Fantasy Premier League 2021/22 | Four players to help you win the Gameweek 10 and beyond
An average of 64 with a highest of 165 and with an impressive 40 goals scored, suggests that Gameweek 9 was majestic. There were, however, quite a few teams that overperformed, while others simply didn’t hit their standards. Even then, here are a few players who could help your week.
The Good
Phil Foden
Most FPL managers have a dream. It’s a simple one and a rather easy one to grant but given that the dream is that Pep Guardiola would just pick a team and stop tinkering with it, it seems unlikely that it will ever be granted. But then, Phil Foden puts up a performance of a lifetime that sends superlatives and everything else flying out of fans, critics and even those Twitter bashers. It was, dare I say, a near perfect performance as a false nine from ol Phil.
Not only that, it now means that the young kid has now either scored or assisted a goal in his last three games and that makes him about as close to undroppable as they come. But yet this is Manchester City’s Phil Foden, playing under Pep Guardiola who loves nothing more than a rotation especially ahead of a Champions League clash next week. But still, nobody did anything better offensive than Foden with him leading the weekend for goal attempts, shots in the box, final third touches, penalty area touches and more.
However, he still plays for Manchester City and Pep Guardiola which means even if Foden’s form has reached it’s peak, there is still a tiny chance that the attacker doesn’t even make the squad this weekend. Yet, given Manchester City’s run of fixtures, which includes Manchester United and West Ham over the next two weeks, there is a question as to whether Guardiola will rest him.
Ben Chilwell
There was a concern especially after Marcos Alonso started the first six games of the season, that Ben Chilwell would never get his chance but Alonso’s poor showing against Manchester City changed that tone. It has seen Chilwell start the last three league games and somehow, the wing-back has scored in all three games. That has a lot to do with the fact that Tuchel has asked the Englishman to play as an inverted wing-back which has seen Chilwell get into more offensive positions.
Often, the left-back has spent his time on the field closer, in position, to a number ten or even as a center-forward which is shocking. But it has somehow worked even if his goals have come from seven shots, with five on target and an average of 2.33 shots per 90. That does put the wing-back in the 90th percentile for defenders, which is to be expected, but his three goals have come from an xG of 0.6 in total.
What that effectively means is that Chilwell’s rate of scoring and run of form won’t last but beyond the Southampton game, the defender has managed two clean sheets. That has only added to his points and the fact that Chelsea have a very impressive run of fixtures until the end of November, only adds to that. Either way, it means you can’t lose if you spend the extra cash and bring in Chilwell.
The Great
Mohamed Salah
Does there even need to be an argument about signing Mohamed Salah?
Because somehow, the Egyptian’s price-tag is £12.9m and yet he’s still a bargain. The man has played all nine Premier League games so far and has scored in all but one game. He has also assisted four goals in his last five games to add to the seven goals scored, with three back-to-back double figure points hauls. Then there’s the effortless hattrick he managed against Manchester United, the back-to-back braces he managed in the Champions League and the fact that he has 107 points.
107 points in nine games.
Just let that sink in for a moment because all that does is simply add to the point. Which is BUY MOHAMED SALAH.
And the Punt
Callum Wilson
Even with back-to-back goals in his last two games, Callum Wilson has been brought in by only 183598 managers which puts him near the bottom of the most-transferred in list. That’s below an injured Patrick Bamford, Adam Armstrong, Crystal Palace forward Robert Street, Tottenham’s Dane Scarlett and even Leeds United’s Sam Greenwood. The kicker? All three men haven’t even played in the league yet and, at the moment, may never make the matchday squads.
But that being said, there may be a few reasons why as to not pick Wilson especially with Newcastle United without a manager and the fact that the £7.3m forward has spent more time on the physio's bench than on the field. And yet, there’s more than a strong argument to make about the forward especially given the fact that he has scored four goals….in five league games.
Plus there’s the fact that Wilson, when on the field, is averaging 2.87 shots per game and has actually scored his four goals from an xG of just under 3. Now of course, this is a rudderless Newcastle United still finding their way forward and that’s what makes this a punt. Well, that and the fact that there’s no guarantee that Wilson will be fit in the near future but at £7.3m, it’s a move worth making.