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Every week this new series will take a look at the predicted starting line-ups for clubs in the English Premier League. Knowing which players are expected to play each weekend is a crucial element for every active Fantasy Football manager. The starting XIs for the EPL clubs is increasingly hard to predict, due to congested fixture calendars and the quality of squad depths as a result of the vast amounts of money the EPL clubs generate.
For the moment, we will consider the lineups of the top-10 teams in the Premier League as it stands by the start of the upcoming gameweek, divided over two articles (this part 2 covers the teams in positions 6 to 10, part 1 covers the lineups for positions 1 to 5). We might analyse the lineups of all teams at a later stage, based on the interest shown in this series but the top 10 clubs have by far the largest amount of players that are of interest to Fantasy Football managers. As far as gameweek 14 goes, we will take a look at confirmed starting lineups for the top-10 teams in gameweek 13, compare those to our predictions for that gameweek, and then predict their lineups for gameweek 14.
For much of the injury news mentioned in these pieces, we consult, among other club-specific sources, the excellent Twitter account and website of Ben Dinnery (@BenDinnery). Lineups are written down from left to right, as seen from the goalkeeper’s perspective (so in defence, for example, from left-back to right-back).
Factors potentially affecting lineups per team in the build-up to GW14
| Sheffield United | None |
| Burnley | None |
| Arsenal | Europa League group stage vs Frankfurt (H) on 27/11: 1-2 loss and Manager sacked. |
| Manchester United | Europa League group stage vs FC Astana (a) on 27/11: 2-1 loss but a young team fielded |
| Spurs | Champions League group stage vs Olympiacos (H) on 25/11: 4-2 victory |
The Premier League at the start of gameweek 14 (positions 6 to 10)
| 6 | Sheffield United | 18 pts |
| 7 | Burnley | 18 pts |
| 8 | Arsenal | 18 pts |
| 9 | Manchester United | 17 pts |
| 10 | Spurs | 17 pts |
Lineups for gameweek 13: Predicted vs. confirmed
SHEFFIELD UNITED (home vs. Manchester United, 3-3)
| PREDICTED GAMEWEEK 13 | CONFIRMED GAMEWEEK 13 | ||
| Form. | 5 – 3 – 2 | 5 – 3 – 2 | |
| FOR | McGoldrick, Mousset | McGoldrick, Mousset | |
| MID | Fleck, Norwood, Lundstram | Fleck, Norwood, Lundstram | |
| DEF | Stevens, O’Connell, Egan, Basham, Baldock | Stevens, O’Connell, Jagielka, Basham, Baldock | |
| GK | Moore | Moore | |
| Subs | /// | (2nd half) McBurnie > Mousset, Sharp > McGoldrick, Robinson > Basham | |
| Goals | /// | Fleck (Lundstram), Mousset (Fleck), McBurnie (Robinson) |
BURNLEY (away vs. Watford, 0-3)
| PREDICTED GAMEWEEK 13 | CONFIRMED GAMEWEEK 13 | ||
| Form. | 4 – 2 – 2 | 4 – 2 – 2 | |
| FOR | Barnes, Wood | Barnes, Wood | |
| MID | McNeil, Westwood, Cork, Hendrick | McNeil, Cork, Westwood, Hendrick | |
| DEF | C. Taylor, Tarkowski, Mee, Bardsley | C. Taylor, Mee, Tarkowski, Bardsley | |
| GK | Pope | Pope | |
| Subs | /// | (2nd half) Rodriguez > Wood | |
| Goals | /// | Wood (Tarkowski), Barnes, Tarkowski |
ARSENAL (home vs. Southampton, 2-2)
| PREDICTED GAMEWEEK 13 | CONFIRMED GAMEWEEK 13 | ||
| Form. | 5 – 3 – 2 | 5 – 3 – 2 | |
| FOR | Aubameyang, Lacazette | Aubameyang, Lacazette | |
| MID | Özil | Özil | |
| DEF MID | Torreira, Guendouzi | Torreira, Guendouzi | |
| DEF | Tierney, David Luiz, Sokratis, Chambers, Bellerin | Tierney, David Luiz, Sokratis, Chambers, Bellerin | |
