Gameweek four of the Premier League season sees many of the big sides featuring early in the weekend and looking to hit form after inconsistent starts to the season. Manchester United will look to build on their impressive victory over Liverpool as they travel to Southampton in the opening match of the round, with Manchester City, Chelsea and Liverpool all in action during the 3pm kick-offs.
Fantasy football managers will have a keen eye on the team news ahead of the FPL deadline at 11am BST on Saturday, and one thing to look out for is the mid-week fixtures on Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday this week. That could mean managers start to rotate their line-ups as the fixtures begin to come thick and fast. Here we take a look at the key team news from the pre-match press conferences and predicted line-ups to help make our Fantasy Premier League decisions.
Manchester United
Fixture: Southampton vs Manchester United, Saturday 27 August, 12:30pm
Man United team news: Casemiro could make his Premier League debut following his arrival from Real Madrid, even though the defensive midfielder is unlikely to be much of an FPL asset. Erik ten Hag is likely to stick with the team who responded to his instructions with an improved performance against Liverpool. That should see Harry Maguire, Luke Shaw and Cristiano Ronaldo remain on the bench. After a bright introduction against Liverpool, Anthony Martial is now is out with an Achilles injury, Ten Hag has confirmed, so Anthony Elanga could again start alongside Marcus Rashford and Jadon Sancho.
Man United predicted line-up: De Gea; Dalot, Varane, Martinez, Malacia; Casemiro, Eriksen, Fernandes; Sancho, Rashford, Elanga
Southampton team news: Ralph Hasenhuttl has insisted that striker Che Adams will not be sold before the end of the transfer window, so the in-form Scotland international should start after scoring back-to-back doubles against Leicester and Cambridge this week
Liverpool
Fixture: Liverpool vs Bournemouth, Saturday 27 August, 3pm
Liverpool team news: Injuries, form and suspension could see Jurgen Klopp make changes from Monday’s dismal defeat at Manchester United, but the Liverpool manager is also short of options. Klopp confirmed that Diogo Jota, Thiago Alcantara, Joel Matip and Ibrahima Konate remain out injured, with Naby Keita joining the list, while Darwin Nunez is serving the second of his three-match ban. Fabinho should replace James Milner in midfield while Fabio Carvalho was bright at Old Trafford and could feature again from the bench.
Liverpool predicted line-up: Alisson; Alexander-Arnold, Gomez, Van Dijk, Robertson; Fabinho, Henderson, Elliott; Salah, Firmino, Diaz
Bournemouth team news: Bournemouth striker Dominic Solanke faces a late fitness test on ankle ahead of a potential return to Anfield for the former Liverpool striker. Ryan Fredericks, Joe Rothwell and Junior Stanislas are all out.
Manchester City
Fixture: Manchester City vs Crystal Palace, Saturday 27 August, 3pm
Man City team news: The Premier League champions faced Barcelona in a friendly on Wednesday night, with most available first-team players getting a run out at the Nou Camp. Jack Grealish did not feature after missing out on the trip to Newcastle, neither did Nathan Ake after he suffered a groin injury during the 3-3 draw at St James’ Park. Crucially, Erling Haaland, Kevin De Bruyne, Joao Cancelo and Ilkay Gundogan all came on against Barcelona, rather than starting, so should be expected to return to the line-up against Palace. “We train this afternoon and we will know exactly the situation with everyone,” Guardiola said when asked for an update. “Now I cannot tell you.”
Man City predicted line-up: Ederson; Walker, Stones, Dias, Cancelo; Rodri, Gundogan, De Bruyne; Mahrez, Haaland, Foden
Crystal Palace team news: Wilfried Zaha could miss the trip to the Premier League champions due to an injury picked up in the win over Aston Villa last weekend, according to The Athletic. Patrick Vieira did not comment on Zaha in his pre-match press conference, but the in-form forward was missing on Tuesday when Palace faced Oxford United in the Carabao Cup.
