How time flies! Another Winning Ways Newsletter. This edition contains the usual write ups and scores. Alongside our Ones to Watch and TOTW.

Last week, our Ones to Watch column was on fire. STERLING grabbed 2 goals and an assist, whilst DIABY also got a goal and an assist.

Chelsea Cruise past Luton

You could tell from the first 5 minutes who would cause the problems for Luton Town. It was that man again. Raheem Sterling was electric for the blues; his first opportunity came when he hit a powerful volley right down Thomas Kaminski’s throat. The Luton goalkeeper did well to hold on to the ball. However it wasn’t really a case of if Chelsea scored it was when. It was in the 17th minute that the stalemate was broken by Sterling after an amazing run from the wing into the Luton Town box. He finished it off beautifully to top off what was an amazing solo effort.

In the second half, Ben Chilwell missed a golden opportunity to send his side 2 up. Attempting to pass when he really shot have shot, Chilwell couldn’t have made any of his FPL owners happy…

Luton then managed to hold off the incoming barrages of Chelsea attack until the 68th minute. Where once again, Sterling was in the spotlight after finishing from a Malo Gusto cross. Nicolas Jackson then opened his Chelsea goalscoring account. Once again Raheem Sterling was involved, this time with an assist. All in all it was a dominant Chelsea performance. They never looked in doubt of earning the 3 points from this fixture; we do have to give credit to Luton as they could have let Chelsea walk all over them. They made them work for their points, also their fans were brilliant. We just can’t wait for some Premier League football to be played at Kennilworth Road!

Chelsea 3-0 Luton Town

Top FPL performers - Sterling (19) Gusto (14) N.Jackson (7)

United win Game of the Season Contender??

Manchester United came into this game desperately needing a win but they got off to the worst possible start. 2-0 down within 4 minutes. The look of the Forest players said it all. “How have we got here??” The first goal came from a Manchester United corner, with Taiwo Awoniyi finishing off a quick counterattack to delight the away fans. This is the seventh consecutive Premier League game he has scored in, making him the first ever Forest player to do so. The second came from a cheap freekick that seemed to hit Willy Boly’s head rather than him head the ball.

Who should step up when your team goes 2-0 down? Your captain. Bruno Fernandes was magnificent and orchestrated the United comeback. The first goal came from a bit of magic from Marcus Rashford. In his favoured position on the left hand side, he put in a delightful low cross for Christian Eriksen to tap home. United were creating chance after chance with Casemiro offering another contender for miss of the season. However, in the second half the Brazilian managed to redeem himself after he was at the end of a clever free kick routine orchestrated by Fernandes.

Old Trafford was right behind the Red Devils now and it seemed inevitable that United would find a winner. This was made even more likely after Joe Worrall dragged Bruno Fernandes down and was deemed to be the last man. 10 man Forest were struggling to keep hold of the ball. Rashford was one on one with his man again and this time Danilo brought him down inside of the box. Fernandes did what he did best and finished the penalty in a calm fashion to send his side 3-2 up.

It was the definition of squeaky bum time, especially when 11 minutes of added time turned into 15. United did however manage to extend their home unbeaten streak to 31 games. This game has to surely be a contender for game of the season in a enthralling encounter. Bruno Fernandes was unbelievable again for his team and it only shows why he has been made captain of this side.

Manchester United 3-2 Nottingham Forest

Top FPL performers - Fernandes (12) Eriksen (9) Gibbs-White (8)

Are United fans getting carried away with this or do they have a case??

City almost Stumble at Sheffield

On Super Sunday we were treated to some unbelievable games. One of which had Manchester City travel to Bramall Lane, to take on newly promoted side Sheffield United. As you can probably expect, the Champions were controlling the ball for the entire game. Racking up a whopping 79% possession the entire game. However, you have to give credit to Sheffield United who made City work hard to break them down. Wes Foderingham was unbelievable at keeping his team in the game. Unfortunately, it was his defence who let him down. John Egan gave a penalty away on the 37th minute for a handball, you could tell he was guilty by the look of dismay on his face. Surely this would be the breakthrough for Manchester City. FPL players around the world were licking their lips at the sight of Erling Haaland stepping up to the spot. We guess he is human after all as he hit the post. City fans were in disbelief. Sheffield United fans were jubilant.

