Sports
Cole Palmer injury makes Enzo Fernandez a must-buy on FPL
Enzo Maresca’s admission of error over the length of Cole Palmer’s injury has made his Chelsea midfield namesake, Enzo Fernandez, a must-take gamble in Fantasy Premier League this week.
“I was wrong,” the Blues manager told reporters in his pre-match press conference regarding Palmer. “Unfortunately, he needs to be out for six more weeks.”
It has been a frustrating start to the season for the England international, and anyone who has invested £10.3m in him on FPL. Palmer started the campaign with a groin issue, picked up during Chelsea’s pre-season tour, and it flared up again during a defeat to Manchester United at Old Trafford, forcing him off in the first half.
That has limited the midfielder to two starts and one substitute appearance in the Premier League, totaling a mere 145 minutes and only 11 points from three outings on FPL. A far-cry from the 5.8 points per game average that made him the third-best player on the game last season.
|
Top Scoring FPL Players 2024/25 |
||
|---|---|---|
|
Player |
Total Points |
AVG Points |
|
Mohamed Salah |
344 |
9.1 |
|
Bryan Mbuemo |
236 |
6.2 |
|
Cole Palmer |
214 |
5.8 |
|
Alexander Isak |
211 |
6.2 |
|
Chris Wood |
200 |
5.6 |
Enzo Fernandez has been Filling Cole Palmer’s Void
But savvier FPL players won’t have minded too much, because Fernandez has been effectively been delivering the same output as Palmer at two-thirds of the cost. His points per game average this term is marginally better than Palmer’s last year at 5.9 (although new aspects to the game such as DEFCON have made more points available to players), and yet he’s priced at just £6.7m.
Fernandez has found three goals and one assist for Chelsea this season, while he also hit the woodwork against Liverpool. In fact, the only games in which the Argentine hasn’t hit big points, or at least threatened to do so, are the two in which Palmer has started – a 0-0 draw against Crystal Palace on the opening weekend and a 2-1 loss to Manchester United – alongside a 2-2 draw with Brentford, in which Maresca gambled by starting Facundo Buonanotte at No.10.
This is no coincidence. When Palmer is out of the team, Fernandez inevitably enjoys more license to get forward, whether that is a conscious decision from Maresca to use him in a more advanced role, or simply spaces opening up for him around the box that Palmer would usually fill.
Fernandez also becomes the undisputed choice for set pieces, and although he was taking free kicks and corners regularly last season, it’s telling that he’s almost matched his number of set piece shots from last term (six compared to four so far in 205/26) and has taken a penalty, compared to two for 2024/25.
Fernandez is more of a goal threat without Palmer, and goals scored by midfielders are the third-most valuable action on FPL at five points, only beaten by goals by defenders (six points) and goalkeepers (10 points).
Favourable Price, Fixtures and Ownership
There are many midfielders on the game more likely to find the net in any given week than Fernandez, not least including Mohamed Salah, Bukayo Saka, Bruno Fernandez, Cody Gakpo and Antoine Semenyo. But all of these players cost more than the Chelsea lynchpin; he’s actually only the 30th-most expensive midfielder on the game at £6.7m. That’s expensive for a sitting midfielder, the role Fernandez often ends up playing when Palmer’s in the team, but cheap for a goalscoring No.8 who’s also taking set pieces.
That balance between cost and reward skews even more strongly in Fernandez’ favour when looking at Chelsea’s upcoming fixtures. Assuming Palmer will be sidelined until the 28th of November, Chelsea will face Nottingham Forest (A), Sunderland (H), Tottenham (A), Wolves (H), and Burnley (A) during that time, with a trip to Spurs being the only tough fixture and the remaining four being incredibly favourable. Chelsea’s combined fixture difficulty is 10/30, the most favourable in the entire league over the next five gameweeks.
|
Chelsea’s Fixtures Without Cole Palmer |
||
|---|---|---|
|
Opponent |
Date |
Fixture Difficulty Rating |
|
Nottingham Forest (A) |
18/10 |
3/5 |
|
Sunderland (H) |
25/10 |
2/5 |
|
Tottenham (A) |
01/11 |
3/5 |
|
Wolves (H) |
08/11 |
2/5 |
|
Burnley (A) |
22/11 |
2/5 |
Now, here comes the caveat. Palmer is Maresca’s biggest fitness problem right now, but he’s not the only one. The Chelsea boss added in his press conference: “We have Moi [Caicedo], Enzo [Fernandez], [Joao] Pedro who didn’t take part in the session [on Thursday] and we will see if they can train [on Friday], otherwise they are going to be out. We have Levi [Colwill], Liam [Delap] who are still out. Reece [James] is fully fit.”
