One common debate we’ve seen in the comments section over the October international break is whether to cover Newcastle United via Nick Woltemade (£7.2m) or Anthony Gordon (£7.4m).
Using ‘eye test’ observations, contextual knowledge and stats from our Members Area, let’s try to identify the Magpies’ best attacking asset for Fantasy Premier League (FPL).
Reasons to invest in Newcastle
Comfortable wins over Union Saint-Gilloise and Nottingham Forest mean Newcastle are entering the break in good form.
Not only does their defence boast the most Premier League clean sheets (five), but they rank second for preventing shots (62), big chances (seven) and expected goals conceded (xGC, 4.89).
That’s a solid backline to build upon, turning Nick Pope (£5.1m), Dan Burn (£5.1m) and Kieran Trippier (£5.0m) into good FPL assets.
Plus, the side that has finished fifth, seventh and fourth in recent seasons has superb-looking fixtures for a while. In fact, our Ticker says they have the best over these next 12 Gameweeks.
Underlying stats
However, Newcastle are struggling to create chances at the other end. Only Forest and Wolverhampton Wanderers have fewer goals (six), as Eddie Howe’s side sits in mid-table for the other main attacking metrics.
All three away matches have ended 0-0, although early blanks had the mitigation of there being nobody around to score. After all, petulant striker Alexander Isak (£10.6m) was refusing to play until the club stood aside and gave him the departure he wanted.
Yet, by Gameweek 4, Woltemade and Yoane Wissa (£7.4m) had signed. Not that the latter has been able to play so far.
A German international, Woltemade has begun impressively on Tyneside. Four goals in five starts, currently with the second-best minutes per goal rate (100.7) of everyone who has been in at least two lineups.
Meanwhile, Gordon has just netted three times in the Champions League. That’s what is tempting Fantasy managers, even though the wide attacker is without any FPL attacking returns since late January (Gameweek 23).
That’s right, nothing has arrived in 16 subsequent league appearances. But immediately before that was a purple patch reminiscent of his brilliant 2023/24 campaign – eight successive starts, each featuring exactly one return.
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