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Gameweek seven saw a total of 10 teams scoring at least two goals and in keeping with the theme of the season, only five teams kept clean sheets. Newcastle further strengthened their claim as the season’s whipping boys as they collapsed after going down to 10 men against Leicester and the Magpies’ opponents should be targeted for Fantasy returns as they appear hopeless at both ends of the pitch.
Liverpool and Man. City face tricky fixtures on paper this week against Leicester and Wolves, teams which are looking to break into the ‘top six’ but given that both of them are at home, they should be able to get over the line and neither would want a loss going into the international break. I would have liked to include a Man. United player against Newcastle but the Red Devils’ attack is not looking too great at the moment. All the three players mentioned are great captain options, depending on the level of risk you want to take.
3 Players to Pick for your FPL Team
1) Riyad Mahrez (WOL)
Only De Bruyne (26) has scored more than Mahrez’s 25 FPL points over the last two gameweeks and with the injury to the Belgian, his ownership is on the rise. No midfielder landed more SoT than his seven over the last two gameweeks and only De Bruyne (10) attempted more assists than his nine. He is also second for ‘big chances’ created (three) only to De Bruyne (four). Man. City top the attacking statistics for goals (27), shots (150), SiB (108), SoT (58) and ‘big chances’ 35.
Wolves have traveled to Turkey for their Europa League game on Thursday and although they finally got their first league win in gameweek seven, they are likely to struggle against the defending Champions. They have conceded 12 goals this season and only Chelsea (13), Newcastle (13), Norwich (16) and Watford (20) have conceded more. They have allowed 28 SoT in their seven matches at an average of four a game and only Everton (10) and Watford (13) have conceded more than their nine goals over the last four gameweeks.
2) Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang (BOU)
Aubameyang continued his prolific form with his seventh goal of the season and only Agüero (59) and De Bruyne (63) have registered more Fantasy Premier League (FPL) points than the Gabonese’s 53. Only Pukki (15) and Abraham (12) have landed more shots on target (SoT) than his 10 and he is also ranked fourth for ‘big chances’ amongst forwards with seven.
Arsenal have scored 12 goals so far, the seventh-highest in the league and only Liverpool (41), Chelsea (43) and Man. City (58) have landed more SoT than the Gunners’ 37. They are also sixth for ‘big chances’ with 15. Their opponents Bournemouth are yet to keep a clean sheet this season and and only Chelsea (13), Newcastle (13), Norwich (16) and Watford (20) have conceded more goals than their 12. Aston Villa (121), Norwich (122) and Arsenal (126) are the only teams to have allowed opponents more shots than Bournemouth’s 118 and only West Ham and Watford (both 23) have allowed more ‘big chances’ than their 20.
3) Raheem Sterling (WOL)
Sterling was left out of the starting lineup but came off the bench midweek in the Champions League to provide a goal and assist. He’s now scored in each of his last three appearances in all competitions, since he was rested in the 8-0 rout over Watford in gameweek six. No midfielder has scored more than his six goals this season, while only Abraham, Aubameyang (each seven) and Agüero (eight) have scored more across all positions.
An average of 3.3 shots inside the box (SiB) per game ranks the England international first amongst all players, while only Agüero (1.57) has been afforded more than his 1.5 ‘big chances’ per game. Man. City top all the attacking metrics - goals (27), shots (150), SiB (108), shots on target (SoT) (58) and ‘‘big chances’’ 35. His midweek rest means that he is very likely to start against Wolves and given that Liverpool have a more difficult fixture, he is the standout captain pick this week.
3 Players to drop from your FPL Team
1) Lucas Digne (BUR)
Everton’s defence started out the season strong with two clean sheets in their first two games but it has all gone wrong for the Merseyside outfit since then. Over the last four weeks, they have conceded a whopping 10 goals with only Watford (13) conceding more.
They have struggled to cope with the loss of Gueye and their underlying statistics indicate that clean sheets might be a rarity going forward. They have allowed 21 SoT over that period, an average of over five a game and also allowed nine big chances. With the forwards struggling to convert the chances that Digne creates, the Frenchman appears a luxury at his 6.0 price tag.
2) Serge Aurier (suspended)
Aurier was sent off for two yellow card offences against Southampton and Spurs were fortunate to see out the win. There is something clearly wrong at Spurs, with the North London outfit unrecognizable from the team that reached the Champions league final last season.
Their pressing game seems to have fallen off and Pochettino has indicated multiple times about the disharmony in the squad. They fell apart midweek, conceding seven goals to Bayern and Aurier was absolutely ripped apart by Gnabry down their right flank. Suspended for the next game, there is no guarantee that Aurier retains his spot when he returns with Foyth and Walker-Peters nearing fitness.
3) Ryan Fraser (ARS)
Fraser did not feature for Bournemouth at all in their 2-2 draw with West Ham in gameweek seven, with the Scot seeing just a total of 60 minutes across the last three matches. Howe is notoriously coy about injuries, often not disclosing the full extent.
He puts the winger’s absence down to injury issues but the rumour in the media is that the Scotsman is refusing to sign a new contract with the Cherries so is being phased out by the manager. They have signed Harry Wilson on loan who is an able deputy for the Scot and with other midfield options like Mount, McGinn etc doing the business at a lower price there is no reason to hold on to Fraser any longer.
