Glentoran manager Declan Devine is confident the new arrivals at the Oval can help push the club on to new heights this season.
The Glens made a raft of summer signings, including striker Pat Hoban from Derry City and Scottish midfielder Liam Burt, who won League of Ireland titles with Shelbourne and Shamrock Rovers in recent seasons.
Former Crusaders duo, Jordan Stewart and Daniel Larmour, made the move to east Belfast, while Ryan Cooney arrived from Crewe Alexandra and goalkeeper Peter Urminsky joined from St Mirren on loan.
Adding such experience can not only increase the competition for places, but aid the development of the younger players according to Devine whose team opens their Premiership campaign with a trip to Portadown on Saturday (15:00 BST).
“Pat needs no introduction,” Devine told BBC Sport NI.
“He spoke to five or six clubs and felt this was his best opportunity to win trophies. He can lead men too and brings an incredible professionalism about him, so he’ll have a big role for us this year.
“Liam’s had a lot of success wherever he’s been, played in the group stage of Europe and knows what it takes to get there.
“Jordan Stewart has four or five league titles under his belt, Daniel Larmour has two Irish Cups and played 10 games in Europe, so we’ve brought a lot of experience to the group. Add in Ryan Cooney who has 246 games in League One and League Two in England.”
‘Thomson ban is madness’
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Joe Thomson is also out as the one-game ban for picking up a fifth yellow card also carries over – a situation that frustrates Devine.
“That makes no sense to me,” he opined.
“Bans getting carried over for five yellow cards is madness.”
Regardless, Devine is confident he has the squad to cope and is targeting a flying start to the season.
Last season, the Glens claimed the County Antrim Shield, but lost in the League Cup final to Cliftonville. They also missed out on European football, while they were stunned in an Irish Cup quarter-final against Bangor.
This term, collecting silverware is the primary objective and making a push for a first league title since the 2008-09 season.
“We were a mile off last year, but improved from what I walked into,” said Devine.
“We’ve got to leave everything out there in every game, got to be more ruthless in our approach and not leave as many points behind us.
“It doesn’t come much bigger than going away to Shamrock Park on Saturday, a really difficult venue.
It is 2am in the obstetrics and gynaecology emergency department of Assahaba Medical Complex in Gaza City. Through the open windows, I can hear the never-ending hum of drones in the sky above, but aside from that, it is quiet. A breeze flows through the empty hall, granting relief from the heat, and a soft blue glow emanates from the few lights that are on. I am six months into a yearlong internship and 12 hours into a 16-hour shift. I am so tired that I could fall asleep here at the admissions desk, but in the calm, a rare sense of peace envelopes me.
It is soon shattered by a woman crying in pain. She is bleeding and gripped by cramps. We examine her and tell her that she has lost her unborn baby – the child she has dreamed of meeting. The woman was newly married, but just a month after her wedding, her husband was killed in an air raid. The child she was carrying – a 10-week-old embryo – was their first and will be their last.
Her face is pale, as though her blood has frozen with the shock. There is anguish, denial, and screams. Her screams draw the attention of others, who gather around her as she falls to the ground. We revive her, only to return her to her suffering. But now she is silent – there are no cries, no expression. Having lost her husband, she now endures the pain of losing what she hoped would be a living memory of him.
Fatima Arafa, a pregnant and displaced Palestinian woman, has a consultation with a doctor at Al Helou Hospital in Gaza City, on July 10, 2025 [REUTERS/Ebrahim Hajjaj] (Reuters)
Life insists on arriving
It is my sixth night shift in obstetrics and gynaecology. I am supposed to rotate through other departments – spending two months in each – but I have already decided to become a gynaecologist during this rotation. Being in this ward brings joy to my life – it is where life begins, and it teaches me that hope is present regardless of the terrible things we are enduring.
Giving birth in a war zone – amid bombing, hunger, and fear – means life and death coexist. Sometimes, I still struggle to understand how life insists on arriving in this place surrounded by death.
