⏰ Gameweek 4’s deadline is Saturday, 12th September, 13:30 BST.

✅ O'Reilly is "100% available" for Manchester United, says Enzo Maresca.

🗣️ Arteta on Mosquera: “He’s progressing very well, let’s see if he can get this game or the next one.”

🏆 There was midweek UCL and League Cup action this week. We’ll fill you in, but the players you care about emerged unscathed.

🎙️ Our free podcast is live. Listen to the Gameweek 4 preview on Spotify here or search “LazyFPL” in your podcast platform of choice.

👀 Keep reading for a Free Hit team and a Wildcard team.

Alright?

A few of you - we won’t name names, but Richard, this is partially about you - have been kicking off about the lack of stats tables in our newsletters.

The stats tables are a stalwart of our regular in-season programming, but the ancient scrolls upon which LazyFPL was founded dictate that we leave them out for the first few gameweeks.

Some readers - we won’t point fingers, but Steve, we’re pointing at you - have claimed that it’s to try and upsell LazyFPL Premium, or because we take some sadistic pleasure from withholding useful information.

Only one of these is true. The main reason is that early-season stats can be misleading. One outlandish player performance can skew them completely, and that can lead to poor decision-making.

Anyway, the stats tables return today. Our dedicated disgruntlement team will be on hand to field any complaints when they inevitably fool you into buying Thierno Barry.

Let’s look at what Gameweek 4 has to say for itself.

Not to brag, but we’re 127th from 325 in the Lazy CLUB league. In Premier League terms, that’s around 8th, which means we’re knocking on the door of the UEFA Conference League.

Remember, CLUB matches you up in head-to-heads with other people who join at this time, so “too late” isn’t a thing.

Here’s our Gameweek 4 team:

Yes, the starting XI is pretty hench. But that’s at the cost of the bench, which will remain thin while the board works to upgrade our wage budget.

One thing we’re hyperfocused on this week is the Player Network. It’s essentially a digital Panini album, but instead of unpacking stickers, you scout players. As it turns out, we’re in the top 7% of CLUB owners at the moment.

Joining CLUB is totally free. We’re having a lot of fun, and there’s a very decent chance you will too. Click the button below to create your team and join our league.

Summary for the Lazy: There was Champions League and League Cup action during the week. Here’s the notable stuff that happened.

Tuesday

FC Porto 0-2 Man City (UCL)

Haaland scored a brace. Cherki and Semenyo started, and both played 62 minutes. Foden also started and was withdrawn after 75’. Enzo got an assist, Anderson came off the bench, O’Reilly wasn’t with the squad.

Club Brugge 2-3 Aston Villa (UCL)

Goals for McGinn, Buendía and Jackson. Centre-back Torres got two assists.

Bournemouth 4-0 Lincoln (League Cup, obviously)

Bournemouth played a “League Cup” team. Christie scored a hat-trick; Rayan came off the bench and scored.

Crystal Palace 3-0 Middlesbrough (Getting silly now)

Strand-Larsen scored a brace and got an assist. Kamada scored the third goal, and Chilwell got an assist.

Millwall 0-1 Newcastle (Ffs, why did we even bother with naming the tournament?)

Newcastle played a good team here. Wissa started and played 66 mins. Willock got the winner from a Hall assist.

The increasingly popular Dedić was substituted at half-time due to a hamstring injury.

Sunderland 1-0 Hull (UCL. Nah, this was also the League Cup.)

Neither team was at full strength. Talbi scored the only goal.

Wednesday

Liverpool 2-1 Atlético Madrid

Szoboszlai and Mac Allister scored Liverpool’s two goals. Isak and Araújo picked up the assists. Wirtz started and played 90.

Barcola was substituted in the 60th minute due to cramp. Gakpo missed the fixture with an adductor issue but could return this weekend. Iraola said: “If it’s not this weekend, it’ll be the next one. But I think he has a chance even this weekend.”

Napoli 0-1 Arsenal

Ødegaard scored Arsenal’s only goal in a game in which Calafiori was rested. Timber travelled with the team but wasn’t an option from the bench. Tzolis came off the bench on 66’ and got the assist.

Chelsea 6-3 Leeds

Chelsea did what Chelsea appear to be doing every game this season. They beat teams in the same way that one might beat one of those belly-buster breakfast challenges. Sure, they win, but they take some damage along the way.

Palmer scored a brace, Welbeck scored a brace, with Neto and Barco scooping up the other two. Rogers got four assists. Oh, and all of this happened in the second half. Chelsea were actually 2-0 down with 37 minutes to go.

Pedro was rested throughout, and Palmer and Rogers were only brought on at half-time. Elsewhere, a subbed-on Calvert-Lewin scored, with Aaronson and Muharemović also on the scoresheet for Leeds.

Thursday

Man United 4-0 Sabah

Šeško started for the first time this season and scored. Fernandes, Cunha and Martínez also scored. Cunha and Fernandes both played 90, but Mbeumo was subbed off on 72’.

Summary for the Lazy: Gameweek 4 is another big chip week, but it’s highly team-dependent.

