Who are the Best Ait-Nouri Replacements in FPL?

The 24-year-old Manchester City full-back Rayan Ait-Nouri has some fitness issues at present, as the Algerian is struggling with a knee injury. Although he isn’t completely out of the upcoming gameweeks, we know how unpredictable Pep Guardiola’s Manchester City are, and Ait Nouri may be a risky selection, as he can be inactive in the forthcoming gameweek. The immensely talented Algerian-French side-back Rayan Ait-Nouri was the first 2025 summer signing for Manchester City, as he left the Premier League club Wolves to sign for the Sky Blues for the next five seasons.

Rayan Ait-Nouri's new FPL season and injury status

Starting the new FPL season with a valuation of £6.0m, Ait Nouri produced nine points and one point, respectively, in two games. While Man City started the new season with a 4-0 win against Wolves, the Algerian secured a clean sheet, two FPL points from defensive contributions by recording 15 CBIT, and one bonus point. As Tottenham Hotspur defeated them by 2-0 at the Etihad Stadium, Ait Nouri only managed to play the first 22 minutes before he was forced off due to a knee injury.

Ait Nouri’s injury isn’t currently very serious, as the FPL has given a 75 per cent chance of him playing in the upcoming match against the hosts Brighton & Hove Albion in Gameweek 3.

Due to Ait Nouri’s doubtful fitness at present, whose present FPL value is £6.1m, we are looking at some top names as an Ait Nouri FPL replacement.

Best Ait-Nouri Replacements in FPL

Marc Cucurella (Chelsea): £6.1m

Chelsea’s Spanish left-back Marc Cucurella can be one of the favourites as an Ait Nouri replacement. He started the new FPL season strongly with eight and five FPL points in their first two games against Crystal Palace and West Ham United. While Chelsea had a goalless draw against Palace, where the Spanish footballer also earned two bonus points, he recorded one assist in the 5-1 win against the Hammers.

Chelsea will now face Fulham, Brentford, Manchester United, and Brighton & Hove Albion before taking on the defending champions Liverpool. As the Blues have comfortable fixtures, Cucurella can be a good option, who is in good form.

Tino Livramento (Newcastle United): £5.0m

Newcastle United’s next three fixtures are much more comfortable, as they will play against Leeds United, Wolves, and AFC Bournemouth, respectively. Newcastle United started the new season with a goalless draw against Aston Villa and a 3-2 defeat against the defending champions Liverpool, where the English full-back Tino Livramento impressed in both games.

With a clean sheet and three bonus points, Livramento generated nine FPL points in their first game of the season. Against Liverpool, he recorded one assist, generating four FPL points. While the Magpies have good fixtures in the upcoming days, Livramento can be a good option for Ait Nouri FPL replacement.

James Tarkowski (Everton): £5.5m

Everton centre-back James Tarkowski is a strong choice for his defensive contributions, who brought two points from it in both the first two games of the season. After recording four FPL points in their season opener defeat against promoted Everton, Everton beat Brighton & Hove Albion with a clean sheet, as the English defender earned four and eight FPL points, respectively.

Everton will now face Wolves and Aston Villa before hosting the defending champions Liverpool, and then they will play against West Ham United and Crystal Palace. With the comfortable upcoming fixtures, Tarkowski can also be the best Ait Nouri replacement in the FPL.

Cristian Romero (Tottenham Hotspur): £5.0m

Tottenham Hotspur started the new Premier League season strongly with two wins, along with a clean sheet record in both games. After defeating Burnley at home by 3-0, Spurs beat the hosts, Manchester City, by 2-0. With the help of six and seven FPL points, respectively, the Argentine centre-back Cristian Romero has recorded 13 FPL points in total this season.

According to the latest FDR, Spurs will have the next match above FDR 3 in Gameweek 12. Their next five PL fixtures are against AFC Bournemouth, West Ham United, Brighton & Hove Albion, Wolves, and Leeds United. So, Spurs’ Romero can be one of the great FPL choices as a Man City Ait Nouri replacement.

Marcos Senesi (AFC Bournemouth): £4.5m

After suffering a thrilling 4-2 defeat against the defending champions Liverpool in the season opener, AFC Bournemouth beat Wolves 1-0. Their Argentine centre-back Marcos Senesi started the new season strongly in terms of defensive contributions, as he produced two FPL points from it in both the first two games of the season by recording 15 and 14 defensive contributions, respectively. After recording two FPL points in the season opener, he recorded nine FPL points in the second match, including a clean sheet and one bonus point.

Bournemouth’s next five PL matches are against Tottenham Hotspur, Brighton & Hove Albion, Newcastle United, Leeds United, and Fulham. With his strong start, Senesi is going to be one of the favourites as Ait Nouri replacement for recent FPL gameweeks.

Why haven’t we preferred Arsenal and Liverpool defenders here?

Talking about Ait Nouri FPL replacement, in this article, we haven’t taken the names of any Arsenal and Liverpool defenders in the top five list, although they have some of the best defenders. Especially when Ait Nouri has a valuation of £6.1m, similar to the top teams’ defenders like Arsenal and Liverpool, and most FPL managers can hardly afford even two defenders with valuations of £5.5m or over.

Arsenal have upcoming matches against Liverpool, Nottingham Forest, Manchester City, and Chelsea. All these fixtures are very challenging for any team, and although the Gunners have started the season strongly by recording clean sheet wins against Manchester United and Leeds United, we have got better possible names with their comfortable fixtures for the top five positions as Ait Nouri replacement.

Meanwhile, the defending champions Liverpool also started the new season with two out of two wins, but their defence isn’t looking very settled yet. In both fixtures, the Reds conceded two goals each. And now the Reds will face Arsenal before their PL meetings against Burnley, Everton, and Crystal Palace. So, we need to consider waiting and watching Liverpool's defence at this moment.