EPL GW-4 Pre-Deadline Chat

Arsenal hosting Man United headlines GW-4’s remarkable fixtures that we expect to deliver lots of fireworks. With the Premier League on the verge of the season’s first international break, GW-4 offers fantasy managers the chance to go into the break on a high note.

Yet another Friday deadline is bearing down on us, special because it’s the first Premier League match ever at Luton Town. That match should give Fantrax managers the confirmed lineups during countdown hour for Luton (who cares?) and West Ham (are you buying?).

The deadline is only hours away, so let’s get right to it.

Last updated 1 Sep at 16:00 GMT.

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Friday

Luton v West Ham

Luton continues to search for a first taste of Premier League points... without the trio of Dan Potts, Jordan Clark and Gabriel Osho who remained sidelined with injuries.

West Ham’s new signing, Konstantinos Mavropanos, won’t be ready to debut this weekend as he’s yet to recover from a back injury. Nayef Aguerd returns from a one-match ban, but Tomas Soucek will miss through concussion protocol after a head injury he picked up last week. Mohammed Kudus should make his debut for the Hammers after signing from Ajax, but only Fantrax managers will see if he starts ahead of their platform’s transfer deadline.

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Saturday

Sheffield United v Everton

Sheffield’s return to the Premier League hasn’t been helped by a lengthy injury list that has manager Paul Heckingbottom hamstrung. John Fleck, Rhys Norringhton-Davies, Max Lowe, and Rhian Brewster, and Ben Osborn are all ruled out with long-term injuries. Daniel Jebbison isn’t training with the team due to illness, while Anis Ben Slimane is a doubt due to a thigh injury. On the bright side, new acquisition Cameron Archer is in contention to feature against the Toffees.

The away side also has a lengthy injury list, including Seamus Coleman, Dele Alli, Jack Harrison, Dominic Calvert Lewin, Alex Iwobi and Dwight McNeil. The aforementioned players are ruled out, while Vitali Mykolenko and Andre Gomes will face a late fitness test to determine his availability. Everton has completed the signing of striker Beto from Udinese, and he’s expected to start up front.

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Brentford v Bournemouth

Brentford is eager to return to winning ways, welcoming the Cherries to the G-Tech Community Stadium. However, the Bees will have to do so without the injured duo of Joshua Dasilva and Shandon Baptiste. Thomas Strakosha and Mikkel Damsgaard are doubts with knocks.

Still in search of a first win in the 2023-24 season, Bournemouth will travel without Alex Scott, Dango Outtara, Adam Smith, Marcus Tavernier, Tyler Adams, Ryan Fredericks and Emiliano Marcondes Camargo Hansen due to injuries, although Smith and Tavernier have returned to partial training.

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Burnley v Tottenham

Premier League new(again)-boys at Burnley hope they can grab their first points of the season despite the absence of Anass Zaroury, Micheal Obafemi, Jordan Beyer, and Darko Churlinov. Worse, Vitinho and Aaron Ramsey limped out of the mid-week cup victory over Forest, while Hjalmar Ekdal (knee) was stretchered off, although he seems to have avoided serious injury.

Richarlison picked up a knock in the midweek clash with Fulham, but Postecoglou implied that he’d be fit for the weekend, saying that Giovani Lo Celso was the only casualty from that match. Sessegnon, Gil, and Betancur remain unavailable.

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Chelsea v Nottingham Forest

Romeo Lavia is a doubt to make his Chelsea debut this weekend due to a lack of match fitness. Reece James, Beniot Badiashile and Broja are ruled out until at least after the international break, while Wesley Fofana, Christopher Nkunku, Carney Chukwuemeka and Marcus Bettinelli are long-term injuries. Mykhailo Mudryk has returned to training.

Forest captain and center-back Joe Worrall returns after a one-match suspension (for a denial-of-scoring-opportunity red against Man United last weekend) that he served in the mid-week Carabao Cup match. Felipe and Wayne Hennessey have returned to fitness but Scott Mckenna and Orel Mangala are set to miss out. Danilo is a doubt, and Andrey Santos is ineligible to face his parent club.

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Man City v Fulham

Manuel Akanji could be fit to face the Cottagers, and John Stones is nearing a return as well. Kevin De Bruyne remains unavailable. Man City has signed Nunes from Wolves, but his role and timetable for a debut are mysteries.

Tom Cairney and Willian are doubts for Fulham; there are also rumors swirling about the status of Harrison Reed. Calvin Bassey returns after his 1-match suspension (midweek Carabao Cup match) for the red card picked up in the clash against Arsenal last week; Tim Ream has also served his ban. Marco Silva should have new signing Timothy Castagne from Leicester available for selection in this fixture, but he’s not expected to start. Sara Lukic

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Brighton v Newcastle

Danny Welbeck will join Julio Enciso on the sidelines this weekend, and Moder, Olise, and Franca remain unavailable as well. Nathan Ferguson has been training with the academy but is not ready to feature, but Will Hughes looks ready.

Joelinton, Javier Manquillo, and new signing Lewis Hall are doubts to feature this weekend. Emil Kraft and Joseph Willock are ruled out, and Eddie Howe said Sven Botman had “only a small chance.”

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Sunday

Crystal Palace v Wolves

Will Hughes returned to training for the Eagles on Thursday and has a chance of featuring against Wolves this weekend. Hwang Hee-Chan is a major doubt for Wolves with a hamstring injury, and Joe Hodge is even less likely to feature due to the same problem.

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Liverpool v Aston Villa

Liverpool is without captain Van Dijk (1 match) after his sending off in the thrilling win over Newcastle last week. Fellow center-back Konate is also doubtful due to an injury picked up two weeks ago. Thiago Alcantara returned to training on Monday, but suffered a setback that will sideline him until after the break.

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Arsenal v Man United

England international Eddie Nketiah was the Gunners’ only new injury doubt (knee), but he’s now expected to start against Man United at the Emirates this weekend.

Luke Shaw and Raphael Varane are the latest players to join Man United’s lengthy injury list, which includes Tom Heaton, Kobbie Mainoo, Mason Mount, Tyrell Malacia, and Amad Diallo. Summer signing Højlund has a slim chance of making his debut for the Red Devils as he continues to recover from a back injury.

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Is your team badly affected by injuries or suspensions? How do you strategize your fantasy teams with all the new and injured players? Is anyone playing a chip this week? And are you a Fantrax manager shopping for West Ham assets in the countdown hour? Please log in and join the live chat in the comments below!

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