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We enter the final FPL GW before the second international break of the season, and it's a big one for FPL managers, with many activating their Wildcards in response to a host of injury problems.
GW 7 was a decent one for managers, with FPL assets from Arsenal, Aston Villa, and Newcastle shining, with Kieran Trippier, Bukayo Saka, Ollie Watkins, Moussa Diaby, and Martin Odegaard all picking up sizeable FPL returns.
I played my Wildcard in GW 7, but came away with a very small green arrow that should've been much higher, but also could've been much worse. Points from Moussa Diaby, Jarrod Bowen, Matty Cash, and Heung-Min Son saved my Gameweek.
With there being injury flags over Sven Botman, Bukayo Saka, Moussa Diaby, and Pervis Estupinan, many FPL managers are playing their Wildcard, with Aston Villa and Tottenham the most popular teams they're targeting.
Whatever your moves are, ensure that you set up your team ahead of the 11:00 AM BST deadline on Saturday.
Gameweek 8 Deadline: Saturday, October 7 at 11:00 am (BST)/ 03:30 pm (IST).
FPL Gameweek 8 Fixtures
GW 8 begins with Spurs' away game against Luton Town on Saturday afternoon. Manchester United and Brentford face off at Old Trafford in the 3 pm BST kick-off.
Brighton and Liverpool meet at the Amex Stadium on Sunday afternoon before the GW concludes with its marquee fixture between Arsenal and Manchester City at the Emirates Stadium.
FPL team suggested for previous GW
Here's the suggested team for GW 7:
Goalkeepers: Andre Onana (MUN) (£4.9 m), Matt Turner (NFO) (£4.0 m)
Defenders: Manuel Akanji (MCI) (£5.0 m), Issa Kabore (LUT) (£4.0 m), Sven Botman (NEW) (£4.7 m), Destiny Udogie (TOT) (£4.6 m), and Matty Cash (AVL) (£4.8 m).
Midfielders: Jarrod Bowen (WHU) (£7.1 m), Moussa Diaby (AVL) (£6.6 m), Anthony Gordon (NEW) (£5.6 m), Son Heung-Min (TOT) (£9.3 m), Mohamed Salah (LIV) (£12.5 m).
Forwards: Erling Haaland (MCI) (£14.0 m), Rasmus Hojlund (MUN) (£7.1 m), Cameron Archer (SHU) (£4.5 m).
Captain/Vice-Captain: Mohamed Salah/ Erling Haaland.
GW 7 Transfers made: Wildcard played.
Points Scored (- hits): 47 (-0): 47
Overall Points: 369
Overall Rank: 5,373,077
Free Transfers available: 1
Budget remaining: £0.4 m
Transfers
1) Sven Botman (DEF) (NEW) (£4.7 m) - OUT | Pedro Porro (DEF) (TOT) (£5.1 m) - IN
I was initially planning to roll the transfer, but with the yellow flag next to Moussa Diaby's name refusing to disappear, I felt I needed to take Botman out to have a fully fit XI and one fit substitute.
While I could've gone for Fabian Schar or Dan Burn, I felt Newcastle would concede away at West Ham this week, and going for an attacking FPL defender like Pedro Porro would be a much better move.
Porro looks to be the first-choice RB for Spurs, and has displayed excellent fitness levels and technical quality on the ball, and some good defensive awareness of it. His influence has increased with every passing game, and with two FPL assists to his name already, I expect that number to grow across this favorable fixture run.
Best FPL Team for Gameweek 8
Gameweek 8 Bench: Matt Turner (NFO) vs CRY (A), Manuel Akanji (MCI) vs ARS (A), Issa Kabore (LUT) vs TOT (H), Anthony Gordon (NEW) vs WHU (A).
I have Cameron Archer in my starting lineup ahead of Manuel Akanji, but to be fair, Fulham away seems like the kind of fixture where your £4.5 m striker nets a winner against all odds, and I'll be hoping for something like that.
The rest of the team I expect more from, my Spurs assets in particular. The early kick-off has been more of a bane than a boon for FPL managers, but with me tripling up on Spurs, with a double-up in defense, I'm hoping they can deliver a quality result to back their win up last week.
Mohamed Salah had an unlucky blank against Spurs, and I'm fully expecting both him and Liverpool to destroy the Brighton defense.
Manchester United taking on Brentford doesn't exactly inspire confidence as an Andre Onana owner, but United seemed to have hit rock bottom after the defeat to Galatasaray, and you'd expect a response from Erik Ten Hag's side against a Brentford side, who've faced their share of problems recently. Rasmus Hojlund has shown good promise in the UCL, and he'll want to open his account in the PL this week.
Matty Cash and Moussa Diaby got attacking returns in their 6-1 drubbing of Brighton, and it'll be interesting to see how they fare away against Wolves.
Lastly, it's Jarrod Bowen at home to the in-form Newcastle. Two sides with a very intense and powerful play-style should play out a high-energy match, with Bowen likely to extend his good run of form.
I felt a bit unlucky not to get a bigger green arrow last week and aim to get that done this week.
Gameweek 8 - FPL captaincy
I'm not afraid to go against Erling Haaland as a captaincy pick, and while he may find the back of the net against Arsenal, I'm convinced whoever I pick will have a good chance at outscoring the Norwegian.
As of now, I'm comfortable captaining Salah despite his blank against Spurs, with Son Heung-Min the next best option in my view. Luton (A) might look the easier fixture on paper, but given Son's fitness concerns, he could be taken off early even if he starts.
Also, Liverpool should thrive on the counter against a leaky Brighton defense, with Liverpool also likely to end up with some favorable refereeing decisions after last week's fiasco that resulted in a Salah assist being robbed.
I'm confident Salah doesn't blank twice in a row and expected him to haul big in this match.
Best FPL XI for Gameweek 8 - Summary
Starting XI
GK: Andre Onana (MUN) vs BRE (H)
DEF: Pedro Porro (TOT) vs LUT (A), Destiny Udogie (TOT) vs LUT (A), and Matty Cash (AVL) vs WOL (A).
MID: Jarrod Bowen (WHU) vs NEW (H), Moussa Diaby (AVL) vs WOL (A), Son Heung-Min (TOT) vs LUT (A), and Mohamed Salah (LIV) vs BHA (A)
FWD: Erling Haaland (MCI) vs ARS (A), Rasmus Hojlund (MUN) vs BRE (H), and Cameron Archer (SHU) vs FUL (A).
Formation: 3-4-3.
Bench: GK - Matt Turner (NFO) vs CRY (A), 1st Sub: Manuel Akanji (MCI) vs ARS (A), 2nd Sub: Issa Kabore (LUT) vs TOT (H), 3rd Sub: Anthony Gordon (NEW) vs WHU (A).
Chips activated: None
Captain: Mohamed Salah. | VC: Erling Haaland.
