I was umming and arring last week over whether to pull the trigger on my first FPL wildcard this early in the season, but I’m glad I did as my team racked up a cracking score. What was made even sweeter is Tommy the Punter struggled, which means I leapfrog him at the top of the For Foot Sake table. I also moved up nearly 1m places in the global rankings, and I now feel my team is set up for a real assault on the leaderboard.
Let’s get stuck into the FPL Gameweek 8 Analysis.
My Team
Neither of my keepers kept a clean sheet but I was vindicated in fielding Tzolakis over Verbruggen as the Hull stopper picked up one extra point with three.
Ricardo Calafiori was benched for Arsenal, but that negatively affected lots of managers, however, my double Arsenal defence was justified as Ezri Konsa got the opener and a clean sheet against Everton for a 14 points haul, and Tarik Muharemovic backed that up with a nine pointer against Sunderland on Sunday.
Things weren’t great in midfield on Saturday as Johan Manzambi, Phil Foden and Morgan Rogers each got just one point each, one Marcus Tavernier’s goalscoring contribution against Manchester United saw him get a fourth double-figure haul of the season as he picked up a perfect 10.
Up front Erling Haaland’s goal against Villa saw him pick up eight points, including two bonus, which was doubled as a result of him taking the captaincy. Thiago got an assist in Brentford’s draw at Hull for a handy five points, but Joao Pedro didn’t feature for Chelsea and my first sub was Pascal Gros, who’s own goal against Liverpool resulted in him getting a zero.
Overall then 61 points was a strong total and gives me momentum heading into the second quarter of the season.
For Foot Sake Team
An unparalleled disaster for Tommy the Punter as his side only managed a pathetic 18 points. Joao Pedro was captained, but the vice captaincy went to Rayan Cherki who was hauled off at half time after being booked, and also picked up a zero. Haaland was his only player to get more than a three, and the wildcard now looms large for Tom as he lost top spot in the For Foot Sake league for the first time since the first gameweek of the season.
FPL Gameweek 9 Pointers
- FPL free hit looks a cracking play – Manchester City host Brighton and Arsenal head to in-form Liverpool in FPL Gameweek 9 and with many teams featuring a heap of players from those four clubs, this week could be one to throw a dart at a few differentials and play the free hit chip. Resurgent Aston Villa and Tottenham both have winnable looking home games, so they might be the two clubs to focus on.
- Another bad weekend for newly promoted clubs – Hull, Ipswich and Coventry are starting to tread water as none of them were able to win at home against mid-table opposition in Brentford, Nottingham Forest and Fulham respectively. The points are drying for the assets who started the season so well for those clubs, and it’s time to start shipping them out as their form continues to decline.
- Isak now a viable alternative to Joao Pedro – With Chelsea’s Brazilian forward going off the boil and Liverpool’s Swedish superstar starting to show his old form from Newcastle, those with budget from offloading Bruno Fernandes may now be eyeing up a switch to Alexander Isak after he scored once again in a tough game for his side against Brighton.
Head back here on Wednesday for my preview of my team for FPL Gameweek 9.