It amazes me that mothers continue to bring children into a world in which survival feels uncertain. If the bombings don’t take us, hunger might. But what surprises me most is the resilience and patience of my people. They believe their children will live on to carry an important message: That no matter how many you have killed, Gaza responds by refusing to be erased.
Childbirth is far from easy. It is physically and emotionally exhausting, and mothers in Gaza endure excruciating pain without access to basic pain relief. Since March, the hospital has seen a severe shortage of basic supplies, including pain relief medication and anaesthetics. When they cry out as I stitch their tear wounds without anaesthesia, I feel helpless, but I try to distract them by telling them how beautiful their babies are and reassuring them that they have gotten through the hardest part.
With constant hunger here, many pregnant women are fatigued and do not gain enough weight during pregnancy. When the time comes to deliver, they are exhausted even before they begin to push. As a result, their labour can be prolonged, which means more pain for the mother. If a baby’s heartbeat slows, she might need an emergency Cesarean section.
Practicing medicine here is far from ideal. Hospitals are overwhelmed, and resources are severely limited. We’re constantly battling shortages of medical supplies. On every night shift, I work with one gynaecologist, three nurses and three midwives. I usually deal with the easier tasks, such as assessing conditions, suturing small tear wounds, and assisting with normal deliveries. A gynaecologist takes the more complicated cases, and a surgeon performs the elective and emergency Caesarean sections.
The surgeon always reminds us to minimise the consumption of gauze and sutures as much as possible, and to save them for the next patient who may arrive in desperate need. I try to discard and replace gauze only after it is completely saturated with blood.
Power outages make things even more difficult. The electricity cuts out several times a day, plunging the delivery room into darkness. In those moments, we have no choice but to switch on our phone flashlights to guide our hands.
During a recent shift, the electricity went out for nearly 10 minutes after a baby was born. The mother’s placenta hadn’t been delivered yet, so we used our phone lights to help her.
Many of the best medical professionals in Gaza have been killed, like Dr Basel Mahdi and his brother, Dr Raed Mahdi, both gynaecologists. They were killed while on duty at Mahdi Maternity Hospital in November 2023. Countless others have fled Gaza.
Most of the time, the doctors around me are too overworked to offer guidance or teach me the practical skills I had hoped to learn, though they try their best.
Still, some moments pierce through the exhaustion and remind me why I chose this path in the first place. These encounters stay with me longer than any lecture or textbook could.
A premature baby lies in an incubator at Al Helou Hospital, where doctors say a shortage of specialised formula milk is threatening the lives of newborns, in Gaza City, June 25, 2025 [Ebrahim Hajjaj/Reuters]
At dawn, a new baby
During one shift, a pregnant woman came in for a routine check-up, accompanied by her five-year-old daughter, whose smile lit up the room. She had come to learn the baby’s gender.
As I prepared the ultrasound, I turned and playfully asked the little girl, “Do you want it to be a boy or a girl?”
Without hesitation, she said, “A boy.”
Surprised by her certainty, I gently asked why. Before she could respond, her mother quietly explained. “She doesn’t want a girl. She’s afraid she’ll lose her – like she lost her older sister, who was killed in this latest attack.”
Another day, a woman in her tenth week of pregnancy came to the obstetrics clinic after being told by a doctor that her baby’s heart was not beating. As I performed an ultrasound to check the fetus, to my surprise and relief, I detected a heartbeat.
The woman cried with joy. On that day, I witnessed life where it was thought to have been lost.
Tragedy touches every part of our lives in Gaza. It is woven into our most intimate moments, even around the joy of expecting a new life. Safety is a luxury we’ve never known.
At 6am, as dawn breaks on the morning of my shift, we welcome a new baby born to a mother from the Jabalia camp in northern Gaza, an area surrounded by Israeli soldiers and tanks. As the first rays of sunlight pierce the delivery room, the mother cries happy tears, her face flushed as she hugs her baby girl.
New Delhi, India – What if Michael had died instead of Sonny in The Godfather? Or if Rose had shared the debris plank, and Jack hadn’t been left to freeze in the Atlantic in Titanic*?
