Haaland and the return of FPL forwards
Stay for a live broadcast of FPL pain
***GAMEWEEK 6 DEADLINE: SATURDAY - 11:00 GMT***
Fair to say that it’s pretty rare to be able to say we’ve seen something that will never happen in FPL again, but we got that on Saturday. The game’s most prolific points scorer failing to return any points in a 9-0 win was FPL’s equivalent of a chimp bashing away at the typewriter and writing Hamlet. And let’s face it, Salah’s historic blank against Bournemouth was both tragedy and comedy, so Shakespeare would’ve approved. We’ve also had back to back Haaland hat-tricks, so it feels like the end of the “Perma-captain Salah” era.
I delayed this week’s email to ensure more Gameweek 5 fixtures were completed (I need to get better at telling you when I do this).
THIS WEEK: The return of FPL forwards, transfer deadline impact on FPL, Newcastle and teams with top fixtures, replacements for Rodrigo, is Salah over and… a live broadcast of FPL pain…
Is Salah over?
The short answer is “no” - his FPL “blank” in the 9-0 vs Bournemouth was a freak event, as the below “expected goal” data shows (he under-performed but had chances - his teammates over-performed). He also got two assists vs Newcastle and didn’t play well. BUT his price means Salah has to deliver regularly and be a regular captain option to get your money’s worth at £13m. A legitimate Mo Salah/No Salah conversation has started, especially with Nuñez coming back at the weekend. Personally, Salah’s going nowhere for me until we have a clearer idea.
Mitrovic and Zaha are great talismans
Both nailed to play, both the clear talismans for their sides and both scoring FPL points. Personally, I prefer Mitrovic. Another goal for Mitrovic in mid-week - he is really making managers consider going to three upfront. Mitro may well end up killing off Big At The Back. He’s fine to get now, but Fulham’s games really get good from *Gameweek 8*.
There is an outside chance Zaha will be sold by the time you read this email and he managed to have a go at his manager after this week’s game - but if Palace score, he’s probably involved. A good Rodrigo replacement if you have a little spare cash.
Newcastle & some bad teams have best fixtures
A top FPL YouTuber FPLFocal has sorted the fixtures to ensure that the overall best fixtures are at the top, worst at the bottom, over the next five games. Overall, it suggests to me to stick with the top teams - don’t fancy many of these. Newcastle are the interesting one for me. The players who are looking decent: 1. Trippier (£5.1m), 2. Saint-Maximin (£6.5m - *injury doubt this weekend*) 3. Isak as a punt (7.0m) - Wilson is currently injured.
Others in consideration; Maddison (£7.9m) is the only decent option at Leicester. A cheap Gibbs White (£5.5m) at Forest if you think they’ll recover from the City 6-0. He’s on set pieces.
KDB - still flying and now rested
De Bruyne got benched vs Forest, but that means he’s now had a rest - he’s looking great (again) if you want to go there - perhaps as a frustrated Son owner, who’s been . It’s an easy switch. Below was the reception to his arrival at City, which King Kev has been reminding people about. Kudos to the Man City scouts.
Strikers are well and truly back
Defenders were great last season and forwards were awful - many went Big At The Back at the start of the season. The early signs this season are that forwards are back. Moving back to three strikers now looks viable. I did some quick number crunching covering Gameweeks 1-5 (*excluding Leicester vs Man Utd). Haaland does skew this a bit, but the point remains… forwards are back. Haaland, Kane, Jesus, Mitrovic, Toney are the Big Five.
These deadline signings could mix things up
Deadline day. Here’s some FPL-relevant developments (as of Wednesday night):
Fofana - finally in at Chelsea currently at **£4.4m**. If you’re looking for cash, it’s a great option, even though Chelsea aren’t looking great. His arrival also means James should play an attacking wing-back role and become a better FPL asset.
Isak - a goal on debut for Newcastle, who are now a decent side. Worth monitoring, but looks like he’s underpriced at £7m and Newcastle have great fixtures. One for the Watchlist.
Antony (no price yet) - No don’t buy, but signs of improvement at Utd and Erik ten Hag seems to have dumped Ronaldo - though it looks like he’s staying, which is an issue. Antony should improve them, but we can wait to see who emerges as an FPL option. Fernandes already looks better. Utd fixtures get good at the end of October.
Rodrigo out - some good replacements
Rodrigo is the top midfield points scorer and had huge numbers of transfers in, but an injured shoulder and an early bath in mid-week means you’ll probably want to replace him this week. Terrible luck for owners. A good thread here.
My picks for £6.5m or less: there are good replacements at Leeds - Sinisterra (£6.5m) looks fun and attacking, Harrison (£6.1m) is looking more reliable this season. Other options: Trossard (£6.5m) at Brighton or Gross to save cash (£5.8m) - they still have some decent games to come - or Saint Maximin (£6.5m) *IF FIT*.
Haaland will have his mins managed at some point
Given he’s just scored back-to-back hat-tricks, you may conclude this doesn’t matter, but bear it in mind… Man City have the Champions League next week. Haaland hasn’t been rested yet, so this weekend vs Villa could be the time he starts on the bench. Of course, he can do damage in just 10 minutes, but take this into consideration when thinking about who to play and captain - and certainly think hard about a vice captain if you do captain the guy. Also - if you have Kane and want to switch, bear this in mind.
An FPL nightmare - live and brutal
Mark Sutherns is a legendary FPL manager - in fact, he developed the best early FPL-dedicated website and has an amazing record. But… having started without Salah, he Wildcarded before the weekend’s games after bringing Salah in (no returns in a 9-0 win) - and taking out Haaland (hat-trick) and Diaz (brace). He brought in Jesus, too, who blanked. What’s more, he and his YouTube collaborator Az watched Match of the Day live online, without knowing the scores. They both had horror shows. Here’s the (brutal) montage…
Please get in touch with any FPL dilemmas or general football internet gold. Remember the DEADLINES and see you next week! I’m on Twitter here. Please help me grow FPL Is Life by sharing… thanks!