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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 three articles. This part 3 covers the teams in positions 7 to 10, part 1 covers the lineups for positions 1 to 3, and part 2 looks at the formations for positions 4 to 6. We might analyse the lineups of all teams at a later stage, based on the interest shown in this series. As far as gameweek 21 goes, we will take a look at confirmed starting lineups for the top-10 teams in gameweek 20, compare those to our predictions for that gameweek, and then predict their lineups for gameweek 21.
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 GW21
| Wolves | None |
| Sheffield Utd | None |
| Crystal Palace | None |
| Everton | None |
The Premier League at the start of gameweek 21 (positions 6 to 11)
| 6 | Spurs | 30 pts |
| 7 | Wolves | 30 pts |
| 8 | Sheffield United | 29 pts |
| 9 | Crystal Palace | 27 pts |
| 10 | Everton | 25 pts |
| 11 | Newcastle | 25 pts |
Lineups for gameweek 20: Predicted vs. confirmed
WOLVES (away vs. Liverpool, 1-0)
| PREDICTED GAMEWEEK 20* | CONFIRMED GAMEWEEK 20 | ||
| Form. | /// | 5 – 3 – 2 | |
| FOR | /// | Jota, Neto | |
| MID | /// | Moutinho, Neves, Dendoncker | |
| DEF | /// | Vinagre, Kilman, Coady, Bennett, Jonny | |
| GK | /// | Patricio | |
| Subs | /// | (2nd half) Saiss > Neves, Traoré > Dendoncker, Jimenez > Jota | |
| Goals | /// | /// |
*Due to the extremely short turn-around between GW19 and GW20, we could not make an informed prediction of the Wolves lineup Liverpool.
SHEFFIELD UNITED (away vs. Manchester City, 2-0)
| PREDICTED GAMEWEEK 20 | CONFIRMED GAMEWEEK 20 | ||
| Form. | 5 – 3 – 2 | 5 – 3 – 2 | |
| FOR | McGoldrick, McBurnie | Mousset, Robinson | |
| MID | Fleck, Norwood, Lundstram | Fleck, Norwood, Besic | |
| DEF | Stevens, O’Connell, Egan, Basham, Baldock | Stevens, O’Connell, Egan, Basham, Baldock | |
| GK | Henderson | Henderson | |
| Subs | /// | (2nd half) McGoldrick > Robinson, McBurnie > Besic, Sharp > Mousset | |
| Goals | /// | /// |
CRYSTAL PALACE (away vs. Southampton, 1-1)
| PREDICTED GAMEWEEK 20 | CONFIRMED GAMEWEEK 20 | ||
| Form. | 4 – 3 – 2 – 1 | 4 – 3 – 2 – 1 | |
| FOR | Ayew | Ayew | |
| MID | Zaha, Meyer | Zaha, Meyer | |
| DEF MID | Kouyaté, Milivojevic, McArthur | McCarthy, Milivojevic, McArthur | |
| DEF | Riedewald, Sakho, Tomkins, Kelly | Riedewald, Sakho, Tomkins, Kelly | |
| GK | Guaita | Guaita | |
| Subs | /// | (2nd half) Kouyaté > Meyer | |
| Goals | /// | Tomkins (Milivojevic) |
EVERTON (away vs. Newcastle, 1-2)
| PREDICTED GAMEWEEK 20 | CONFIRMED GAMEWEEK 20 | ||
| Form. | /// | 4 – 4 – 2 | |
| FOR | /// | Kean, Calvert-Lewin | |
| MID | /// | Richarlison, Sigurdsson, Davies, Walcott | |
| DEF | /// | Baines, Holgate, Keane, Sidibe | |
| GK | /// | Pickford | |
| Subs | /// | (2nd half) Delph > Kean, Coleman > Walcott, Mina > Baines | |
| Goals | /// | Calvert-Lewin (Sigurdsson), Calvert-Lewin (Richarlison) |
Predicted lineups for gameweek 21
WOLVES (away vs. Watford)
| Form. | 5 – 2 – 3 |
| FOR | Jota, Jimenez, Traoré |
| MID | Moutinho, Neves |
| DEF | Jonny, Saiss, Coady, Dendoncker, Doherty |
| GK | Patricio |
| Ruled out | Boly, Gibbs-White |
| Doubtful | Cutrone |
| Notes | Wolves are probably the team that suffered most this festive period in terms of short resting periods, considering they’ve had to play City and Liverpool in a span of less than 48 hours. Manager Espirito Santo has tried to keep rotation to a minimum, but he still adapted his team in four positions in GW20. We expect Jimenez, Saiss, Doherty and Traoré to return to starting lineup this round. Moutinho and Neves will form the central midfield block once again, while the front three sees Jimenez and Traoré return. Jota came off in the 72nd minute in GW20, so we might see Wolves’ strongest attacking trio turn up at the start of the game against Watford. |
