Be wary of future Brighton rotation in FPL

Managers in Fantasy Premier League have been left with big rotation concerns for their Brighton & Hove Albion players for the remainder of the season. 

See: FPL experts: Best Brighton picks for their Double Gameweeks

Brighton have the busiest schedule of any team across the run-in, playing three Double Gameweeks in the final five rounds of fixtures, leading to managers loading up on their players. 

But in the first match of their Double Gameweek 34, head coach Roberto De Zerbi benched their most popular Fantasy player, Kaoru Mitoma (£5.6m), and Alexis Mac Allister (£5.5m).

And frustratingly for Fantasy managers, De Zerbi’s changes paid off with a 6-0 win, with differential forwards Danny Welbeck (£6.5m), Deniz Undav (£5.0m) and Julio Enciso (£4.6m) all involved in at least two goals.

The emphatic nature of the win also allowed De Zerbi to replace Solly March (£5.3m) before the hour mark, with the winger earning only one point.

Managers sell Mitoma early

Certainly, Mitoma’s 27 per cent ownership should be optimistic of a return to the starting XI for the second match of Brighton's Double Gameweek 34, against Manchester United in midweek. The Japanese only played 34 minutes as a second-half substitute on Saturday.

Yet De Zerbi’s changes have already made an impact on the Fantasy transfer market.

Mitoma is the most-sold player in the Gameweek, moved on by over 9,000 managers, while 4,700 have parted company with March.

See: Most popular transfers for GW35

Brighton’s attacking displays under De Zerbi, however, suggest their key picks can still be worth any rotation risk across the run-in.

They have scored 50 goals since the Italian took charge in Gameweek 9, joint-third with Newcastle United.

Nonetheless, with a Double Gameweek 36 and Double Gameweek 37 also to come, De Zerbi’s weekend decisions suggest managers may have to accept the occasional benching along with any big points hauls. 

Brighton's remaining matches

*Fixture Difficulty Ratings

Also in this series

Part 1: DGW34 Bonus points
Part 2: DGW34 stats: Season-high Triple Captain Haaland