As we progress through the season, fixture runs for some clubs will become interesting for us FPL managers when they turn favourable, while the opposite may be true if they start to look more difficult.
Each week, I’ll take a look at a club who is coming in to good fixtures and may therefore offer up some FPL options for managers to consider when making their transfers.
Though Arsenal started off their good opening run with a decent result in a tricky fixture against Crystal Palace, with Gameweek 1 out of the way things are looking a bit brighter for some clubs.
Advert
And who is brighter than Brighton?
An unexpected (for some) first ever victory away at Old Trafford for the Seagulls has meant they’re off to a flying start, and their fixtures with that (on paper) tough game out of the way have suddenly become rosier: they don’t face another side in last season’s top 6 until Liverpool and Spurs in quick succession in Gameweeks 9-10.
Here’s a trio of potential options from the South Coast club who may enter your thinking if you’re looking to switch in to some juicy matchups:
Lewis Dunk, £4.5m
When the prices came out, I was surprised that the big central defender wasn’t £5.0m. Dunk is a solid long term Premier League performer who won’t exactly pull up trees but should net you around 120-130 per season through a mixture of clean sheets and some attacking threat – he scored 5 goals a couple of years back.
Advert
At £4.5m, that’s great value. He could also be a great enabler to stick in your side week in, week out for a few weeks if you’re looking to scrimp and save to afford more expensive picks elsewhere – for example, if you need £0.5m to turn a Pedro Neto (£5.5m) into a Gabriel Martinelli (£6.0m) he could be a legitimate candidate to pick if you were downgrading a £5.0m defender.
Pascal Gross, £5.5m
Safe to say no-one was tracking the Brighton midfielder preseason, but a couple of conversions at the back post against Man United means that many are now interested in the German as an alternative to the likes of Neto.
Advert
He’s got a reasonable FPL history, and scored 164 points in his first ever season in the Premier League back in 2017/18.
But maybe it’s just that he’s got a vendetta against the Red Devils? He’s astonishingly now got 7 career goals against them.
It’s a watch, wait and see if he can keep it going for me – although if you are desperate for cash I can see why you might want to go for him.
Danny Welbeck, £6.5m
An assist against his old club in the first week and an all action display from the former England international showed that he’s been able to carry on his high-level performances from last season into this one.
Advert
In the final 10 Gameweeks of last campaign, he managed 50 points (5.9 points per start) which saw him 4th for all forwards across that time frame.
Albeit it’s early doors, but with good fixtures he might be one to consider – although Fulham’s Aleksander Mitrovic at the same price would probably be grabbing attention from him.
Each gameweek, Tom from Who Got The Assist? FPL podcast will be bringing you tips, transfer recommendations and all the advice you need to win your mini league.
Featured Image Credit: AlamyTopics: Fantasy Football, Fantasy Premier League, Brighton And Hove Albion, Manchester United, Erik Ten Hag
