A man-of-the match performance from Sadio Mane (£8.9million) lit up last night’s EFL Cup, boosting his Fantasy Premier League prospects with two assists in Liverpool’s 5-0 win against Burton Albion.
Having scored a stunning solo goal in the opening weekend 4-3 victory over Arsenal, Mane missed the the Gameweek 2 defeat at Burnley with a shoulder injury in training.
This caused his Fantasy Premier League ownership to dip, but Mane is still owned by more than 440,000 managers, who will be confident of further points returns heading into Saturday’s trip to Tottenham Hotspur.
Everton also eased their way into the next round as Ronald Koeman used the 4-0 win over Yeovil Town to give 90 minutes to new signings Ashley Williams (£5.0m) and Yannick Bolasie (£6.0m). Both are likely to figure from the start against Stoke City in Gameweek 3.
Romelu Lukaku (£9.0m) also handed a first start and completed the 90 minutes.
The Belgian looks to be restored as an FPL option that could yet break up the established strike pairing of Sergio Aguero (£13.1m) and Zlatan Ibrahimovic (£11.7m) in FPL squads, especially with a kind run of fixtures for Lukaku.
Everton face Stoke City, Middlesbrough and Crystal Palace at home and travel to Sunderland and AFC Bournemouth over the next five Gameweeks.
Christian Benteke (£7.4m) is another who will come on to the radar as a forward option.
He was handed his debt for Crystal Palace in their 2-0 win over Blackpool. Taken off to be preserved at the half-way mark, Benteke seems likely to start against AFC Bournemouth on Saturday.
Michy Batshuayi (£9.0m) is another Belgian forward vying for our attention.
He claimed a goal and an assist in cameo roles over the first two Gameweeks but scored twice against Bristol Rovers on Tuesday, providing another reminder of his talents to Chelsea head coach Antonio Conte.
Etienne Capoue (£4.6m) came off the bench but could not stop Watford from a shock home defeat to Gillingham.
The Frenchman was an injury doubt having suffered a calf problem against Chelsea at the weekend. His availability for Gameweek 3's hosting of Arsenal will be welcomed by the 150,000 managers to have transferred him in.
Swansea City’s Neil Taylor (£4.4m) also returned to action as the Welsh club progressed to the second round.
The left-back will challenge Stephen Kingsley (£4.1m) for a start at Leicester City on Saturday.
Kingsley has been the most popular defensive signing so far this season, attracting 199,083 new owners since the Gameweek 1 deadline.
But he could lose his place as Francesco Guidolin considers his choice of full-back tasked with containing the talents of Riyad Mahrez (£9.5m) at the weekend.