In an extraordinary encounter at Anfield, Manchester City closed the gap on Arsenal to six points, ahead of Liverpool Dominik Szoboszlai (£6.7m) heavily involved.
Here are our Scout Notes from Merseyside.
BAN SZOBOSZLAI: HOW MANY MATCHES WILL HE MISS?
Szoboszlai is also out of Gameweek 26.
The Hungarian, who is owned by 6.3% of Fantasy managers, will miss Liverpool’s trip to Sunderland after being sent off in Sunday’s defeat to Man City.
It was a rollercoaster afternoon for Szoboszlai, who played as a right-back in addition to his late red card, scoring a stunning free-kick and netting defensive contribution (DefCon)/bonus points.
Declining an obvious goal scoring opportunity (DOGSO) only carries a one-match suspension, so Szoboszlai will return for Nottingham Forest in Gameweek 27.
LIVERPOOL’S RIGHT BACKING PROBLEM
With Szoboszlai ruled out, Arne Slot will face a selection headache at right back in Gameweek 26.
Jeremy Frimpong (£5.7 million) and Conor Bradley (£4.9m) have already been ruled out of the trip to Sunderland Joe Gomes (£4.9 million) remains a doubt.
“Jeremiah [Frimpong] certainly not. We knew this when he got injured, that it took a few weeks. To be honest, I’m not expecting Joe [Gomez] to come back too, but you never know. But then he’s back after being out for three weeks, would you like to play him? You say no, but you don’t have to make the decision – I have to make the decision. Let’s see what decision we make. We have other players who can also play in that position. Stupid [Szoboszlai] played – again – a very good game in that position, but unfortunately he will not be available on Wednesday.” – Arne Slot
Curtis Jones (£5.4m) has previously filled that position, with Wataru Endo (£4.9 million) and younger Calvin Ramsey (£3.8m) other potential options if Gomez does indeed miss out.
HAALAND HAUL
After sitting out the midweek win over Newcastle United, Erling Haaland (£14.9m) returned to Pep Guardiola’s starting XI at Anfield.
And just when it looked like an attacking return would elude him, the Norwegian came alive with a late attack.
Flanked by Antoine Semenyo (£7.9 million) and Omar Marmoush (£8.3m) in Guardiola’s fluid 4-3-3 formation, Haaland provided a heading assist for the impressive Bernardo Silva (£6.2 million), before tucking away a penalty in stoppage time.
“At the end we were guided by our incredible player, one of the best ever to play or train – our captain Bernardo. We follow him, I follow him too. He puts the team first. He does things by his own example. Everyone follows him, I am the first. He scored the first from the Erling assist and made the assist for Matheus for the penalty.” – Pep Guardiola
Matheus Nunes (£5.4m) bundled in the penalty area to win that penalty and claimed his sixth assist of the season, the joint most of any FPL defender.
Above: Defenders sorted by assists (A) in 2025/26
Elsewhere, Nico O’Reilly (£4.9m) deployed in central midfield, with Tijjani Reijnders (£5.1 million), Phil Foden (£8.3 million) and Rayan Cherki (£6.5 million), all named among the replacements.
As for Liverpool, after a disjointed first-half performance, they upped the tempo after the break and improved immediately.
Hugo Ekitike (£8.9m) missed a sitter and headed wide after a lovely cross Muhammad Salah (£14.0m), who notably scored five goal attempts, while Gianluigi Donnarumma (£5.6 million) refused Alexis MacAllister (£6.2m) with a great late save.
But after defeat, Liverpool are now four points behind fifth-placed Chelsea, so they still have a lot of work to do to qualify for next season’s UEFA Champions League.
Their next match is also a tough one as they travel to Sunderland, who are unbeaten at home in 2025/2026.
KHUSANOV LAST/SLIDE RETURNS
Abdukodir Khusanov (£5.4m) suffered a blow to the head at Anfield on Sunday and was taken off the pitch just after the hour due to concussion.
An early doubt for Gameweek 26, the centre-back was replaced by Ruben Dias (£5.5m), who returned to the City squad as an unused substitute in midweek.
The Portuguese’s return should provide an immediate boost: City kept four clean sheets in the five league matches prior to his injury.
City now host Fulham at the Etihad Stadium on Wednesday before another home match against Salford City in the fourth round of the FA Cup.
#FPL #notes #games #Szoboszlai #Haaland #pick