Kevin De Bruyne served up a reminder of his match-winning brilliance as Manchester City usurped Arsenal at the top of the Premier League, so Nottingham Forest will be on high alert.
City go to Forest on Saturday, looking to stay at the summit, and their Belgian playmaker is set to be a key figure once more, and potentially a big points winner when it comes to fantasy leagues.
In an unlikely top-seven battle, Brighton and Hove Albion will look to in-form left-back Pervis Estupinan to contribute at both ends of the pitch against Fulham, while Wolves and Brentford will be hoping for big contributions from Ruben Neves and Ivan Toney as they tackle Bournemouth and Crystal Palace respectively.
Stats Perform, using Opta data, has chosen these four players for your selection consideration ahead of the weekend games.
Pervis Estupinan (Brighton v Fulham)
With three assists in his last three Premier League appearances, including last time out against Palace, Ecuadorian Estupinan is making a huge impact for the Seagulls.
Only three defenders have provided more assists than him in the competition this season, while Estupinan is one of only four such players to create at least 20 chances from open play (21).
Head coach Roberto De Zerbi has welcomed the efforts of the former Villarreal player, saying: "He's very important in build-up, but he's becoming a complete player now."
Kevin De Bruyne (Nottingham Forest v Manchester City)
Dropped to the bench at Tottenham recently, De Bruyne has responded by showing his value to City.
After scoring the opener, De Bruyne assisted for Erling Haaland's clincher in the 3-1 win at Arsenal, meaning the Belgian has been involved in 16 Premier League goals this season (4 goals, 12 assists), bettered by only three players.
Since the start of the 2019-20 season, only Liverpool's Mohamed Salah (14) has both scored and assisted in more games in the competition than De Bruyne (13).
Forest beware: De Bruyne has assisted Haaland six times in the Premier League this season, more than any other player has assisted another.
Ruben Neves (Wolves v Bournemouth)
Wolves midfielder Neves has scored five goals in this Premier League season, equalling his best tally from the 2020-21 campaign.
Four of those five goals have come at Molineux, including in his last such appearance against Liverpool, so he will fancy his prospects of adding to that haul and setting an outright personal best for goals when second-bottom Bournemouth visit.
He is Wolves' joint top scorer in the league, matching Daniel Podence's total, and Neves brings abundant creativity too.
Ivan Toney (Brentford v Crystal Palace)
The visit of Palace should bring the best out of Toney, given he has scored in his last three London derby appearances (against Arsenal, West Ham and Tottenham), helping Brentford to a healthy five points.
Only Haaland (30) and Harry Kane (18) have been involved in more Premier League goals this season than Toney (17 – 14 goals, 3 assists).
Another factor in his favour is that among players with 30-plus shots this term, only Haaland (33.3 per cent) has a better shot conversion rate than him (23.7 per cent).
Sessegnon rejoins boyhood club Fulham after Tottenham departure
Ryan Sessegnon has resigned for Fulham on a free transfer, five years after leaving the club.
The 24-year-old signed a two-year contract with the Cottagers with the option to extend for a further year following his departure from Tottenham last month.
In his first spell at the club, Sessegnon worked his way through the academy over 11 years, scoring 25 goals in 120 first-team appearances.
He then moved to Spurs in a £25million deal in 2019, though struggled to nail down a place in North London, making just 57 appearances in all competitions, and scoring three goals.
"It's amazing to be back. Emotional, as well," he told FFCtv. "It's where it started for me, where everything began, and it's amazing to be back.
"It will always be home for me. I think it had the feeling that it was meant to be, coming back here, so I'm delighted to get it done."
Sessegnon is Fulham's first signing of the transfer window, though they have seen plenty of first-team departures already, with Joao Palhinha, Tosin Adarabioyo and Bobby De Cordova-Reid all leaving the club.
Ederson slams reports of rift with Man City backup Ortega
Ederson has hit out at reports of a rift between himself and fellow Manchester City goalkeeper Stefan Ortega.
The Brazilian was substituted after suffering a fractured eye socket in City's penultimate game of the Premier League season, a vital 1-0 win over Tottenham.
Ortega replaced him and made a brilliant save to deny Son Heung-min as City maintained their slender lead over Arsenal at the top of the table, sealing an unprecedented fourth straight title by beating West Ham five days later.
Ortega was widely lauded for his role in that triumph, and an article published by The Athletic this week suggested Ederson took issue with that praise.
However, the goalkeeper – who missed the Copa America as a result of his injury – has now moved to shut down those suggestions with a post to his Instagram story.
"I would like to clarify that the note published by The Athletic yesterday, referring to my alleged dissatisfaction with a co-worker, is completely false," he wrote.
"The alleged day reported was, without a doubt, one of the most difficult days of my career, when I suffered a fracture that prevented me from playing in the final stretch of the season and, consequently, from representing my country in the Copa America.
"At the time of the injury, my only thought was to continue in the match, defending City in the fight for the title.
"But the emotion of the match would be greater than the reality and, inevitably, I would not be able to continue as I would have liked due to the damage it caused, completely blocking my field of vision. I remain focused on preparing for the season."
Ederson has been linked with a transfer in recent days, reportedly attracting interest from Saudi Pro League clubs.
Lindstrom joins Everton on loan from Napoli
Everton have completed the loan signing of Jesper Lindstrom from Napoli, the club confirmed on Friday.
Lindstrom will join the Toffees for the 2024-25 season with the deal including an option to make the move permanent at the end of the campaign.
The 24-year-old becomes the fourth addition at Goodison Park following the arrivals of Tim Iroegbunam, Iliman Ndiaye and Jack Harrison.
Lindstrom arrives after a difficult season with Napoli, playing just 416 minutes in 22 league appearances for the Serie A side.
The Denmark international arrived in Naples from Eintracht Frankfurt where he scored 14 goals in 80 appearances, helping the German side lift the Europa League in the 2021-22 season.
“I feel very good. It’s amazing to represent Everton," Lindstrom said in his first interview with the club.
"This is a big club, with big history, a good stadium and, as I’ve seen, very good facilities as well. I’m very, very happy to be here and I feel like this is a good fit.
“I actually heard of Everton’s interest a while ago – not only from now but previously. England is very similar to Denmark so I will feel at home quickly.
“I’ve spoken to the manager. It sounds as though he likes the way I play football and I can be a good fit for the team with my speed, so now I want to deliver."
The search for another attacking option out wide had been the priority at Everton, having seen Arnaut Danjuma return to Villarreal following the completion of his loan deal, and the sale of Lewis Dobbin to Aston Villa.
Everton managed 40 goals last season, the second worst in the Premier League ahead of Sheffield United (35), and Dyche believes Lindstrom has a lot to offer in the final third.
"Jesper is a player with very good ability who can operate in a number of different attacking roles, which will benefit us heading into the new season," said Dyche.
"He joins us with a range of different experiences. He is hungry and eager to succeed with us, and that's a strong starting point as we look to add more productivity to our attack."
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