury away from starts is an intriguing one.

Back to the action in stifling Seoul and the effects of Ange’s Boot Camp seemed to have a say. Even the Spurs boss himself admitted that fatigue was a factor.

“I thought it was a tough game for us. Fair to say the players are feeling the effects of us working hard for the last 10 days here and we didn’t look really sharp, particularly in that first half and we had to work hard but the players, I think for us, what’s important is I think we’ll get enormous benefit out of the camp we’ve had here and I think we paid a price a little bit tonight for the work we’ve done.” – Ange Postecoglou

Spurs only had two shots in the first half, with more of a fight raised after the interval. The typically forward-thinking Porro netted from distance and set up a great Lucas Bergvall (£4.5m) chance. Son Heung-min (£10.0m) also teed up Pape Matar Sarr (£5.0m) for a gilt-edged opportunity.

The teenage Bergvall again outperformed James Maddison (£7.5m). How long before he gets the nod for real? Maybe not in Gameweek 1, maybe not at all. But if Maddison continues the middling form that has dogged him in 2024, the odds will get shorter.

Tottenham Hotspur XI: Vicario (Austin 75), Pedro Porro (Abbott 79), Dragusin (Bissouma 46), Davies (Skipp 64), Spence (Donley 64), Sarr (Devine 64), Gray (Royal 46), Maddison (Bergvall 46), Kulusevski (Lankshear 75), Son (Werner 75), Johnson (Moore 75).

Yokohama F Marinos 2-0 Newcastle United

Also struggling in the heat of East Asia were Newcastle, who tasted defeat – like Spurs, deservedly – for the first time in pre-season.

This match marked the first summer friendly appearances of Bruno Guimaraes (£6.5m), Lloyd Kelly (£4.5m) and Fabian Schar (£5.5m). FPL managers who own Dan Burn (£4.5m) will be watching Kelly’s progress carefully, although the money would still be on Burn starting in Gameweek 1 at this stage.

Anthony Gordon (£7.5m) and Kieran Trippier (£6.0m), the last men back from international duty, will be reunited with their teammates this week.

Joe Willock (£5.0m) wasn’t risked as a precaution, while Callum Wilson (£7.0m) was again absent. As reported previously, he’s a major doubt for Gameweek 1.

There’ll have been concerns that the Magpies would be two strikers down when Alexander Isak (£8.5m) hurt his shoulder in the first half of Saturday’s match. He seems to have avoided serious injury, however, despite being taken off at half-time.

“No, that was scheduled for him. Of course, he went over on his shoulder early in the game, it was sore but he was fine to carry on. We don’t envisage any problems but of course, we need to check out the mechanism and how his shoulder is but I think he looks OK.” – Eddie Howe on Alexander Isak’s half-time withdrawal

The return of Bruno was a consolation. The Brazilian tempo-setter was at the heart of many of Newcastle’s first-half chances, playing some cute balls over the top for Isak to run onto. Hanging on to those two will be as celebrated as any other new arrival.

Isak teed Sean Longstaff (£5.0m) up from one of those chances, being denied himself on another occasion.

The kids and the second string were mostly on the field in the second half, to provide some mitigation for this loss.

Newcastle United XI: Vlachodimos (Pope 46), Livramento (Ashby 46), Schar (Krafth 46), Kelly (Burn 46), Hall (Lewis 64), Longstaff, Joelinton (A. Harrison 64), Guimaraes (Sanusi 46 (Turner-Cooke 88)), Barnes (J. Murphy 46), Almiron, Isak (Parkinson 46).

Ipswich Town 1-0 Hoffenheim

Goal: Taylor

Assist: Hutchinson

Liam Delap (£5.5m) may have a clear run at the striker’s role for Ipswich, depending on the results of a scan on George Hirst‘s (£5.5m) knee.

Hirst missed this win over Hoffenheim, with Delap starting and lasting an hour. Freddie Ladapo (£4.5m), getting more minutes than he would have expected due to the shortage of numbers, provided second-half relief.

“George has got an issue, a knock from the game last weekend. He’s not been with us this week, he’s seeing some specialists and we can’t update on the definite timeline yet. We will do as soon as we can.” – Kieran McKenna

The starting XI on show was largely what you’d expect come Gameweek 1. One of the possible exceptions, central midfielder Jack Taylor (£5.0m), grabbed the only goal of the game. He was on hand to lash home when a corner was worked short and fortuitously ran into his path. Peripheral in the second tier, his impressive pre-season may be rewarded with an opening-day start.

Omari Hutchinson (£5.5m) grabbed the assist for that goal. The £20m winger, who ended last season in such good form, was getting his first minutes of the summer here.

Leif Davis (£4.5m) was again high up the pitch, as well as on his usual set pieces. No deviation from the Championship template, then. In fact, new signing Conor Townsend (£4.0m) played the exact same advanced role when being introduced for his Town debut.

The Tractor Boys impressed, with Ari Muric (£4.5m) looking the part between the posts. He averaged 4.7 points per match in his 10 starts for Burnley in 2023/24; not an average you’re likely to see sustained over the season but Rate My Team (RMT) does like him as the stand-out £4.5m goalkeeping pick for the first quarter of 2024/25.

