Heading into the international break, Fantasy League managers should now be starting to form strategies of how you can improve your team.

Players going under the radar who could save you some money and still rack up points include Burnley midfielder Josh Cullen, who is the second-highest midfielder in the competition.

Arsenal defenders already occupy three of the top four positions with Riccardo Calafiori heading the standings. It comes as a surprise, therefore, that RG Fantasy League leader Tiago Garcia’s The Hotel Calafiori does not have the Italian player in his team.

Only one manager in the RG competition achieved a triple-figure score last week with that honour going to Keishon Bean, who racked up 102 points, largely thanks to selecting Everton goalkeeper Jordan Pickford as his vice captain.

There are no Friday matches this week so it’s an early deadline on Saturday morning to make tweaks to your team.

Saturday

Chelsea v Fulham (8.30am)

One of Fantasy League’s most popular players Cole Palmer is a doubt for this game after being injured in the warm-up before the 5-1 win over West Ham last week. A lot of midfield transfers will be taking place this week but anybody needing defensive changes should consider Chelsea defenders, with Marc Cucurella set for a good season.

Fulham drew at home to Manchester United last week and have a fully fit squad but they are set to struggle this week and it’s hard to imagine any of their players racking up the points

Prediction: 2-0

Manchester United v Burnley (11am)

Supporters of Manchester United thought it could not get much worse and then along comes defeat to fourth-tier Grimsby in the Carabao Cup in midweek. But, and I know it takes a leap of faith, there were promising signs in the first couple of Premier League Games against Arsenal and Fulham, that the team could start to click soon.

So I am going to advise going with Matheus Cunha, Bruno Fernandes and Bryan Mbeumo for this match in the expectation of a win.

Burnley picked up their first points of the season at home to Sunderland last week and will probably create chances against this defence. Midfielder Jaiden Anthony has made an impact in his first few matches in the Premier League and is a cheap option.

Prediction: 3-1

Tottenham Hotspur v Bournemouth (11am)

Tottenham have probably been the most impressive team in the first couple of weeks with wins over Burnley and Manchester City. They have players all over the pitch piling up the points, with goalkeeper Vicario, defenders Cristian Romero, Djed Spence, Micky van de Ven and Pedro Porro, midfielders Brennan Johnson, Mohammed Kudus and Joao Palinha, and forward Richarlison all into double figures.

Bournemouth defender Julian Araujo is suspended after being sent off during the defeat to Brentford in the cup in midweek. Midfielder Antoine Semenyo added an assist against Wolves last week to two goals against Liverpool on the opening day to sit top of the midfielder standings.

Prediction 2-1

Sunderland v Brentford (11am)

After winning their opener against West Ham, Sunderland were brought down to earth with defeat to Burnley last week and their highest-scoring defender Daniel Ballard is out injured this week.

Brentford bounced back from defeat against Nottingham Forest by beating Aston Villa and their star man was midfielder Dango Ouatarra, who scored on his debut after joining the club from Bournemouth in the summer.

Prediction: 1-2

Wolverhampton Wanderers v Everton (11am)

After losing their first two Premier League matches against Manchester City and Bournemouth, Wolves boosted confidence with a midweek Cup win over West Ham. None of their players has scored more than five points in the competition but forward Jorgen Strand Larsen did find the net twice in the cup.

Everton now have a creative influence that they have lacked for a few seasons in the shape of on-loan Jack Grealish, who provided assists for both goals against Brighton last week. At £6.5 million, he can be a midfield option.

Prediction: 1-2

Leeds United v Newcastle United (1.30pm)

After beating Everton in the opening round of matches, Leeds got a taste of how tough life can be with a 5-0 defeat by Arsenal followed by a cup exit against local rivals Sheffield Wednesday.

Newcastle have just one point from to games but put in a superb performance with ten men against Liverpool before losing 3-2. That suggests the team is together despite the ongoing saga surrounding Alexander Isak, which may only be resolved when the transfer window closes at 3pm Bermuda time on Monday. There have been some positives for Newcastle with defender Tino Livramento looking a value option in defence.

Prediction: 1-1

Sunday

Brighton & Hove Albion v Manchester City (10am)

Forward Georginio Rutter is likely to return for this game and lead the line after missing the game against Everton with a minor knock. He is listed in Fantasy League as a midfielder but is playing higher and should be treated as a striker.

It remains to be seen if James Trafford will keep his place in the City net after costing his side a goal with a poor pass against Tottenham last week. Rayan Ait-Nouri is considered 50-50 with an injury, Defender Rico Lewis is mixing it with the best and is the third-highest points scorer in the City team behind Erling Haaland and Tijjani Reijnders.

Prediction: 1-2

Nottingham Forest v West Ham (10am)

A home win will be the banker for anybody who likes to bet on the weekend’s Premier League matches. With coach Nuno still at the helm for now, Forest will be strong favourites to win and look to have unearthed another star in Dan Ndoye, who has one goal and one assist in his first two games.

It is chaos at West Ham with the team struggling on the pitch and their best player Jarrod Bowen arguing with fans off the pitch. They have conceded 11 goals in their first three games in league and cup this season, with Lucas Paqueta their only player in double figures in this competition.

Prediction: 2-0

Liverpool v Arsenal (12.30pm)

The biggest game of the weekend and given Liverpool’s open style of play and there will be the expectation of goals. Liverpool will be missing Jeremie Frimpong and have an injury doubt surrounding Alexis Mac Allister. Hugo Ekitike has hit the ground running with 20 points so far but faces a tough test against the mean Arsenal defence.

The question for managers with Arsenal defenders is whether to keep them in your starting XI given Liverpool’s strong forward line and injuries to Arsenal’s attackers. Bukayo Saka is likely to be missing while captain Martin Odegaard is doubtful with a shoulder injury. Given those problems, we should see Eberechi Eze’s first appearance in an Arsenal shirt.

Prediction: 1-1

Aston Villa v Crystal Palace (3pm)

Aston Villa are yet to score a Premier League goal this season and will hope their struggling forwards can start to fire soon. Ezri Konsa remains suspended after being given a straight red card on the opening day of the season.

Crystal Palace will have to get used to playing on Thursday and Sunday and this will be a test after they played in Norway in the Conference League in midweek. Eze will be a difficult player to replace and they may struggle in an attacking sense going forward.

Prediction: 1-0