| GK | Leno | Leno | |
| Subs | /// | (2nd half) Pepe > Chambers, Willock > Torreira, Martinelli > Bellerin | |
| Goals | /// | Lacazette (Aubameyang), Lacazette (Martinelli) |
MANCHESTER UNITED (away vs. Sheffield United, 3-3)
| PREDICTED GAMEWEEK 13 | CONFIRMED GAMEWEEK 13 | ||
| Form. | 4 – 2 – 3 – 1 | 5 – 2 – 3 | |
| FOR | Martial | Rashford, Martial, James | |
| MID | Rashford, Andreas Pereira, James | Fred, Andreas Pereira | |
| DEF MID | Matic, Fred | /// | |
| DEF | Young, Maguire, Lindelof, Wan-Bissaka | B. Williams, Jones, Maguire, Lindelof, Wan-Bissaka | |
| GK | De Gea | De Gea | |
| Subs | /// | (2nd half) Lingard > Jones, Greenwood > Pereira, Tuanzebe > Martial | |
| Goals | /// | B. Williams, Greenwood (Rashford), Rashford (James) |
SPURS (away vs. West Ham, 2-3)
| PREDICTED GAMEWEEK 13 | CONFIRMED GAMEWEEK 13 | ||
| Form. | /// | 4 – 2 – 3 – 1 | |
| FOR | /// | Kane | |
| MID | /// | Son, Alli, Moura | |
| DEF MID | /// | Winks, Dier | |
| DEF | Davies, D. Sanchez, Alderweireld, Aurier | ||
| GK | /// | Gazzaniga | |
| Subs | /// | (2nd half) Rose > Davies, Eriksen > Alli, Sissoko > Moura | |
| Goals | /// | Son (Alli), Moura (Son), Kane (Aurier) |
Predicted lineups for gameweek 14
SHEFFIELD UNITED (away vs. Wolves)
| Form. | 5 – 3 – 2 |
| FOR | McGoldrick, Mousset |
| MID | Fleck, Norwood, Lundstram |
| DEF | Stevens, O’Connell, Egan, Basham, Baldock |
| GK | Henderson |
| Ruled out | None |
| Doubtful | Egan |
| Notes | The only doubt in manager Chris Wilder’s team is still Egan, who is expected to come back into the starting eleven after missing gameweek 13. Should that not be possible, then Jagielka will fill in for him again. For the rest, we expect the lineup of this successful Sheffield United team to remain the same as last week when they ride up to Molineux this coming Sunday. Henderson was contractually prohibited from playing against his parent club Man United last weekend, but he will be back between the sticks against Wolves. |
BURNLEY (home vs. Crystal Palace)
| Form. | 4 – 4 – 2 |
| FOR | Barnes, Wood |
| MID | Brady, Cork, Hendrick, McNeil |
| DEF | Taylor, Mee, Tarkowski, Bardsley |
| GK | Pope |
| Ruled out | Westwood (suspension, 5 yellow cards) |
| Doubtful | Gudmundsson, Drinkwater, Vydra |
| Notes | Burnley have no new injury concerns to deal with, just the one-match suspension of Westwood due to an accumulation of yellow cards. We would expect Hendrick to move from the right to a central midfield position in order to open up a place on the flanks for Brady. In this scenario, McNeil could move to right-midfield, so Brady would play on the left. Manager Dyche can also opt for a straighter swap with fit-again Drinkwater instead of Westwood, but the ex-Leicester man has not played a single Premier League minute for the Clarets this season. For the rest, when considering Dyche’s preference to stick to his starting eleven combined with the fact that Burnley are sitting in 7th place currently, we expect the starting lineup to remain the same when comparing it to gameweek 13. |
ARSENAL (away vs. Norwich)
| Form. | 4 – 2 – 3 – 1 |
| FOR | Lacazette |
| MID | Aubameyang, Özil, Pepe |
| DEF MID | Torreira, Guendouzi |
| DEF | Tierney, David Luiz, Sokratis, Bellerin |
| GK | Leno |
| Ruled out | Ceballos |
| Doubtful | Kolasinac, Bellerin, Holding, David Luiz, Mustafi |