Ipswich Town XI: Muric (Walton 76), Johnson (Tuanzebe 46), Woolfenden (Edmundson 46), Greaves (Burgess 46), Davis (Townsend 62), Morsy (Luongo 46), Taylor (Carr 74), Harness (Ayinde 84), Chaplin (Foyo 84), Hutchinson (Burns 46), Delap (Ladapo 62).

Benfica 0-1 Fulham

Goal: Iwobi

Assist: Robinson

One of the most attacking FPL defenders available at £4.5m is Antonee Robinson, who contributed six assists last season.

He set up another strike in Fulham’s win over Benfica on Friday, teeing up Alex Iwobi (£5.5m) for the game’s only goal. Robinson was even more advanced in this game, offering the width that winger Adama Traore (£5.0m) was proving on the other flank. His run for Iwobi’s opener was encouragingly gung-ho:

Given the opening fixtures that the Cottagers have, Robinson should have a few suitors at that price.

With Iwobi (drifting infield) and Robinson working well in tandem, and Andreas Pereira (£5.5m) to be added to the mix, the question is now over where new boy Emile Smith Rowe (£5.5m) fits in. It might be on the left, with the versatile Iwobi switching flanks, but Adama has looked more like his old Wolves self this summer. The next magic trick for Marco Silva is adding attacking returns to Iwobi and Adama’s games, two individuals who have often struggled for end product.

“In some moments last season, we needed someone to play with Andreas or Alex in those [central] areas of the pitch. Can play there, can play out wide as well on the left hand side.” – Marco Silva on Emile Smith Rowe

Rodrigo Muniz (£6.0m) couldn’t get on the scoresheet but had a few sights of goal and linked play well.

The Fulham goal led a charmed life, with an unlikely clean sheet arriving thanks to Bernd Leno (£5.0m) heroics, woodwork strikes and off-the-line clearances.

Fulham XI: Leno; Tete (Castagne 73), Diop, Bassey, Robinson (Sessegnon 74); Lukić (Reed 74), King (Andreas 60), Cairney (Pajaziti 79); Adama (Wilson 74), Muniz (Raúl 73), Iwobi (Godo 79).

Nottingham Forest 0-0 Villarreal

Taiwo Awoniyi (£6.0m) got his first minutes of pre-season, appearing as a late substitute in Friday’s stalemate at the City Ground.

A few spurned sighters betrayed his rustiness, and Chris Wood (£6.0m) still looks very likely to start come Gameweek 1.

“We are taking care of him. He needs time. He started working with us for one week. He needs time. We know his quality, but his fitness level must increase. It is normal that we still see players struggling, in terms of fitness, but we still have two weeks to get them really well to face Bournemouth. This is what it is all about – preparation for the first game of the league.” – Nuno Espirito Santo on Taiwo Awoniyi

Wood himself missed last week’s defeat to Elche due to “load management” but was back in the starting XI here, lasting over an hour. He was denied a stunning goal when his volley was turned over.

Forest look like a bit of an ‘almost’ team under Nuno. Almost defensively sound, especially after the signing of new centre-half Nikola Milenkovic (£4.5m), but still prone to errors like the one Murillo (£4.5m) gave away for Villarreal’s missed penalty. And almost exciting in attack, but just missing that elite edge.

The Gameweek 1 line-up almost looks settled, at least, save for perhaps Elliot Anderson (£5.0m) gatecrashing the midfield party.

Son Heung-min (£10.0m), Dejan Kulusevski (£6.5m) and Alexander Isak (£8.5m) were all on the scoresheet on Wednesday, with three more pre-season friendlies summarised here.

There’ll be another round-up later today, taking in the action from the early Thursday morning matches.

TEAM K LEAGUE 3-4 TOTTENHAM HOTSPUR

Goals: Dejan Kulusevski, Son Heung-min x2, Will Lankshear

Assists: Son Heung-min, Jamie Donley, Dejan Kulusevski, Timo Werner

Tottenham Hotspur won their fourth pre-season match in a row, as they beat the best players from South Korea’s top-flight 4-3 in Seoul.

Kulusevski, who started the game as Spurs’ centre-forward, opened the scoring before Son made his mark with a first-half brace. Both players looked sharp, often interchanging positions, albeit against weaker opposition.

Asked if Kulusevski could play as a number nine next season, Ange Postecoglou said:

“Well, look it’s the beauty of Deki [Kulusevski] is that he can play a number of positions. I mean, he mainly played on the wing for us last year but also had some games in central areas and I think he’s been really good this pre-season. With Richy [Richarlison] being injured we don’t really have another number nine there and he’s done a really good job for us.

“He’s a clever footballer, you know, he was involved in the goals tonight, apart from scoring and, yeah, he’s doing really well and, you know, for us, the fact that he can play two or three positions I think is, is going to be important.” – Ange Postecoglou on Dejan Kulusevski

In typical Tottenham style, there were quite a few shaky moments, however, with Spurs looking particularly vulnerable to counter-attacks after the break, conceding three.

