Five-time top 1k finisher Tom Freeman hosts our weekly Fantasy Premier League (FPL) Q&A, answering your burning questions.
- READ MORE: FPL Gameweek 5 differentials: 3 low-owned picks to consider
- READ MORE: Rogers, Gross, Schade, Tzolis: Buy, keep or sell in Gameweek 5?
Q: With so many low to mid-price midfielders doing well, is Morgan Gibbs-White actually worth £8.0m?
(via Champ)
A: I touched on this last week, when I said I preferred Gibbs-White to Morgan Rogers (£7.7m) over a longer period.
In terms of open-play goal threat, I think Rogers is the superior pick, which is backed up by the underlying numbers in the first four Gameweeks…
But what pushes Gibbs-White beyond players like Rogers, Antoine Semenyo (£8.4m) and Cody Gakpo (£7.2m) is his role on set plays, plus potential penalties, having scored from the spot in Gameweek 2 with Igor Jesus (£5.8m) and Liam Delap (£5.5m) on the pitch.
Even in a worse attack, those extras should pay off.
Now, other cheaper players can also offer this.
Pascal Gross (£5.7m) is one option. Dominik Szoboszlai (£7.0m) is another.
However, over the next four Gameweeks, when Nottingham Forest play Coventry City, Crystal Palace and Ipswich Town, I fully expect Gibbs-White to outscore them, having played a part in 75% of the goals that Oliver Glasner’s side have scored this season.
Also, Gibbs-White has either scored or assisted in each of his last eight away games, with 70 points. Given Forest’s upcoming run on the road, plus Coventry at home on Saturday, I think he will be worth the outlay.
Q: Which teams would you target on a Wildcard?
(via Joletouriste)
A: I’ve included a Gameweek 5 Wildcard draft below, with the assumption that a Bench Boost has already been played.
In terms of the teams to target, I’d focus on…
- Arsenal
- Fulham
- Newcastle United
- Nottingham Forest
Arsenal are the best defensive team in Europe, so a double-up at the back, specifically Riccardo Calafiori (£5.8m) and Ezri Konsa (£4.5m), feels like a must.
I’d also include Bukayo Saka (£9.5m) – with Viktor Gyokeres (£7.2m) out of favour, it should mean more penalties for the winger.
Fulham, Newcastle United and Nottingham Forest is purely a fixture play. I’ll add Everton to that list, too.
If you include an attacker from each of those sides, you’ll get 11 fixtures against the three promoted clubs and Crystal Palace over the next four Gameweeks…
It’s perhaps unfair to include Hull City here, given how well they have started, but they’re still in the bottom half for most of the key defensive metrics.
Defensively, there is loads of value in the £5.0m defender pool, so I’d prioritise three of these options: Lewis Hall (£5.2m), Tarik Muharemovic (£5.0m) and Neco Williams (£5.0m).
In midfield, Gibbs-White is the clear talisman for Nottingham Forest. I’d also feel comfortable backing the 1.6%-owned Josh King (£5.5m), who looks like a superb young talent. The rest of the midfield is fairly self-explanatory, and I’d feel confident taking on the more popular picks like Bruno Fernandes (£12.0m) and Szoboszlai with this set-up.
Up top, I’d probably avoid Joao Pedro (£7.8m) given the uncertainty. If you’d rather keep him, you could perhaps switch Palmer to Rogers, then move Wissa to Pedro, although I’m a bit less keen on that due to penalties.
This is the team I would pick if I was playing the Wildcard this week, with £0.5m in the bank so affordability shouldn’t be an issue.
Q: What is your opinion on a power-packed midfield of Cole Palmer (£9.7m), Morgan Rogers, Bryan Mbeumo (£7.9m), Gibbs-White and Rayan Cherki (£7.8m)?
(via Esraj)
A: I’m not convinced it’s really necessary, given the value offered by some of the cheaper midfielders this season.
Gross is a superb ‘set-and-forget’ option.
Then you’ve got others with multiple routes to points, like Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall (£6.5m), Marcus Tavernier (£6.1m) and Anton Stach (£6.0m), with set plays and defensive contribution (DefCon) point potential.
I think you can move these players in/out based on the fixtures, potentially pushing more money into your backline.
Given their open play threat, I don’t mind Kevin Schade (£6.1m) or Harvey Barnes (£6.0m) when the fixtures fall kindly either.
Q: Is it too early to move for Jurrien Timber (£6.5m)? He had a goal disallowed for offside in his previous cameo, plus Ben White (£5.5m) has his own issues.
(via FPL Blow-In)
A: I think it’s a bit too early for Timber.
I thought he did really well after coming off the bench at Sunderland last week and nearly scored. However, it was only his second appearance since March.
He was completely rested for the midweek trip to Ipswich Town.
That said, given the length of absence, Mikel Arteta will surely adopt a cautious approach.
“No, everything is fine. He has played much more than we wanted. The other day he had 53 minutes after five months out. We need to look after him.” – Mikel Arteta on Jurrien Timber, speaking after Tuesday’s win over Ipswich Town
Given that rest on Tuesday, it may hint at a start for Timber at the Amex Stadium in Gameweek 5.
But even if White is ruled out, Martin Zubimendi (£5.3m) could easily play at right-back, as he did at Portman Road.
Personally, I’d rather be a week late for Timber rather than rush in, particularly given the £6.5m outlay.
Q: Who should I replace Joao Pedro with, if he’s out past the international break?
(via Pompel)
A: Xabi Alonso’s update wasn’t particularly helpful on Thursday. You’ve probably seen it already, but I’ll include it below just in case, with the quotes lifted from Neale’s Team News article.
“In terms of injuries, and in terms of the squad, we are having the last training session tomorrow, so no one is ruled out for us for Friday. So, I prefer to be cautious and we will wait till tomorrow to take the final decision on every player.” – Xabi Alonso on the Chelsea team news
“No.” – Xabi Alonso, when asked if he could confirm what Joao Pedro’s injury is
“It’s a possibility.” – Xabi Alonso on whether Joao Pedro could play on Friday but still miss out on international duty with Brazil
Now, Chelsea play tomorrow night in the Gameweek 5 opener, so we might get some early news.
If not, I’d probably start Joao Pedro anyway; just make sure you have a decent first sub in place. You’ll only want him back after the international break, provided it isn’t serious.
I’m on a Bench Boost, so it’s a bit more complicated. However, for others, you’ve probably got the squad to cope with him missing out.
If you only have a promoted defender to come in or something like that, I’d consider switching him out for Wissa or Barry.