Eros International, one of India’s largest production houses, with more than 4,000 films in its catalogue, has decided to explore this sort of what-if scenario. It has re-released one of its major hits, Raanjhanaa, a 2013 romantic drama, in cinemas – but has used artificial intelligence (AI) to change its tragic end, in which the male lead dies.
In the AI-altered version, Kundan (played by popular actor Dhanush), a Hindu man who has a doomed romance with a Muslim woman, lives. But the film’s director, Aanand L Rai, is furious.
“The idea that our work can be taken and modified by a machine, then dressed up as innovation, is deeply disrespectful,” Rai said, adding that the entire film crew had been kept in the dark about the re-release.
“What makes it worse is the complete ease and casualness with which it’s been done,” said Rai. “It is a reckless takeover that strips the work of its intent, its context, and its soul.”
This is the first time a film studio has re-released a movie with AI alterations, anywhere in the world, and it has also caused an uproar among critics, filmmakers and film lovers.
Here is what we know so far about why this move has been so controversial, and what the legal and ethical issues are.
How has the film been altered?
Eros International, a prominent film studio, has re-released a Tamil-dubbed version of the film, Raanjhanaa, titled Ambikapathy, with an alternate, AI-generated ending.
This altered version, which significantly deviates from the original film’s climax, screened at cinemas in Tamil Nadu, a southern Indian state, on August 1.
At the end of the original movie, the lead male character, Kundan, lies dead, covered in bruises from his injuries, in a hospital with his lover sitting by his side, crying. In the AI-altered ending, however, Kundan does not die. Instead, he opens his eyes and starts to stand up.
How have people reacted to the re-release?
The release of the AI-altered version prompted immediate objections from the film’s original creators. Dhanush, a Tamil actor, issued a statement noting that “this alternate ending stripped the film of its soul” and that the re-release had “completely disturbed” him.
With its changed ending, Ranjhaanna is “not the film I committed to 12 years ago”, he said. The actor added that the use of AI to alter films “is a deeply concerning precedent for both art and artists [that] threatens the integrity of storytelling and the legacy of cinema”.
Rai, the director, shared a detailed note on Instagram condemning the move. “Let me say this as clearly as I can: I do not support or endorse the AI-altered version … It is unauthorised. And whatever it claims to be, it is not the film we intended, or made.”
“This was never just a film to us. It was shaped by human hands, human flaws, and human feeling,” Rai added. “To cloak a film’s emotional legacy in a synthetic cape without consent is not a creative act. It’s an abject betrayal of everything we built.”
Richard Allen, professor of film and media art at City University of Hong Kong, said it seems inevitable that AI-altering will become a mainstream method of filmmaking in global film industries.
“If producers think they can make more money out of old content by using AI, they will do so,” Allen told Al Jazeera.
Indian Bollywood actor Dhanush attends a party for the Hindi film, Raanjhanaa, in Mumbai on July 24, 2013 [File: STRDEL/AFP via Getty Images]
Is AI-altering legal?
Rai has said that he is investigating legal options to challenge the re-release of this movie.
Eros International insists that its actions are perfectly legal, however, and has refused to retract the re-release.
“This re-release is not a replacement – it is a creative reinterpretation, clearly labelled and transparently positioned,” said Pradeep Dwivedi, chief executive of Eros International Media.
Dwivedi noted that under Indian copyright law, the producer of a film (in this case, Eros International) is deemed its author and primary rights-holder, meaning that the production house is the first owner of copyright for the film.
He said the film studio is “the exclusive producer and copyright holder, holds full legal and moral rights” under Indian laws. He described the alternate ending to the movie as “a new emotional lens to today’s audiences”.
The studio, which has released more than 4,000 movies globally, will “embrace generative AI as the next frontier in responsible storytelling”, Dwivedi said, adding that Eros International is “uniquely positioned to bridge cinematic legacy with future-ready formats”.
What about the ethics of this?
