The Scout looks at players in Fantasy Premier League who have impressed in the FIFA World Cup 2022 matches.
Lucas Paqueta (£5.9m)
The West Ham United attacker scored his first goal of the tournament in Brazil's dominant 4-1 win over South Korea.
Paqueta headed into the season break on the back of two assists in his final four matches.
However, an injury resulted in a drop in ownership to just 0.5 per cent ahead of the season restart on 26 December.
See: PL player World Cup tracker
West Ham’s upcoming schedule certainly looks encouraging for the midfielder’s chances of maintaining his current run of form.
According to the Fixture Difficulty Ratings (FDR), four of their next five matches score only two.
West Ham's next five fixtures
| GW | Opp. | FDR |
|---|---|---|
| 17 | ARS (A) | 4 |
| 18 | BRE (H) | 2 |
| 19 | LEE (A) | 2 |
| 20 | WOL (A) | 2 |
| 21 | EVE (H) | 2 |
At a cost of only £5.9m in Fantasy, Paqueta could prove a handy cut-price differential over the winter period.
The Hammers’ man was among five Premier League stars named in the Brazil starting XI along with Liverpool’s Alisson (£5.5m), Chelsea’s Thiago Silva (£5.4m), Manchester United’s Casemiro (£4.9m) and Tottenham Hotspur’s Richarlison (£8.7m).
Richarlison scored his third goal of the tournament, thanks to a Thiago Silva assist, and also won a penalty that was converted by Neymar.
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Forward role suiting Perisic
Meanwhile, Richarlison’s club-mate Ivan Perisic (£5.5m) continues to profit from an advanced role for Croatia.
The Spurs wing-back’s strike against Japan took his tally to one goal and two assists in four outings in Qatar.
Chelsea duo Hakim Ziyech (£5.5m) and Cesar Azpilicueta (£4.8m) go head-to-head in Tuesday’s first match when Morocco take on Spain.
Ziyech boasts strong form ahead of the afternoon kick-off, with a goal and an assist over his previous two appearances.
Man Utd’s Bruno Fernandes (£9.8m) has been Portugal’s top performer ahead of their encounter with Switzerland.
The midfielder scored twice and supplied two assists in his two starts over the group stages.
Tuesday's matches
15:00 GMT Morocco v Spain
19:00 GMT Portugal v Switzerland