Fantasy Premier League 2016-17 : Players to pick for gameweek 8

10/14/2016

After staying consistent for the 6 gameweeks, Manchester City lost for the first time under Pep Guardiola, while Arsenal continued their good run of form. While the international break brought bitter news for managers, gameweek 8 will see rivals Manchester United and Liverpool lock horns on Monday.

The Premier League is well and truly back after a long international break. The international break like always, brought along with it bad news for managers, as Lukaku and Bellerin got minor injuries and may not be fit to start matches for Everton and Arsenal respectively. The big fixture this week is the North West derby and it’d be interesting to see if Jose Mourinho can come up with some magic to stop the Liverpool juggernaut. Adam Lallana is a doubt for the game and this could definitely hamper Liverpool’s chances as the Englishman has been in fine form. Meanwhile, Manchester City will be hoping for a convincing victory against Everton, after losing 2-0 to Spurs at White Hart Lane.

Fixtures Gameweek 8

Saturday 15 October

Chelsea vs Leicester

Arsenal vs Swansea

Bournemouth vs Hull

Man City vs Everton

Stoke vs Sunderland

West Brom vs Spurs

Crystal Palace vs West Ham

Sunday 16 October

Middlesbrough vs Watford

Southampton vs Burnley

Monday 17 October

Liverpool vs Man Utd

Picks for Gameweek 8

Forwards

1. Diego Costa(10.1): The Spaniard has been in glorious form and has delivered points in every game except the London derby against Arsenal. Costa’s ruthlessness in front of the goal has given Chelsea the edge in cagey games and he has arguably been their best performer. With 6 goals till now, Costa is the highest goal scorer in the league currently.

2. Charlie Austin(6.3): Southampton’s Charlie Austin is priced at a moderate 6.3 and is a solid budget option for your strike force. The player was not a regular starter under Puel but his good run of form has compelled the manager to notice him, as he started the last two games. With 2 goals in the last three games, Austin against newcomers Burnley could be a good bet.

3. Jermain Defoe(7.2): The forward is up against Stoke City who have been defensively woeful. Defoe has been Sunderland’s top scorer and one of their main goal scoring outlets. Sunderland who are last in the points table will definitely need a strong performance from him against fellow strugglers Stoke.

Midfielders

4. Dimitri Payet(9.4): The Frenchman’s form has been the only plus for the Hammers in an otherwise horrendous start for the season. Payet’s creativity and set-piece ability are second to none in the league which is an added positive. A brilliant effort by Payet against Middlesbrough was another fine display of skill and ability by him as he took on the entire defence to score a beautiful solo goal.

5. Son Heung-Min(7.5): The player started up front for Spurs against Manchester City as Harry Kane had been sidelined due to an injury and the Korean did not disappoint. His form has been impeccable and he is quite easily one of Tottenham’s best player. Son also won the September Goal of the Month award and has quickly become a fan favourite. His run of form continued even to the International fixtures as he scored for South Korea as well.

6. Theo Walcott(7.7): The winger has been great for the Gunners this season after getting severely criticized by fans and critics alike earlier on. The player has found his form back on the right wing and has been involved in five of Arsenal goals this season in the league.

7. Sadio Mane(9.0): The new signing has been an instant hit at Liverpool and has become an instant favourite amongst the Kop faithful. Mane brings an enormous level of energy to the Liverpool team and has been one of their best players this season. The player will definitely want to score a goal in his first Northwest derby and prove the ‘big match player’ tag that he carries.

Defenders

8. Kyle Walker(6.0): The fullback’s price continues to rise and can be found in over 35% of all teams. With four clean sheets and a couple of assists to his name, Walker has been very reliable in FPL terms this season. Tottenham has impressed as a defensive unit and should do the job again this week against West Brom.

9. Jose Fonte(5.4): Southampton have kept two clean sheets in the last two matches and will look towards extending this run further as they face Burnley who will be missing their starting striker Andre Gray due to a suspension.

10. Adam Smith(4.6): Bournemouth defender Adam Smith has scored twice this season and is often a front runner for bonus points when it comes to his team. With a match against Hull City who have not won any of their last 5 matches, Bournemouth will try to grab all three points.

Goalkeeper

11. Petr Cech(5.5): The goalkeeper is the obvious and the easiest choice when it comes to picking up someone from the Arsenal defence. Cech is backed by a solid center-half pairing of Koscielny and Mustafi. Arsenal look comfortable at the back and this makes Cech the obvious pick for the goalkeeper position.

Differentials

Robert Snodgrass(5.7): The Tigers are in bad form and will be hopeful of getting a win after three straight losses. The onus will be on Snodgrass to step up and deliver for them. The player can be found in only 8.3% of all teams.

Steven Defour(6.0): In the absence of Andre Gray, Burnley will look to new summer signing Defour to deliver the goods against a solid Southampton team. Defour is a part of measly 0.6% of all teams and is the best player to have from Burnley at the moment. The player has assisted thrice and scored once this season.

Patrick van Aanholt(5.0): Sunderland fullback Aanholt is a good bet to have if you’re looking at a defender who can also score an odd goal. The player also sometimes takes set pieces for Sunderland which is an added advantage.