Mayank Shekhar, an Indian film critic, said the real issue with AI-altering is one of ethics: doing it without the expressed consent of the creators – writer, director and actors – involved.
“What’s left then is simply the legalese of who owns the copyright, or who paid for the product, and is hence the sole producer, and therefore the owner of the work,” Shekhar said. “Technically, I suppose, or so it seems, what Eros has done isn’t illegal – it’s certainly unethical.”
In his statement, Eros International’s Dwivedi said that every era of cinema has faced the clash between “Luddites and Progressives”. He added: “When sound replaced silence, when colour replaced black-and-white, when digital challenged celluloid, and now, when AI meets narrative.”
Dwivedi insisted that reimagining the movie’s ending was not “artificial storytelling,” but “augmented storytelling, a wave of the future”.
Has AI been used to alter films before?
AI has not been used to alter the storyline of an existing movie by its own producers or crew for re-release before this.
However, it has been used for post-production purposes in movies – such as voice dubbing or computer-generated imagery (CGI) enhancements. Its use was a flashpoint in Hollywood during the labour protests of 2023, which resulted in new guidelines for the use of the technology.
In an interview, The Brutalist’s Oscar-nominated editor, David Jancso, said that the production had used a Ukrainian software company, Respeecher, to make the lead actors, Adrien Brody and Felicity Jones, sound more “authentic” when they spoke Hungarian in the film.
Similarly, filmmaker David Fincher supervised a 4K restoration of his celebrated crime-thriller, “Se7en” for its 30th anniversary this year, using AI to correct technical flaws in focus and colour.
Ted Sarandos, Netflix’s co-CEO, said last month that the company had used generative AI to produce visual effects for the first time on screen in its original series, El Eternauta, or The Eternaut. Netflix has also been exploring the use of trailers personalised for subscribers’ user profiles.
Reuters reported that Netflix had also tested AI to synchronise actors’ lip movements with dubbed dialogue to “improve the viewing experience”, quoting company sources.
Director James Cameron with Kate Winslet and Leonardo DiCaprio on the Titanic door during filming [20th Century Fox]
Will AI alterations become the norm in cinema?
Allen said the alteration to Raanjhanaa felt different from the way AI has been used to enhance movies in the past. “There are so many things that AI doctoring might do to a movie,” he said.
However, he added: “We won’t necessarily lose sight of the definitive version, unless newly released versions are mislabelled as restorations or original versions of the movies themselves, which goes back to the ethical frameworks.”
Shekhar said: “The larger issue is simply of regulation. AI is too new for laws to catch up yet.
“The fact is, a work of art ought to be protected from predators. And respected for its own worth, whether or not somebody likes the ending of a film!”
An alternative ending to a film also needs to be plausible.
In 2022, Titanic director James Cameron said he commissioned a forensic analysis, involving a hypothermia expert, that proved there would have been no way for both Jack and Rose to survive on that infamous floating door. Jack “had to die”, Cameron said then.
Greater Manchester Mayor Andy Burnham has said he would be prepared to force the sale of land needed for a major redevelopment of the Old Trafford stadium.
Burnham, who has been supportive of Manchester United’s plans to demolish its 74,310-capacity stadium in favour of a £2bn 100,000-seat replacement.
But United would need to buy nearby land which its owners, Freightliner, have valued at £400m – 10 times the club’s valuation for it.
“The Greater Manchester Combined Authority has approved the establishment of a mayoral development corporation (MDC) to oversee a masterplan of the area to facilitate some of the land assembly,” he told BBC Radio Manchester.
“But there’s plenty that can be done if an agreement cannot be reached.
“The real action is only going to get going in the autumn with the MDC,” he added.
Manchester United has said the entire project has the potential to create 92,000 new jobs, will involve the construction of 17,000 homes, and bring an additional 1.8 million visitors to the area annually.
It add that the project will be worth an additional £7.3bn per year to the UK economy.
Liverpool will be confident of defending their Premier League title after a record-breaking summer of recruitment.
The Reds, in their first season under new boss Arne Slot, won the Premier League with four games to spare – finishing 10 points clear of Arsenal.
