FPL deadline: Friday 17 August, 11am BST.
The Football Faithful FPL competition code: 7vry2r
Fantasy Premier League: Essential FPL tips ahead of GW22
Is Semenyo an automatic transfer – or a trap?
There was no entry or adjustment period for Antoine Semenyo at Manchester City. He scored twice in his first two games for his new club. At the time of writing, 243,000 managers have signed the winger ahead of Saturday’s Manchester Derby, and that number is rising rapidly.
It’s easy to see why; Semenyo has been an incredible choice all season, he is in top form and he is now in a much stronger team. City also have a decent run of fixtures over the next three gameweeks.
There is of course one big question mark. The 25-year-old was a minutes monster at Bournemouth, playing all but one 90 this season, but that is no longer guaranteed. In fact, far from it.
Semenyo is now vying for his place in an extremely talented squad and Pep Guardiola can rest him in every game, and he is far more likely to be eliminated early even if he does start.
That’s the risk you take with him, but I think it’s still worth moving him, especially if you want to get rid of problem players like Matheus Cunha (£8.1m). He is the highest scoring midfielder in the FPL, only two midfielders have scored more expected goals (7.64xG) and I expect him to excel at City.
One problem managers face, however, is that many already have a treble of City players. Is it worth selling Phil Foden (£8.7m) or Rayan Cherki (£6.8m)? I’d probably stick with the latter, but I think Foden is a sell at the moment. His hot streak is long over and Semenyo will be their secondary shooter after Erling Haaland (£15.1m).
Will Bruno go straight back inside?
The return of Bruno Fernandes (£9.1m) is a huge boost for Manchester United and possibly the FPL managers as well. Although the Red Devils were unbeaten in four Premier League games without their star player, they were woeful in attack in his absence.
The playmaker picked up an assist in his first match against Burnley, his thirteenth goal of the season. He pumps out fantasy returns like it’s nobody’s business, even when United are at their worst.
But is this the right time to bring him back into your team? United host a City side desperate to close the gap on leaders Arsenal in GW22, one of the toughest games of the season. They could benefit from a managerial revival with the arrival of interim boss Michael Carrick, but they are likely to be played off the park.
Things don’t get any easier next week either, when they travel to North London to take on the Gunners. The smart play is to wait until these games are over and transfer him when the schedule relaxes in GW24; From then on, United will face Fulham, Spurs, West Ham, Everton and Crystal Palace.
That said, I wouldn’t necessarily discourage anyone from buying it now if they have the budget. Fernandes is capable of returning in any game; he scored eight goals in sixteen games against City and five in thirteen games against Arsenal.
The best captains
Our belief in Haaland has faltered over the past month. The striker has scored just one goal in three of his last four games and has scored just one goal in that run. This weekend City play United away, which they do should win comfortably, but derbies can be difficult to predict. While he’s still probably the best choice for the bracelet in GW22, he’s not the weekly auto-lock he was earlier in the campaign. So who are the alternatives?
With Liverpool facing Burnley at Anfield, Hugo Ekitike (£8.9m) is the obvious answer. The French forward scored a goal and an assist against Barnsley in the cup as he returned after a short injury lay-off. According to Opta’s xG figures, he is set to start against the worst defense of the past six gameweeks.
Arsenal, meanwhile, travel to the City Ground to play a Nottingham Forest team who have not kept a clean sheet for just over a month. I’m not a fan of Bukayo Saka’s captaincy (£10.2m) unless it’s painfully obvious he’s the best choice, because while he’s a brilliant player he rarely returns with a huge haul. Gabriel Magalhães (£6.7m)on the other hand, has huge potential to score big here. This season the centre-back has scored three goals and kept a clean sheet, most recently against Aston Villa, and has four double-figure goals in total. And that’s with missing eight games, don’t forget. His floor is a solid six-pointer with just one clean sheet, but he is also Arsenal’s biggest attacking threat from set pieces.
Finally, Ollie Watkins (£8.8m) could be a differential shout against an Everton defense that has conceded four goals against Brentford and one against lowly Wolves in their last two games. However, it is rare for the Aston Villa star to score more than once in a match.
Read – Top FPL tips to help you master Fantasy Premier League
See also – 69 classic Fantasy Premier League team names to use next season
Follow The Football Faithful on social media:
Facebook | Instagram | Tweet | YouTube | TikTok
#Fantasy #Premier #League #Essential #FPL #tips #ahead #GW22