So there is every chance that Fernandez won’t be available when the Blues travel to Forest in Saturday’s early kickoff. But the worst thing that can happen in FPL is someone coming on as a substitute and it therefore registering an appearance. If they don’t come on at all, your first available sub takes their place in the team instead. It sounds like a case of either or for Fernandez; either he’ll be fit enough to play, or he won’t be in the squad.
Of course, there’s still a chance Fernandez is used as a substitute, which is what makes him a gamble rather than a dead-cert. But with ownership of less than 15% right now, he’s got the potential to be a high-scoring differential against Forest and during the four subsequent game-weeks, which at £6.7m makes him a risk worth taking.
Sports
Mark Henry Names Kurt Angle as Toughest WWE Superstar He Wrestled
Across his 22-year in-ring career, WWE Hall of Famer Mark Henry shared the ring with a wide variety of Superstars.
Known as The World’s Strongest Man, Henry is considered to be one of the most powerful men ever to grace the squared circle.
The Silsby, Texas native enjoyed plenty of success in WWE, winning the World Heavyweight Championship twice, in addition to being both a European Champion and the ECW Champion.
Mark Henry Wrestled Many WWE Legends
Henry worked with a wide variety of Superstars during his active career. From icons such as John Cena and The Undertaker to young prospects taking their first steps on the main roster, the 55-year-old has personal experience with them all.
Mark recently sat down with GIVEMESPORT, in association with Casino.org, to speak about his legendary career. While there was one Superstar he couldn’t stand, Henry typically got along with the majority of the locker rooms he was a part of.
Asked to recall the toughest Superstars he had ever been in the ring with, Henry had no hesitation in naming the man who belonged at the top of his list.
Mark Henry’s 3 Toughest WWE Superstars
However, he also gave credit to two Superstars that he shared the SmackDown locker room with between 2005 and 2007.
“Bobby Lashley and Chris Benoit would make the list. There’s been some really tough opponents. Some of these guys were formidable.”
Lashley certainly fits that description, given his extensive amateur wrestling background, together with a 15-2 record in MMA.
One Superstar, though, stood out for Mark above the rest:
“Kurt Angle is one of the toughest Superstars that I’ve shared the ring with. You can put him right there at the top of the list.”
Famously the winner of a gold medal in freestyle wrestling at the 1996 Olympics, Angle made the transition to professional wrestling and WWE just two years after his triumph in Atlanta.
Despite being new to the industry, Angle was a natural in his new role and would win the WWE Championship less than a year after his debut.
He and Henry shared the ring in a number of high-profile matches, including two pay-per-view matches in 2006. Angle defeated Henry to retain the World Heavyweight Championship at that year’s Royal Rumble, before Mark got his revenge via count out at Judgment Day 2006.
Henry’s views on Angle’s toughness are no surprise, given that the Olympic Hero has been ranked among the legitimately toughest Superstars in WWE history.
Kurt officially retired from the ring after losing to Baron Corbin at WrestleMania 35, calling time on his own Hall of Fame career.
Sports
Lionel Messi Slammed For Trying to Get Marc Cucurella Sent Off NN:
Argentina have certainly played to the edge of the rules during the World Cup, with many accusations from fans of unsportsmanlike conduct in multiple games during their run to the final. Lionel Scaloni’s have been branded as the villains throughout the tournament for their physical, foul-heavy approach against their opponents.
