Newcastle won! Jurgen Klopp drew 0-0 with Tottenham! Leicester came back from 2 goals down again! Oh, what a jolly exciting weekend. The moral of the weekend as you’re about to find out is get Spanish fullbacks. Here’s 5 things we learned:

Bournemouth are brave, but limited

Long-term injuries have bizarrely swept the league in a frightening fashion which Bournemouth have found out all too well in their debut Premier League campaign. Max Gradel, Tyrone Mings and most painfully Callum Wilson have all been lost in the massacre. Even more worrying is how Bournemouth’s defence has been largely untouched — given that Mings had not started for the Cherries pre-injury — but still shows no signs of being able to repel a Premier League attack.

Conceding 5 goals at the Etihad is not a horrific showing. Manchester City will continue to do that to many respectable sides this year. But as a defensive unit Bournemouth have looked on par with Sunderland and given Allardyce’s appointment even they should improve somewhat. Clean sheets are a slightly safer guess than trying to pick a goalscorer from the back and an appealing fixture should not sway you to pick one from Bournemouth. These are not the budget defenders you are looking for.

Arsenal seem sterner but beware banana skin fixtures

The main complaints with Arsenal are so tired and repeated that Arsene Wenger must have permanent tinnitus from sentiments like these:

“They need a top-class striker!”

“The defence will never hold up to a title challenge.”

Of course these could still prove themselves to be partially true. Theo Walcott came off after 60 minutes without a grabbing a goal for Olivier Giroud, who promptly did. That narrative will continue to spin but Arsenal’s defence can be cautiously judged as improved. It relies on Francis Coquelin holding up for 50 games this year but let’s put that to the back of our minds, eh?

Popular perception has often been unfair to Arsenal. They conceded the second least goals last season but televised capitulations have lived long in the memory. It might be a good idea to stock up on Spanish fullbacks. Hector Bellerin and Nacho Monreal are producing the points that we might start to expect of Alberto Moreno on Merseyside. Away to Swansea seems like a banana skin for Arsenal so fill your boots with Spanish left-footers selectively.

A trend to go with – West Ham away from home

Sometimes we over-complicate things. Actually fantasy football managers pretty much always over-complicate things. It just works sometimes, that’s all. An established pattern that seems worth investing in across the field is West Ham’s national tour. A home defeat, coming to a football stadium near you.

Against Palace at the weekend they didn’t muster up a lot of opportunities but like a month ago against Manchester City they secured victory. Manuel Lanzini is not someone many had pencilled in a sa contributor when the season started but alongside growing cult hero Payet he’s flourishing around the country.

Don’t do that! I see you hovering the cursor as well as your devious thoughts over Andy Carroll for next week’s game against Chelsea. There’s an unwritten Andy Carroll rule that’s been in effect since 2012 that all should adhere to. Don’t pick Andy Carroll in fantasy football.

Go against your wishes and back Chelsea

It’s been a month since Diego Costa enraged anyone who associates themselves with a club named Arsenal. Swallow your dignity and take a deep breath: pick Diego Costa and perhaps Begovic if he takes your fancy. Begrudging as it may be, a glance at the league table shows Chelsea may be about to embark on a positive streak. Can you envision the Blues being 11th in the middle of November? Nor can I.

The backing comes with caveats of course. Jose Mourinho has no idea how his midfield is going to be set up so don’t bother trying to guess anything there. The Loftus-Cheek and Ramires tandem we saw trotted out on Saturday would interest only a fool. Fabregas, Hazard and Oscar’s statuses are unknown. The defence picked up a clean sheet against Aston Villa (Quelle surprise.) but Azpilicueta is the only one nailed on.

Spanish fullbacks, I’m telling you!

Behind Vardy and Mahrez, Leicester are lacking at the back

No clean sheets. 17 goals conceded which is fourth worst in the league. You sense past the Premier League’s top goalscorer and Riyad Mahrez (who will be starting again now, honest), Leicester are hiding one of the worst defences in the league. Robert Huth and Wes Morgan are strong but stately in their manner. Not to be crass but Huth and Morgan could get exposed by pace in a game of walking football.

They aren’t helped by those around them. Schlupp and Fuchs will oblige in their attacking duties with pleasure but aren’t offering a lot of protection from the flanks. A similar problem has emerged from last season with a lack of size across the pitch. Two smaller central midfielders and no height up front means huge mismatches at set-pieces and it showed with both of the Saints’ goals coming from centre-halves. To sum it up:

Things Leicester are good at: Jamie Vardy, Riyad Mahrez

Things Leicester are bad at: Defence

Harry Wallace is a Leicester City fan and Fantasy Football enthusiast. Both have been known to be unsuccessful at times. Keep track of his football related thoughts on Twitter.