GW3 Predicted Lineups: The Cherki-Foden Dilemma and Two Bench-Only New Signings

Team news is still landing right up to Friday’s deadline, but the shape of Gameweek 3’s headline lineups is already clear enough to plan around. Here’s how the key sides look set to line up, and where the genuine selection dilemmas sit.

A predicted lineup is a probability, not a guarantee. Treat any single-source XI as a starting point, not the final word.

Man City (home vs Coventry)

Haaland and Antoine Semenyo start regardless of anything else that happens this week. The genuine dilemma sits in the advanced midfield slot between Phil Foden and Rayan Cherki, both nailed on to start together in some XIs but competing for the same influential role in others. Cherki has the better underlying output through two matches and is the pick for a one-week Gameweek 3 lineup, though anyone building for the long term should be wary of overcommitting after just a single big performance.

Liverpool (away at Ipswich)

New signing Bradley Barcola trained well enough this week to be available, but a lack of pre-season minutes points to a bench role rather than a start. With five players already sidelined, Liverpool are genuinely short at right-back, and Andoni Iraola has been open about using Dominik Szoboszlai there again after his Gameweek 2 cameo in the position. That versatility is a plus for team stability but a real downgrade for anyone captaining Szoboszlai purely on his attacking output, since a full-back shift caps his ceiling even with penalties and set pieces still attached.

Arsenal (home vs Chelsea)

Bukayo Saka and Declan Rice are fully match-fit after their World Cup return and start without question. The one live call is at centre-back, where Ezri Konsa is available for the first time since his summer move but reports suggest Cristhian Mosquera didn’t train fully this week, opening a door that looked closed a few days ago. If Konsa starts, he’s a bench-only FPL option regardless, arriving cold with no match sharpness against a Chelsea side that’s found some early-season form.

Man United (away at Everton)

Fernandes starts and captains United after his 23-point Gameweek 2 explosion, with Bryan Mbeumo alongside him in an attack that’s found its rhythm after the opening-day defeat at Hull. Everton away is a step up from Ipswich at home, but nothing in the team news changes the starting picture here. This is the most settled XI of the week’s headline fixtures.

Newcastle (home vs Bournemouth)

Anthony Elanga and Amar Dedic have built a productive link on the right that Matthias Jaissle name-checked directly this week, and both should start. Big-money signing Matias Fernandez-Pardo remains a load-management case, eased in as a substitute rather than thrown straight into a starting role, echoing the same pattern Liverpool are following with Barcola. Worth remembering for anyone tempted to buy a new arrival off name value alone.

All of the above is subject to change before Friday’s 18:30 BST deadline. Final press conferences and morning-of team news can still shift a starting berth, so check back before locking anything in.