Gameweek six gets underway this weekend and we have plenty of Premier League action to look forward to. Newcastle United, Man City and Manchester United have great fixtures to target, so let’s see if any of their stars feature in this article …
Gameweek six gets underway this weekend and we have plenty of Premier League action to look forward to. Newcastle United, Man City and Manchester United have great fixtures to target, so let’s see if any of their stars feature in this article …
If you are an FPL enthusiast, the name Pedro Neto may ring a bell and take you back to the start of last season. The Portuguese winger has had injury troubles over the last few years but at thus current moment, he looks to be extremely sharp.
The Wolves man tops the standings for the most chances created this season, which is very impressive considering he doesn’t play for a top side. He also has the joint most official assists in the league alongside Mohammed Salah, registering four. All of these returns have come in the last three matches and momentum is a big factor for transfer selection in FPL.
This weekend, Wolves face Luton Town, who are the only side in the Premier League to have lost each of their games this season. The Wanderers have also managed to score in every game since the opening weekend 1-0 defeat to Manchester United and when you combine that with the fact that Luton have conceded an average of 2.5 goals per game, Neto is in a great position to return in his fourth game in a row.
Eze is simply one of the most enjoyable footballers to watch right now and all though the goal contribution statistic only stands at one goal for the season, his performances deserve much more. It is only a matter of time for him to get an FPL haul.
The number 10 has a high point potential due to his creativity and goalscoring ability. He is also on set pieces and penalties which makes him a valuable asset to have in your side. Eze boasts very respectable stats for expected goals and assists per 90, at 0.41 and 0.27. Unfortunately for those managers who already own Eze, he has actually underperformed both his XG and XA by at least 1, which highlights that poor finishing from himself and his teammates has hindered his points tally.
On Saturday, Palace play Fulham at home which on paper looks like a brilliant fixture to target. The Cottagers have conceded seven goals on the road, although they came against Arsenal and Man City. They have also lost 3-0 to Brentford and won 1-0 against Luton and Everton, however they have conceded seven big chances across those two victories. Therefore, the data suggests that the Fulham backline should have a much worse goals conceded.
The young Dutch centre back has been one of the most transferred in players over the last few weeks, due to Newcastle’s improved fixture run. Botman rose in price this week but he still remains a brilliant pick for this week. Botman is a constant in the Magpies backline, which picked up 14 clean sheets last season.
Last weekend, they picked up their first clean sheet of the season in a 1-0 victory over Brentford and Sven returned nine points. The previous game proved that he is also likely to be amongst the bonus points if Newcastle do not concede, which makes him valuable. He also showed in gameweek one that even if his side concede, he can register an attacking return.
This weekend, Newcastle face Sheffield United who have struggled in front of goal this season. The Blades average one goals scored per game, which increases the chance of a Botman clean sheet return. Furthermore, Sheffield United have conceded an average of 8.88 corners per game, which Botman will look to take advantage of.
Manchester United have been rather inconsistent this season but Marcus Rashford has been a huge threat in each game. With the introduction of Rasmus Hojlund, Rashford looks to be an even better FPL asset.
The number 10 has only had two returns this season, scoring against Arsenal and assisting versus Nottingham Forest, yet his performances have warranted a much better point total. Rashford has actually underperformed his XG this season which clearly shows he is getting chances. XG/XA is a brilliant metric for FPL as it essentially shows how likely a player is to get opportunities to score, if a player overperformed his XG it would suggest that their returns are not necessarily sustainable.
Rashford is averaging around 4.5 shots per game this season and United’s opponent, Burnley, has one of the highest shots faced records in the top flight. Additionally, the Clarets have the highest average goals conceded per game (3.00) and they also have the worst defensive record in the league, despite playing a game less than the majority. This makes Burnley an excellent team to target this weekend.
Julian Alvarez has been deemed as ‘almost undroppable’ by Pep Guardiola, which clearly underlines how important he is to Manchester City. The Argentinian is an all action forward that can get assists, whilst having pure goal poacher traits. Alvarez also rose in price this week and he is one of the most sought after players in FPL.
Alvarez has the second most points scored this season for a forward, only behind his teammate Erling Haaland. He has only blanked in one game this season, which was against Sheffield United in arguably City’s easiest fixture so far. The forward has netted twice and got five assists, which he will continue to pick up as long as the Norwegian is up top. Alvarez also starred in the UEFA Champions League this week, scoring twice, and making an impressive seven key passes.
Man City face Nottingham Forest at home this weekend and in this exact fixture last year, the Blues won 6-0 with Alvarez netting twice. Although Forest have improved significantly since that match, City will dominate once again and the 23-year-old will be involved in almost every attack, whether he is creating for his teammates or scoring for himself.
This fixture looks close to call between two teams, generally in poor form heading into this game. Montenegro have lost their previous three games in all competitions, facing a Wal...