The Risers and Fallers: Gakpo up, Kane down
Toney, Mitoma also up, Shaw and Haaland down
Double Gameweek. Blank Gameweek. Double Gameweek.
That is the scenario FPL managers are staring at in the next three rounds of fixtures. How you navigate this period of chaos is likely to have significant implications for whether or not you can mount a challenge or maintain a lead in your mini-league.
If you have a Wild Card or Free Hit let, it’s time to consider using it. If you still have your Bench Boost then Gameweek 29 – when the doubles really wrack up – looks like an obvious target.
But above all, keep your cool, focus on picking up players you actually want and don’t panic if they fail to deliver immediately.
For more on how to plan ahead, check out our preview of Gameweek 27 here.
Let’s now get into our latest round-up of the Risers and Fallers to help you make your decisions. We head to Anfield, where there’s been a murder…
Risers
Liverpool attackers
Well, hands up if you saw that coming. We certainly didn’t.
Liverpool 7 (SEVEN) – 0 Manchester United.
Prior to this Sunday’s Anfield annihilation, United had been unbeaten in four in the league – including a comprehensive 3-0 win over Leicester City at Old Trafford in Gameweek 24. They followed that up with a 2-0 win in the EFL Cup Final at Wembley, with the performance of Lisandro Martinez (DEF, £4.5m) drawing particular praise.
Liverpool had enjoyed an uptick in form too, but that had been built by shoring things up at the back rather than blitzing the opposition. Following a 3-0 humbling against Wolves at the beginning of February, Liverpool had chalked up three consecutive 2-0 wins against Everton, Newcastle and Wolves, respectively.
That was enough to put them on most FPL managers’ radar again but against Everton and 10-man Newcastle, in particular, their performances weren’t exactly eye-catching.
While United’s abject capitulation in front of a baying crowd was a big part of this story, the second half in particular was Liverpool at their vibrant, high-intensity, heavy metal best. Mo Salah (MID, £12.8m) delivered his biggest FPL points haul of the season and looked unstoppable. Darwin Nunez (FWD, £8.8m) finally turned his big chances and strong underlying stats into goals.
And Cody Gakpo (MID, £7.7m), having been dropped the previous week, bagged an impressive brace. All three will have appeal in FPL (although note Liverpool have a blank fixture next week), but the Netherlands international – classed as a midfielder, low-priced and in form – is the pick of the bunch.
There are still questions about this Liverpool team and we wouldn’t be surprised to see more bumps between now and the end of the season, but they deservedly top this week’s Risers.
Ivan Toney (FWD, £7.8m)
Brentford are on an incredible run of form heading into their juicy batch of five fixtures in three gameweeks. That kicks off in Gameweek 27 with trips to relegation-threatened Everton and Southampton on the slate.
You might have two or even three Brentford players in your side for the next three gameweeks (they have two double fixtures sandwiching a home game against struggling Leicester City in Gameweek 28), but it is hard to look past Toney as the key asset heading into this crucial run of games.
Toney is the ninth top-scoring player in FPL this season with 130 points, and the third top-scoring striker behind Manchester City’s Erling Haaland (FWD, £12.2m) and Tottenham Hotspurs’ Harry Kane (FWD, £11.7m).
He bagged his 15th goal of the season from the penalty spot in an impressive 3-2 win against Fulham in Gameweek 26. That victory means the Bees still have a genuine chance of pushing for European football as the season approaches its climax.
Unsurprisingly, Toney’s underlying data is strong, sitting behind only Haaland and Kane in the Impect rankings of Premier League strikers who have played more than 10 games this season. As we noted in last week’s newsletter, he is also a player who tends to get his goals in gluts, and there is little reason to back against him against two of the league’s more generous defences in Gameweek 27.
Kaoru Mitoma (MID, £5.5m)
Kaoru Mitoma, we love you.
The Japanese international has been a fantasy sensation this year and he was at it again against West Ham, scoring one, assisting another and delivering 13 FPL points. Mitoma now has 59 points since Gameweek 18, at an average of around 7.4 points per game.
He has backed these returns up with sensational underlying data throughout the season and that continued on Saturday, when his Impect score was better than 99% of players in his position group.
Mitoma is now third highest Impect scorer among all Premier League midfielders this season, behind Manchester City duo Phil Foden (MID, £8m) and Kevin de Bruyne (MID, £12.1m). He is also substantially cheaper in FPL and, crucially, has a double fixture against Leeds United (A) and Crystal Palace (H) in Gameweek 27.
Penalty taker Alexis Mac Allister (MID, £5.4m) and Solly March (MID, £5.1m) also have appeal among Brighton’s talented attacking midfielders, while we remain big fans of flying wing-back Pervis Estupinan (DEF, £4.8m). But if you can only fit one Brighton player into your plans this Gameweek, make it Mitoma.
Phil Foden (MID, £8m)
A quick note on Phil Foden. He probably isn’t top of your shopping list given City have a blank fixture in Gameweek 28, but he’s been an underlying data superstar when playing this season and has 24 points in the last two gameweeks.
Get him on your radar for the run-in.
Fallers
Manchester United defenders
Not a huge amount needs to be said here – conceding seven is never great. It isn’t a reason to dump United defenders completely, particularly Luke Shaw (DEF, £5.2m), who offers a valuable attacking threat, but they have to be given a downgrade after this performance.
A home fixture against Southampton’s anaemic attack in Gameweek 27 should be the perfect tonic for a bounceback, after which they have a blank fixture in Gameweek 28 followed by a tricky double in Gameweek 29 against Newcastle (A) and Brentford (H).
Harry Kane (FWD, £11.7m)
We’ve always said assumed truths need to be challenged in FPL, and that includes on premium-priced superstar assets.
Harry Kane has been excellent this season and is the second-highest scorer in fantasy with 163 points. However, Spurs have struggled of late and Kane has just one goal and one assist in the last four gameweeks.
In their 1-0 defeat at Wolves last week, Tottenham delivered an average post-shot expected goals (xG) of just over 1, with Kane’s Impect score also mid-ranking for the third game in four.
Spurs also come into the Gameweek 27 fixture against Nottingham Forest after a disappointing exit against AC Milan in the Champions League.
Could Kane shake off those cobwebs and deliver big points in the coming weeks? Absolutely. But without a double gameweek scheduled, you should ask yourself if he’s really delivering value for money in FPL.
Erling Haaland (FWD, £12.2m)
The Norwegian behemoth has been a line-up and captaincy lock in FPL this season, recording an incredible 27 goals, six assists and 197 points so far. He is the top attacker based on every underlying metric you can find.
But by Haaland’s outrageous standards, his form has cooled recently. Since scoring a hat-trick against Wolves in Gameweek 21, he has two goals in six games. Three assists have helped bolster his FPL points tally during that period, and you should certainly still have him in your team.
However, there are no double gameweeks on the horizon for City and Haaland also has no fixture in Gameweek 28. A Gameweek 27 game against Crystal Palace could be where he goes berserk again, but you probably want to give the captaincy armband to one of your double gameweek players.
Thanks for reading and best of luck in Gameweek 27.
Tom