Get ahead of the Group Chat thanks to our new regular column from FPL expert Jonas Sand Låbakk.
By FotMob, in conversation with Jonas Sand Låbakk
Introducing our expert
Jonas is a 21 year old student who, like FotMob, hails from Norway, but unlike the frustrated Fantasy Premier League players in the office, he did something we could only dream of last season. He finished first, ahead of 11 million other managers in the 2023/24 season.
Who better then, to provide us with some expert advice each week.
The Eye Test vs. The Stats
Tottenham Hotspur once again proved that they are one of the better attacking sides in the league, scoring 4 against West Ham last weekend. Heung Min Son (worth 9.9m in the game) may have just came back from injury, but he looked really sharp. He was awarded a goal and even a questionable assist that was later removed from the game. He created two chances and had four shots in the box, but despite the proximity to goal, only accumulated a total of 0.41 xG. Spurs have good fixtures going forward and Son is definitely one to consider for your team.
Raúl Jímenez (5.7m) has started the last five Premier League games for Fulham and has returned in every single one of them! In GW8, against Aston Villa, he got himself into many good positions. He created 0.74 xG, but anyone owning him would have been ruing the three big chances he wasted, and the fact that Andreas Pereira missed a penalty that had been won by Jímenez. The silver lining might be that the Mexican international now takes over penalty duties, something that makes him even more of an asset.
Wolverhampton Wanderers’ fixtures are gradually getting better from this gameweek onwards and I do believe that if you don’t want to go for Jímenez, a former-Wolves player himself, that both Jørgen Strand-Larsen (5.5m) and Matheus Cunha (6.5m) will be good options given the nature of their upcoming games. Strand-Larsen has scored more points than Cunha this season, but I think I prefer Cunha because he has better underlying numbers (0.48 vs 0.28 xG involvements per 90) and the fact that he’s most probably on penalties since Pablo Sarabia isn’t playing regularly and Hwang Hee-Chan is out injured.
Long shot
Jarrod Bowen (7.4) probably should’ve been credited with an assist last weekend but he efforts were not rewarded in West Ham’s defeat to Spurs. This season he averages 0.39 xG involvements per 90, which isn’t the best, but I still believe Bowen is a viable asset if you can fit him into your team. Bowen is in good form, appears to be making good in-game decisions and remains a creative spark for this West Ham side.
Upcoming games to follow
In GW9 there is specifically one game that I think might be huge for FPL. That is, of course, Manchester City at home to Southampton. A lot of us own a number of Man City players and I wouldn’t sell them just yet, despite their relatively poor form defensively and Erling Haaland blanking 3 games in a row. Southampton seem to be in tatters and it might even be Russel Martin’s last game. This is a game where I definitely see 2.5 xG+ for Man City.
Another game I am looking forward to watching is Brentford vs Ipswich. Ipswich are very leaky defensively and average a whopping 2.18 xG conceded. Yoane Wissa just came back from injury and got a 25 minute cameo against Manchester United, but failed to impress. I can see a few attacking returns from both sides, especially from Bryan Mbeumo and probably Liam Delap as he always seems to be involved whenever Ipswich score.
(Cover image from IMAGO)
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