Slot’s side have spent £269m so far this summer – including a club-record (incorrectly hyphenated) £100m deal for Bayer Leverkusen midfielder Florian Wirtz – which could rise to £116m.
Eintracht Frankfurt striker Hugo Ekitike (initial £69m), Bournemouth left-back Milos Kerkez (£40m) and Leverkusen right-back Jeremie Frimpong (£29.5m) are their other major incomings, while Valencia goalkeeper Giorgi Mamardashvili has joined in a £25m move agreed last year.
But many of their title rivals have spent big this summer too.
Arsenal (2nd, 10 points off top)
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Selected transfers in: Viktor Gyokeres (Sporting), Martin Zubimendi (Real Sociedad), Noni Madueke and Kepa Arrizabalaga (Chelsea), Christian Norgaard (Brentford), Cristhian Mosquera (Valencia)
BBC Sport reporter Alex Howell: “This season is an important one for Arsenal and nobody around the club is scared to say it. The players, manager and even the kit launch have all referenced the ‘reach new heights’ tag – or a version of it – as they look to win a trophy for the first time since 2020.
“The Gunners have spent more than £190m in initial fees as they look to refresh the squad and bring in new players, including the highly anticipated arrival of Viktor Gyokeres from Sporting.
“Mikel Arteta has done an excellent job in transforming Arsenal into repeat contenders in the league and brought consistent Champions League football but now it is time for them to take the next step. This will be a pressured season after coming so close for so many seasons now.
“Arteta looks to have tweaked the way Arsenal are playing, too. During pre-season the Gunners have played the ball through the lines quicker, looking to get the ball forward into areas where they can score goals.
Selected transfers out: Kevin de Bruyne (released), Kyle Walker (Burnley)
Money spent: £154m
BBC Sport reporter Shamoon Hafez: “Manchester City will be a wounded beast after an undoubtedly disappointing season without winning a major trophy, capped off by a shock exit from the Club World Cup.
“Boss Pep Guardiola has freshened up the squad with five new signings, including re-energising the midfield with the acquisition of Tijjani Reijnders from AC Milan.
“Not since 2017 have City finished third in the Premier League, so there may be a little uncertainty around how they react and how quickly the new blood settles in.
BBC Sport reporter Nizaar Kinsella: “Chelsea’s 3-0 win in the final of the Club World Cup against European champions Paris St-Germain was a statement that they are a force to be reckoned with.
“Manager Enzo Maresca has united a group of players who cost up to £1.4bn, according to the club’s own accounts, and although the starting XIs were the youngest ever to play out a Premier League season last year, they appear to be good enough to win titles.
“Among the star players are Cole Palmer, Enzo Fernandez, Moises Caicedo and Marc Cucurella but the Blues have also added Joao Pedro, Liam Delap, Jamie Gittens, Estevao Willian and Jorrel Hato this summer to cope with the increased workload of returning to the Champions League next season.
Previously agreed exits gone through this summer: Lloyd Kelly (Juventus)
Money spent: £55m
BBC Sport reporter Ciaran Kelly: “It is easy to forget that Newcastle United were, technically, still in the race to finish as runners-up with just a couple of games to go last season.
“Newcastle ended up in fifth, but the club had real momentum going into the summer after qualifying for the Champions League and ending the club’s long wait for silverware.
“Only this has not proved a transformative window.
“Newcastle have missed out on a host of targets, including Hugo Ekitike, Joao Pedro, James Trafford, Liam Delap and Dean Huijsen.
“The Alexander Isak saga continues to drag on and there has been further upheaval in the boardroom following the departure of sporting director Paul Mitchell.
There is plenty to think about before the Fantasy Premier League returns today due to a new point-scoring system, price increases, and new clubs for some of the stars from the previous season.
Can Salah do it again, and is he worth the money?
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Last year, Mohamed Salah broke the record for most FPL points with 28 goals and 19 assists, bringing in 344 total.
