Here we go again then; the team sheets are in, and once again it's thrown some cats amongst the pigeons. No Courtois, Cahill, Oscar or Fabregas for Chelsea. No Clichy for Man City. No Tadic or Ward-Prowse for Southampton. No Walters for Stoke. No Gayle for Palace. Baines still missing for Everton. At the risk of sounding like a stuck record, starters on your FPL bench are absolutely essential at this time of year. 

Last night saw this site publish one of (if not THE) first review of the evenings matches. Join me again as I construct this article live, as the action unfolds...

CHE v EVE

Judging by the first half performance from Chelsea, the four changes made by Mourinho meant they failed to find their usual rhythm. A pretty uneventful first 45 had the teams heading in at 0-0 at the break. A tactical switch from Everton saw McCarthy replace Besic for the second half. A double switch by Mourinho in the 70th minute saw Fabregas and Drogba on for Cuadrado and Remy. Chelsea had a late goal disallowed after a Matic shot was deflected in by an offside Ivanovic. The game appeared to be petering out to a 0-0 bore draw, but then in what turned out to be a mad few minutes, Gareth Barry saw red for a second booking and then Willian scored an 89th minute winner (no assist). Bonus points were awarded as follows:

• Willian - 3pts 
  
• Matic, Azpilicueta & Zouma - 2pts

MUN v BUR

Burnley may not get the chance to learn that - at this level - you must take your chances. After a bright start, they were punished when Chris Smallimg (on early for the injured Jones) scored with his first touch from a Falcao assist. The lead only lasted 6 minutes though as Danny Ings powered a bullet header past De Gea from a Kieran Trippier cross. This was Ings 5th goal in 6 games, and his 9th of the campaign. United regained the lead in first half injury time, Smalling grabbing his second with a header from Angel Di Maria's cross. The third goal had to wait until the 82nd minute, with Robin Van Persie slotting home a penalty after a foul on Di Maria. The game ended 3-1, but Burnley definitely deserved more for their efforts.

• Smalling - 3pts
  
• Van Persie - 2pts
  
• Ings - 1pt

SOU v WHU

As we have come to expect, Koeman sent his team out superbly organised and despite a manpower reshuffle, an uncanny understanding amongst his players that other managers must look at enviously. It was a goalless first half, and to be honest the first incident of real note didn't occur until the hour mark, with West Ham keeper Adrian being sent off for handling outside the area. Southampton battered at the West Ham door, searching for a goal, but were unable to find a way past substitute keeper Jussi Jääskeläinen. 0-0 the final score. 8 games without a goal for Graziano Pelle now; if Saints have Top 4 ambitions they need to score more I'm afraid.

• Gardos - 3pts
  
• Clyne - 2pts
  
• Cresswell & Tomkins - 1pt

STO v MCY

Pellegrini decided earlier in the week that despite not winning a game since Yaya Toure went to the AFCON, he didn't need him (or new signing Bony) to play against Stoke. In the early stages Stoke had City on the ropes, with Crouch in particular causing all sorts of problems. He even scored, but it was ruled off for offside. Agüero opened the scoring, latching onto James Milner's ball and powering forward to fire past Begovic. Crouch got his reward for his efforts, equalising after Arnautovic's cross meeting his head. In a bizarre incident on the stroke of halftime, with Agüero sticking his hand out and getting in the way of Silva's shot which was going in anyway. The linesman spotted it and booked the Argentine. Ten minutes after the break, City retook the lead with the impressive James Milner heading home Samir Nasri's cross. They extended their advantage with Agüero scoring a penalty conceded by Geoff Cameron for a foul on David Silva to make it 1-3. He never got the chance to complete his hat trick, with Dzeko coming on for him shortly after the spot kick. Nasri added a goal to his earlier assist to make it four, shooting from the edge of the box. Substitute Dzeko provided the assist. Who said City's pampered superstars couldn't do it on a cold Wednesday evening in Stoke?

• Nasri - 3pts
  
• Agüero- 2pts
  
• Milner - 1pt

CRY v NEW

Inevitably the pre-match talk was all about Alan Pardew welcoming his former employers and their supporters to his new spiritual home. The last thing he would have wanted was to have Newcastle take the lead, but that's exactly what happened just before the break, with Papiss Cisse scoring on his return to the starting line up following excellent work from Daryl Janmaat. The equaliser eventually came for Palace from Fraizer Campbell following a cross from Yannick Bolasie. Pardew's men went searching for the winner, however, it wasn't to be and both teams had to settle for a point.

• Cisse - 3pts
  
• Janmaat & Campbell - 2pts

WBA v SWA

I'd be lying if I could find anything to write about the first half at the Hawthorns, so I won't insult your intelligence. Goalless at the break, and with very few opportunities falling to either side. It took until the hour mark to come, but Brown Ideye scored his second goal in two games to put Albion a goal to the good. The lead was doubled in the 74th minute with Saido Berahino receiving the ball from his strike partner Ideye. It finished 2-0, and this was perhaps a fair reflection of the match. Swansea need Sigurdsson back desperately or their season is at risk of fizzling out before the end of the month.

• Ideye - 3pts
  
• Berahino- 2pts
  
• Lescott - 1pt

With the Premier League taking a break at the weekend for the FA Cup, it's time to now take stock of your team and assess how you can strengthen and improve it in time for GW26. I'd strongly suggest you check out all of the features on this site to aid you in your planning. The Assistant Manager feature and my personal favourite, the Fix Comparison Matrix (found in the Stats Centre) are a good starting point.
Hopefully you've enjoyed the last few Suffix articles, your comments and feedback are always appreciated!