With four goals against Arsenal, many have jumped on the Liverpool bandwagon after Gameweek 1, mainly to snap up two goal hero Philippe Coutinho. But is the Liverpool side worth investing in?
Here are the factors to consider before weighing in with a Liverpool midfielder purchase:
Gameweek 1
A key factor is the opponent they faced in Gameweek 1. Arsenal missed both regular centre backs Laurent Koscielny and Per Mertesacker, with Rob Holding and Calum Chambers clearly not ready to replace them. Meanwhile, the usually reliable Nacho Monreal looked surprisingly weak too.
Fixtures
Liverpools next four are Burnley(A), Spurs (A), Leicester (H) and Chelsea (A), and although Klopps side usually perform well against teams in the upper half of the table these are nevertheless four potentially tough fixtures. The Clarets only lost two games at Turf Moor last season and historically newcomers often perform well in the first fixtures of the season.
Points Spread
Spread of points should also be considered. In one way the Liverpool side is a Fantasy manager’s worst nightmare.manager with Sadio Mané poaching a hat trick one week, while the next Coutinho could score two world class free kicks and after that Roberto Firmino dominates the goal scoring. Throw in Daniel Sturridge there and there’s an even a bigger spread to breed frustration when it comes to choosing the best asset.
Rotation
Even without European duties Klopp may still look to rotate to ensure his wide array of stars get game time. Firmino, Coutinho and Mane look the most nailed on, although at the time of writing the latter was a doubt for Gameweek 2 with a shoulder injury. Daniel Sturridge is less secure and was not in the starting XI many times last season even when fit. Adam Lallana, Marko Grujic and Georginio Wijnaldum will also want to play and so too will Jordan Henderson. That is a lot of personnel to keep happy.
Sturridge looks the most intriguing as when he plays he offers a consistent source of points. Nevertheless his price tag of 10.0 looks steep for a player that is not guaranteed to start. If he fails to make the starting XI against Burnley a price dip could be on the cards.
Inconsistency
Liverpool’s inconsistency cannot be ignored with the side often struggling last term against minnows, yet capable of putting tough teams to the sword, most notably Manchester City. That inconsistency is best typified by Coutinho, who is now owned by just under a quarter of FPL managers. Last season he had some notable scoring runs, but also frustratingly long periods without any attacking returns. Mane is another who can score a hat trick one week, as he did when at Southampton, only to go months without as much as an assist. Firmino could offer consistency, but with Sturrridge as an option in attack he doesn’t have a consistent role, move from midfield one week to a false nine the next.
CONCLUSION
Liverpool need close monitoring by Fantasy managers to spot trends with their line up and which of their players are most involved in attacking play. The Arsenal match offered a glimmer of how much of a lucrative Fantasy football investment Liverpool players can be but perhaps more time is needed to assess which of their stars is the best purchase. Sturrridge in particular could prove an enticing option should he nail down a starting role during Liverpool’s tough early schedule.
7 years, 10 months ago
Wanna be brave and go with Firmino captain??
yay or nay ??