In the second half, City were still trying to find that elusive goal. Erling Haaland missing the target again when you would have bet your house on him to score and Foderingham denied him again. However you just can’t keep this man out of the game. Jack Grealish stood up a delightful cross to the back post where Haaland was waiting to nod home. It was 1-0 to the Treble winning side and you just couldn’t see a way back for the Blades. Kyle Walker clearly had other ideas. The man from Sheffield gifted the ball away and after a few passes Jayden Bogle fired his shot into the bottom left, leaving Ederson with little chance.

With Pep Guardiola not on the sideline following his back surgery. This was not how it was meant to go. Unfortunately for Sheffield, they could only keep City out for a few minutes. They responded how champions do. With Rodri rifling his shot into the top left of the goal leaving the impressive Foderingham little to no chance at saving it. It was heartbreak for Sheffield United fans, but they have so much to be happy about following that game. We think that there could be a few giant killings to be had this season at Bramall Lane.

Sheffield United 1-2 Manchester City

Top FPL performers - Rodrigo (10) Bogle (7) Grealish (7)

Nunez inspires Liverpool comeback

Last years 4th and 5th place teams met in the final game of the weekend, with Newcastle welcoming welcoming Liverpool to St James Park. Liverpool were the only team to do the double over Newcastle last year, and Jurgen Klopp had won his previous 10 meetings over Eddie Howe. However, Newcastle came into the game full of confidence and slight favourites.

Liverpool started the first 5 minutes well, keeping the ball and not allowing the Geordie fans to get riled up. However, that all changed on the 6th minute when Gordon went straight through the back of Arnold and off the pitch. This was the first of many dubious refereeing decisions made by John Brooks. Somehow, he didn’t see this as a foul. Trent then threw the ball away/ back onto the pitch and was consequently booked. This riled all the Newcastle players up and was an early turning point in the game. Gordon, who was brilliant all game, then ran at Trent a few minutes later and won a foul. He probably shouldn’t have been booked in the first place, but this second tackle definitely warranted a yellow card. The referee again making a strange decision and Liverpool kept 11 men on the pitch.

Newcastle remained on top for the next 20 minutes. Liverpool were unable to keep the ball and Newcastle seemed to have picked Robertson as a weakness. They put pressure on him every time he had the ball, which caused him to give the ball away more than anyone in the first half.

In the 25th minute Alexander-Arnold completely mis-controlled the ball, allowing Gordon through 1-on-1 on goal. The former Everton man made no mistake and slotted it home under Alisson’s legs. As we have seen many times at St James park, the atmosphere then went up another notch and Liverpool were under severe pressure. Just a few minutes later VVD fouls Isak. To perhaps the shock of many at the time it was deemed as a foul and last man; the Liverpool captain saw straight red. Ultimately though the referee got this one right. 5 minutes later Alisson makes an absolutely ridiculous save to keep it at 1. Almiron smashed a volley from inside the box and at full stretch the Brazilian manages to push it on to the bar and keep it out, which kept Liverpool in the game at half time.

Liverpool were very compact as expected in the second half managing to frustrate Newcastle with their 4-4-1 formation. Again the referees showed their inconsistencies, with Joelinton somehow not getting at least a yellow for 4/5 fouls, and Alisson taking an age on goal kicks went unpunished. Newcastle were pushing to kill the game off without looking dangerous. Liverpool did a really good job at frustrating them and having a threat on the break. Both teams made subs midway through the second half that had big impacts. For Liverpool, the fresh legs of Jota and Elliot had a major impact at both ends of the field. To the amazement of Newcastle fans, Howe decided to take off arguably their 2 best players in this game in Gordon and Tonali.

