FPL Family’s Sam: Is it time to buy Spurs players?

After back-to-back wins over Brentford and Manchester United, FPL Family‘s Sam takes a look at whether Fantasy Premier League (FPL) managers should buy players from her beloved Spurs ahead of a great fixture run.

It’s likely not a surprise to anyone that I’m here to talk about Spurs. This season has been tough to watch but not for the reasons you may think.

I have watched my team be creative and defend better than previously, yet still drop points in half of their six league matches. As a fan, that has been frustrating. As an FPL manager, maybe even more so because the returns aren’t matching the underlying numbers. Not until the last couple of Gameweeks, anyway.

Following these latest wins, Spurs are now set to embark on an attractive fixture run which places them third on our Season Ticker between now and Gameweek 20. On paper, only Wolverhampton Wanderers and Manchester City have nicer fixtures in this period.

Defence

When listening to the FPL community, you will hear a lot about the Spurs defence going all ‘Spursy’. Of course, not much is more irritating than the loss of the clean sheet, especially when you have spent a premium price tag on them. For example, with Pedro Porro (£5.5m). Spurs have kept two clean sheets so far and, in last season’s opening six, they also kept two.

Up until the infamous Gameweek 11 versus Chelsea, the north London side were in fine form and contained several popular FPL picks. But away from Porro, current ownership numbers are dramatically down. When looking at the data, it shouldn’t be like this.

In comparison to this stage of last season, Spurs have had more possession, conceded less often and allowed fewer attempts. Just as importantly, they’ve also reduced the number of big chances for opponents.

Only three teams in the league are on more clean sheets – Liverpool’s four, plus the three of Arsenal and Manchester United.

Attacking potential

In fact, Spurs defenders are also good for attacking returns. Porro and Cristian Romero (£5.1m) have both scored, meanwhile Micky Van de Ven (£4.5m) has registered two assists.

Spanish right-back Porro has had 11 attempts on goal, ahead of Romero’s seven and the three of van de Ven and Destiny Udogie (£5.0m). He’s created 12 chances, compared to this trio’s two.

However, it’s interesting to note that both of van de Ven’s have been classified as big chances, putting him ahead of Porro and Romero.

Van de Ven and Romero have also picked up two bonus points each, beating Porro’s one.

Indeed, only five defenders currently have more points than Romero, although these three all feature in the top ten.

*Udogie didn’t register the clean sheet in Gameweek 6 as he was withdrawn through injury at half time.

The other big factor when investing in Spurs’ defence is budget. Porro is the most expensive, with Romero £0.4m cheaper, Guglielmo Vicario in at £5.0m and van de Ven looking like a great enabler.

I’ve had Porro in my own team since Gameweek 1. Yet tight budgets mean I’m now considering the ‘downgrade’ to van de Ven. Freeing up the additional million is a compromise that I’m willing to make.

With appealing fixtures and good underlying stats, investing at whatever price you can afford makes sense. If you have assets like Antonee Robinson (£4.7m) or Valentin Barco (£4.0m), a switch to van de Ven could be wise. And if you want to spend more on a Porro or Romero, that also works.

Attack

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