Gameweek 16 was an eventful one.

The main talking point was that a certain Norwegian who is owned by almost 84 per cent of FPL managers is out injured. We also had some upsets, with Manchester United losing at home to Bournemouth and Everton beating Chelsea.

Sheffield United picked up their second win of the season and Aston Villa are flying high with back-to-back wins against Manchester City and Arsenal. They now sit third in the league table.

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As ever, we will go over the main talking points of the weekend’s action from an FPL perspective.

Haaland injury and alternative options

The biggest shock from Gameweek 16 was, of course, Erling Haaland’s (£14m) omission from the team due to an injury sustained to his foot. Pep Guardiola said: “It’s not a fracture, just a stress on the bone, hopefully he can be ready for Crystal Palace, if not, then Saudi Arabia (for the FIFA Club World Cup).”

The injury to Haaland blows things wide open. If he’s out for a few weeks or even only for the next gameweek, he is now a sell, as this means he will miss Gameweek 17 and also Gameweek 18 due to Manchester City’s participation in the Club World Cup.

Man City play Red Star Belgrade on Wednesday in their Champions League final group game, so we may get another update from Guardiola then. We also might get a firmer update in the pre-match press conference before Gameweek 17, so owners of Haaland should hold tight and wait for as much information as possible before making a decision.

If he’s out, then Ollie Watkins (£8.4m), Dominic Solanke (£6.6m) and Julian Alvarez (£6.9m) are all good replacements. The latter will also miss Gameweek 18, so his inclusion would depend on how the rest of your team is set up.

Solanke looks like a great option regardless and could be worth getting into your team even if Haaland is fit. After 16 games, he has eight goals and one assist, with an xG (expected goals) of 8.2 and an xA (expected assists) of 0.9. He is a consistent option and, at his price, he is fantastic value.

The forward is certain to start and on penalties, too. Bournemouth’s fixtures are also great looking ahead.

Benching and injury concerns

Aston Villa are well in the hunt for a top-four finish and have been phenomenal under Unai Emery.

Matty Cash (£4.8m) and Moussa Diaby (£6.7m) were benched for the third gameweek running. Cash has to go now despite Villa’s kind fixtures as it seems Emery prefers Ezri Konsa (£4.5m) at right-back with Diego Carlos (£4.4m) at centre-back.

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If you own Diaby, you might want to wait on him, though. It looks like he has lost his first-team status to Leon Bailey (£5.5m), who has impressed lately with two goals and an assist in his last three. However, the Jamaican was substituted at half-time due to injury, so it’s worth monitoring his situation.

If he is out, then Diaby for the next two against Brentford (A) and Sheffield United (H) is a great option.

Chelsea made a few changes to their line-up, with first-team regulars Raheem Sterling (£7.1m), Levi Colwill (£4.6m), Thiago Silva (£5.0m) and Nicolas Jackson (£6.9m) all starting from the bench.

It wasn’t hugely surprising given the depth they have in their respective positions, apart from Sterling. It looks as if Mauricio Pochettino just wanted to give a rest to some of his senior players during this crunch period and it was not performance-related.

Sterling is still a good option for Chelsea fixtures over the long term, especially for the immediate gameweek, as they play Sheffield United at home.

Robert Sanchez (£4.7m), Reece James (£5.4m) and Marc Cucurella (£4.8m) were subbed off with injuries. Djordje Petrovic (£4.5m) replaced the ex-Brighton stopper and would be a decent option if Sanchez is out for a while.

Cucurella’s injury may open the door again for Colwill at left-back, so this is another one to monitor if you are looking to invest in the Chelsea defence.

Son Heung-min (£9.5m) started on the left wing while Richarlison (£6.6m) was given No 9 duties in their 4-1 win over Newcastle United.

This didn’t stop the South Korean from hauling, though, as he scored the most points in the gameweek (17 points) with two assists and a goal. It was also confirmed that he is indeed Spurs’ number one penalty taker.

Pedro Porro (£5.4m) picked up another assist, taking his tally to six for the season. He plays very advanced, is always a threat in attack, and also takes corners.

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The Spain international also boasts the second-highest expected assists (2.68) and third-highest xG (1.47) among defenders. Looking at Tottenham’s fixtures over the long term, he is someone we should be planning to bring in.

They play Nottingham Forest (A), Everton (H), Brighton (A) and Bournemouth (H) in the next four. Spurs don’t have the tightest defence, but Porro’s attacking threat more than makes up for that.

Richarlison is also one to monitor after scoring a brace and Ange Postecoglou may well keep the same formation for the future.

Suspension tightrope

From the defenders, Kieran Trippier (£7m), Lucas Digne (£4.7m), Jarrad Branthwaite (£4.1m) and Charlie Taylor (£4.0m) received their fifth yellow cards of the season, which means they are now suspended for next gameweek.

Marvelous Nakamba (£4.4m), Bruno Fernandes (£8.3m) and Douglas Luiz (£5.6m) were also cautioned for the fifth time and will sit out Gameweek 17.

Some popular options who are one booking away from a suspension are Matty Cash, Antonee Robinson (£4.4m), Cole Palmer (£5.5m), Hwang Hee-chan (£5.8m), Sterling, Jamaal Lascelles (£4.2m) and Destiny Udogie (£4.8m).

When making your transfer plans, it’s worth looking at how many players you have close to a suspension and who has a blank in Gameweek 18, as you could well be left in trouble.

Midweek games

With the Haaland injury news and the fact we have midweek games in the Champions League and Europa League, we should be holding our transfers until the end of the week.

There is just so much up in the air at the moment and with blanks in Gameweek 18 almost upon us, you need to be extra vigilant. Also, there could well be more injuries to our FPL players in the midweek games.

(Top photos: Getty Images)