Aston Villa have extended Victor Lindelof's stay, the Premier League reported on Tuesday, a small piece of business on the first quiet morning after a matchweek of 26 goals. Villa drew 4-4 at Manchester United on Sunday, a game that felt like a win for the visitors and a point that changed little for the side still sitting 18th. Lindelof, the Sweden defender who arrived from Old Trafford, is part of the back line that has taken Villa into the upper half while his former club remains in the bottom three on eight points. The league's notice did not give a length of contract or a fee. What it did was take one January question off the board before anyone had written it.
The other Tuesday story is at Chelsea, and it is about a game. The BBC reported that the club emailed staff to warn them about using inside information in Fantasy Premier League line-ups. Joao Pedro has been out since mid-October with a thigh problem. Before the 2-0 defeat to Tottenham in matchweek 8, creators who watch the game noticed Chelsea employees dropping the striker from their teams hours before the club said he was missing. The club treats that episode as isolated. Directors believe a reminder to players and staff will stop a repeat, and they do not expect a wider ban on the game inside the building. Xabi Alonso has been without his number 9 for the weeks since. On Saturday Sunderland beat Chelsea 1-0.
The table the email does not change
Sunday left Arsenal five points clear, on 27, with Brighton second on 22. Liverpool beat Crystal Palace 3-1 at Selhurst Park. Nottingham Forest's 3-1 win over Manchester City, with Liam Delap scoring twice, was the result that bent the title race. City have three league defeats in a row. Palace are bottom. United's draw with Villa, in which Alysson scored and made two assists, was the loudest game of the weekend and one of the least useful for the home side. Eight goals, and the bottom three looks the same on Tuesday as it did at kick-off.
Tuesday's Small Print
- Victor Lindelof has extended his stay at Aston Villa. No length has been published.
- Chelsea warned staff after Joao Pedro's absence showed up in Fantasy teams first.
- No Fantasy price rises overnight. Falls included Elliot Anderson, Adam Wharton and Harry Wilson.
- Nicolas Jackson was the most transferred-in player for the next gameweek, on the morning's count.
- Arsenal lead by five points. United are 18th on eight.
The prices moved. The fixtures did not.
Fantasy Premier League recorded no price rises overnight into Tuesday. The falls included Brian Madjo of Villa, Cheick Doucoure and Adam Wharton of Palace, Harry Wilson of Leeds and Elliot Anderson of Manchester City. By 9.05am the most transferred-in player for the next gameweek was Jackson of Villa, on 255,706 transfers. The most transferred-out was Joao Pedro, on 268,808, which is the public version of the same information Chelsea would rather keep inside the training ground. Barry of Everton, Evanilson of Bournemouth, van Hecke of Spurs and De Cuyper of Brighton were next through the door.
None of this is a match. The next league weekend will ask whether Forest's win over City was a turn or a night, whether United can turn eight goals into a climb, and whether Villa's new certainty about Lindelof shows up in a defence that just conceded four. Until then the table is the one matchweek 10 wrote, and the only new sentence in it is a defender staying put and a club telling its staff that a fantasy team is not a private channel.