Our team of Hall of Famers and guest writers are writing about all things Fantasy Premier League (FPL) in 2023/24. Next up, seven-time top 10k finisher Zophar takes his usual weekly FPL Q&A.
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Q: Since we won’t hear anything from Eddie Howe before the deadline, would you swap out Anthony Gordon (£6.2m) for Richarlison (£6.7m) as a long-term move, considering Gordon looks injured?
Q: Is it time to swap Gordon for Richarlison?
(via SHOWSTOPPERRR and Hurrikane)
A: I’m writing this on Wednesday, the morning after Chelsea’s Carabao Cup game against Newcastle United where Gordon went off with an injury due to a challenge by Moises Caicedo (£4.6m).
“I thought it was a really poor tackle on him [Gordon] and the type of tackle you don’t want to see taking one of our attacking players out of the game, and again he’s very sore at the minute.” – Eddie Howe, post-match
Newcastle travel to Luton Town on Saturday and, due to the Thursday deadline, it’s unlikely we’ll get any update from Eddie Howe beforehand. It’s not like we can expect clarity from him on Friday either, given his usual press conference modus operandi.
It is possible that Gordon could be available for Luton, miss one game or miss the next three. We just don’t know as of this time. Furthermore, although Nottingham Forest is still probably a great fixture in Gameweek 19, the next three are Liverpool, Manchester City and Aston Villa.
If you have no other fires to put out this week, I think using a free transfer on Gordon to Richarlison makes sense. The Brazilian is somebody we will likely want in our teams soon – he’s going to be my likely replacement when Son Heung-min (£9.8m) leaves for the Asian Cup and provides good value while playing up top for Spurs.
If you have a decent first sub, then waiting for more information is a reasonable move. The tricky situation occurs if, like me, you’ve already used your free transfer and would need to do this move for a four-point hit.
For a side that’s struggling on the road like Newcastle, going to Luton isn’t an easy match by any means. Gordon’s only away returns came in the 8-0 thrashing of Sheffield United, with his other five goals and five assists coming at home. It is enough of a sample size to suggest it isn’t happenstance. But, of course, it doesn’t preclude him from returning this weekend if he plays.
I think if you’re planning on selling him anyway after Gameweek 19, moving him on now is a reasonable option. Even for a hit. I don’t know if I’ll be doing it myself though, as I have Cameron Archer (£4.6m) on the bench, who’ll be playing against his old club Aston Villa. So I might instead do the move for free next week, if Gordon misses Forest too.
Speaking of former clubs, Richarlison will also be against his former employers, who have now kept four consecutive clean sheets. The Toffees are a tough nut to crack but you’d always back Spurs to score at home. It’s a move that will likely repay the hit over the next six Gameweeks but, as we know, timing is everything in FPL.
Q: Best Alphonse Areola (£4.2m) and Matt Turner (£3.9m) replacements?
(via @varonbawa)
A: Areola returned to West Ham United’s bench last weekend with Lukasz Fabianski (£4.2m) starting and keeping a clean sheet. My initial guess is that was primarily due to the Frenchman not yet being fully fit. Despite the lack of clean sheets, he has been excellent for the Hammers this season and has kept them in games at key moments.
If they’d gone on to concede against Wolverhampton Wanderers, I’d be quite confident of Areola regaining his spot. However, it would be harsh for David Moyes to remove Fabianski after keeping a rare clean sheet.
As for Turner, had a bit of a nightmare against Spurs and I think new manager Nuno Espirito Santo will put Odysseas Vlachodimos (£4.5m) back in goal.
If you own the Areola and Turner combination, I think you have to make a goalkeeper move. Even if Areola does regain his spot, we’re talking about a bottom-five team for expected goals conceded (xGC). With more money available to us now in the short term, there is no reason to persist with him.
Moving to Martin Dubravka (£4.2m) might be too late now. Newcastle’s opponents toughen in a couple of weeks and they will likely buy another keeper in January. Fulham embark on a great fixture run over the next eight Gameweeks and Bernd Leno (£4.8m) is a high-ceiling stopper who is always in the bonus conversation when they keep a clean sheet. I think the four-point hit gets repaid and then some more quite easily over these eight.
Elsewhere, Emiliano Martinez (£5.1m) from Aston Villa is a great option. There’s uncertainty around the starts of Matty Cash (£4.7m) and left-backs Lucas Digne (£4.7m) and Alex Moreno (£5.0m). Also, David Raya (£4.9m) can be considered but maybe you want to leave an additional Arsenal attacking spot open, assuming you already have Gabriel Magalhaes (£4.9m) or William Saliba (£5.5m).
Q: Do you prefer Kieran Trippier (£6.9m) or Trent Alexander-Arnold (£8.2m)? For context, I have Mohamed Salah (£13.2m), Konstantinos Tsimikas (£4.9m) and Dubravka. I was set on Trippier but with his run of poor form and possible injury, I wonder if Trent is the better option.
Q: Trent or Trippier?
(via @alexwaterbaby and @FPL_MANOJ)
A: We did a deep dive into Trippier and Trent on this week’s FPL Wire episode. Long story short, the Liverpool man has significantly better creativity and goal-threat numbers over the last eight Gameweeks. With the caveat that his fixtures were much better over this period and Newcastle have slumped due to injuries and fixture congestion.
Upcoming fixtures are a bit tricky for both but we now know that the Magpies won’t blank in Gameweek 26, whilst Liverpool still might. Trippier’s form has dipped, with a string of high-profile errors, but he is a quality player who you’d expect to recover very soon.
There’s also a question of money. Trippier is £1.3m cheaper and therefore easier to hold long-term when owning all of Salah, Son and Erling Haaland (£13.9m) becomes a factor again.
If money isn’t an issue, I think I prefer Trent. He looks absolutely ‘on it’ right now. The Reds have some injuries in midfield which might see him play more centrally with Joe Gomez (£4.5m) at right-back. Their trickier games are at home and you’d fancy them against anyone at Anfield. But there’s not much to split the pair – they are both great picks.
Q: If I sell Kostas Tsimikas or Marc Guehi (£4.5m), who is the best replacement if we don’t get news on Pau Torres (£4.7m)?
(via @fpl_habesha)
A: I think Guehi is an easy sell. Crystal Palace are without Jefferson Lerma (£4.7m) and Cheick Doucoure (£4.9m), which severely dents their clean sheet prospects. Tsimikas will likely miss one game of the next three but is the first choice until Andrew Robertson (£6.4m) returns. Decent attacking potential, too.
When it comes to replacements, if you’re looking to go cheap and Pau is out, then Ezri Konsa (£4.5m) is a decent option but with low upside. Everton’s fixtures look too dicey for me, I wouldn’t go there despite their recent form.
Pedro Porro (£5.5m), Levi Colwill (£4.6m), an Arsenal name and the aforementioned Trippier and Alexander-Arnold are probably the other recommendations.