| Notes | The die is cast: Arsenal manager Unai Emery was fired this week after yet another more than disappointing result (a 1-2 loss at home against Frankfurt). His assistant Freddie Ljungberg will be temporarily replacing the Spaniard when the Gunners roll up to Carrow Road on Sunday, so a logical scenario for them would be to broadly stick to what has been trained under Emery at least for another gameweek. David Luiz should be fit in time to partner Sokratis centrally in the back. Considering Kolasinac’ fitness issues, Tierney (who played the full 90 minutes vs Frankfurt) should start at left-back again. On the opposite, we expect Bellerin (who was rested mid-week) to be fit in time for the Norwich game as Arsenal pick a four-man defence against the Canaries. The double pivot in the middle is likely to be formed by Torreira and Guendouzi, though Xhaka has been welcomed back to the team and featured in the Europa League (90 min). Arsenal’s interim-manager would be wise to line up his strongest offensive assets on Sunday, which would mean Lacazette (who didn’t play mid-week) up front, backed by Aubameyang (who played the full 90 minutes on Thursday), Özil (who replaced Martinelli after 60 minutes against Frankfurt) and Pepe (who was on the bench for 90 minutes mid-week). |
MANCHESTER UNITED (home vs. Aston Villa)
| Form. | 4 – 2 – 3 – 1 |
| FOR | Martial |
| MID | Rashford, Pereira, James |
| DEF MID | Matic, Fred |
| DEF | B. Williams, Maguire, Lindelof, Wan-Bissaka |
| GK | De Gea |
| Ruled out | Bailly, Fosu-Mensah, Dalot, Rojo, Pogba |
| Doubtful | Matic, McTominay |
| Notes | The mid-week Europa League loss against Astana gave us little information as to how United might lineup against Aston Villa coming weekend as manager Solskjaer picked the youngest United team ever to play in an international competition. This could mean, on the other hand, that this weekend he is switching back to what broadly was last weekend’s lineup. It’s worth mentioning that Shaw returned from injury and played 90 minutes mid-week. For a home game against Villa, the hope amongst the Red Devils faithful is a four-man defence, which we expect would consist of Williams on the left (apparently Shaw was told that he will have to fight to get his spot back), Maguire and Lindelof centrally, and AWB at right-back. With McTominay probably returning in gameweek 15, the defensive midfield could be formed by Fred and Matic, who is fit again. The offensive three players backing Martial up front should be Rashford on the left, James on the right, and Pereira in the number ten slot. Lingard or Mata could play instead of Pereira but the former played 90 minutes mid-week, while the latter hasn’t started a Premier League game since gameweek 8. |
SPURS (home vs. Bournemouth)
| Form. | 4 – 2 – 3 – 1 |
| FOR | Kane |
| MID | Son, Alli, Moura |
| DEF MID | Winks, Dier |
| DEF | Rose, Sanchez, Alderweireld, Aurier |
| GK | Gazzaniga |
| Ruled out | Lloris, Davies, Vorm, Lamela |
| Doubtful | None |
| Notes | José Mourinho now has two games under his belt as Spurs manager and in both games, he started with the same eleven players. Only the left-back position saw some variation as Davies started in gameweek 13, but got injured and was replaced by Rose, who also started against Olympiacos this week. That’s why we’re not expecting too many changes for Saturday’s game either. The defensive set-up should consist of Rose, Sanchez, Alderweireld and Aurier, with Winks and Dier starting in front of them. In attack, Son, Alli and Moura are supporting Tottenham’s very own Harry ‘Hurrican’ Kane. |