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.
*But before we start – a reminder that with a Friday night game this week the FPL deadline is early – make your transfers and sort your team out before 18:30 GMT*
The Eye Test vs. The Stats
Matheus Cunha (7.0m) has been consistently one of the highest scorers in FPL since GW6 and Cunha has performed exceptionally well ever since I tipped him in this column ahead of GW9, returning points in every single game. Cunha scored twice in last time out, one a tidy finish from six yards out, and the other an incredible strike from outside the 18 yard box. Although Cunha has overperformed his stats, by quite a distance, he definitely also passes the eye test. Wolves’ fixtures have been good for a few weeks, but it is definitely not too late to bring him into your team as Cunha has Bournemouth, Everton, West Ham, Ipswich, Leicester, and Man Utd coming up. His expected stats, on the other hand, are not the best, but they are definitely solid with 0.5 xGi (Expected Goal Involvements) per 90 over the course of the Premier League season so far.
Bukayo Saka (10.2m) wouldn’t have failed to impress those patient owners that have stuck with him last weekend, either, scoring 13 points at home to Nottingham Forest. He was nothing short of fantastic in that game. It is clear that Saka, and Arsenal in general, benefits a lot from Martin Ødegaard‘s return from injury. Saka only accumulated 0.53 xGi in the game against Nottingham Forest, but he is definitely dangerous. Which we also saw on Tuesday against Sporting, where he converted his penalty and assisted Kai Havertz. Even in that game, most of the chances created were from the right hand side. Buying Arsenal players was a good idea last week and it is this week as well. Because of their upcoming fixtures, Saka is one I am certainly considering for the future.
Long shot
Milos Kerkez (4.4) plays for a Bournemouth team who have only kept one clean sheet so far this season. But the Cherries have a had their fair share of tough fixtures and things are looking better on that front going forward. Buying Kerkez for your team will only cost you 4.4 million making him a cheap defender who can rotate with other budget options like Rayan Aït-Nouri, Noussair Mazraoui, Rico Lewis, Ola Aina or may even be a replacement for Antonee Robinson who’s Fulham side have some very tough fixtures coming up.
Kerkez plays as an offensive full back and his xGi is 0.12 per 90. Bournemouth vs. Ipswich in GW15, vs. West Ham in GW16 and maybe even vs. Wolves in GW13 are games you can easily play the Hungarian full back.
Upcoming games to follow
A lot of FPL managers might be starting to run out of patience with Bryan Mbeumo (7.9m) but with Brentford playing Leicester at home in GW13 I expect him to return with a goal involvement. Having said that, Mbeumo has been playing very wide and has therefore not been involved as much as of late. The Bees rarely keep clean sheets (they got their first of the season in GW12) and I expect a high scoring game.
Brighton play Southampton in the Friday night game. I talked about João Pedro (5.6m) last week and he didn’t disappoint, scoring 12 points in GW12. I have finally brought Pedro back into my team and I am really looking forward to seeing what he can do against a leaky Southampton defence. Other players I am keeping tabs on in that game are Kaoru Mitoma (6.4m) and Pervis Estupiñán (5.0m)
Chelsea are up against Aston Villa on Sunday and I am again curious to see what Cole Palmer (10.9m) can produce after blanking three games in a row. Nicolas Jackson (8.0m) scored a goal and got an assist against Leicester last weekend, he’s also a player to watch out for.
(Cover image from IMAGO)
Did you know that you can track live Fantasy points with FotMob? Simply select any Premier League game, swipe to the Lineup tab, and press the big ‘Fantasy’ button! Download the free app here.