Fantasy Premier League, Gameweek 7: Teams with best fixtures, players to buy and captaincy options

The goals dried up! Gameweek 6 of the Premier League saw just 19 goals in all while six clean sheets were kept by teams who gave much-needed attention to their defences that were often ripped to shreds in the opening gameweeks of the season. The result was a relatively below-par average FPL score of 48.

Patrick Bamford was the star of GW 6 as his hat-trick ended Aston Villa’s perfect record this season. Everton also lost their unbeaten record at Southampton while Liverpool’s usual suspects Mohamed Salah and Sadio Mane returned without a goal. City were held to a draw by West Ham as Chelsea and Manchester United fired blanks.

Tottenham, whose in-form duo of Harry Kane and Son Heung-min have often rescued gameweeks for most FPL managers, did it once again to an extent as the two combined again for Spurs’ winner.

In gameweek 7, Tottenham’s home game against Brighton and Chelsea’s trip to struggling Burnley stand out for FPL managers along with Liverpool’s game against West Ham and City’s match against Sheffield United.

Fixture difficulty

It’s a moderate fixture list for most teams in the coming weeks, so it’s important for FPL managers to focus more on form than the matches in front of the players.

The big ins and outs

Player sales and purchases are good indicators of the likely top performers in the coming gameweeks but this parameter also tends to be volatile. Performances in just one gameweek can affect the ownership of players. However, the price rise/fall of a player depends directly on the movement in the player market in FPL, so it’s an important factor to look at when you are trying to maximise your squad value.

Top picks for GW7

Son Heung-min (Tottenham): No top picks these days are complete without either Kane or Son. The South Korean gets the nod this week despite poor underlying stats in comparison to his English teammate. Stats suggest that Kane does well at home while it’s Son who delivers away from home. But against a Brighton side who are quite adventurous, Son could find a lot of joy running in the space behind their defence. With eight goals and two assists to his name so far, it’s hard to go against the South Korean at this moment.

Edouard Mendy (Chelsea): This is usually not a list for goalkeepers, but Mendy’s performances since his arrival at Chelsea have turned around the Blues’ defensive fortunes. With three clean sheets in their last three games, the Blues have looked quite solid and up against a Burnley side that have the lowest xG (Expected goals) ratio at home, FPL managers can expect Mendy to keep another clean sheet. Priced at only £5 million, Mendy could perhaps be your long-term goalkeeper.

Jamie Vardy (Leicester City): Back from injury, Vardy is straightaway among the goals. And when he scores one, he scores another and usually goes on a scoring spree. With two away wins this week, Leicester look to have rediscovered their early season form. On the road, the Foxes have the third-highest xG (Expected Goals) in the league, while individually, Vardy has the highest xG ratio in the league among all players. With Leeds yet to keep a clean sheet at home, Vardy may be about to profit.

Bruno Fernandes (Manchester United): Fernandes has been Mr Consistent in FPL in 2020 and continues to deliver irrespective of the team’s results. With United finally tasting victory at home in midweek through a handsome 5-0 win over RB Leipzig, Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s men will be keen to post their first league win at Old Trafford when Arsenal come calling. The Gunners have an appalling record at Old Trafford and with United finding form, it could continue beyond this week. And when Manchester United win, Fernandes who is among the top ten players for xGi per ninety minutes (Expected goal involvement), is usually among the points.

Aleksander Mitrovic (Fulham): The Fulham striker was tipped to be the bargain purchase of the season, but has failed to deliver the goods. However, if you see the underlying stats, Mitrovic is seventh among strikers for xG per ninety minutes and ninth in the overall xG charts. Up against a West Brom side who conceded eight goals in the league away from home, Mitrovic might be the man to go back to for FPL manager. He is cheap at £5.8 million and also offers differential potential.

Differential Picks

Christian Pulisic (Chelsea): A star player during Project Restart, Pulisic has struggled with injury and lack of match fitness in the new season. However, he scored one and assisted another during a cameo in Chelsea’s 4-0 win over Krasnodar. With a bit of wind in his sails, Pulisic could get back to his destructive best. He will also have fond memories of Turf Moor where he scored a hat-trick last season.

Karlan Grant (West Brom): Grant scored for West Brom last week and it could be a sign of things to come. Playing for Huddersfield, Grant scored 23 goals last season and could be the tonic that West Brom need upfront. With less than 1% ownership, Grant could be a really good differential pick against Fulham who have the worst xGA (Expected Goals Allowed) at home this season.

Raheem Sterling (Manchester City): Sterling continues to have low ownership with only 7.3% FPL managers having him in their teams. The English forward scored and assisted one in midweek and with Kevin de Bruyne back, he could have a bit more service. Up against a Sheffield United side who haven’t kept a clean sheet this season, Sterling is a great pick if you have the funds.

Harry Maguire (Manchester United): The United centre-back was having a nightmare not so long ago, but the Red Devils skipper has recovered well in the last few weeks. United have only conceded two goals in their last four games with both being own goals and could keep a clean sheet against goal-shy Arsenal. Maguire who is a threat on set-pieces is thus the best pick among the United defenders. With just 3% ownership, he is worth considering as an option this week.

Captain’s conundrum

Mohamed Salah is always a candidate when Liverpool play at home. Although he failed to score against Sheffield United at Anfield last week, he did get on the scoresheet in the Champions League. His teammate Sadio Mane offers a top differential captaincy option. He leads the non-penalty xG charts per ninety minutes in the Premier League.

Son and Kane are perhaps stronger candidates with the combination of their form and the fixture.

Elsewhere, Raul Jimenez is a safe bet each time Wolves play at home. For more differential captaincy options, Vardy, Fernandes, Marcus Rashford and even Timo Werner, who could find himself on penalty duty, are options worth considering. City’s Sterling and De Bruyne too are good options and have a stronger FPL pedigree than most other differential options.

But the best bet seems to be putting the armband on one of the two in-form Spurs attackers given their devastating recent form.

FPL Deadline for GW7: 11:00 pm IST, Friday, October 30, 2020.

(Stats Courtesy: Fantasy Premier League website, FBref.com)