Fantasy Premier League

FPL pre-season lessons: Ferguson absence forces rethink

By The Scout 26 Aug 2020
Nathan Ferguson, Crystal Palace

Fantasy managers must reconsider their options at the back with the fifth most-owned defender set to miss start of season

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The Scout is highlighting the form players in Fantasy Premier League and making key tactical observations during pre-season.

Ferguson injury blow

Fantasy managers will have to revise their plans now that Nathan Ferguson (£4.0m) is a major doubt for the start of the 2020/21 campaign.

The versatile Crystal Palace full-back is the fifth most-popular defender in the game, sitting in 17.3 per cent of squads.

But he missed Tuesday's 2-1 win over Oxford United, with manager Roy Hodgson explaining the defender has yet to return to full training due to a knee problem.

Straight swap?

Ferguson's team-mate Tyrick Mitchell (£4.0m) could now provide an alternative in the cut-price bracket.

He came on as a substitute and played 70 minutes at left-back in the absence of the injured Patrick van Aanholt (£5.5m).

Elsewhere for the Eagles, Jeffrey Schlupp (£5.5m), who is listed as a midfielder in FPL, played up front against Oxford.

The Ghanaian supplied the assist when Wilfried Zaha (£7.0m) scored. But he also missed a penalty in the absence of their first-choice taker Luka Milivojevic (£6.0m).

Meanwhile, a number of West Ham United players impressed in two separate friendlies on Tuesday.

Sebastien Haller (£6.5m) hit a hat-trick in a 4-1 win over Ipswich Town, with Grady Diangana (£5.5m) supplying the assists for two of those goals.

Tomas Soucek (£5.0m) was also on the scoresheet. The Czech Republic international carried on from his late-season displays in 2019/20, when he scored three goals in the final nine Gameweeks.

In the 5-1 victory over Wycombe Wanderers, Jarrod Bowen (£6.5m) was the star performer, scoring twice and supplying an assist.

See: Ipswich 1-4 West Ham - match highlights

Also in this series

Part 1: Son double turning heads
Part 2: Brace shows Brewster potential

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