Liverpool maintained their lead at the top of the table in Gameweek 23 and their best Fantasy Premier League assets gave us an emphatic reminder of their talents before a crucial double gameweek.
Mohamed Salah (£13.7m), Cody Gakpo (£7.6m) and Trent Alexander-Arnold (£7.3m) picked up attacking returns in their side’s 4-1 win over Ipswich Town and in Gameweek 24, they will face Bournemouth (A) and Everton (A).
Elsewhere, there were more monster hauls from Bournemouth players while an Everton forward and the usual suspects from Brentford shone.
Here, we will review the main talking points from the weekend’s action from an FPL perspective.
Ignore Bournemouth’s form at your peril
Bournemouth continue to impress and their 5-0 win over third-placed Nottingham Forest was their best performance of the season.
They sit seventh in the league, one point off fourth place. Their attacking players have been performing fantastically of late and are all great value.
Dango Ouattara (£5.0m) has been playing as their centre-forward since Evanilson (£5.6m) and Enas Unal (£5.4m) were ruled out due to long-term injuries. With his hat-trick against Forest, it’s pretty safe to say he will continue playing there and this is great FPL-wise, since he is classified as a midfielder in the game.
Justin Kluivert (£5.7m) and Antoine Semenyo (£5.6m) are great assets, too. Looking at their underlying numbers, there isn’t a huge amount between them.
Bournemouth attackers’ stats
| Stats | xG | xA | xGI |
|---|---|---|---|
|
Justin Kluivert |
8.1 |
1.87 |
9.97 |
|
Antoine Semenyo |
6.81 |
3.03 |
9.84 |
|
Dango Outtara |
5.69 |
2.21 |
7.9 |
Ouattara wasn’t a regular starter until recently but has now played 90 minutes in Bournemouth’s last three games. Kluivert’s total non-penalty xG (expected goals) is relatively low at 3.37, with six of his 10 goals coming from the spot — but the fact he is on penalties is crucial.
We should have at least one of them in our teams for Bournemouth’s upcoming run of good fixtures but Ouattara’s centre-forward role and lower price means he edges it over Kluivert and Semenyo. They play Liverpool at home next, so it might be wise to wait another week before committing.
Bournemouth’s Dango Ouattara scored a hat-trick against Nottingham Forest (Warren Little/Getty Images)
Iliman Ndiaye is catching the eye
Everton striker Dominic Calvert-Lewin (£5.4m) came off with a hamstring injury after 12 minutes of their win against Brighton.
Judging from David Moyes’ comments after the game, when he told Everton TV that things “don’t look the best” for Calvert-Lewin and team-mate Orel Mangala (£5.0m), the former might not return soon.
This makes Iliman Ndiaye (£5.4m) a more attractive option since Everton have a double in Gameweek 24. His low price means he should be easy enough to acquire and if you have a good eight-man attack, you don’t have to play him every week.
Ndiaye scored a first-half penalty against Brighton, just as he did against Peterborough in the FA Cup a couple of weeks ago.
He looks a great buy if you are looking for a third forward. He is nailed to start, should get plenty of minutes, and is now seemingly Everton’s first-choice penalty taker.
Liverpool (A) is one of the fixtures in their double but the first match against Leicester City (H) evens it up.
Target Brentford’s dynamic duo
Bryan Mbeumo (£7.8m) has now scored 14 goals and three assists, and is looking like a must-buy with Brentford’s upcoming fixtures.
Thomas Frank’s side play Tottenham Hotspur (H), West Ham United (A), Leicester (A), Everton (H) and Aston Villa (H) in their next five, which are great games for attacking purposes.
Brentford have scored 42 goals (sixth-most) with an xG of 36.34 (eighth-best), so are a good attacking side. Mbeumo is nailed to start, on penalties, and one of the few attackers who will play 90 minutes in every game.
His team-mate Yoane Wissa (£6.3m) is also a good buy.
He has played 90 minutes in Brentford’s last four league games and has 11 goals. He is great value and playing as the No 9 for an attacking side means he will get plenty of chances.
Wissa is also only owned by 10.5 per cent of managers, so is a nice differential too.
Brentford’s Yoane Wissa, right, is an intriguing differential option (Steve Bardens/Getty Images)
Is it time to sell Nottingham Forest assets?
Nuno Espirito Santo’s side have been fantastic this season and their 5-0 defeat to Bournemouth is likely to be a one-off.
However, they do have tough fixtures coming up and it might be a good time to sell their assets for ones who have better fixtures.
Although a home game against Brighton might be a week too soon, they then face Fulham (A), Newcastle United (A), Arsenal (H) and Manchester City (H).
Chris Wood (£7.1m) is still owned by 43 per cent of managers but selling him after Gameweek 24 is exactly the type of high-risk, high-reward move that can you get ahead of the pack.
He can even be sold this week for Gakpo or Ndiaye, with their double fixtures next gameweek.
If you’re selling Wood after Double Gameweek 24, then there are a few options, such as Wissa and Jean-Philippe Mateta (£7.4m), who have much better fixtures.
Their defenders are an easier sell. As good as they are defensively, there are unlikely to register many clean sheets in the next five.
Ibrahima Konate (£5.2m) is an easy transfer in if you don’t already have three Liverpool players and you can get to him. Liverpool have a double next gameweek and good long-term fixtures.
Vitalii Mykolenko (£4.4m) is also a great option to free up some cash and take advantage of the double gameweek.
If you already have three Liverpool players and are looking for someone more playable long-term, Milos Kerkez (£4.9m) and Daniel Munoz (£4.8m) are the best options.
Both have good fixtures on the horizon as well as being attacking threats.
(Top photo: Bryn Lennon/Getty Images)
