The Premier League returns now the September international break is done and dusted, and it will be foot to the floor until the World Cup comes around.
With two disrupted months of the season almost gone, some teams are settling down at this stage, while others are continuing to tinker in the hope of igniting their campaigns.
The Qatar 2022 break is on the horizon, adding an extra dimension as many players jostle to earn tickets on the plane with their national teams.
Opta data points to familiar faces who may be primed to deliver those all-important fantasy football goals and assists this weekend, as well as a couple of less-vaunted prospects who could boost your points tally.
Jose Sa (West Ham United v Wolves)
Wolves goalkeeper Jose Sa has seen his side struggle this term, with just one win so far meaning they sit a spot above the bottom three – but it has not been down to his own form, with only Manchester City's Ederson having kept more clean sheets than his three this term.
No side have scored fewer goals than Wolves' weekend opponents West Ham this season (three, tied with Wolves themselves) which suggests Sa could be on course to bank another strong performance between the posts.
West Ham have been wasteful with their chances, and are underperforming against their expected goals (xG) tally by 4.6 goals, the worst such record in the Premier League.
Kenny Tete (Fulham v Newcastle United)
Sitting sixth coming out of the international break, Fulham already look on course to avoid the drop back to the Championship, and that has come with a handy assist from their Dutch right-back.
No Premier League defender has more assists than Tete this season (three), with only Kevin De Bruyne (six) and Bukayo Saka (four) providing more among all players.
In addition, two of those assists from Tete have come in his last two games for the Cottagers, suggesting a rich chance he could maintain his form.
Son Heung-min (Arsenal v Tottenham)
Having endured a dramatic goal drought to start the season, South Korea international Son's freewheeling hat-trick off the bench last time out likely pushes him back to the forefront of Antonio Conte's plans.
If he bags three goals again in the north London derby, he would become the eighth player to achieve the feat in consecutive Premier League games.
What's more, he can continue to build on an exceptional 2022, where only team-mate Harry Kane leads him for overall Premier League goals (18) and involvements (24).
Kevin De Bruyne (Manchester City v Manchester United)
While team-mate Erling Haaland has been tearing up the goalscoring charts, the Belgian heart of Pep Guardiola's side remains a surefire bet for any fantasy football player.
No player has provided more assists (6) or created more chances (25) than De Bruyne this season – and after his prior exploits against United in March, he'll be eyeing up another superb performance.
In a 4-1 City win on that occasion, he scored twice and assisted once. Only against Wolves in May, when he scored four times, has De Bruyne had more goal involvements in a Premier League game.
Pochettino leaves Chelsea after one season
Mauricio Pochettino will leave Chelsea by mutual consent after one season in charge, the club announced on Tuesday.
Despite a poor start to the season, Pochettino led Chelsea to a sixth-place finish, confirming a European place - an improvement on their 12th-place finish in 2022-23.
He also led them to the EFL Cup final and the semi-final of the FA Cup.
Speculation surrounded Pochettino's position during the latter stages of the Premier League campaign, though he remained tight-lipped about his future.
The Argentinian had one year left on his contract but now leaves the club with immediate effect.
In a club statement, Pochettino said: "Thank you to the Chelsea ownership group and Sporting Directors for the opportunity to be part of this football club's history.
"The club is now well positioned to keep moving forward in the Premier League and Europe in the years to come."
Sporting Directors Laurence Stewart and Paul Winstanley said: "On behalf of everyone at Chelsea, we would like to express our gratitude to Mauricio for his service this season.
"He will be welcome back to Stamford Bridge any time, and we wish him all the very best in his future coaching career."
Putellas signs two-year deal with Barcelona
Barcelona midfielder Alexia Putellas has signed a two-year deal until 2026, the club announced on Thursday.
Putellas was due to be out of contract next month, but extends her 12-year relationship with Barcelona, with the new deal also including an option for an additional season.
The 30-year-old is a two-time Ballon d’Or winner in 2021 and 2022, though she has struggled with injuries that have kept her sidelined since winning the second.
Overall, she has made 424 appearances, scoring a record 189 goals for the club, playing a pivotal role in Barcelona’s recent domination in women’s football.
Putellas has won 29 major trophies with Barcelona and is looking for another on Saturday when they face Lyon in the Champions League final.
Having already clinched Liga F, the Copa de la Reina and the Spanish Supercopa this season, Putellas can help Barcelona to complete an unprecedented quadruple with a win over the French champions.
Alonso wants to write more history with Leverkusen in Europa League final
Xabi Alonso is hopeful that his Bayer Leverkusen side can make more history in their Europa League final against Atalanta on Wednesday.
Leverkusen became the first side in Bundesliga history to go unbeaten in a single season on their way to the top-flight title, and across all competitions, they have not lost any of their last 51 matches.
Now, they have the opportunity to complete an unbeaten treble if they can get past Atalanta before taking on Kaiserslautern in the DFB-Pokal on Saturday.
Only three sides have previously won the competition without losing a game – Chelsea in 2018-19, Villarreal in 2020-21 and Eintracht Frankfurt in 2021-22, with Leverkusen looking to be added to that list.
Alonso is taking charge of his first European final as a manager and highlights the ambition the club have to do something significant.
"It would mean a lot, a lot to me [to win a European trophy]," he told UEFA. "To be able to share it with the people from the club, with the fans.
"You see what it meant when we won the Bundesliga. To be able to win a European title after so many years since we won [the UEFA Cup in 1988] would be historic, and we want to do that, to have a historic season.
"It would be something written in golden letters, not only in the history of our club but probably all European football. I hope we can."
Like his counterpart, Atalanta manager Gian Piero Gasperini is also taking charge of a European final for the first time in his career.
The Italian side clinched a top-five finish in Serie A with their win over Lecce on Saturday and are looking to win their first major trophy in 61 years.
Looking back on the season, Gasperini says he is proud of the work his side have done to make it through to the club's first European final.
"It feels good," Gasperini said. "It's a great achievement and source of satisfaction, achieved with a really good season from this whole team.
"Is it the highest point of my career? Yes, in terms of accomplishment and prestige, absolutely. In terms of gratification, fortunately, I've had quite a few, although perhaps not on the same level.
"This team always wanted it. Sometimes, you get teams who are good technically but lacking in determination and hunger.
"From the start, from the group stage, since we played in Lisbon, in a group where we were not the favourites – Sporting [CP] were the favourites – we played great matches against strong opponents. Of course, winning at Anfield boosted our confidence even more."
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