This weekend was meant to place the focus on Fantasy EFL action but, instead, a few notable FPL injury situations have developed around the world. Neale’s popular in-depth international tracker mentions a Kai Havertz withdrawal but his Arsenal team-mate Bukayo Saka – captained by two of the 18 Great and the Good managers – hurt his leg during England’s defeat to Greece. 

Also damaged is highly-selected Ezri Konsa, which is why we’ve suggested the best £4.5m-and-under transfer replacements. One name to stand out is Ipswich’s Leif Davis, part of our Gameweek 8 Scout Picks bus team. He’s the leading defender for chances created (17) and faces an Everton side that is particularly weak down his flank.

Usually, international breaks are a good time to Wildcard as such injuries can be immediately fixed and there are two weeks to perfect your new squad. We’ve provided three possible drafts – one with three premium attackers, one without Erling Haaland and one that still acknowledges Mohamed Salah, who was allowed to exit Egypt’s camp. FPL Family’s Sam will either activate her Wildcard now, or in Gameweeks 12 or 16.

A big topic tackled by Zophar involves Trent Alexander-Arnold: is it time to sell him? The Liverpool star is FPL’s highest-scoring defender but based mostly on clean sheets rather than attacking returns. His underlying stats look deeper into this. Because even though Arne Slot’s lot has conceded the fewest expected goals, the injury to goalkeeper Alisson could have a notable negative impact during their tough upcoming fixtures.

Elsewhere, the Scout staff’s Sleeper draft league is tight, with eight of ten sitting on a record of two wins and two losses. Former champion Simon March has noticed the tendency of managers prioritising immediate rewards over longer-term ones and – speaking of the future – the next four FPL Challenge weeks are a ‘Test Lab’ that will trial possible rule changes for next season.

Still to come before the next deadline are the usual Scout Squad and Spot the Differential entries, plus a variety of pro Pundit pieces.

As always, check out FPL’s Gameweek 8 page to quickly access all recent articles and the standard press conference updates from managers. Visit our Members Area for comparison tools and an in-depth collection of Opta and StatsBomb data.

Over on our YouTube channel, Joe has spoken to FPL General, plus there’s a Q&A with Az and Sam.