FPL pre-season: Minteh scores, £4.0m Barco starts, no Watkins, ESR impact

Brighton and Hove Albion, Aston Villa and Fulham were all in pre-season action on Saturday, with budget midfielders Yankuba Minteh (£5.5m) and Emile Smith Rowe (£5.5m) both on the scoresheet.

We’ll take a look at the key Fantasy Premier League (FPL) talking points from those friendlies here.

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BRIGHTON AND HOVE ALBION 4-0 VILLARREAL

• Goals: Joao Pedro, Danny Welbeck x2, Yankuba Minteh
• Assists: Kaoru Mitoma x2, Yankuba Minteh

Yankuba Minteh delivered a goal and an assist at the Amex on Saturday, as Brighton and Hove Albion made it four wins out of four in pre-season.

Fabian Hurzeler named what looked very much like a first-choice XI, with Minteh the star of the show.

The 20-year-old first assisted Danny Welbeck (£5.5m), before firing home from close range in the second half. It was a decent finish by the former Newcastle United man, who has made a real impression in pre-season, with three goals and two assists in 242 minutes.

Minteh’s work rate and pressing also stood out, though his advanced position on the pitch did sometimes leave right-back Joel Veltman (£4.5m) exposed. Villarreal failed to capitalise, but they were given far too much space in the final third. Albion were somewhat fortunate to bank the clean sheet.

In addition to Minteh, Joao Pedro (£5.5m) also looked lively. He marked his return with a lovely strike from the edge of the box, earning Hurzeler’s praise in the process:

“Joao Pedro can do special things, and I think it was a really good performance from him and the team. It was his first game for us, but football is a team sport so to make him shine the team has to work well, and that’s always the priority.” – Fabian Hurzeler on Joao Pedro

Like Lewis Dunk (£4.5m), he was taken off at half-time, but on Saturday’s evidence, you’d expect him to start next week’s opening fixture at Goodison Park. He should be on penalties, too – Welbeck scored from the spot against Villarreal but Pedro wasn’t on the pitch.

At the other end, Jason Steele (£4.5m) started in goal with Bart Verbruggen (£4.5m) out injured, while Valentin Barco (£4.0m) looked solid at left-back, frequently roaming into central midfield.

Handed a share of set-pieces in pre-season, Barco looks good for some early starts and is now the most-owned £4.0m defender in FPL, with his ownership up to 15.7%.

Brighton and Hove Albion XI: Steele, Veltman (Ayari 62), van Hecke, Dunk (Webster 45), Barco (Baleba 62), Minteh (Cozier-Duberry 78), Wieffer (Hinshelwood 62), Milner (Moran 78), Mitoma (Adingra 74), Joao Pedro (Sarmiento 45), Welbeck (O’Mahony 86)

BORUSSIA DORTMUND 2-0 ASTON VILLA

Emiliano Martinez (£5.0m) and Ezri Konsa (£4.5m) both made their first appearances of pre-season in Dortmund, but Ollie Watkins (£9.0m) was once again absent.

Unless there is a behind-closed-doors friendly this week, Watkins will have failed to kick a ball in pre-season, potentially impacting his sharpness for Gameweek 1.

With backup striker Jhon Duran (£6.0m) – who may leave Aston Villa soon – also missing, Unai Emery opted to start Morgan Rogers (£5.0m) as the centre-forward.

The 22-year-old failed to register a shot in his 79 minutes on the pitch but was only inches away from connecting with Lucas Digne’s (£4.5m) cross into the box, something the stats won’t pick up.

Once Watkins returns, he’ll probably shift back into a ’10’ role, but no Villa player has racked up more pre-season minutes than Rogers, an encouraging sign ahead of next week’s trip to West Ham United.

Two goals in three first-half minutes did the damage on Saturday but otherwise, Emery’s side acquitted themselves well at Signal Iduna Park.

Jacob Ramsey (£5.5m) carried the most threat. Deployed on the left but sitting narrow, he racked up three shots, forcing Dortmund ‘keeper Gregor Kobel into a couple of saves. He has built his fitness up well in recent weeks and could be in line to start in Gameweek 1.

Above: Jacob Ramsey’s touch heatmap v Borussia Dortmund

Elsewhere, there was another start for £4.0m defender Kosta Nedeljkovic, with Matty Cash (£4.5m) not in the matchday squad. There are no reports of an injury yet, so it’s all eyes on Emery’s presser later this week.

Leon Bailey (£6.5m), Ian Maatsen (£5.0m) and Ross Barkley (£5.5m) were all introduced on the hour mark.

Aston Villa XI: Martinez (Gauci 62), Nedeljkovic, Konsa (Bogarde 62), Pau, Digne (Maatsen 62), Onana (Barkley 62), Tielemans (Barrenechea 79), McGinn (Archer 71), Ramsey (Bailey 62), Philogene (Moreno 79), Rogers (Buendia 79)

HOFFENHEIM 0-2 FULHAM

• Goals: Emile Smith Rowe, Adam Traore
• Assists: Alex Iwobi x2

Emile Smith Rowe has now scored two goals in two pre-season games for Fulham.

In Hoffenheim, he broke the deadlock in the 33rd minute, threading his shot beyond Oliver Baumann from a tight angle.

As a result, Smith Rowe is now the second most-selected midfielder priced at £5.5m and under:

It’s for good reason, too, with Fulham facing newly-promoted Leicester City and Ipswich Town in Gameweeks 2 and 3 respectively.

After the break, Adama Traore (£5.0m) finished the job for the Cottagers, with both goals assisted by the impressive Alex Iwobi (£5.5m). He’s played a pivotal role in pre-season, with two goals and three assists in total.

Tactically, it was interesting to see Andreas Pereira (£5.5m) again in a deeper role, lining up alongside Sasa Lukic (£5.0m).

As for Rodrigo Muniz (£6.0m), he was quiet but didn’t get much service, with Traore and Antonee Robinson (£4.5m) failing to find him when in good positions.

Fulham XI: Leno, Tete (Castagne 81), Diop (Cuenca 81), Bassey, Robinson (Esenga 89), Lukic, Andreas (King 89), Smith Rowe (Cairney 81), Adama (Godo 89), Muniz (Jimenez 81), Iwobi

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