Fantasy Premier League: The locks, surprise packages and sleepers to keep an eye on

Last weekend’s Premier League fixtures were all postponed as a mark of respect following the death of Queen Elizabeth II.

Seven fixtures will go ahead in Gameweek 8. Those not playing — Manchester United, Leeds, Brighton, Crystal Palace, Chelsea and Liverpool — will blank this week.

Gameweek 8 is then followed by an international break. Therefore, it’s a good time to reflect on the season so far and look at some key talking points.

The locks

We all had high hopes for Erling Haaland (£12m) and I guess most of us knew that the Norway striker was going to be a force to be reckoned with this season. I am not sure many would have predicted him scoring 10 goals in his first six league games, however.

Advertisement

He is the most-owned player in the game at 79.7 per cent. He is probably going to be our captain most weeks and any talks of switching him to Harry Kane (£11.4m) during a fixture swing have been put to rest. Haaland should be locked in our teams for the season barring any injuries.

Gabriel Martinelli (£6.5m) started the season at only £6m and has proved fantastic value, with three goals and one assist. His popularity has also risen, which has seen his price increase to £6.5m. He is pretty much nailed in the first team for Arsenal and despite his team’s fixtures taking a turn for the worse from Gameweek 9, I would still keep the Brazilian.

You won’t find a player who offers better value at his price and he is cheap enough to be an enabler — a player we buy to facilitate or upgrade other positions. If you started the season with Martinelli, you will also have money tied up in him.

Aleksandar Mitrovic (£6.9m) has six goals in his first six games and has only blanked in one fixture. Despite Fulham’s tough fixtures to start the season, he has managed to hit the ground running.

As well as scoring against Brentford, he has found the net against Liverpool, Arsenal, Brighton and Tottenham, who are among the best defences in the league.

Fulham’s fixtures now ease up considerably, starting with Nottingham Forest next. Mitrovic should be in our teams whether you are wildcarding or not. The 27-year-old is fantastic value. He is on penalties and is Fulham’s talisman.

All of the above carries the advantage of Mitrovic having a fixture in Gameweek 8, also.

The surprise packages

After six games, Brighton’s Pascal Gross (£6m) and Alexis Mac Allister (£5.6m) are among the leading goalscoring midfielders. Their team-mate Leandro Trossard (£6.5m) is also right up there.

Gross has clearly been playing in a much more advanced position this season and is getting a lot of minutes, too. He has played 90 minutes in all his games and has scored three goals and made two assists, and his stats back up his output.

Advertisement

Trossard has two goals and two assists, and is another great option who has stepped up a level this season. He has been starting at left wing-back but I wouldn’t let this put you off. He is getting plenty of touches in the box and his stats are great for both goal and assist threat.

Mac Allister is the outlier here.

He has four goals but three of them have been penalties and the other was a free kick. It’s, of course, a huge advantage when a player is on penalties and set pieces, but Mac Allister’s underlying numbers tell us that his current run of form is unsustainable. Brighton are not likely to continue to get penalties at the same rate as they are now.

This isn’t to say that the Argentinian is a bad option but we have to be realistic with our expectations. He is the cheapest out of Brighton’s three leading midfielders, so is still a viable option.

Brighton's key midfielders

Looking at Brighton’s upcoming fixtures and the fact they blank in Gameweek 8, I wouldn’t look to invest in Gross, Mac Allister or Trossard now, but if you already own them, then they are good enough value to hold on to. There won’t be many better options in their price range and they are also cheap enough to bench.

A good time to look at Brighton’s assets again will be after Gameweek 16 when we break off for the World Cup. Waiting until then will also give us enough time to see if this trio keep up their good performances under new management following Graham Potter’s departure to Chelsea.

The sleepers

There are some players who were popular picks pre-season but haven’t really lived up to expectations. However, a few of these have the quality to come good at any given point.

Mohamed Salah (£12.9m) has scored two goals and notched up three assist in his first six games. For his very high standards, that has been a disappointment, especially with Haaland doing so well. As of Thursday afternoon, he had been sold by over 374,000 managers this week and has suffered his first price drop of the season.

Advertisement

Liverpool blank this week and then play Arsenal and Manchester City during their next three games. I can understand Fantasy Premier League managers losing patience with the Egyptian but I am confident he will come good soon.

However, I wouldn’t be against going with Kevin De Bruyne (£12.2m) for a few gameweeks and keeping enough money in the bank to bring Salah back in on Gameweek 12 when his team’s fixtures pick up again. Although it can really pay to jump on another premium asset for a while, I wouldn’t be looking to go too long without the Liverpool star.

James Maddison (£7.9m) had his best season in the Premier League in 2021-22 with 12 goals and 11 assists. However, he has managed two goals and one assist in his first six games, and has flattered to deceive a bit. This is mostly down to Leicester City’s poor form, which sees them sit at the bottom of the league.

His underlying numbers have been good and Leicester have been fine in front of goal, scoring eight goals. They also embark on a very good run of fixtures from Gameweek 9, starting with a home game to Forest. According to Opta, Maddison has an expected goals (xG) total of 0.78 and an expected assists (xA) of 0.33.

I think he will be a shrewd investment and could be the move for those who are looking to replace Bukayo Saka (£7.8m) or Luis Diaz (£8.2m). Both have tough fixtures coming up and the latter will also now be rotation risk with Diogo Jota (£8.9m) and Darwin Nunez (£8.9m) back in the picture.

Make sure to check out the FPL General on The Athletic FPL Podcast twice a week this season for all his latest tips and tricks.

(Top photo: Xinhua via Getty Images)

ncG1vNJzZmismJqutbTLnquim16YvK57km5wbHFlaHxzfJFrZmlxX2aDcLLPpWSsnZGovK95z6KapKtdpa6kt8CgnKxn