The struggle continues for defenders as only four teams managed to keep a clean sheet in GW3. However, there is no shortage of goals as 36 goals were scored. The average GW3 score was 43 which was down significantly from GW2 (59).
A lot was expected from Chelsea, Man United and Man City players but they all struggled and we’ll dive deep into why these three clubs in particular are struggling and if you should keep them or not. Also, we’ll cover the top 5 differentials and team selection for GW4. So, let’s get started.
Top 5 differentials for GW4
5. Daniel Podence (WOL)
TSB – 5.8% Price – £5.6m
Daniel Podence has hit the ground running with two assists in his first two games but he hurt his shoulder due to which he missed GW3. Some good news for his owners is that he is training with the group ahead of GW4 and could likely play against Fulham who look the weakest side so far in the league. Fulham have conceded 10 goals in three games and what better game to make your comeback than Fulham.
4. Kai Havertz (CHE)
TSB – 9.0% Price – £8.4m
It has not been a bright start for Chelsea and Kai Havertz in the Premier League so far but there are a lot of positives to look at this, Kai Havertz was initially deployed on the right side by Frank Lampard which is not arguably his best position but when you look at his performances playing as a central attacking midfielder, Kai has 3 goals and 1 assist including the hat-trick in the Carabao Cup. What makes it interesting that, Chelsea’s both wingers Christian Pulisic and Hakim Ziyech are on the verge of returning to action this weekend so that means Kai Havertz is surely the favorite to start as a no.10 again after being rested in midweek.
3. Alexandre Lacazette (ARS)
TSB – 5.4% Price – £8.5m
The strikers market has been producing the numbers this season with the likes of Harry Kane, Jamie Vardy, Richarlison, Dominic Calvert-Lewin on top of the list. Somewhere in this list, Alexandre Lacazette has been overlooked by managers. The Arsenal striker has scored in all of his first three games, having an average of 7 points per game. The Frenchman has benefited with Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang moving to the left which has unfortunately slowed down his goals but hey, if you’re looking for a striker differential, Lacazette is a man on form.
2. Leandro Trossard (BHA)
TSB – 1.7% Price – £6.0m
On any other day, what could have been a hat-trick for Leandro Trossard, he hit the post 3 times against Manchester United. It’s insane how Leandro Trossard has been massively overlooked despite the Belgian scoring 15 points in three games at an average of 5 points per game.
1. Raheem Sterling (MCI)
TSB – 6.2% Price – £11.5m
The absence of Sergio Aguero and Gabriel Jesus again makes Raheem Sterling the most tempting differential this week. Man City face Leeds United who conceded 7 goals in just three games, so there would be a lot of opportunities for Raheem Sterling to capitalize as compared to last week against Leicester City.
Team selection for GW4
GK : Alex McCarthy
DEF : Romain Saïss
DEF : Timothy Castagne
DEF : Andrew Robertson
MID : Kevin De Bruyne (C)
MID : Wilfried Zaha
MID : Raheem Sterling
MID : Leandro Trossard
FWD : Raul Jimenez
FWD : Dominic Calvert-Lewin
FWD : Danny Ings
• Why are Chelsea, Man United and Man City struggling?
Till now, it’s no surprise to see that Chelsea, Manchester United and Manchester City are struggling in terms of fitness and grinding out results. Chelsea survived an absolute embarrassment to come from three goals down to draw the game while Man United were the luckiest team in the world against Brighton after getting a penalty after the final whistle. Man City, however, conceded five goals including which three of them were penalties.
You would argue that these three teams had a longer season than the rest of teams which directly affects their pre-season preparations, hence the players are short on fitness. Yes, that’s true but it’s not so simple right? Let’s discuss these three clubs on a case by case basis.
Starting with Chelsea first, the Blues have done a wonderful job in the transfer market by bringing in almost a new XI for Frank Lampard. As good as it sounds, these players would not just start playing like prime Bayern Munich instantly. The players need some time to play together and develop the understanding, although you would imagine there’s not much time at Chelsea FC as Roman Abramovich could pull the trigger anytime. Another factor here is, Chelsea and injuries are just like Tom & Jerry, there is always someone injured and this time around they had Christian Pulisic, Hakim Ziyech and Ben Chilwell in the sidelines out of which two are new signings. Due to this, Frank Lampard had to play some players out of position in the opening fixtures so that hasn’t helped too.
Next comes Manchester United and their summer went all wrong. I don’t know from where do I start, everything is in shambles. It started after the heartbreaking loss against Sevilla in the semi-finals of the Europa League and during their holidays club captain Harry Maguire was arrested in Greece which followed by Paul Pogba getting Covid, Mason Greenwood in Iceland and of course, their transfer business. All of this has caused some negativity among their fans which is really unfortunate but they got some positivity back after the win against Brighton.
Finally we have Manchester City, who had to prepare for their pre-season without their manager Pep Guardiola who had to quarantine for 14 days after visiting Barcelona. City also had Aymeric Laporte, Riyadh Mahrez and Ilkay Gundogan miss the pre-season because of Covid. On top of that, City’s top striker Sergio Aguero, who suffered from a meniscus injury in the later half of last season still isn’t ready to play and Gabriel Jesus suffered a muscle injury after playing the first game of the season.
Now that we have discussed about the situations of each club, should we hold on to their players or move them for in-form players? For me, I’ll hold on to them in GW4. As there is an international break after GW4, it is a good time for Frank Lampard, Ole Gunnar Solskjaer and Pep Guardiola to do catching up with the rest of the league in terms of fitness and I am optimistic we will see their real season begin after the Int. break. Right now, I would say that they are still in pre-season mode.