In the 76th minute Almiron carried the ball a long way on a gliding run before his strike hit the post. Klopp then decided to go for it and try and get an equaliser by bringing Nunez on for Macallister. This led to it being more open and a few minutes later Barnes was through in a 2 v 1 situation against Gomez. He couldn’t find the pass to Wilson to kill the game off, but credit to brilliant defending by Gomez who did a solid job all game in tough circumstances.

In the 81st minute the chaotic end to the game started to unfold. Jota’s poor pass bounced off Botman and fell kindly for Nunez. The Uruguayan took one touch out of his feet before absolutely smashing it past Nick Pope for the equaliser. He looked like a different player to the youngster we saw in front of goal last year. Newcastle then had to push for the winner to try and spare their blushes. However in the 92nd minute, the unthinkable happened. Salah played a brilliant ball through and that man Nunez was there again to slot it home convincingly for a dramatic winner to the dismay of 80% of the stadium.

Liverpool hung on for a famous victory to take them up to 7 points from the first 3 games. Klopp can certainly be proud by how his team rallied together and he has to take a lot of credit himself, as tactically he got it spot on in the second half. As for Nunez, if he finishes like that he will easily get 20 plus goals this season. He has all the attributes for a top striker he just needs to put his chances away like he did in this game. Newcastle on the other hand will be majorly disappointed. They don’t need to panic too much yet but the way they lost this game was poor and it’s one they will want to forget.

Top FPL performers - Darwin (11) Gordon (10) Becker (5) Salah (5)

Bournemouth 0-2 Tottenham Hotspur

Tottenham Hotspur came down to Bournemouth coming off of their impressive victory against Manchester United. The Cherries needed to get some points on the table after only being able to secure 1 from their opening day draw with West Ham.

James Maddison has taken to life at Spurs incredibly after his departure from Leicester City and it was him who opened the scoring at the Vitality Stadium. Pape Sarr played a delightful pass, dissecting the Bournemouth defence leaving Maddison to just tuck the ball away. Tottenham were looking increasingly dangerous on the counterattack, so much so Richarlison should have scored before he fluffed his lines.

Ryan Christie had the best effort that came close for Bournemouth. He hit a lovely shot from outside of the box which forced a good save from Guglielmo Vicario. The second half was sadly a dull affair. Bournemouth started the better of the two teams but were unable to produce any goal scoring moments. Dejan Kulusevski then scored from Destiny Udogie’s cross. However, the Spurs defender was later substituted with an injury he sustained. Something to contemplate if you have him in your fantasy team!

Top FPL performers - Udogie (12) Maddison (10) Kulusevski (8)

Arsenal 2-2 Fulham

The game started in the worst possible fashion for the Gunners. Bukayo Saka gifted the ball to Andreas Pereira, who spotted Aaron Ramsdale in no mans land and put the ball past him. It wasn’t until the 70th minute that Saka was able to atone for his mistake. Kenny Tete brought down Fabio Vieira gifting Arsenal a penalty. Saka cooly finished the spot kick. You could tell all the momentum was with Arsenal as only two minutes later Vieira found Eddy Nketiah to send the Gunners into the lead.

Calvin Bassey was then shown a second yellow card for blatantly shoving Nketiah over, stopping a counter attack. Down to 10 men you would have thought that this was Arsenal’s 3 points in the bag. Well, Joao Palhinha had other ideas. Tucking away a lovely volley to earn his side a well earned point from the Emirates.

Top FPL performers - Palhinha (10) Andreas (8) Saka (8)

Brighton 1-3 West Ham

Brighton welcomed West Ham down to the AMEX stadium looking to retain their top spot on the Premier League that they had at the start of the weekend. Unfortunately for Brighton they were shown up by a David Moyes masterclass. His West Ham team only had 22% possession throughout the entire game. James Ward-Prowse scoring the only goal in the first half before Jarrod Bowen scored and assisted to send the Hammers 3 up. Pascal Gross was able to get one back for the hosts but it was too little too late.

