Saka Scored Twice and Sat One Out, Bruno Got Better, and Liverpool Ran Out of Forwards: Your Gameweek 6 Weekly Review, Week Three

The break is over, and the scoreboard that matters reads like a physio’s appointment book. Liverpool may host Manchester City without Alexander Isak or Cody Gakpo, with Hugo Ekitike already out. Arsenal lost their starting striker and their left winger to hamstrings in the same week. Bournemouth lost Alex Scott until November. Sunderland are still waiting on Brian Brobbey and fearing the worst on Dan Ballard. Bukayo Saka, meanwhile, scored twice in a 7-0 win in Croatia, sat out England’s final match, and came home rested. That is about the best thing that can happen to a captain.

Bruno Fernandes, written off here a week ago, played 180 minutes for Portugal and set up two goals in Copenhagen. Erling Haaland blanked twice and came off after 65 minutes in Porto, a change Norway say was planned. Manchester City lodged their appeal. None of it moves the deadline: 11:00 BST on Saturday, 10 October, ninety minutes before Arsenal host Leeds. Press conferences run today and tomorrow. This is the week the plan becomes a team.

International Roundup

England finished the window with three straight wins and nothing conceded. The 7-0 in Rijeka, played behind closed doors, was the heaviest defeat in Croatia’s history. England led 4-0 at half-time. Harry Kane and Saka scored twice each, Jude Bellingham, Anthony Gordon and Morgan Rogers got the rest. On Tuesday Czechia lost 3-0 at Wembley: Vladimir Coufal turned a Kane cross into his own net, then Kane scored twice on the night he equalled Peter Shilton’s 125 caps. England end the window on nine points from four games.

For FPL purposes, the England story is who played and who went home. Saka started in Rijeka and didn’t start at Wembley. Rogers, now at Chelsea, scored off the bench in Croatia and started on Tuesday; his price has risen to £7.8m. Lewis Hall started both games. Eberechi Eze started at Wembley. Ezri Konsa played 90 minutes in Rijeka and was sent back to Arsenal on Monday with what has been reported as a dead leg. Alex Scott made his debut, then left with a tendon injury. Nico O’Reilly left the camp for assessment midway through the window.

Portugal and Norway. Portugal won all four games and are the first side through to the quarter-finals. They won 4-2 in Copenhagen with two assists from Bruno Fernandes, then beat Norway 2-1 in Porto: Brentford’s Kristoffer Ajer opened the scoring, Joao Cancelo equalised and Goncalo Ramos won it late. Cristiano Ronaldo walked out of the squad after being left on the bench. Norway lost three in a row after beating Denmark. In Cardiff, Wales beat a Norway side reduced to ten men 2-1 and kept Haaland quiet; Martin Odegaard started and finished that game on the ankle he hurt against Portugal. In Porto, Haaland asked to come off after 65 minutes. Norway’s manager said the change had been discussed in advance.

Netherlands and Germany. The Dutch needed an 89th-minute Tijjani Reijnders equaliser to draw 2-2 in Thessaloniki, then beat Serbia 2-1 in Eindhoven with a Joshua Zirkzee winner. They top Group A2 on goal difference from Greece. Arsenal’s Christos Tzolis lasted 18 minutes for Greece against the Netherlands before a hamstring problem. Germany won their first game under Jurgen Klopp against Serbia, then drew 0-0 in Greece. Tottenham’s Jan Paul van Hecke went home with a foot injury.

Further afield. Brazil beat India 4-0 in Kolkata, with Chelsea’s Estevao scoring the first and setting up the second. Rasmus Hojlund’s penalty beat Wales 1-0 in Cardiff. Nottingham Forest’s Neco Williams scored the free-kick that beat Norway. Liverpool’s Jeremy Jacquet missed France’s game against Belgium with a slight hamstring strain.

Captain Recommendations

No longer provisional. Bukayo Saka at home to Leeds. He arrives with two goals from his last start and a rest from his last match, which is the order you would choose. Arsenal remain the clearest favourites of the round. The supply line has thinned again: Kai Havertz and Christos Tzolis both have hamstring injuries, with Tzolis estimated at three weeks. That leaves Saka, Eze and a fit-again Odegaard carrying the attack. His price has already risen to £9.6m.

One footnote. Saka took Arsenal’s penalty in Gameweek 4 because Viktor Gyokeres wasn’t playing. If Havertz is out, Gyokeres probably starts, and he is the club’s first-choice taker. That costs Saka a route to points, not the armband. Erling Haaland remains the shield. He blanked in Cardiff and came off early in Porto, but Norway say the substitution was planned and he isn’t flagged. Liverpool may be without Isak, Gakpo and Ekitike, which takes some of the danger out of Anfield at one end. Their defence is the reason this still isn’t a fixture to pick him over Saka.