Chelsea
Fixture: Chelsea vs Leicester, Saturday 27 August, 3pm
Chelsea team news: Kalidou Koulibaly is suspended after he was sent off in last weekend’s dismal 3-0 defeat at Leeds, while Chelsea remain without N’Golo Kante and Mateo Kovacic due to injury. Marc Cucurella could drop into the back three with Ben Chilwell comes in at wing back, and on the other side Thomas Tuchel could recall Cesar Azpilicueta and move Reece James higher up. It would not be a surprise to see further changes but Tuchel does not look to be overly happy with his options as he pursues moves for Anthony Gordon and Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang.
Chelsea predicted line-up: Mendy; Azplicueta, Silva, Cucurella; James, Loftus-Cheek, Jorginho, Chilwell; Mount, Havertz, Sterling
Leicester team news: Wesley Fofana will not be involved due to transfer interest from Chelsea, while Youri Tielemans could be on the bench again due to reports linking the midfielder with a move away.
Arsenal
Fixture: Arsenal vs Fulham, Saturday 27 August, 5:30pm
Arsenal team news: Mikel Arteta’s side come into the week top of the table with three wins and having named the same starting team in each match so far. If it wasn’t for Wednesday’s match against Aston Villa, there would be a good chance of that continuing. Arteta has a fully fit squad and plenty of options if he does decide to make changes, with Emile Smith Rowe and Takehiro Tomiyasu most likely to come in.
Arsenal predicted line-up: Ramsdale; Tomiyasu, Saliba, Gabriel, Zinchenko; Partey, Xhaka; Martinelli, Odegaard, Saka; Jesus
Fulham team news: Marco Silva made 10 changes for the 2-0 defeat to Crawley in the League Cup, so you can expect Fulham to revert back to the team that has been a good start to the Premier League season.
Tottenham
Fixture: Nottingham Forest vs Tottenham, Sunday 28 August, 4:30pm
Spurs team news: Ivan Perisic was man-of-the-match on his full debut in the 1-0 win over Wolves last weekend and looks set to keep his place on the left wing, while Heung-min Son’s slow start to the season has given Antonio Conte a decision to make with Richarlison pushing for his first start. Cristian Romero is out but Davinson Sanchez impressed as his replacement, while Oliver Skipp is nearing a return.
Spurs predicted line-up: Lloris; Sanchez, Dier, Davies; Emerson, Hojbjerg, Bentancur, Perisic; Kulusevski, Kane, Son
Forest team news: Morgan Gibbs-White will be assessed after picking up a knock against Everton last weekend, which ruled him out of the Carabao Cup win at Grimsby.
More team news
Brentford vs Everton, Saturday 27 August, 3pm: Kane Lewis-Potter may start after his goal in midweek while Mikkel Damsgaard could be involved too after making his debut Kristoffer Sergi Canos and Ethan Pinnock remain out. Everton are without Dominic Calvert-Lewin Abdoulaye Doucoure, Yerry Mina, Ben Godfrey, Andros Townsend and Andres Gomes. Anthony Gordon should still play despite wanting to leave for Chelsea.
Brighton vs Leeds, Saturday 27 August, 3pm: The hosts have no new injury concerns but Neal Maupay is on the verge of a move away. There could be a first start for Pervis Estupinan. Leeds striker Patrick Bamford is a doubt due to a groin injury and skipper Liam Cooper is in contention for his first league appearance of the season after an Achilles injury, but Jesse Marsch is expected to revert back to the line-up which started in the 3-0 win against Chelsea.
Wolves vs Newcastle, Sunday 28 August, 2pm: Chiquinho remains out with a long-term knee injury but Bruno Lage is expected to recall Jose Sa, Ruben Neves and Daniel Podence after the win over Preston. Callum Wilson is out with a hamstring injury but Eddie Howe was hopeful new club record signing Alexander Isak could feature.
Aston Villa vs West Ham, Sunday 28 August, 2pm: Philippe Coutinho could be brought back into the line-up while Danny Ings and Leon Bailey scored in midweek and are pushing for starts. West Ham striker Gianluca Scamacca has thrust himself into contention for his first Premier League season after another goal in Europe and Emerson Palmeiri could be handed a debut.
