Is it me or has the last few weeks been quite low scoring? This weeks 2 single games didn’t provide managers with many explosive hauls to jump up the ranks in 2 low scoring affairs. Saturday wasn’t much nicer with Pep spinning his roulette wheel and no side scoring more than twice! With another 3 game days next week, hopefully things will pick up.
Goalkeepers
There weren’t many clean sheets this week but Ederson kept his first clean sheet this month. Allison is back too which will help the Liverpool defence. Fixtures are tough at the moment but there will be a good opportunity to get on him this Sunday or later down the line when fixtures ease. Pickford got his first return since gameweek 2 with a double digit haul. Henderson £6.3m is providing good value at the back 3 double digit scores in 4.
Defenders
Alonso top scored at the back after he scored the only goal in Chelsea’s win against Newcastle. After mentioning him last week he hit SoT bonus too but I’d be wary with Emerson nearly fit. All Chelsea defenders achieved Tier 2 passing bonus against a Newcastle side who like to sit deep. Webster £7.3m scored his first goal for Brighton but I find it hard to own him when Burn is available for much less. Guilbert got his second assist of the season against Brighton and is proving to be very good value. He’s got some tricky fixtures to come but once he’s starting there’s no point selling. Robertson returned yet another assist along with passing and tackling bonus. Now he’s the second highest scoring defender in the game. The Sheffield United defence has been extremely strong for a promoted side and O’Connell £6.7m picked you an assist.
Soyuncu conceded against Burnley but still scored an 8 pointer with Tier 2 tackling and passing bonus. Teammate Pereira is currently averaging over 7ppm and made tackle bonus again. Otamendi might regain his place on Saturday but if he doesn’t we’ll see the team sheets to allow you to move him on.
Midfielders
Grealish stole the show against Brighton with a MOTM performance. He scored and assist along with contributing plenty of shots with SoT bonus for his second double figure return in a row. Fixtures stiffen, so he might be a wait and see but he’s a very shrewd mid priced option and has started to play higher up the field. Doucoure scored his first of the season against Tottenham and he seems to be return some sort of bonus every second week. Tielemans £8m is outscoring his dearer teammate Maddison. He’s owned by <10% and he scored his second of the season in a MOTM performance against Burnley. Barnes £7.2m got two assists in that game and that’s his 3rd in three games. Hudson Odoi has 3 assists in 3 after returning back to the side. His £7.8m price tag adds to the list of great valued Chelsea players.
Rodri hit 100 passes this week but looked to have picked up an injury mid week in Europe. Jorginho made passing and tackling bonus and he’s got a great run of fixtures which should see consistent passing returns. Norwood £6.4m reaches Tier 2 tackles vs Arsenal and that’s his second Tier 2 bonus in a matter of weeks. The joint highest scoring midfielder in the game McGinn blanked for the first time since August and has a tough run of games but I’d still expect him to tick over with some tackle bonus against tougher opposition. Man City’s midfield is tough to decipher who starts, so I’m personally avoiding apart from KDB. Silva hit a 13 pointer and has returned a double digit haul each month but I’m not tempted.
Forwards
The Pep roulette caused havoc as Aguero was benched for the 5:30pm game. I’ve decided not to captain a city player unless we see the team sheet and that’s the case this Saturday. Vardy bagged a goal on Saturday and will be a popular pick on Friday with only 7% ownership. Ings £9m scored for the 3rd week running and plays on Friday but has a difficult next 4 matches. Rashford £10.8m hit his first double digit haul since gameweek 1 and faces nor/bou/BHA/shu/AVL next. Jimenez £10.6m scored against Southampton but had another 2 ruled out by VAR. This came off the back of 2 assists vs Man City.
Captain conundrums
Friday: With previous single games, most managers should have some Southampton or Leicester players. Leicester defenders should have floor for points while Vardy is a very explosive pick. After this game you can get an extra two games out of most teams for your Leicester player, so I wouldn’t be going too heavy in Leicester but they’ve some good fixtures still to come. You can move the likes of Vardy to a Man City or Liverpool attacker for two games. Southampton have some good assets but I much prefer the Foxes at the moment.
Saturday: We finally get Man City team news, so they’re my favourite pick for Saturday against Villa. The likes of Aguero, Sterling and KDB are all great choices but hard to hold all of them long term which such rotation potential (especially for the latter two).
Sunday: None if the top 6 play in the early kick off, so we won’t receive any team news unless you plan to captain a Newcastle or Wolves player. Aubameyang looks a safe option against Crystal Palace, but Arsenal are coming into the game not in great form. Liverpool players are also great options against a weak Spurs defence. The ever consistent Robertson is as safe as it gets but Mané and Salah seem the obvious two.
Written by FPL Junior (@FPL_Junior)
