I must begin with an apology
Last week I advised you all to transfer in Richarlison before his patch of form ran dry as it did last season. And evidently many of you listened, as he was the most transferred in player last week.
What happened next, none of us could have expected: he only went and got himself sent of for a headbutt, albeit the softest headbutt ever seen on a football pitch. I apologise to all of you, but count yourselves lucky you didn’t also have Adam Smith in your team – unlike me.
On to this week’s tips.
1. Glenn Murray is a solid option for a bargain forward
The Brighton man has only been selected by 0.8% of FPL players but is off the mark after scoring against Manchester United with a smart, instinctive finish. Brighton face Fulham at the Amex this weekend and will be confident of bagging a couple of goals, with the Cottagers already conceding seven strikes this season. If you’re looking for a cheap forward to complement the big-money buy of Kane/Agüero/Lukaku in your front line, you could do a lot worse than Murray.
2. Kieran Trippier is almost certain to get an assist or two against Watford
The Bury Beckham has contributed to 14 goals in the Premier League for Tottenham – not bad for someone who was mostly back-up to Kyle Walker for his first two seasons. Almost half of those goal contributions (five assists, one goal) have come against Watford. We can’t be sure why Trippier performs so well against the Hornets, but with his record against them – and Harry Kane plundering the goals already – you can be pretty sure the pair will combine to score.
3. Lucas Moura looks like the missing piece in Spurs’ jigsaw
I’ll move on from Tottenham Hotspur in a minute but can we please take a moment to appreciate Lucas Moura? It’s a cliché, and sounds like a weak defence of Spurs’ inactivity over the summer, but having had a full pre-season with Mauricio Pochettino, Moura is like a new signing in North London. The way he blitzed past Chris Smalling and slotted the ball beyond David De Gea to make the score 3-0 on Monday night showed us just what he’s capable of. In the absence of Heung-min Son, the Brazilian is bound to play a key role for Spurs in the coming weeks. Get him in your team.
4. Aaron Wan-Bissaka has served his ban, so it could be time for a recall
The Crystal Palace defender was a popular choice early on due to his very reasonable price, and it turns out he’s a half decent player. Having served his one-game ban after being sent off against Liverpool, he will almost certainly return to the Crystal Palace line-up ahead of Joel Ward for the Eagles’ home match against Southampton. Previously a winger, Wan-Bissaka loves to get forward and already has an assist to his name this season. If you took him out, get him back in sharpish.
5. Hector Bellerín’s stats suggest he will rack up the assists this season
Bellerín has always had pace, but with great pace comes great responsibility to use it effectively. With the arrival of Unai Emery at the Emirates, Bellerín’s attacking output has significantly improved. His minutes per cross ratio has gone down from 47 to 33 minutes; his crossing accuracy has jumped from 15% to 25%, and his minutes per big chance created ratio has dropped from 381 to 135. With Alexandre Lacazette and Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang in attack, Bellerín should start racking up assists. He also costs a reasonable £5.5m – well worth a punt.
