With the next Fantasy Premier League (FPL) deadline on the way, we’re getting articles and team reveals from our panel of Hall of Famers and guest writers. Here, five-time top 1k finisher Tom Freeman talks through his team and the transfer he has lined up in Gameweek 23.
As a Trent Alexander-Arnold (£7.3m) and Mohamed Salah (£13.7m) owner, I’ve had two possible transfer plans in mind this week, which basically boils down to double Liverpool defence or attack.
In this piece, I thought I’d run through my thought process, in the hope it might help one or two of you facing similar dilemmas.
For context, here’s my current setup:
DOUBLE LIVERPOOL DEFENCE
While Virgil van Dijk (£6.4m) and Ibrahima Konate (£5.1m) carry appeal, I don’t feel the need to strengthen this area of my team, with plenty of decent defenders already in place.
The defensive option under consideration is therefore Alisson Becker (£5.5m), who I would transfer in for Nottingham Forest’s Matz Sels (£5.0m).
While Liverpool’s attack has been impressive under Arne Slot, their defensive work has been equally good.
They have conceded just 20 goals in their 21 Premier League matches, the fewest of any team in the division, while their 18.97 expected goals conceded (xGC) is also the best in the league.
In other words, Liverpool don’t concede many chances, and even when they do, they aren’t of particularly high quality.
As for Alisson, he’s kept two clean sheets in his last four matches, but I worry his ceiling is a little low, given that he doesn’t tend to face too many shots.
In fact, his 2.34 saves per 90 minutes this season is the fewest of any first-choice Premier League goalkeeper.
Aside from the stats, I also have a slight concern about Liverpool’s defence.
The volume of goals they score often bails them out, but since the start of December, they’ve sometimes looked a bit ropey at the back.
Konate missing Gameweeks 13-19 through injury was, of course, a major factor, but even since he’s come back, I haven’t been completely convinced.
Ryan Gravenberch (£5.0m), who has been superb in the No 6 role, has played a lot of minutes too, and I can’t help but feel there is a better triple-up on offer elsewhere.
DOUBLE LIVERPOOL ATTACK
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