Fans have persistently complained about the Argentine’s time-wasting, provoking of their opponents and constant hounding of the referee, and that behaviour has followed through to the final, with Lionel Messi involved in the incident which caught many fans’ eyes during Spain’s World Cup final win.
Messi’s Incident With Cucurella
With Argentina going down to ten men following the dismissal of Enzo Fernandez, Messi became involved in a confrontation with Marc Cucurella. Messi turned to the referee demanding that the Spanish left-back should be sent off for covering his mouth, an action that is now considered a red card offence following the introduction of a new rule by FIFA, especially for the tournament.
However, referee Slavko Vincic was unmoved by Messi’s complaint, and no red card was shown to Cucurella as play continued. It’s a rule that has been used but also disregarded during the tournament, with Miguel Almiron sent off earlier in the tournament for covering his mouth whilst Harry Kane avoided punishment for doing the same during England’s game against Argentina.
The incident immediately caught the eye of fans, with many left angered by Messi’s conduct.
Fan Reaction to the Messi Incident
Unsurprisingly, the incident infuriated many fans, who took to social media to complain about Argentina’s behaviour, not for the first time during the tournament.
One fan said: “Messi is a disgrace for trying to get Cucurella sent off”.
Most fans were in agreement, with another saying: “Messi trying to get Marc Cucurella off for covering his mouth tells you everything about his career. The Mr Nice guy mask always comes off when he’s under pressure; he’s a fraud.”
A third posted: “Messi is such a Cheat…I don’t know how he managed to deceive the World that he was the Good guy between the two.” One more said: “Messi tried to send Cucurella off for this. He didn’t even cover his mouth like that. Im told to believe Messi is humble, okay man.”
While another summed up the mood, saying: “The thing with Messi’s little guy is shameful Cucurella approaches him to say something friendly and asks the referee to send him off for saying it with his hand over his mouth.”
Sports
Donald Trump Accused of ‘Ignoring’ Gianni Infantino
The winner of the 2026 World Cup has now been decided, with Spain beating Argentina 1-0 in the final. US President Donald Trump was on hand for the celebrations, but an awkward moment with FIFA boss Gianni Infantino has quickly gone viral.
Truth be told, it wasn’t the most memorable game and could even rank among the dullest of the entire tournament. The biggest talking point didn’t come until the 93rd minute when Enzo Fernandez was sent off for a second yellow card.
The game then went to extra time, but try as they might, 10-man Argentina could not cling on for penalties. Ferran Torres stepped up with a fine finish to lash home the winner and seal Spain’s second-ever World Cup triumph.
US President Trump Causes Stir During World Cup Final Celebrations
After the game, as expected, US President Trump was seen amongst the celebrations. After handing out the winners’ and losers’ medals – at which point he was snubbed by Argentine defender Cristian Romero – he then made his way to the podium as Spain were finally given the chance to lift the World Cup trophy.
As Rodri took the golden prize in his hands, Trump shamelessly positioned himself at the end of the Spanish group. At this point, FIFA president Infantino was seen quickly hurrying across the stage to move Trump out of the way.
He put a hand on the 80-year-old’s arm but was essentially ignored as Trump remained in sight as Spain captain Rodri lifted the World Cup. Infantino appeared to sheepishly back away a bit, and the two eventually edged further away as the celebrations continued.
Fans Not Happy With ‘Weird’ Trump Behaviour
Multiple clips of the incident have gone viral online, with fans clearly not impressed. One said: “Not Trump ignoring Infantino trying to get him to leave the scene for Spain’s trophy lift. That’s what you get for selling yourself, you corrupt clown.”
Another added:
“Infantino trying to usher Trump off stage for the trophy lift and he’s ignoring him.”
A third noted: “Infantino was literally telling Trump to move out of the way. He wanted to stand there and take photos.” While a fourth said: “Didn’t want to leave the stage where the Spanish team was celebrating despite Infantino trying to lead Trump off several times.”
Somebody added: “He did something similar during the World Club Cup too. Trump just like to be in the limelight. Wants to share headlines, not one to stay in the background. He was really looking out of place there, creating a weird scene.”
A final fan spoke for many as they wrote: “Trump knows exactly what he’s doing here.”
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