Top FPL performers - Bowen (12) Gross (10) Antonio (7)

Everton 0-1 Wolverhampton Wanderers

Elsewhere in Saturday’s 3PM games, Everton hosted Wolves and Crystal Palace travelled to Brentford.

Everton were looking for their first goal of the season and they are still waiting. A mix of missed chances and disallowed goals has left Everton at the foot of the Premier League table with 0 goals and 0 points. A disaster start for Dyche and his men. This was a key clash at the bottom with a vital 3 points up for grabs. Wolves made the most of that with a goal from Neto separating the sides. Jose Sa made some crucial saves to keep them ahead, giving Gary O’Neill his first points as Wolves boss.

Top FPL performers - Jose Sa (11) Kilman (8) Neto (7)

Brentford 1-1 Crystal Palace

Kevin Schade got his first Premier League goal in quite some fashion. Finishing off a lovely run with a delightful curling shot into the top right of the goal just out of Joel Ward’s reach. The second half was mainly one way traffic, with Crystal Palace pushing for an equaliser. Joachim Andersen finally got the equaliser that Palace fans were wanting desperately. It was a scruffy goal, but they will take it as well as the point back to Selhurst Park.

Top FPL performers - Andersen (11) Schade (9) Ayew (5)

Burnley 1-3 Aston Villa

This was a game ran by the ‘Polish Cafu’. Matty Cash was undeniably brilliant for his teams trip to Turf Moor. Getting on the scoresheet not once but twice. The Villains were in the drivers seat for most of the game. Lyle Foster was however able to cut his side’s deficit to just the one goal before summer signing Moussa Diaby restored Villa’s 2 goal lead. Emery’s men have scored 7 goals since their opening day thrashing at the hands of Newcastle.

Top FPL performers - Cash (17) Diaby (12) Foster (7)

Current Standings

The newly promoted sides have had a tough start to the season, oh and Everton!

Winning Ways’ TOTW

Honourable mentions:

Rodri - He was excellent once again this week, whenever his team needs saving he always seems to come up with some excellence.

Areola - This man pulled off 7 saves in the game helping catapult West Ham up to second in the table and frustrate Brighton fans

Gordon - He was a constant threat to Liverpool’s defence and he was able to cause a lot of problems for Trent. The 22 year old arguably had his best game at the weekend.

Ones to Watch

Jarrod Bowen - he was excellent this week and now he is travelling to Kennilworth Road. I think he could definitely cause some issues for the Luton Town defence and we wouldn’t be shocked to see his name on the scoresheet.

Enzo Fernandez - This man seems to be growing into this Chelsea side. He is starting to show some of his World Cup form and has been pulling the strings. He has been starting to get forward well but is sure enough defensively too. He has a very bright future ahead of him.

Joao Palhinha - Not just the fact he scored but defensively against arsenal he was so important for Fulham. He won tackle after tackle and always seemed to be in the right place. I am suprised no one has tried to sign him this window, but he will be the difference between Fulham being in a relegation battle and finishing mid-table this season.

Transfer Talk

Manchester United are pursuing Marc Cucurella on a loan deal from Chelsea.

Carlos Baleba has reportedly signed with Brighton from French side Lille. Contract is rumoured to be valid until 2028.

Aston Villa are apparently looking at bringing in Clement Lenglet from Barcelona.

Manchester City are on the verge of agreeing a deal to sign former West Ham centre back Jamal Baptiste.

Nottingham Forest have almost crossed the line in signing Nuno Tavares on loan from Arsenal. It will apparently have an option to buy.

Folarin Balogun’s deal to leave the Gunners for AS Monaco is almost complete.

Everton have signed striker Beto from Italian side Udinese.

Timothy Castagne has left Leicester City to join Fulham.

Fulham have also signed Lucas Ocampos from Sevilla.