Reed missing for Fulham as Traoré named on Aston Villa bench

Fantasy Premier League benches have taken another hit in Gameweek 3 as Harrison Reed (£4.5m) is absent from Fulham’s meeting with Aston Villa.

In a week where Daniel Podence (£5.6m) and Gabriel Jesus (£9.5m) were no-shows, managers will be relying on their substitutes more than ever.

Reed is currently among the top-eight most-popular midfielders priced under £4.5m but is leaving his backers short this time around.

Aleksandr Mitrovic (£6.0m) is the main Fantasy draw at Craven Cottage though, owned by 20.7% of managers.

The Fulham forward is a key man in the mid-priced bracket, Patrick Bamford (£5.7m) the only FPL forward priced at £6.0m or less to come into Gameweek 3 with more backers than Mitrovic.

His Leeds counterpart has already registered five attacking returns in three matches but Mitrovic is on Fulham’s penalties… in a season where spot-kicks are intriguingly common.

That said, Emi Martínez (£4.5m) already has one penalty save to his name in 2020/21, making himself the most-signed goalkeeper ahead of Gameweek 3.

The Villa shot-stopper already boasts 11.8% ownership and could catch up on Alex McCarthy (18.7%) and Mat Ryan (17.9%) with a solid score at Craven Cottage.

Jack Grealish (£7.0m) was the last Villa man to score a league goal at Fulham, and also their chief threat on the road last season. He registered seven attacking returns on the road in 2019/20 and continues on the left-hand side of Dean Smith’s 4-3-3 system tonight.

As is likely to be customary this season, Ollie Watkins (£6.0m) leads the line for the second league match in a row, while Trézéguet (£5.5m) gets one more week on the right-hand side of the front-three.

New signing Bertrand Traoré (£6.0m) is sure to be eyeing up that spot up though, as he shook off a yellow flag to be named on Villa’s bench for Gameweek 3.

Fulham XI (4-2-3-1): Areola; Bryan, Odoi, Hector, Tete; Ream, Zambo Anguissa; Cavaleiro, Decordova-Reid, Cairney; Mitrovic.

Aston Villa XI (4-3-3): Martínez; Targett, Konsa, Mings, Cash; Hourihane, D Luiz, McGinn; Grealish, Watkins, Trézéguet.

Lessons Learned from FPL Gameweek 3

• Brighton and Hove Albion 2-3 Manchester United
• Crystal Palace 1-2 Everton
• West Bromwich Albion 3-3 Chelsea
• Burnley 0-1 Southampton
• Sheffield United 0-1 Leeds United
• Tottenham Hotspur 1-1 Newcastle United
• Manchester City 2-5 Leicester City
• West Ham United 4-0 Wolverhampton Wanderers
• Fulham 0-3 Aston Villa
• Liverpool 3-1 Arsenal