Heading into the 2017/18 season, the Fantasy Premier League reclassification of Roberto Firmino from midfielder to forward was a source of much chatter.
Three Gameweeks in and Firmino has made fools of those of us who shied away.
The Brazilian sits joint-top in the overall standings on 26 points, having notched two goals, a pair assists, and twice taken home a maximum bonus points haul. Indeed, only Manchester United’s Henrikh Mkhitaryan (106) leads Firmino (101) in the Bonus Points System (BPS) to date.
Over this international break, interest in the Liverpool man has been understandably high. He has experienced one price hike already (from 8.5 to 8.6), and could possibly rise again between now and the Gameweek 4 deadline.
With Liverpool in rampant form – as evidenced by last week’s 4-0 demolition of Arsenal – Firmino offers managers an opportunity to save valuable funds by downgrading a premium forward option to a lower-priced alternative who has hitherto managed to outperform his more expensive rivals.
Here in the Technical Area, we thought that this week represented a good opportunity to dig into Firmino’s game in greater depth.
Specifically, we will be exploring how his profile compares to that of other FPL forwards and whether that early-season form can continue as the campaign unfolds.