The divergent chip strategies used by top managers this season are on full show in Gameweek 4, flaunting themselves like nudists on a German beach.

Some - like The Professor - are using their Triple Captains.

Others - like Hall-of-Famer and LazyFPL Premium pundit Ross - are using their Free Hits to ensure they own the likes of Palmer and Rogers for their home fixture against Hull.

A third camp - which includes Hall-of-Famer and LazyFPL Premium Pundit Cooper - is eyeing the Wildcard, content that three weeks of action gives us enough trustworthy insight.

Below are sections for all three of these options.

(There is, of course, a fourth option (there’s always a fourth option in FPL) - which is to do not that much. You could roll your transfers, swap your captaincy and maybe move your bench about a bit. Very rarely is the fourth option a bad idea, but it depends on how your team is looking. If a chip isn’t calling out to you, it’s probably worth holding onto it for now).

Here’s a reasonable Free Hit draft:

Like all good Free Hits, it attacks the fixtures like your Dad attacks a breakfast buffet. In this team, we’ve got a rare triple-triple*:

🔵 Triple Chelsea. Because even though Hull haven’t conceded yet, they’re still conceding plenty of chances. It’s only a matter of time before one of ‘em goes in.

🔴 Triple Liverpool. Fulham have the second-worst defence in the league, according to the underlying stats.

🛡️ Triple Arsenal. Their defence is, once again, exceptional this season, and Saka has gotten off to a good start.

Whilst there will obviously be variation, it’s likely that most Free Hitters will be looking at something similar to the above.

*Editor’s note: “triple-triple” is not actual FPL terminology. Using this expression in public will result in mockery and, in extreme cases, ostracism.

Here’s a non-terrible Wildcard draft:

Building a Wildcard squad is a more subtle art than the Free Hit. Players are picked in part for their long-term fixtures (we use the LazyFPL Premium fixture tracker to look ahead), with an emphasis on nailed talismans and penalty takers.

Whilst our Free Hit draft included zero Man City players, the Wildcard triples up on them, mindful that, generally, owning Man City players is probably a good idea (honestly, the depths of our genius are astounding sometimes, even to us). That means owning Haaland, which forces more balance across the rest of the team.

Budget management means we’ve picked Konsa over Gabriel. Saliba’s return date remains unknown, though estimates suggest November at the earliest, which makes Konsa worth his £4.4m for now.

Summary for the Lazy: It’s Palmer if you own him, Pedro if you don’t.

We think Pedro will be the most popular captain for his home fixture against Hull. He has the fixture and, at 72.5% ownership, the popularity too.

At 22.7%, Palmer’s ownership is less than Pedro’s, but those who own him will likely stick the armband on him. That’s because he’s on penalties and scores an extra point for a goal.

Are Hull really good?

Hull’s defensive stats have, so far, been average. But, freakishly, they haven’t conceded a single goal.

Their zero-goals-conceded comes from an xGA (expected goals allowed) of 5.05. That’s the 13th-best in the league, or the 7th-worst, depending on your outlook on life.

In other words, they’ve been exceptionally fortunate not to concede a goal this season. Most good managers feel their luck is about to run out.

Other options.

The appeal of Chelsea assets is bolstered by a lack of clear-and-obvious options elsewhere. The Manchesters play one another, Arsenal visit Sunderland - which is a good fixture, but not one that screams “captaincy opportunity” - and Liverpool host Fulham. It’s also a good fixture, but Liverpool assets feel less reliable than their Chelsea counterparts at the moment.

The Norse God (that’s Haaland, in case you’re new around here) is always an option, and Isak has started the season well, but it’s hard to look past Chelsea at home to Hull.

What about the Triple Captain?

The Professor likes it, which means we’re contractually obliged to say it’s a good idea.

But seriously, Hull at home is as good a fixture as any, despite their stats-defying start to the season. Palmer is the more reliable pick for us, for the reasons mentioned earlier (penalties, extra goal points).

It could go terribly wrong - Triple Captains often do - but you’re already emotionally prepared for disappointment by virtue of being an FPL manager.

After a good start, The Prof has been toying with three scenarios this week:

As of typing, he’s favouring option number three. Here's his team:

Two transfers spent:

The option to cancel the Triple Captain and play the Wildcard instead (regaining his two precious free transfers) is still on the table.

If he does change his mind and activates the Wildcard, the only place you will find his draft is in our LazyFPL Premium WhatsApp Broadcast group.

Upgrading to LazyFPL Premium unlocks the good stuff. You'll instantly get:

Welcome to the stats tables. If you’re new around here, they show:

Goals (G), expected goals (xG), assists (A), expected assists (xA), goals+assists (G+A) and expected goal involvements (xGI).

Remember, it’s still very early. This table will likely look very different next week.

And here are the team stats. This shows goals and expected goals on the attacking side, and goals allowed and expected goals allowed on the defensive side.

As with the player stats, expect these to change dramatically whilst it’s still early.

Okay, Gameweek 5 is a Friday night deadline, so we’ll see you on Thursday. It’s a bold suggestion, but try to enjoy Gameweek 4, and remember:

Stay lazy.

The LazyFPL Team.