That said, there were plenty of positives, not limited to Son and Kulusevski’s displays.

Pedro Porro (£5.5m) looked lively in an attacking full-back role, substitute James Maddison (£7.5m) hit the post in injury time, while Radu Dragusin (£4.5m) made his first appearance of pre-season after recently returning from his summer break.

Postecoglou also said he expects Destiny Udogie (£5.0m) to be back involved with the squad soon.

“I think he will be fine. It was just a knock. I think the important thing is everyone should have got through the game okay so it’s more minutes for the lads. It was good to get Radu some minutes as well. Hopefully Destiny comes back into it in the next few days.” – Ange Postecoglou

Tottenham Hotspur XI: Vicario (Austin 46); Porro (Spence 63), Royal (Dragusin 72), Davies (Devine 63), Donley (Abbott 63); Sarr (Skipp 46), Gray (Bissouma 46), Bergvall (Maddison 46); Johnson (Moore 63), Son (Werner 63), Kulusevski (Lankshear 63)

URAWA RED DIAMONDS 1-4 NEWCASTLE UNITED

Goals: Alexander Isak, Jacob Murphy x2, Lewis Hall

Assists: Joe Willock, Jamie Miley, Jacob Murphy

Alexander Isak scored his third goal in three pre-season games, as Newcastle United beat Urawa Red Diamonds 4-1 in Japan.

Isak’s shot from distance gave the Magpies an early lead, with his FPL ownership now up past 55%, making him the most-owned player in the game.

Given the summer off (Sweden did not qualify for Euro ’24), he looks physically sharp and ready to go.

“I thought he was very, very good tonight. He was electric, looked like he was hungry for goals. I think his game can go up [another level]. I think there are areas to improve. We’ll always find those percentages to try and add to his game. We work continuously with him, in partnership with him, really.

“We’ve got a really good relationship with him. We’re trying to find new ways to score more goals, or help the team in different ways. Really pleased with his application today.” – Eddie Howe on Alexander Isak

Jacob Murphy (£5.5m) also netted twice to continue his solid pre-season form, while a deflected Lewis Hall (£4.5m) effort later found the net.

If reports are to be believed, Newcastle are trying to sign a new right winger this summer, but it’s four goals in four pre-season games for Murphy, who is certainly staking a claim.

Left-winger Harvey Barnes (£6.5m) was heavily involved but less effective and really should have scored at least one of his chances.

Newcastle, who are still without England pair Kieran Trippier (£6.0m) and Anthony Gordon (£7.5m), impressed in the final-third, while Nick Pope (£5.0m) brilliantly saved a penalty and looked close to his best at the other end of the pitch.

Still, it wasn’t a perfect defensive display by any means, with the J-League side causing quite a few problems, despite the scoreline.

Dan Burn (£4.5m) featured as a centre-half in Japan, with Tino Livramento (£4.5m) and Hall operating as full-backs.

Newcastle United XI: Pope (Vlachodimos 62); Livramento (Harrison 71), Krafth, Burn (Heffernan 79), Hall; Longstaff (Miley 46), Willock (Almiron 46), Joelinton; Murphy (Turner-Cooke 71), Barnes (Sanusi 62), Isak (Parkinson 62)

OXFORD UNITED 2-0 SOUTHAMPTON

Southampton suffered their first defeat of pre-season on Wednesday, in a shaky display at Oxford United’s Kassam Stadium.

The Saints looked particularly uncomfortable playing out from the back, with first-choice goalkeeper Alex McCarthy (£4.5m) making several errors in possession.

Knocks to Sekou Mara (£5.0m) and Kamaldeen Sulemana (£5.0m) did admittedly disrupt their flow, while many of the usual starters were only introduced after the break, but the performance clearly irritated manager Russell Martin.

Speaking to the Daily Echo, he said:

“That annoyed me a little bit. We lacked feeling, energy, aggression, intensity, purpose, personality, character and joy in the first half. We lacked all of that. We didn’t lack good positions. We didn’t lack structure. We didn’t lack good detail. We just lacked energy and feeling. The only player that played with a little bit of joy, and gave a little bit of joy, was probably Sam Amo.

“I give the guys the benefit of the doubt because it’s pre-season. We’re three weeks in. They’re knackered. They’re playing with fatigue. The atmosphere is pre-season atmosphere. But like I said to you, we’ve got no time to rest and wait and find out. We need to bring our best version of ourselves every time.

“Tonight, [there was] no joy in the first 45 minutes. They did better in the first bit of the second half. And then the guys that came on were much better. [They were] more aggressive. We had actual chances. We should score a couple. Runs. Just energy. Feeling. Character, personality. So, yeah. We need to improve.” – Russell Martin

As above, Southampton did create a few chances – Carlos Alcaraz (£5.0m) fizzed a shot wide of the post, while substitute Adam Armstrong (£5.5m) missed a late one-on-one with Jamie Cumming.

However, they failed to truly test the Oxford shot-stopper.

New Saints signing Ben Brereton Diaz was in attendance but not involved on the pitch, meanwhile.