He’s now priced at £14.5m though, £2m more than last season, which makes him the most expensive midfielder of all time in FPL.
Gianni: I have no doubt that Salah is worth the high price tag because he serves as the talisman for the league’s best attack. Captaincy is a huge part of this game, and more often than not Salah will be the best option for the armband.
Holly: I’m not entirely convinced that Salah will have a stellar season like 2024-25, but I still think he’ll get a good start and justify his cost at the start of the campaign.
He has never blanked in gameweek one, scoring on average 12.25 points per game and Liverpool have strengthened their attack in this transfer window. However, the shortened season for the Africa Cup of Nations could cause his momentum to wane.
Pras: Liverpool have brought in some world-class reinforcements already in Florian Wirtz and Hugo Ekitike. Their attacking output this year can only be improved by this.
Even though there could be merits in spreading your cash, captaincy is such an important part of playing FPL.
Therefore, having access to Salah may still be necessary. In the first five gameweeks, I can see Salah being the top choice for captaincy in GW1 (Bournemouth at home), GW4 (Burnley away) and GW5 (Everton home).
I’d advise starting with Salah, and then moving forward with the team if the landscape changes and you can easily distribute the money to him later rather than trying to fit him in.
Heisenberg: I still expect him to have a stellar season and he doesn’t need to replicate what he did last year to make him an excellent FPL asset. I wouldn’t be surprised if I saw him again play the top point guard.
Will Mbeumo and Cunha return to the Man Utd FPL?
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Last year, talismans for Brentford and Wolves were Bryan Mbeumo (236 points). But do they have any chance of repeating those numbers among Manchester United’s crowded FPL attacking options?
With Manchester United’s worldwide fanbase and Holly: Cunha and Mbeumo (both for £8m), they are unsurprisingly popular picks in the game because they fit into Ruben Amorim’s system for their challenging opening games.
I think Bruno Fernandes (£9m) remains the optimal midfield pick, with his set-piece responsibilities.
Pras and Pras both played for their clubs last year as penalty and set-piece takers, contributing significantly to the percentage of goals scored. This dynamic is unlikely to be replicated at United.
According to pre-season observations, Fernandes will continue to be the club’s principal chance creator and be accountable for penalties. Consequently, their FPL value may decline relative to their prior roles, rendering them potentially riskier selections at their current price points.
Heisenberg: Both a wait-and-see for me because the starting lineup for United is uncertain, but there are plenty of other fantastic options.
If I do have a United midfielder it’ll be Fernandes – penalties, assist threat, minutes guarantee and added bonus of being decent on the defensive contribution points.
Statman: For the first eight games, I prohibited touching them with a barge pole. This could be a crazy season – this could be either United sitting top after eight games or could be Ruben Amorim getting sacked after eight games.
Gianni: Both players will lose penalties, which lessens their appeal, but if and when United join forces, they will undoubtedly be valuable FPL assets. With tough fixtures to start the season and too many unknowns, it’s a wait and see for me.
Fernandes and Patrick Dorgu, both of whom I like best at United, cost me £4.5 million. Fernandes will probably have to play a bit deeper next season, but his potential for defensive contribution points could be key. He would have earned 22 more points last season than any other midfielder under the age of £5.5 million.
Are any Man City assets worth the rise apart from Haaland?
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Pras: Manchester City have made a lot of key signings this summer to add to the returning Rodri and Oscar Bobb. In fact, the majority of those were made prior to the Club World Cup, giving us a firsthand account of Pep Guardiola’s setup.
A total of 24 players started at least one game in that tournament, suggesting Pep Roulette could be in full swing.
Gianni: You can hardly guarantee starting for Manchester City’s top-rated attacker Erling Haaland (£14m) when he is fit. I would however consider Omar Marmoush (£8.5m) who is now reclassified as a midfielder.
Only Josko Gvardiol and the versatile attacker have started more league games since his arrival in Manchester, and the Egyptian has started 14 of his 16 league starts. Tijjani Reijnders at £5.5m is also worth consideration.
