Throughout the 2022/23 Fantasy Premier League (FPL) season, our team of Pro Pundits, Hall of Famers and guest contributors will be sharing their thoughts, tips and own transfer plans.
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Here, five-time top 1k finisher Tom Freeman tackles Darwin Nunez and his recent form.
Has an FPL player ever divided opinion quite like Darwin Nunez (£8.9m)?
The 23-year-old has five goals without penalties in 10 Premier League starts – a decent enough return for an £8.9m forward – but has been particularly wasteful since returning from the World Cup, missing all seven big chances he’s been presented with.
Right from the start, Darwin has blown hot and cold, but is he worth persisting with in FPL?
In this, my latest column, I’ll take a closer look.
THE STATS
Among FPL forwards that have played over 500 minutes this season, Darwin ranks top for shots per 90 minutes (p90) with 5.61, a hugely encouraging statistic.
He is also first for shots in the box p90 (4.29) and second for expected goals (xG) p90, with 0.76. Essentially what that tells us is that he is always involved in the attacking third, but his goal tally should be higher than it is.
At times, I do think he’s been unlucky.
For example, he’s hit the woodwork more often (four) than any other player in the top flight. He was also out of luck again on Tuesday when he went round the Brentford goalkeeper David Raya (£4.6m) only to see his shot blocked on the line, before having a goal ruled out in the second half for offside.
However, no player has missed more big chances (15) than Darwin this season (see below), which is the one stat that frustrates more than any other. While Erling Haaland (£12.2m) has converted 57.14% of his big chances, Darwin’s rate is just 26.67%.
