Ilkay Gundogan
After a benching in Saturday’s comeback against Crystal Palace, chances are Gundogan will return to the starting line-up against a Nottingham Forest defence that has looked leaky, despite only conceding five goals in four games.
Manchester City could easily score that many in one night and Gundogan would likely be involved, given that only Erling Haaland has taken more shots per 90 minutes among Pep Guardiola’s squad so far.
William Saliba
No clean sheet for Arsenal last time out and it was Saliba’s centre-back partner Gabriel who scored the winning goal but both continue to look like solid defensive picks, not least because of how well they score on the bonus points system.
Saliba came away with two bonus against Fulham, taking his tally for the season to six, and his 4.7m price tag is excellent value for money. An out-of-sorts Aston Villa visit the Emirates on Wednesday evening.
Rodrigo
Retaining his place in our picks despite following a bandwagon with a blank, Rodrigo is still worth considering. If you thought he was a good pick before playing away at Brighton, he still should be before a three-game run against Everton, Brentford and Forest.
Patrick Bamford is nearing a return and Luis Sinisterra is waiting in the wings for a first start but Jesse Marsch’s recent comments about Rodrigo’s importance as stand-in captain and designated penalty taker ease our faint rotation fears.
Lewis Dunk
Another centre-back and, if we are being honest, not exactly the most exciting of picks, but if you are looking to move money out of defence to invest in some of the mid-price midfielders and forwards currently emerging, you could do worse than going with Dunk.
Brighton’s underlying defensive numbers pin them as the fourth-best in the league after four games and that is not much of a surprise, given how well-drilled they have generally been under Graham Potter. Dunk’s minutes are secure, making him a solid pick.
Pascal Groß
A cheaper alternative to Rodrigo. After his brace on the opening weekend against Manchester United, Groß returned to the scoresheet against Leeds last time out, having picked up an assist in gameweek 3.
The Brighton playmaker is now breathing down Rodrigo’s neck at the top of the midfield rankings but will give you a saving of 0.7m over his Leeds counterpart. Three goals from six shots feels a little unsustainable but as mentioned, the next few fixtures are strong.
