After my disastrous free hit performance in Gameweek 6, this weekend was all about getting back on track and to a certain extent I delivered. A 62 point haul was six above the average (with subs yet to be applied) and a few green arrows signalling shoots of recovery. I also gained a little bit of ground on Tommy the Punter, so I can’t have too many complaints about how the weekend transpired. Here’s the FPL Gameweek 7 analysis.
My Squad
A clean sheet for Bart Verbruggen was a positive in the goalkeeping position, while he didn’t have much to do, six points is a solid return.
In defence, Ricardo Calafiori matched Verbruggen’s output with another six points, and Jan Paul van Hecke brought home some defensive contributions once again for a handy four points. The third and final member of my defence was Marc Guehi, who only managed one point as Manchester City surprisingly conceded two goals at home to Ipswich.
Diego Gomez’s wonder strike was the highlight of my midfield, with the Brighton man adding eight points to the tally, Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall and Morgan Rogers only managed two apiece, while Dominik Szoboszlai came on for Rayan Cherki to add another point to the total.
Up front the key contribution came from captain Erling Haaland, with 26 points, thanks to his two goals and three bonus points. Thiago was booked but did get an assist to add another four points, but Joao Pedro blanked, meaning he only added two points.,
So overall, 62 points and a small rise up the rankings for my FPL team.
For Foot Sake Squad
Tommy had a similar team to me this week but managed slightly less with 58 points. Whereas I had Verbruggen, Tommy had Maxim de Cuyper, but our resident punter was let down by Jurrien Timber and Josko Gvardiol both not starting. Senne Lammens provided three points, and common denominators in our squads were Calafiori, Gomez, Cherki (replaced by Malick Yalcouye for one point) Rogers, Haaland and Joao Pedro.
Tommy tells me he’s waiting to see how the Champions League games work out this week before making any calls on his Gameweek 8 team, with Erling Haaland’s injury a potentially big concern for all involved in this torturous, brilliant game.
FPL Gameweek 8 Pointers
- City, Brighton and Arsenal really the only sides to be trusted – For managers considering a wildcard, these three clubs need to form the backbone of your squads. Safe picks look to be: Guehi, Haaland (injury dependant), Gros, de Cuyper, Calafiori and Konsa, and those six could be supplemented with Rayan Cherki, Diego Gomez, Charalampos Kostoulas, Bukayo Saka or Declan Rice, depending on risk appetite and budget.
- Differentials the key to the game as usual – At this point, the vast majority of managers own the likes of Haaland, Gros and Calafiori, so finding differentials and pivoting when form dips is the key to unlocking the best returns in the game. James Maddison scored for Tottenham on Monday, and has just 0.4% ownership, could Spurs’ win trigger an upturn in form with Maddison at the heart of it? Johan Manzambi got another goal for Villa at the weekend as his side look to have turned a corner, he’s a cheap get and could be Unai Emery’s most important signing if he keeps up this form. These are just a couple of players who illustrate the value of foresight in FPL.
- Newly promoted sides still face a tough road ahead – Despite positive starts to the campaign, all three promoted sides lost at the weekend, with Hull and Coventry being defeated by two teams at the bottom in Fulham and Tottenham respectively. It probably won’t pay to load up on players from those three clubs as the nights close in and the long Premier League winter gets underway.
Head back here on in three weeks for my preview of my team for FPL Gameweek 8.