An unchanged starting XI for Moyes from the 1-1 draw against Wolves in Gameweek 28. This is Moyes preferred starting lineup with the current available players.
Alcaraz performed well in the 10 role in Doucoure’s absence but since returning from injury, Doucoure has been the preferred player in that role.
Ndiaye, McNeil and Calvert-Lewin remain sidelined but Moyes did suggest they could return to training after the international break.
Paqueta returned to the squad and came off the bench in West Ham’s loss to Newcastle in Gameweek 28, which would put him in contention to start this weekend against Everton. As long as Paqueta’s ankle responded well to those minutes against Newcastle, then he will likely start in Gameweek 29.
Prior to his injury, Potter favoured starting Paqueta as his nominal striker, playing ahead of Kudus and Bowen. Ward-Prowse drops to the bench.
Coufal is also in contention to be fit to make the squad. If he is fit enough to start, he could replace Cresswell in the starting lineup, however it would seem more likely Coufal is on the bench this week to ease him back in to full fitness.
Players to watch:
Cresswell:
Paqueta:
Coufal:
Ipswich vs Nottingham Forest (Saturday 3pm kick-off):
McKenna has elected to go with a 4-2-3-1 system in both the 1-0 loss in the league and the 1-1 draw (and eventual loss via penalties) in the FA Cup against Nottingham Forest this season. Ipswich have been competitive and have played well in both of the previous games. Given it was also the formation McKenna opted to go with in Gameweek 28, it would seem logical he elects to play a 4-2-3-1 once again.
Phillips started over Morsy and played the full 90 against Palace last weekend.
Enciso returned from injury and started against Palace in Gameweek 28. McKenna has favoured him when fit since Ipswich brought the youngster in on-loan from Brighton.
Hutchinson, Clarke and Delap seems like the preferred front 3 from the available crop.
With what is essentially a fully fit squad, Nuno can roll with his strongest starting lineup. Naturally, that is the same XI that came away with a brilliant 1-0 win against Man City in Gameweek 28.
Pep elected to go with a formation change that resulted in the poor performance in the loss against Forest in Gameweek 28. I expect a return to a 4-2-3-1 against Brighton.
The back 5 remains unchanged with limited options.
Kovacic comes back into midfield to join Gonzalez in a deeper role. Bernardo drops to the bench.
City missed Marmoush’s movement, direct dribbling and his goal threat against Forest. He is just a much more effective and efficient player than Doku and much more likely to win City the game. I have to believe Pep also sees the obvious.
Foden moves into the 10 role.
Players to watch:
Kovacic:
Marmoush:
Foden:
Games started:
Verbruggen: 26/28
Lamptey: 9/28
Van Hecke: 25/28
Webster: 7/28
Estupinan: 17/28
Baleba: 22/28
Hinshelwood: 13/28
Rutter: 18/28
Minteh: 12/28
Mitoma: 25/28
Joao Pedro: 19/28
Lamptey returns from suspension and starts at right-back. That moves Hinshelwood back into midfield alongside Baleba. Ayari drops to the bench.
Dunk is not yet fully fit, therefore the back 5 remains unchanged.
Hurzeler’s has settled on a preferred front 3 of Minteh, Mitoma and Joao Pedro with Rutter playing in the 10 role. With the great run of form Brighton are on, I do not expect this to change for the foreseeable future.
An unchanged starting XI from the 2-2 draw against Spurs last weekend, outside of Zabarnyi returning from suspension.
Marcos Senesi is close to a return to training after a lengthy spell out injured. Regardless, the high-level centre-back partnership that Zabarnyi and Hujisen have built is unlikely to be broken up.
Players to watch:
Tavernier:
Games started:
Flekken: 26/28
Ajer: 13/28
Collins: 27/28
Van Den Berg: 20/28
Lewis Potter: 19/28
Norgaard: 24/28
Janelt: 23/28
Damsgaard: 24/28
Mbeumo: 27/28
Schade: 15/28
Wissa: 23/28
Van Den Berg trained all week according to Thomas Frank and he stated there is a “good chance he can be involved”. Van Den Berg was first choice at centre-back over Pinnock for the majority of this season and you would have to imagine he is fit to start if he trained all week.
An unchanged starting lineup outside of Van Den Berg returning. This is the preferred starting XI Thomas Frank has settled on.
An unchanged starting lineup from last weekends draw against Man United.
Ben White is starting to see his minutes ramped up, as he started against PSV in midweek, however that game was essentially a dead rubber after the 7-1 first leg scoreline. It seems like Arteta will be cautious with White.
It would stand to reason that Arteta will now prioritise the Champions League with Liverpool 15 points clear of the Gunners at the top of the table. Lewis-Skelly, being a young player, and White, returning from injury, might be the preferred full-back pairing for Arteta, however they may just have their minutes-load managed and saved for the Champions League.
James starts at right-back with Gusto injured. James did however play in midweek and Maresca has tended to not start the often injured right-back multiple times in the same week. We will see if that changes.
Fofana returned from injury last weekend against Leicester, but started at right-back. Against superior competition in Arsenal, Maresca will likely play Fofana in his strongest position and start his best actual right-back.
The rest of the XI remains unchanged with Jackson and Madueke still injured.
Silva will likely elect to go with a 5 at the back system as he did in Gameweek 28, due to Lukic’s suspension along with the long list of injuries among the forward line.
Pereira will once again start in Lukic’s place, as he serves the second of his 2 match suspension.
Silva did reveal that Adama did train with the team this week, but not the entirety of the week and is being reintegrated slowly. He is in contention to be in the squad but it is more likely he starts on the bench.
Players to watch:
Adama:
Games started:
Vicario: 15/28
Porro: 23/28
Romero: 13/28
Van De Ven: 9/28
Udogie: 20/28
Bentancur: 14/28
Sarr: 16/28
Maddison: 16/28
Odobert: 4/28
Son: 21/28
Solanke: 19/28
Udogie comes in to play left-back for Spence who has started 2 games in the previous 7 days. Ange will likely opt to rotate that position to maintain both players fitness.
Van De Ven started, and then was taken off in Spurs’ 3-1 over AZ in the Europa League midweek, likely in order to keep him fresh to start against Fulham.
Spurs midfield is difficult to predict at the minute, with Sarr, Bentancur, Bergvall, Maddison and even Bissouma all getting minutes. I believe we will see a mix of the midfields we saw against Bournemouth and AZ, with Maddison playing ahead of Bentancur and Sarr. If Ange was to opt with a different trio, it would likely be Bergvall coming in for Bentancur.
Odobert impressed playing right-wing against AZ, netting a brace and will likely be rewarded with his third consecutive start.
Van Nistelrooy elected for a 5 at the back system against Chelsea and hinted at the idea of continuing with this system.
Winks comes in for Soumare.
While the formation change helped Leicester defensively, Van Nistelrooy will likely look to tinker and find his best front 3. He opted for Daka alongside the ever present El-Khannous and Vardy against Chelsea, but he failed to make a marked impact. Reid or Ayew could get the opportunity to make their mark and were 2 players Van Nistelrooy favoured over Daka and Buonanotte in previous games.
14 Mar, 2025
