Eight-time top 10k finisher Zophar hosts his weekly Q&A, giving his opinion on the best Arsenal triple-up, mid-priced midfielders, going cheap at the back and more.
You can read his Gameweek 8 Wildcard team here.
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Q: If you had David Raya and Viktor Gyokeres, which option would you choose for tripling up on Arsenal: play safe and go double defence or double up on attack and get Bukayo Saka?
(via Dollyems15)
A: I don’t think there is a right or wrong answer to this question. Doubling up on either the defence or the attack from Arsenal is a sound strategy but it really comes down to who you would be getting them instead of.
What are the sacrifices you are making if you go Bukayo Saka (£9.9m) over Gabriel Magalhaes (£6.3m)? This is a key factor in answering this question. Given the price tag, Gabriel is easier to accommodate. However, looking at it in a vacuum, I think if you were to ideally pick three Arsenal players for their upcoming fixture run, it would be Gabriel, Jurrien Timber (£5.9m) and Saka in that order, for me. I will explain why.
Gabriel has already shown that he has multiple routes to points: clean sheets, bonus, DefCon and goals are all on the menu for the Brazilian international. Similarly, while Timber hasn’t hit any DefCon yet, he has assists to go with the aforementioned routes for Gabriel. Arsenal have the best defensive stats in the league by some distance, allowing thier opponents only three big chances despite playing Newcastle United, Liverpool and both Manchester clubs. I still think Mikel Arteta’s side are the kind to control games after going 2-0 up, rather than going for more goals, so I think I would favour backing their defence over their attack.
Why am I recommending Saka over Viktor Gyokeres (£9.1m)? Is it recency bias? No. I do believe that penalties will be shared between Saka and Gyokeres but I just think the England international is finally returning to full fitness and form after the injury that has plagued him over the last year. He has set pieces, offers goal and assist potential, and I just find him more talismanic to the Arsenal attack than Gyokeres.
There is the small matter of £1.0m to consider, though, and I wouldn’t suggest in the least that those already holding Gyokeres move to Saka. Gyokeres is a great pick and will deliver in the upcoming run of fixtures for the Gunners.
Going back to the original question, I think I would go Gabriel in your case but it really depends on the rest of your team, as the question is difficult to answer in isolation.
Q: Who is your favourite mid-priced midfielder for the next few fixtures: Enzo Fernandez, Ismaila Sarr, Lucas Paqueta or someone else?
Q: Best midfielders between £5.5m and £6.0m?
(via Free Hat and @ZubiFPL)
A: The mid-priced midfielders have been dominating the underlying stats this season.
Enzo Fernandez (£6.7m) is second for big chances (six) amongst midfielders, while Ismaila Sarr (£6.5m) is in third (four). Meanwhile, Estevao (£6.5m) is ranked fifth for non-penalty expected goal involvement (NPxGI, 2.82) and Yankuba Minteh (£6.0m) lies in seventh (2.78). Iliman Ndiaye (£6.5m) and Mohammed Kudus (£6.8m) (2.41) are not too far away either. All of these guys are ahead of Mohamed Salah (£14.4m) (2.17)!
Since your question addresses the next few fixtures, let’s rank them by short-term, over the next five Gameweeks.
Given that Cole Palmer (£10.3m) is likely out at least until the next international break, Enzo would be top of my list. He’s taking set pieces, penalties and has been playing more advanced in the England international’s absence. No midfielder across the league has a higher NPxGI (3.47) this season.
Sarr would be my second despite the fixture away to Arsenal in Gameweek 9. The Senegalese international sits third amongst midfielders for NPxGI (3.18) and is often the most forward player for the Eagles, even more so than Jean-Philippe Mateta (£7.5m), given Palace’s counter-attacking style.
Minteh has started every game for the Seagulls, and at £6.0m, I favour him over Lucas Paqueta (£5.9m) despite the latter’s additional route to points via DefCon, penalties etc. I just think Brighton are more reliable for goals.
Ndiaye’s stock has fallen a little bit with Everton’s fixtures turning now but he is still a fine hold. It’s a similar story with Kudus. There is no rush to sell the Ghanaian international but with the fixtures toughening up for Thomas Frank’s side, I wouldn’t be buying him right now.
Q: Who is your favourite defender who doesn’t play for Arsenal or Crystal Palace? I’m looking for a few options.
(via AAAFootball)
A: There are several good picks apart from the two London sides you mentioned. Joachim Andersen’s (£4.5m) DefCon potential and upcoming fixture schedule after Gameweek 9 enhance his appeal, but if you’re looking for someone with immediate good fixtures, there are a couple of other options as well.
Chelsea have a good run in the next five Gameweeks, which makes Trevoh Chalobah (£5.1m) and Marc Cucurella (£6.1m) good picks, but I’m guessing you’re not looking to spend upwards of £6.0m – in which case, I would recommend the former. His underlying DefCon numbers have been decent and he does have a bit of goal threat.
Newcastle have three away games in the next four, which isn’t ideal, but the Magpies are a great long-term hold: they are ranked second on the Fixture Ticker for defence difficulty for the next 10 Gameweeks. Dan Burn’s (£5.1m) minutes seem the most secure, with the Eddie Howe favourite able to cover in multiple positions.
Q: If you had Mohamed Salah, would you captain him over Erling Haaland this week?
(via FPL Virgin)
A: I do own both Salah and Erling Haaland (£14.5m), and I’m going with the Norwegian this week, despite the higher goal projections for Liverpool. While I do expect Salah and Liverpool to improve, the percentage of goal share that Haaland is getting is just too good to pass up. As of now, I trust him with the armband over the Egyptian. This might change in Gameweek 9, though.
Q: Is meta shifting into building as cheaply as possible in defence and investing everything into the attack?
(via @rraines_)
A: With the cheaper defenders being more reliable for DefCon points, it’s understandable that the likes of Chris Richards (£4.5m), Marc Guehi (£4.9m), Andersen, Joe Rodon (£4.1m), Nordi Mukiele (£4.0m), Omar Alderete (£4.1m) etc are becoming popular picks.
However, as we have seen recently, the more expensive attacking full-backs like Daniel Munoz (£5.6m) and Pedro Porro (£5.6m) still hold appeal. It’s not like many of the expensive attackers bar Haaland are firing anyway, while the underlying numbers are all dominated by midfielders under £8.0m. I still like the idea of having at least one premium pick from Arsenal in there.
Q: Estevao seems to be slipping completely under the radar. He has a great fixture run for those on a Gameweek 13 Wildcard, given Cole Palmer’s injury news.
(via @FPL_here_fishy)
A: As mentioned earlier, Estevao’s underlying numbers are excellent but his minutes remain a concern. Chelsea have a midweek game almost every week and with the wealth of options that Enzo Maresca has at his disposal in wide positions – Pedro Neto (£7.0m), Jamie Gittens (£6.2m), Alejandro Garnacho (£6.4m), Estevao and even Palmer when he’s back – the Brazilian’s gametime will always remain a concern.
Of course, a case can be made that he’s better than any of the fit wingers Chelsea have at present but Maresca’s penchant for rotation means it remains a risky pick.
