So many Liverpool options and so few slots!
The league leaders warmed up for Double Gameweek 24 in style on Saturday with a thrashing of Ipswich Town.
With Fantasy Premier League (FPL) managers in the market for ‘doublers’, several of Arne Slot’s squad furthered their cases.
- READ MORE: FPL Gameweek 23 round-up: Saturday’s goals, assists, bonus points + stats
- READ MORE: FPL notes: Calvert-Lewin injury, Ndiaye on pens + Pickford ‘assist’
- EXPLORE: All the Opta player and team stats from Liverpool 4-1 Ipswich
SHOOT ON SIGHT SZOBOSZLAI
As was the case last Saturday, Dominik Szoboszlai (£6.4m) was Liverpool’s leading shot-taker of the Gameweek.
Unlike in the Brentford game, he actually found the net this time. The Hungarian midfielder fired the hosts into an 11th-minute lead from just outside the box, while his saved close-range shot just before the interval fell into the path of Cody Gakpo (£7.6m) to convert.
That’s now nine attacking returns from just 15 starts in 2024/25 for Szoboszlai.
While six of those returns have been assists, it’s his shooting that has really caught the eye of late. It’s now 28 attempts in seven starts for the Hungary international, which is 11 more than Gakpo has managed in his last seven appearances.
Slot commented on this shoot-on-sight policy after full-time.
“I think at the beginning of the season he would have played that ball to Mo [Salah], which most of the time was a very good choice because Mo can definitely score a goal as well. And now he decided to go for the goal himself and scored the goal himself.
“Nice for him because, in my opinion, he is a bit underestimated. Not by me, but he doesn’t always get the credits for the fact he is very important for this team, because his work rate is unbelievable. He just keeps on running with the highest intensity, and that is so important for a team that wants to compete for something.” – Arne Slot on Dominik Szoboszlai
A midweek rest against PSV and the continued absence of Curtis Jones (£5.3m) will no doubt interest a few prospective Szoboszlai buyers for Gameweek 24.
GAKPO BRACE
Gakpo was of course the headline act on Saturday. Bought by 500,000 managers ahead of the deadline, he immediately repaid the faith with his biggest-ever FPL haul.
After providing a teasing cross for Mohamed Salah (£13.7m) to convert, Gakpo pounced twice from close range to round off the scoring.
If you try and picture a ‘trademark’ Gakpo shot, you’d probably imagine him cutting in off the left flank and shooting from an angle.
The encouraging thing about his current stint on Liverpool’s left is that there are fewer of those low-xG efforts. Instead, his goal map (Gameweek 12 onwards below) looks almost Mane-esque:
Eight goals and three assists in just 14 starts is excellent going but be warned – nine of those 11 returns have come at Anfield. Liverpool are away twice in Gameweek 24.
Elsewhere, Luis Diaz (£7.5m) managed to get through this game without a single shot. He did have six last week, just to balance that, but there is something of the Firminos about him in this ‘nine’ role, especially against low blocks.
TRENT BACK IN THE GROOVE
It’s three weeks since Trent Alexander-Arnold‘s (£7.3m) disasterclass against Manchester United. It seems like a dim memory now, as he’s gone from strength to strength since.
He was at his dangerous best on the ball here. After providing a brilliant cross that Diaz almost converted, the right-back did get a deserved assist with a pinpoint delivery for Gakpo’s second.
Alexander-Arnold himself was in the thick of things, firing against the woodwork, shooting marginally wide and racking up five penalty area touches.
He’s looking in good nick for the Double Gameweek – providing he doesn’t move to Real Madrid before then of course…
He and the rest of the Liverpool backline were denied a clean sheet by Jacob Greaves‘ (£3.9m) consolation. It was undeserved, with the Tractor Boys not having a shot in the box until the 83rd minute.
That deprived Ibrahima Konate (£5.1m) of a double-digit haul as he would have claimed a bonus point had Liverpool protected their clean sheet. Konate had earlier assisted Szoboszlai’s goal with a pass from the back.
Andrew Robertson (£5.9m) was back in the starting XI here but expect the left-back rotation to continue in and around Gameweek 24.
DAVIS SUB EXPLAINED, ANOTHER YELLOW FOR DELAP
Another chastening afternoon for Ipswich, who will get the chance to put much-needed points on the board when they face Southampton next week.
They will likely have to do it without Wes Burns (£4.8m), who was stretchered off here with a knee injury.
Any lingering Leif Davis (£4.4m) owners will have been worried about the left-back’s own half-time withdrawal. Thankfully for them, the arch-creator was merely ill.
“Sick. He was sick this week, felt better yesterday and wanted to have a go at it, but he felt sick during the game and was sick at half-time.” – Kieran McKenna on Leif Davis
Liam Delap (£5.6m) did a lot of chasing but was starved of service. Even Alisson (£5.5m) touched the ball more. You’d expect a more attacking line-up against Southampton, at least, to help rectify that. Julio Enciso (£5.4m) may get a start, after having what Kieran McKenna called a “positive impact” off the bench. The on-loan attacker provided the corner that Greaves converted.
Delap does have an irritating habit of picking up bookings. He did so again on Saturday and is now only two cautions away from a two-match ban.
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