Arsenal, Chelsea, Spurs and Manchester City are also represented in this XI of Premier League periphery players who look set to be starters at the World Cup…
GK: Matt Turner
Arsenal’s second choice goes to the World Cup as USA No.1 (we think) while Arsenal’s No.1 is in Qatar as England’s second stand-in. Turner gets the nod ahead of Chelsea’s recently demoted Edouard Mendy and the modern-day Sergio Romero who is Wayne Hennessey, Wales No.1 in perpetuity despite not having been first choice at club level for bloody ages.
RB: Tariq Lamptey
At one point, the Brighton right-back looked set to make the England right-back spot his own. Then he got injured, then he switched allegiance to Ghana, for whom he will start in Qatar – something he hasn’t done for Brighton all season despite being available to Graham Potter and Roberto De Zerbi for every Premier League game.
CB: Harry Maguire
Maguire may be Manchester United captain but he is no longer first choice. He’s barely even first-choice stand-in, with Erik ten Hag opting for Victor Lindelof to replace Raphael Varane. Still, Gareth Southgate is sticking by one of his most-trusted lieutenants. God help Harry if that decision backfires…
CB: Jan Bednarek
The Villa defender has played only twice since joining from Southampton – once as a sub at Leeds before making his first start in Steven Gerrard’s final game as manager. That 3-0 defeat at Fulham almost a month ago was Bednarek’s last action before joining up with Poland, who expect the 26-year-old to start in a back three.
LB: Nathan Ake
The Manchester City defender has played either in the centre or to the left of Louis van Gaal’s defence, a versatility he has demonstrated for Pep Guardiola more often than we initially thought but not as often as he would like. He has started only half of City’s Premier League matches – one in their last four – and two of their six Champions League games.
CM: Nampalys Mendy
Mendy plays a lot more than he used to at Leicester but he remains a squad player for Brendan Rodgers, with all his Premier League appearances this term coming off the bench. For Senegal, however, he remains an integral part of their midfield, starting 10 of their 13 games in 2022.
CM: Pape Matar Sarr
The Tottenham youngster goes to the World Cup with only 111 minutes in Premier League 2 under his belt this season. So far, he’s yet to see any action in Antonio Conte’s first team but Sarr looks set to start…
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