Richarlison vs Sigurdsson – FPL Dilemma

Both £8.0m, both Everton midfielders and both are the most annoying players to have on FPL. Sigurdsson last season decided to miss every penalty he had, while Richarlison, when you owned him, did nothing, and when you got rid of him, he was unstoppable! That said, Sigurdsson was one of the highest points scorers in the league, despite not really being popular with that many FPL managers, seemingly being overlooked for others.

I’m an Everton fan, and I personally didn’t think Sigurdsson had a great season. He was good, but can do a lot more. I was seriously impressed with Richarlison though, and have high hopes for him this season. But the question is, who should you own?

Richarlison (Everton, £8.0m)

If you asked me for a word I’d associate with Richarlison, frustration would be the first. Brilliance would be another. While he has potential to be absolutely brilliant, he’s so frustrating to own at times. He began his Everton career with a brace, followed by another goal against Southampton, and then ending the month with a red card after head butting Bournemouth’s Adam Smith. You sort of knew what you were getting with Richarlison for the season after his eventful August. After his red card, the goals and assists seized up, scoring only once after that until December. He was playing well, but not scoring or assisting, which isn’t really much use in FPL. Throughout the season, he popped with the ‘odd-goal’ every now and again, never really getting huge points hauls, which is what you’d expect from a player like him. He scored twice against Brighton and Watford, and that was it unfortunately, so next season, I’d like to see more huge point hauls, because I know he is capable of doing so.

Last season, he scored 13 goals and assisted 3 times, which isn’t actually that bad, considering he spent most of the season on the wing. He was the joint highest scorer for Everton, tied with Sigurdsson, and for a 22 year old, in only his second ever season in the premier league, I actually think that’s a really good number, for a player of his age. It’s somewhat overlooked obviously due to the brilliance of Man City and Liverpool, who both have several players who have more goals than him. If you consider the players who scored 13, or more goals, almost all of them are older than 25, Raheem Sterling being the only one younger, but this his 7th season in the Premier League now! So when you look at it like that, Richarlison’s tally is better than what it looks, and he’ll surely only improve next season.

In addition, he was called up to Brazil’s National squad, being part of a side that won the Copa America, scoring the penalty that secured the win in the final! He was unfortunate to lose his starting place due to him getting the Mumps, but he ended the season exceptionally well, so let’s hope he continues his form into the start of the new campaign!

Gylfi Sigurdsson (Everton, £8.0m)

While Richarlison may seem like the more attractive option – a young, skilful player always looks like the better buy, especially on FPL! However, you can’t go wrong with Sigurdsson, because you know exactly what you’re going to get from him. He’s scored more than 150 points in 4 of the 6 seasons he’s been in the Premier League, with last year being his best ever season, despite missing a couple of penalties. He scored 182 points, scoring 13 times and assisting a measly 6 times, a low number for a player like him, which will be discussed later.

At the moment, he’s still the man on penalties, despite missing a few, and does frequently take corners for Everton, but it should be considered that Lucas Digne takes most free-kicks now, and also takes corners on the left side, which may be the reason as to why his assists dried up last season. Despite losing some set-piece responsibilities, he still ended the season as one of the highest scorers for midfielders in FPL, proving that he is still someone that should be considered, despite going largely under the radar for the majority of the season.

So, is he someone you should choose? If you look at the stats, they’d tell you that you’re a fool if you don’t have him. Taking advantage of the ICT Index that FPL offers (Influence, Creativity and Threat), he’s the 4th highest in FPL, behind only Pogba, Salah and Sterling. It tells you that he’s Everton’s main man when it comes to their attacking threat; he’s the main who influences the game the most for the club. He smashes Richarlison in this aspect, which should be expected really. He also played in every single game for Everton – not suffering a single injury during the season, which is very lucky, but shows that Marco Silva doesn’t value anyone more highly than Sigurdsson, not preparing to rest him in any games, that is how important he is for his side.

Verdict

So, who should you pick?

For me, I’d say Sigurdsson is a safer option, especially at the start of the season. No international duty, a well-earned break and is already back in pre-season, while Richarlison played the entirety of the Copa America, which only finished on the 8th July. He was injured before and during the competition, suffering from a rib injury, and also suffering the mumps midway through the Copa America, and is only now having a break from football. I think that there’s a chance he may miss the first few games, it’s not certain that he will, I just have a feeling Marco Silva might ease him back into things.

Both of them scored 13 goals last season; however Sigurdsson did assist 6 times, while Richarlison only did so once. The Icelandic created 11 big chances, and also made 147 crosses last season, a lot more than what Richarlison did (2, and 44 respectively). Both are really good at what they do, and I love watching Richarlison play, there something about him that makes me think that he could be a star in years to come. Sigurdsson will be 30 soon, but still consistently plays well for Everton, and very rarely misses a game! There are pros and cons for both, as there is for every player in FPL, but with Sigurdsson you know exactly what you’ll get with him. He chips in with a goal/assist every now and again, and if Everton can sign a clinical striker, his assists tally is likely to increase too. Everton’s threat on set-pieces was also a factor in the decision to choose Sigurdsson – they scored 16 goals from set-pieces, the second highest amount in the league. With Sigurdsson featuring so prominently on set-pieces, and with the introduction of VAR in the league next season, these are all more positives in choosing Sigurdsson over Richarlison.

However, I do think both will be key for Everton this season. I think both will feature in your sides at some point in the season, because Richarlison is a talent. He showed glimpses of it last season, and if he adds to his game, he can be a brilliant player in FPL next season. But, for the start of the season, I’d recommend playing it safely, and going for Sigurdsson!

Written by Bonus FPL (@BonusFPL)

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