An audible sigh of relief was heard across many nations as Saturday signaled the end of another international break. The weirder Fantasy Premier League draft managers among us claimed to be “pleased to have a break”, but the vast majority of us were just happy to look forward to watching Newcastle vs. Brighton to scout our 4th midfielder once more.
Gameweek 9 brought about more unpredictably, including a game between two of the “big teams” which was actually good. So, as Jose Mourinho dusts off his boxing gloves, here’s a few to watch out for and a few to disregard for your FPL draft team.
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Fantasy Premier League Draft Risers
Beram Kayal
Beram Kayal isn’t a name you’ll have seen brought up in many FPL draft conversations. However, the Brighton midfielder has had a fortnight to remember. Kayal set up the winner against West Ham before going one better in scoring the only goal against Newcastle United.
Brighton’s number seven found playing time hard to come by at the start of the campaign but has now completed three consecutive lots of 90 minutes. His recent attacking returns will have done him no harm in keeping his shirt. Brighton looks solid, and their favorable run of fixtures make the majority of their starters a decent FPL draft asset. Watch out for the return of Pascal Gross too.
Anthony Martial
On the verge of officially being “on fire”, Anthony Martial has finally taken his chance and is showing everyone exactly what he’s capable of.
It’s fair to say his relationship with his manager has been “frosty” but if he continues to put in performances like his last two, then Jose will have no choice but to put the Frenchman’s name on the team sheet. Four attacking returns in two games are nothing to be sniffed at. FPL draft managers who kept faith in him have been rewarded and his trade price is now at an all-time high.
As much as anything, Martial has an outrageously high upside and four of his next five fixtures are against teams that find defending a real challenge.
Josh Murphy
Josh Murphy’s name was featured in almost every differentials article I read prior to gameweek nine. It’s easy to see why. The Cardiff winger was central to almost all of the good work the Bluebirds did on Saturday; exactly what is needed in an FPL draft asset.
Murphy took five shots against Fulham, taking his season total to 20 which is particularly beneficial in a game like Fantrax that rewards an accurate shot. Plus, if you don’t shoot you don’t score and that’s exactly what he did.
His 16-point haul was fully deserved and you feel there’s more to come. If you can ride out this week’s trip to Liverpool, Murphy is well worth starting in all fixtures up to gameweek 18. His ownership of 22% is still criminally low for a player in such good form.
Andre Schurrle
In a similar way to Murphy, Andre Schurrle loves shooting. This is proved by the fact that he has already done it 32 times this season. He’s had some success with it too, as his delicate lobbed finish against Arsenal was followed by a less than delicate 30-yard screamer at the weekend.
If you’re looking at Fulham’s assets, don’t bother looking at any defenders but look straight towards their experienced German. As well as scoring two in two games, Schurrle’s fantasy scores are consistently useful and have only scored below eight points once since Gameweek 2. I’m expecting more good numbers when he hosts Bournemouth this week. Schurrle is a fantastic FPL draft weapon.
FPL Draft Fallers
Wilfried Zaha
A big name straight off the bat. Wilfried Zaha’s form is quite often synonymous with that of Crystal Palace and Roy Hodgson’s outfit have been woeful. His struggles are reflected in his FPL draft scores. None are more telling than his blank at Everton on Sunday.
Feeling bad enough already Zaha owners? Well here’s something to make you feel a little bit worse. Goal-shy Palace hosts the country’s most in-form team in Arsenal this weekend before taking on Chelsea, Tottenham and Manchester United. I think it’s fair to say it’s going to get worse before it gets better for Wilf.
David Brooks
Was it for real? Or was it just a phase?
A home game against Southampton was the perfect stage for David Brooks to prove that his recent form wasn’t just a flash in the pan. However, it didn’t go to plan. After two goals in two games, Brooks appeared to float about the pitch for a bit before being withdrawn after 59 minutes (ouch) for Junior Stanislas.
The trip to Fulham is the last favorable fixture before a horrible month or so for Bournemouth. Gameweek 10 may be the last we see of Brooks in FPL draft manager’s rosters for a little while.
Henrikh Mkhitaryan
He was given his chance on Monday. He may have blown it. Many say that Henrikh Mkhitaryan is far too good to sit on the bench at Arsenal after being far too good to sit on the bench at Manchester United. The fact is, that’s where it looks like he’ll be spending a little more time.
The brutal fact of the matter is, Arsenal looked better without him on the field against Leicester. A second consecutive start ended with 10 Fantrax points over two games in which his side scored a total of eight goals. The Armenian was involved in none of those goals. FPL draft managers all over the world will be cursing their decision to use a high draft pick on him.
*ahem* Chuck Booth *ahem*
Marcos Alonso
Whisper it quietly but it seems that Marcos Alonso has forgotten how to attack. Much was made of the Spaniard’s role change to a conventional left back under Mauricio Sarri and that line of thought stands justified as he is now forced to do a thing called defending.
Three attacking returns in the first four weeks put paid to that prediction but it’s all dried up a little on that front. In fact, in the last month, Alonso has managed just two key passes and no shots on target. Very un-Alonso-like. This isn’t to say he is no longer a good FPL draft option (he’ll probably score this weekend now) but those managers who were feeling smug about taking the gamble early in the season are now a little less pleased.
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