GM football fans. Route One here, reminding you that the FPL deadline is at 6:00 PM BST tonight. 🚨 

Today’s briefing is a ~4 min read:

1. All you need to know about Matchweek 22 🤩

2. Fantasy Premier League… decisions, decisions, decisions 🎯

3. Extra time: Jordan Pickford calls a fan a parrot 🦜

Morning Brief 🗞️

Liverpool captain Virgil van Dijk admits he faces an uncertain future in the wake of Jurgen Klopp’s announcement, according to Liverpool Echo.

Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta has no plans to leave his managerial post, despite reports in Sapin linking him to the Barcelona job.

There’s a “growing momentum” that a bid will be launched by Spurs for Chelsea’s skipper Connor Gallagher, via TeamTalk.

Six Glazer siblings stand to make £100 million and £150 million from the sale of a 25% stake in Manchester United reports The Times.

MATCHDAY 22 PREVIEW 🤩

🦁 Aston Villa vs Newcastle 🐦

Hmmm.

On paper, things don’t look great for Newcastle…

• They’ve lost their last 4 league games.

• Villa have gone unbeaten in 6 home games against the Magpies… with 4 clean sheets.

• Villa have won 16 of their last 17 home league games.

There’s also an added incentive for Ollie Watkins who is looking to become the third Aston Villa player to score 50 goals in the Premier League… 

Can you guess the other two? Reply to this email if you think you know.

Anyway, let’s be honest, playing at Villa Park won’t be a walk in the — you get the jist.

But with returning players like Jacob Murphy and Tino Livramento, we may see a rejuvenated Newcastle side.

• 💉 Quick hit: If Alexander Isak scores in another loss, that’d be the first time a player has scored in four consecutive games and lost all four games.

🐓 Tottenham vs Brentford 🐝

Once upon a time, Brentford’s derby form was immaculate: 14 consecutive wins against London sides is an incredible feat.

But they’ve lost their last two outings - Arsenal (1-0) and Crystal Palace (3-1).

It’s a similar story for Spurs.

Ange’s side have lost two of their last London league derbies… and on home soil.

To win today, Spurs will rely on…

• Richarlison’s purple patch at home… with 10 goal involvements in 10 home games.

• Maddison’s return from injury… but he may not start.

• Kulusevski’s right-wing reckoning… where he’s created the most chances following carries in the league (19).

Spurs are in good form at home, so it’ll take some Toney magic to cause an upset for the home crowd.

• 💉 Quick hit: Tottenham have lost just one of the last nine league games against Brentford, though that defeat did come in this exact fixture last season.

🐉 Liverpool vs Chelsea 🦁

Do you want the good news or the bad news?

We’ll start with the good news… this game could see a lot of goals from both sides.

The bad news… each of the last seven meetings between these sides in all comps have finished level.

No one wants to see a draw.

Both sides have a few things in common going into this fixture…

• Both are on three consecutive league wins.

• Both have players returning from injury.

• Both will be on a high following FA Cup wins.

Little will separate the two… and it’s a tough one to call.

• 💉 Quick hit: Chelsea plays well against the Premier League’s best, winning more games against teams starting the day top of the table than any other club in the competition’s history (18).

FANTASY PREMIER LEAGUE 📊

DECISIONS, DECISIONS, DECISIONS… 🫡

The usual captaincy suspects are out of action again this week.

Well, Erling Haaland (£13.9) might come back into the City squad, but his minutes are - um - not nailed.

So, amongst all the decisions to make in GW22, we must look elsewhere for the big points.

Luckily we have lots of alternatives…

• João Pedro (£5.4m) v Luton (A)

• Eberechi Eze (£6.0m) v Sheffield United (H)

• Richarlison (£7.0m) v Brentford (H)

• Phil Foden (£8.0m) v Burnley (H)

• Jarrod Bowen (£8.1m) v Bournemouth (H)

• Bukaya Saka (£9.0) v Nott’m Forest (A)

• Kevin De Bruyne (£10.6m) v Burnley (H)

Let’s take a look at some of the better picks…

1/ Phil Foden (£8.0m) v Burnley (H)

Foden is looking nailed, despite Pep’s flip-flop selection approach.

He has five consecutive 90-minute games and four attacking returns in the same period.

Add to that City’s incredible record against Burnley…

… it becomes clear why he will be the most selected captain this week.

2/ Kevin De Bruyne (£10.6m) v Burnley (H)

He only has 44 Premier League minutes under his belt this season so expect to be in the minority if you opt for him as your captain.

But… he bagged a goal and assist in his 21 minutes against Newcastle in GW 21, so there’s big upside potential to picking the Belgian as your captain.

3/ Jarrod Bowen (£8.1m) v Bournemouth (H)

Bowen has the highest expected goals (xG) of all available midfielders in GW22 and he faces Bournemouth who are in the bottom three for goals conceded away this season.

Make of that what you will…

AI PICKED WILDCARD TEAM FOR GW 22 🧠

We like featuring AI models here at R1 because they are as unbiased as you’re going to get in FPL.

The AI model we feature below is designed by Spiro Valouxis which finished first out of 25,000 teams which started their season at GW 24 last season.

Spiro has kindly laid out for us:

• The optimal GW22 wildcard team as suggested by his AI model and;

• The optimal transfer plan from GW22 to GW28.

Thank YOU, Spiro.

Ivan Toney (£8.0m) looks great given he is nailed for 90mins, on penalties and free-kicks, doubles in GW25 and doesn’t blank in GW26.

Remember… only use AI models to check your thinking, not as a definitive guide.

Why do we say that? Because AI models change their “mind” as fast as Gary Neville’s ooooooooooo in any - and we mean, any - game.

Good luck, Router! (not that you’ll need it)

EXTRA-TIME ⏱️

Top-corner volleys are always great to watch… and even better when they’re in slo-mo with a ton of backspin.

The time Alex Ferguson left out Alan Hansen from the Scottish World Cup squad in 1986. Despite Hansen winning the double with Liverpool that year.

Two legends of the game just hanging out. We’re not sure what Diego Maradona and Jose Mourinho were talking about… but it has all the personality you’d expect from the pair.

When a fan asked Jordan Pickford if Everton were getting relegated, he handled it the best way possible. By calling him a parrot.

MEME 😆

ROUTER REVIEW OF THE DAY 🤗

R1 REFERRAL