The Scout highlights 10 key lessons from Gameweek 4 in Fantasy Premier League.
Arsenal players are fixture-proof
Arsenal’s visit to their north London rivals Tottenham Hotspur in Gameweek 4 had persuaded many owners in Fantasy to bench their Gunners players, with a combined 985,000 Fantasy managers naming David Raya (£5.5m), William Saliba or Gabriel (both £6.0m) among their substitutes.
They were made to rue that decision as Mikel Arteta’s side showed their fixture-proof credentials, with a 1-0 win taking goalkeeper Raya and centre-back Gabriel to the top of their respective positions in Fantasy on 29 points each.
Meanwhile, Bukayo Saka’s (£10.0m) assist for Gabriel's winner means that, alongside Erling Haaland (£15.2m), he’s the only regular starter in Fantasy who has yet to blank across the first four Gameweeks of the campaign.
Owners of Arsenal assets must now decide whether to start or bench them away against Manchester City in Gameweek 5.
Reduced minutes for Man City and Liverpool players
Ahead of the start of European action this week, managers in Fantasy were given a sharp reminder of the looming threat of rotation.
Pep Guardiola managed to reduce the appeal of both Josko Gvardiol (£6.0m) and Rico Lewis (£4.7m) in one fell swoop in Man City's 2-1 win over Brentford. Gvardiol’s run of 13 straight starts came to an end as he replaced Lewis at half-time, and the Croat is now the most-sold defender in the Gameweek, already being moved on by 112,000+ managers.
Meanwhile, owners of Liverpool pair Luis Diaz (£7.7m) and Diogo Jota (£7.6m) were put on alert after they were both withdrawn around the hour-mark while their match against Nottingham Forest was still goalless.
Think twice over Liverpool attacking double-up
Liverpool’s opening run of three straight wins under Arne Slot is reflected in the midfielder ownerships in Fantasy, with Mohamed Salah (£12.7m), Diaz and Jota all among the seven most-selected. However, the Reds’ 1-0 home loss to Nottingham Forest has perhaps raised questions over whether it is a good idea to own TWO of their attackers.
Liverpool created just a single big chance on Saturday, with head coach Arne Slot admitting the visitors’ tactics posed him a new problem.
"This is a different game than the ones we’ve played until now because we faced a low block," he said. "The team we faced played really low and as a result of that we had a lot of ball possession but we were not able to create a lot.”
Target the Everton and Southampton defences
A quick glance at the underlying statistics shows just why Everton and Southampton are rooted to the bottom of the table without a single point between them. They have each conceded a league-high 18 big chances, which is also more than any side at this point last season.
The Toffees' defensive record could be great news for Leicester City's Jamie Vardy (£5.6m), who faces them at King Power Stadium in Gameweek 5 this weekend.
Indeed, Everton have conceded a double-figure haul to an opposition attacker in all four of their matches, with Danny Welbeck (£5.7m), Son Heung-min (£10.0m), Luis Sinisterra (£5.0m) and Ollie Watkins (£8.9m) the successful players.
Southampton’s poor displays lift the appeal of investing in AFC Bournemouth and Arsenal assets when they face Saints in Gameweeks 6-7, particularly for those who are planning to use their Wildcard chip in Gameweek 6.
Watkins is BACK
Over the opening three Gameweeks of the season, Watkins averaged just 60.33 minutes per match. In Gameweek 4, the forward played 82 minutes, scoring two goals and registering all three bonus points.
Watkins is finding form at the right time for an attractive run of fixtures. The forward ranks fourth among forwards for shots on goal by forwards this season, with 10. He is also tied first with Erling Haaland (£15.2m) for big chances, with eight. Watkins plays Wolves at home in Gameweek 5.
Mateta has penalty duties
Jean-Philippe Mateta (£7.4m) shone in Gameweek 4, despite some concerns over his minutes following the signing of Eddie Nketiah (£5.9m). Mateta and Nketiah both started against Leicester, with the former scoring his first and second goals of the season.
Significantly, Mateta took the penalty that earned Palace a point, despite many FPL managers believing that Eberechi Eze (£6.9m) would be on penalty duties this season.
After the match, Crystal Palace head coach Oliver Glasner said: “It’s [Mateta] and Eberechi. We always talk about it before the game. We say, ‘You two are the two deliverers and then you decide on the pitch, who feels better’. It was their responsibility but I trust them both. We do it sometimes in training and they always have good finishes."
Barnes outshining Gordon
Newcastle United winger Harvey Barnes (£6.4m) has now registered an attacking return in each of his last three Premier League matches. The midfielder came on at half-time to replace the injured Alexander Isak (£8.4m).
Barnes is currently a big differential, owned by only 1.1 per cent of managers, and he could be a great budget enabler for managers looking to invest in multiple premium stars.
By comparison, his team-mate Anthony Gordon (£7.4m) is owned by 16.3 per cent of managers and is £1.0m more expensive than Barnes but has blanked in three of his four matches this season.
Barnes has an Expected Goals (xG) tally of 1.60 this season, compared with the 0.67 for Gordon. This means Barnes has had better-quality chances and is expected to have scored more goals than Gordon so far this season.
Chelsea midfield minefield
Chelsea midfielders continued to be rotated in Gameweek 4. This makes them difficult to invest in, as it is hard to know how many minutes they will play, especially with the imminent start of the UEFA Conference League.
| Season | Starts | Mins played | Attacking returns |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cole Palmer | 4 | 382 | 5 |
| Noni Madueke | 3 | 231 | 3 |
| Pedro Neto | 2 | 182 | 1 |
| Christopher Nkunku | 1 | 105 | 1 |
| Joao Felix | 0 | 100 | 1 |
| Jadon Sancho | 0 | 45 | 1 |
Christopher Nkunku (£6.2m) and Jadon Sancho (£6.3m) came off the bench to combine for Chelsea's winner against Bournemouth in Gameweek 4.
However, if security of starts is important to FPL managers, the Blues' midfield could be an avoid, despite Chelsea scoring eight goals in their last three matches.
Forest's defensive solidity
Nott'm Forest kept their second clean sheet of the season at Liverpool in Gameweek 4. Defenders Ola Aina (£4.4m) and Nikola Milenkovic (£4.5m) are looking like good defensive picks ahead of a nice run of fixtures, having started every match so far.
Neco Williams (£4.5m) did not start in Gameweek 4 but is joint-second for shots among defenders this season, with seven.
Only Liverpool, Man City and Spurs have conceded fewer on target shots than Forest so far. In addition, only Man City, with four, have conceded fewer big chances than Forest's six.
Eye-catching budget midfielders
Budget midfielders are important in balancing an FPL squad. These are midfielders generally priced at £6.0m or below who are attractive picks but also enable managers to afford more of the expensive assets. In Gameweek 4 there were a number of standout budget midfielders.
Manchester United's Amad (£5.0m) once again started instead of Alejandro Garnacho (£6.4m), and he picked up his second attacking return of the season with an assist against Southampton. He has created 10 chances this season, five more than any team-mate.
Everton's Dwight McNeil (£5.4m) has now returned 18 points across his last two matches. The midfielder registered 12 points in Gameweek 12, producing a goal, an assist and two bonus points. McNeil's 17 chances created are 11 more than the next-best player at Everton.
Despite not getting an attacking return yet, Southampton's Tyler Dibling (£4.5m) is also one to watch. The midfielder would have earned an FPL assist had Cameron Archer (£5.0m) converted Southampton's penalty against Man Utd. Dibling has created four chances and had three shots this season, and at £4.5m is one of the cheapest starting midfielders in the game.