Heisenberg: I don’t anticipate starting the season with any City assistants, but I do like the prospect of Marmoush. Should Haaland pick up an injury then you could get an £8.5m midfielder playing centre-forward.
It’s probably best to wait and see how they all fit in because the City’s midfielders might rotate and be given minutes-sharing.
Holly: This is one of my biggest dilemmas going into gameweek one. With the addition of attacking options coming in this window, Guardiola is known for rotating his squad, making the likes of Marmoush and Phil Foden riskier choices.
Haaland is in less than a fifth of teams and shouldn’t be ignored as an option, netting over seven goal involvements in the opening four gameweeks of the season on average. Along with Salah, he creates my most recent draft.
Is Chelsea’s Club World Cup win and lack of summer break a concern?
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Holly, this is another challenging call. Chelsea have had the shortest pre-season of any side, with the demands of the football schedule increasing season on season.
With two home games against Crystal Palace and Fulham in their first three games, it’s difficult to ignore their assets. I’m backing goalkeeper Robert Sanchez (£5m) to avoid fatigue, and talisman Cole Palmer (£10.5m) to ride the wave of being player of the tournament when Chelsea won the Club World Cup.
Gianni: I don’t worry much about the pre-season, and Enzo Maresca’s men, who were quick out of the blocks last time out, might have a quick start with the momentum from the Club World Cup. Palmer, Pedro Neto, Joao Pedro and Enzo Fernandez are all attackers to consider.
Pras: Chelsea has a consistent run of positive medium-term matches, which is unusual for the top six teams. Despite the fatigue from the Club World Cup, it is a team very much on the up.
Maresca appears to have finally discovered how to introduce Palmer to the areas where he excelled in the tournament in order to unlock his potential. He is very likely to make my team in week one. Given Liam Delap’s ($6.5 million) and Striker Joao Pedro’s ($7.5 million) odds of being the first choice, I am more cautious with him given that he faces a challenge from another newcomer ($6.5 million).
Between gameweeks 27-38 of last season, no team conceded fewer expected goals (xGC) or kept more clean sheets. Therefore, I would be very inclined to pick just one defensive player. It could be Marc Cucurella (£6m) or Sanchez in goal.
How will rule changes affect the way we play FPL?
The main change for this season is that outfield players now receive two bonus points for each defensive play they take in a single game.
FPL managers now also get double the amount of chips – two Free Hits, two Wildcards, two Bench Boosts and two Triple Captains.
Before the Africa Cup of Nations in January, managers will have a five-transfer bonus.
Full details here.
Pras: Picking reliable players with good minutes, primarily centre-backs and defensive midfielders, has become much more affordable. A two-point return is almost as good as a three-point assist.
We will also need to think about our bench players differently. In more difficult matches, players are more likely to accumulate these two-pointers. So is Everton’s James Tarkowski (£5.5m) away to Chelsea as bad a fixture as before? Not likely, though.
Holly: Defensive contribution points give extra utility to centre-backs and we could see a rise in managers opting to play 4-4-2 or 4-3-3.
FPL managers should embrace the value of defensive midfielders like Moises Caicedo ($5.5 million) and Carlos Baleba ($5 million) for their fourth or fifth midfielder positions.
Statman: You’ve got to remember that these defensive contribution numbers are only there if you’ve picked that player every single game through the season.
For instance, you need to go through those games against Liverpool and Manchester City, those games against which Everton are not favorites, to really balance out the opposition and whether you believe they will take defensive steps.
One team I’m really excited about for defensive contributions is Tottenham under Thomas Frank, because the numbers should shoot up for a number of their players and they’ve got a lot of £4.5m defenders.
Bruno Fernandes is one of the players in the middle of the park that really shines. He would have got 22 extra points last season.
Manchester United’s debut season was terrible, but he still made a lot of ball recoveries and made a lot of tackles for his position.
Heisenberg: The FPL rule changes shift gameplay significantly.
A fascinating change is to switch up to two sets of chips. We’ll see greater variety in chip usage in the first half of the season, with no double gameweeks around.
