Defenders
Trent Alexander-Arnold (7.5, Liverpool)
TAA continues to have our faith but there’s no doubt about how relatively subpar both him and the Liverpool team overall have been this season. After a 59th-minute substitution off the pitch against Everton, Trent had a night to forget against Napoli in the Champions League midweek too.
If it wasn’t for the complete lack of alternatives, we’d have been more worried about benching him. Still, Wolves are a team who have struggled to score goals for a long time now and will likely be without Jimenez and new signing Kaladzcic while this game may come too soon for Diego Costa.
Thus, with a strong chance of a clean sheet, we’ve given Trent another opportunity here.
Reece James (6.0, Chelsea)
He continues our theme of attacking right-backs from underperforming teams. We’re expecting a response after the shock sacking of Thomas Tuchel with Chelsea playing for their pride, as well as for a spot under the new manager coming in. James is outstanding in attack and we’re picking him to prosper against Fulham on Saturday, in the early kickoff.
Kieran Trippier (5.2, Newcastle United)
Trippier rounds up our starting defense and is our third right back. He notched 6 key passes last week, is on all set-pieces, has a decent goal threat from free kicks and his chance creation in a well-drilled Newcastle team favors him for bonus points.
They face an out-of-sorts West Ham side away from home but with their opponents playing in Europe on Thursday, Newcastle will be the fresher team going into Sunday’s clash and should pick up a win.