The differential armband goes back to Bruno Fernandes, which requires a small admission. Last week this section said his case had ended. It hadn’t. He played 90 minutes in both of Portugal’s last two games and set up two goals in one of them. Manchester United host a Tottenham side that may be without Pedro Porro and Jan Paul van Hecke. Gonzalo Garcia at Ipswich is the alternative for anyone who already owns Bruno.

Chip Strategy

Three weeks ago the advice was to plan the Wildcard and not press it. Two weeks ago, events proved why. This week the button is live. The window is narrow: after Thursday’s and Friday’s press conferences, before 11:00 on Saturday. Anyone activating now does it with every international fixture played and most of the club news in. That is as much information as this break was ever going to give.

The draft has moved again. Tzolis and Scott are out for weeks, so they go. Konsa’s dead leg makes Arsenal’s defence a Friday decision rather than a Thursday one. Liverpool’s attack is a no-go for this fixture whoever passes a fitness test. Bruno returns to the shortlist. Fulham’s three promoted opponents remain the backbone, Newcastle still justify Hall, and Brighton at Sunderland is better than it looked a fortnight ago because Ballard’s injury now sounds serious.

Triple Captain stays in the drawer. Saka against Leeds is a strong captaincy pick, not a once-a-season one. Bench Boost’s earliest sensible slot is Gameweek 7, and only for a team built for it on this Wildcard. Free Hit stays saved. Without a Wildcard, use your free transfers on the long-term injuries first and leave the doubts until Friday afternoon.

Differential Picks

Doku comes off the list because nobody at City has said anything useful about Semenyo yet. The new entry is the man most likely to benefit from Arsenal’s injuries.

Viktor Gyokeres (Arsenal, £7.1m). Arsenal’s penalty taker, Havertz’s understudy, and the scorer of Sweden’s winner against Romania at the start of the break. He has barely played in the league this season and hasn’t scored. If Arteta confirms Havertz is out, he starts against Leeds at home with Saka and Eze supplying him. A conditional buy, made after Friday’s press conference and not before.

Charalampos Kostoulas (Brighton, £5.6m). Second week at the top of the list. Sunderland may be without Ballard for months, local reports suggest, and Brobbey is unconfirmed. Brighton’s attack came through the break unscathed. Palace at home follows.

Gonzalo Garcia (Fulham). Fourth week running, because Fulham’s run is still Ipswich away, Hull at home and Coventry away, and Ipswich are still without Abdul Fatawu. Tom Cairney and Kenny Tete are both expected back.

Fixture Analysis

Gameweek 6 opens with Arsenal v Leeds at 12:30 BST on Saturday, 10 October, has Liverpool v Manchester City on the Sunday, and closes with Coventry v Newcastle on the Monday night. In between: Aston Villa v Brentford, Chelsea v Bournemouth, Ipswich v Fulham, Sunderland v Brighton, Manchester United v Tottenham, Crystal Palace v Nottingham Forest and Hull v Everton.

Best run: Fulham. Three promoted opponents, two key players returning, and nobody coming back from the break hurt. Nothing about this has changed in three weeks, which is the point.

Arsenal at home to Leeds. The best single fixture of the round, with an asterisk. Saliba is still out until November, Konsa is a doubt, and Havertz and Tzolis are gone from the attack. Arsenal’s ceiling hasn’t dropped much. Their floor has.

Improved again: Brighton at Sunderland. A fortnight ago this was a mixed fixture. Now Sunderland’s centre-back is reportedly out until Christmas and their striker is awaiting news. Brighton’s run cools after this one, so it’s one good week, not three.

Still kind: Newcastle. Coventry away on the Monday night, then Villa and Palace. Hall is fit. The goalkeeping position is not: Ewen Jaouen reportedly needs surgery on a hamstring injury picked up over the break.

Hardest run, thinnest attack: Liverpool. City at home, Brentford away, Brighton at home. Andoni Iraola said this week that both Isak and Gakpo are injured right now and it is a question of whether they recover in time. With Ekitike already out, Liverpool’s attack is a team-sheet question. Their defence, three clean sheets before the break, is not.

Europe after Gameweek 6: City host Paris Saint-Germain on 14 October, three days after Anfield. Arsenal host Lille. Aston Villa host Fenerbahce, and Sunderland and Bournemouth return to the Europa League. Expect some rotation in the second half of the week, particularly at City.

Injury Updates

Everything below is the latest public information as of Thursday morning, 8 October, before the pre-match press conferences. Several decisions will be made on Friday. Treat anything marked “doubt” as exactly that.

Good news: Bruno Fernandes played two full games for Portugal after playing through pain. Martin Odegaard shook off his ankle knock to play 90 minutes in Cardiff. Lewis Hall started both England games. Haaland is not flagged, and the early exit in Porto looks like fatigue management. Arsenal’s Ben White and Cristhian Mosquera have trained. Chelsea are expected to have Cole Palmer, Reece James and Moises Caicedo back. Newcastle have Joelinton back in training. Fulham expect Tom Cairney and Kenny Tete. Noah Sadiki came through the break fine for Sunderland.