SHEFFIELD UNITED (away vs. Liverpool)
| Form. | 5 – 3 – 2 |
| FOR | McGoldrick, McBurnie |
| MID | Fleck, Norwood, Lundstram |
| DEF | Stevens, O’Connell, Egan, Basham, Baldock |
| GK | Henderson |
| Ruled out | Moore |
| Doubtful | Lundstram |
| Notes | During this festive period, even manager Chris Wilder has been rotating his starting lineup. The Blades play Liverpool on Thursday though, which gives them a day more to rest and this makes us think they will start in their familiar 5-3-2 formation once again. Lundstram is a doubt after twisting his ankle in GW19, but we expect him to return for this one. Mousset (came off in the 84th minute in GW20) and Robinson (came off in the 59th minute in GW20) formed the striking pair against City. Versus Liverpool, we can see Chris Wilver pick his preferred pair of late, McGoldrick and McBurnie unless he decides to be more defensive and play just 1 up front given it’s against Liverpool, the European and World Club Champions. |
CRYSTAL PALACE (away vs. Norwich)
| Form. | 4 – 3 – 2 – 1 |
| FOR | Ayew |
| MID | Zaha, Meyer |
| DEF MID | Kouyaté, Milivojevic, McArthur |
| DEF | Riedewald, Sakho, Tomkins, Kelly |
| GK | Guaita |
| Ruled out | Ward, Cahill, Schlupp, Townsend, Dann, Benteke |
| Doubtful | Kelly |
| Notes | Manager Roy Hodgson is leading his Eagles through this festive period with an overflowing treatment room, especially when it comes to defenders. Against Norwich, we feel he will go for the same back-four as in GW20. With Benteke out injured, there is no real alternative for Ayew up top, so he will lead the line once again, supported by Zaha and Meyer. In the middle, Hodgson might replace McCarthy with Kouyaté, who was rested in GW20 and subbed-on in the 84th minute in that game. |
EVERTON (away vs. Manchester City)
| Form. | 4 – 4 – 2 |
| FOR | Kean, Calvert-Lewin |
| MID | Bernard, Delph, Sigurdsson, Walcott |
| DEF | Digne, Mina, Keane, Coleman |
| GK | Pickford |
| Ruled out | A. Gomes, Gbamin, Iwobi |
| Doubtful | Schneiderlin |
| Notes | This will be Carlo Ancelotti’s third game as Toffees manager and even though he will not have settled yet on a preferred starting eleven, he will likely be looking for some certainties for the players when facing the reigning champions at the Etihad. At the same time, the Liverpool match in the FA on January 5th will be on his mind, so Carletto has some hard choices to make. Pickford starts in goal. Digne is expected to start after being left out in GW20 and the same could be said for Coleman, as his rival for right-back Sidibe has started the last two games. As a central duo, we expect Mina to partner Keane. The midfield might see some changes, as main men Richarlison and Sigurdsson both played (practically) every minute of the last three games. Bernard could come on for the Brazilian, but it seems to much of a creative sacrifice to bench both. Delph might come in to provide extra defensive cover against his old club. The fresh Walcott (he played a single minute in GW19 and 69 minutes the week after) could once again start on the right side of the midfield. Up front, it just seems unwise to leave out Calvert-Lewin at the moment, as the English striker has scored all three of Everton’s goals under Ancelotti so far. He could be partnered by either Kean or Tosun, and our punt is on the former for this round. Ancelotti could also decide to just play one up front with an extra player in midfield to counter the control Man City will have over the ball. |