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
Fantasy players with Bruno Fernandes (8.2m) in their team will have been relieved to see him score his first goal of the season against Chelsea in Gameweek 10 and his all-round performance was fantastic as he looked back to his lively self. In the draw with the Blues he created two big chances and had two big chances on his own, which resulted in a total of 1.42 xGI (Expected Goal Involvements) in the game. His stats generally, throughout the season, have been much better than what has translated in to FPL points, which imply an average of 0.6 xGI per 90. Bruno is also Manchester United’s penalty taker and it will be interesting to see how he performs under incoming coach Rúben Amorim, so he’s definitely a player I would consider buying. United play Leicester and Ipswich in their next two games and I wouldn’t be surprised to see more returns – in terms of FPL points – from him in the near future.
Antoine Semenyo (5.6m) scored in Bournemouth’s impressive win against Manchester City. He had four shots in the box and two big chances. He was a real handful for the City defenders who struggled with keeping him quiet. Semenyo has a very good run of fixtures coming up and I would definitely consider him as a budget option. Semenyo is also second for total shots taken this season with 42, only Erling Haaland has taken more shots than the Bournemouth winger.
Long shot
As another Manchester United player, Diogo Dalot (5.1m) also has a favorable run of fixtures coming up, with Leicester, Ipswich and Everton in the next three. Dalot is only owned by 10.4% of the total managers in the game right now, which makes him a very good differential. We are obviously not sure how Amorim is going to line up his team once he takes over, but there is a possibility we might see Dalot operating as a wing back in a back five formation, which makes the case for him even better. Dalot has also played 90 minutes every single Premier League game this season so he should be 100% nailed on to be included in the Manchester United side.
Upcoming games to follow
Fantasy managers will have their eye on a number of games in Gameweek 11. The first one is Wolves vs. Southampton at Molineux. I have, in previous articles, mentioned Matheus Cunha (6.6m), Jørgen Strand Larsen (5.6m) and Rayan Aït-Nouri (4.7m) as potential picks from Wolverhampton due to their very favourable fixtures. It will be interesting to see what they can do against one of the weaker sides in the league, albeit the Saints did pick up their first win of the season last time out.
I have mentioned two Manchester United players already, and for good reason too. Their game at home to Leicester will be Van Nistelroy’s last game in charge and I expect Manchester United to win. Players mentioned like Dalot and Bruno are key targets, but I would also like to mention Alejandro Garnacho (6.3m) who averages 0.52 xGI per 90 this season and had his fair share of chances against Chelsea in Gameweek 10. Garnacho, alongside Bruno, are probably the best offensive picks from United, at least for the next three match days.
(Cover image from IMAGO)
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