Still on the list: William Saliba (back, targeting early November) at Arsenal; Ekitike, Conor Bradley and Jacquet (slight hamstring) at Liverpool; Patrick Dorgu, Noussair Mazraoui, Kobbie Mainoo, Marcus Rashford and Benjamin Sesko at Manchester United; Pedro Porro and Van Hecke at Tottenham; Dean Henderson and Jean-Philippe Mateta at Palace; Vitalii Mykolenko at Everton; Justin Kluivert at Bournemouth, unlikely this weekend. Jamie Gittens hurt his ankle with England Under-21s.

Player Performance

One more week of international form, which remains a weak signal. A good Nations League night says a player is fit and sharp. It says nothing about what his club manager will do with him on Saturday.

Saka scored twice in the first big England win of the Tuchel era, both from the right, and then watched the Czechia game. Two goals and a rest is the ideal end to a window for a player you’re about to captain. Bruno is the week’s reversal. He’d been playing through pain for three matches; Portugal used him for two full games anyway, and he set up two goals in the first. That is not what an injured player does.

Haaland is the other side of the ledger. Three goals in his first two games of the window, then nothing against Wales and an early exit in Porto. Norway say it was planned, and there’s no injury flag, but he arrives at Anfield having played four matches in eleven days. Chelsea keep having good international weeks: Rogers scored and started for England, Estevao scored and assisted for Brazil. With Joao Pedro doubtful, the competition for Chelsea’s attacking places is the useful kind.

Predicted Lineups

These are the calls that changed since last week. Friday’s press conferences will settle most of them, and the review on this page is the last word before then, not after.

Arsenal (v Leeds): Gyokeres for Havertz up front, with Saka right, Odegaard central and Eze across the line. Tzolis’s place on the left is the open question. At the back, Saliba is still out and Konsa is a doubt, so the centre-back pairing depends on Friday’s fitness checks. White and Mosquera are options again.

Manchester City (at Liverpool): Donnarumma; Nunes, Dias, Guehi, Gvardiol; Fernandez, Anderson; Semenyo, Cherki, Ndiaye; Haaland. Semenyo is still the question. If he misses out, Doku is the natural replacement, with Foden serving the last game of his ban. PSG on Wednesday makes rotation likely, but more likely in that game than this one.

Liverpool (v Manchester City): the front line is guesswork until Friday. Isak and Gakpo are both injured according to their manager, Ekitike is out, and Federico Chiesa may be back from a muscle problem. If neither Isak nor Gakpo makes it, Liverpool’s attack against the league leaders looks short of a centre-forward.

Sunderland (v Brighton): without Ballard at centre-back, and very possibly without Brobbey up front, with Wilson Isidor the obvious stand-in. Sadiki is fit; Habib Diarra may return. Manchester United (v Tottenham): Bruno Fernandes starts. Dorgu, Mazraoui, Mainoo, Rashford and Sesko are all on the list in some form. Chelsea (v Bournemouth): Palmer, James and Caicedo are expected; Joao Pedro probably isn’t, which leaves the front line to Rogers, Estevao and whoever Alonso trusts. Bournemouth will be without Scott and probably Kluivert.

Transfer Suggestions

Three weeks of waiting end on Friday. The sequence matters: sell the long-term injuries now, wait on the doubts until their managers speak, and buy the players whose minutes are certain. Anyone who held off on Brobbey and Semenyo in week one has been proved right twice.

Sell now: Tzolis (£6.3m) and Scott (£6.1m). Three weeks and six to eight weeks. Neither is worth a bench spot through Arsenal’s and Bournemouth’s next run. Sell now: Ballard (£4.9m), on the reported timeline.

Bring in: Lewis Hall (Newcastle, £5.3m). Still top of the list. Two starts for England, no knocks, and Newcastle’s run is unchanged. Bring in: Kostoulas (Brighton, £5.6m) for Sunderland’s absences. Bring in, conditionally: Gyokeres (Arsenal, £7.1m), if Arteta rules Havertz out on Friday.

Wait until the press conferences: Brobbey (Le Bris, Thursday), Isak and Gakpo (Iraola), Semenyo (Maresca), Konsa (Arteta) and Joao Pedro (Alonso). If any is ruled out, sell; if any is confirmed fit, hold. Hold: Saka, Haaland, James Tarkowski (£6.2m), and Bruno Fernandes, who moves back from “pending” to “keep”.

The deadline is 11:00 BST on Saturday, 10 October. Three weeks ago the advice was to plan now and act late. It is now late. Read the press conferences, make the moves, and set the armband on Saka.