Erling Haaland (£15.3m) registered his first blank of the season in Gameweek 6 as Manchester City dropped points again in a 1-1 draw against Newcastle United.
But that wasn’t the main talking point of the gameweek (Bournemouth face Southampton on Monday; kick-off 8pm BST/3pm ET), with Cole Palmer’s (£10.7m) four-goal haul handing the Chelsea man a monstrous 25-point haul.
Elsewhere, Manchester United’s Bruno Fernandes (£8.2m) saw red after a tackle on James Maddison (£7.5m) to pile further misery on his owners.
As ever, here are the main talking points from the weekend’s action from an FPL perspective.
Should you rip up your team to sign Palmer?
Palmer’s 25-point haul was the biggest of the season and it was a stark reminder as to why Fantasy Premier League gave him a record £5.5m price hike at the start of this season.
We mentioned the merits of Chelsea assets last week and there is no doubt that plenty of FPL managers will be scrambling to bring the 22-year-old in.
Whether you should or not depends on your team and I don’t think he is essential based on his Gameweek 6 performance. Because of his price, Palmer isn’t easy to get to and you will likely be removing a premium asset like Bukayo Saka (£10.1m), for example, or using multiple transfers and downgrading from another position.
Chelsea’s fixtures are decent from an attacking point of view, but they do still play Liverpool (A) and Arsenal (H) in their next five.
Therefore, I wouldn’t advise ripping up your team for Palmer and another window to bring him in would be Gameweek 12 when Chelsea’s fixtures get better.
| Team | GW7 | GW8 | GW9 | GW10 | GW11 | GW12 | GW13 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Chelsea
|
Nott. Forest (H)
|
Liverpool (A)
|
Newcastle (H)
|
Man. United (A)
|
Arsenal (H)
|
Leicester (A)
|
Aston Villa (H)
|
It’s important not to make a knee-jerk reaction after a big haul from a player. Next week, it could be the one that you own.
If you somehow have money in the bank or an easy route to Palmer via free transfers, or even a -4, then he’s fine to bring in, however. But this also depends on the player(s) you are taking out.
Palmer and Nicolas Jackson (£7.8m) are still the only two Chelsea attackers I would look at.
Bryan Mbeumo is now a must-own
Brentford made history on Saturday as they became the first team to score in the opening minute in three consecutive Premier League games.
It was that man Bryan Mbeumo (£7.4m) who got on the scoresheet. If you don’t own him yet, he should be the first one on your priority list. He is cheap, certain to start, and on penalties.
Brentford’s fixtures for the long-term are great, too, and Mbeumo really is a gift at his price. His ownership is still relatively low (21 per cent), so there is still time to catch him before he becomes a template pick.
Another Brentford player who looks like he could provide great value is Fabio Carvalho (£4.8m). He has been impressive lately and managed to win himself a place in the starting XI after scoring a goal and creating two assists against Leyton Orient in the Carabao Cup.
He has played 87 and 85 minutes in the last two league games, registering an assist in Brentford’s 1-1 draw with West Ham on Saturday.
Carvalho can act as a great eighth attacker and enabler, especially for those looking to wildcard now or in the next few weeks.
Who to bring in to replace Bruno Fernandes
Manchester United’s season went from bad to worse in Gameweek 6. Fernandes was sent off for a late lunge on Maddison as Erik ten Hag’s men lost 3-0 to Tottenham Hotspur at Old Trafford.
The Portuguese midfielder will now miss his side’s next three league games against Aston Villa, Brentford and West Ham. Keep an eye on this, though, as if United appeal the decision and are successful, this could change.
Needless to say, if you own Fernandes, he is an easy sell — but all may not be lost for owners because if you have a few transfers saved up or can do it with just a -4, then he could be your route to Palmer.
If you don’t fancy taking a hit, there are some really good direct replacements.
My preference, in order, would be Mbeumo, Jarrod Bowen (£7.4m), Brennan Johnson (£6.4m) or Gabriel Martinelli (£6.9m).
In the same game, Spurs’ Son Heung-min (£10.0m) missed out through injury. Ange Postecoglou revealed post-match that Son “just wasn’t right for today”, so chances are he will be back next gameweek.
If you own the South Korean, hang tight with him as we should get another update on Thursday when Spurs take on Ferencvaros in the Europa League.
Dwight McNeil emerges as a budget option
He was going a bit under the radar this season. Even before his brace against Crystal Palace, McNeil (£5.5m) had one goal and two assists and was putting up some great underlying numbers for Everton — he has created the most chances (21) in the league and also has the highest expected assists at 2.78. The 24-year-old is also on set pieces.
What makes him even more interesting as an option is he has played as his team’s No 10 in the last four league games as opposed to his regular position on the left, so it’s no surprise he is getting more chances in front of goal.
Furthermore, Everton’s fixtures long-term look great (after hosting Newcastle in Gameweek 7, they face Ipswich Town, Fulham and Southampton), so McNeil provides a good budget option as your fifth midfielder.
He has played 90 minutes in every league game, so is one of Sean Dyche’s most nailed-on attackers. Although Everton don’t score a lot, McNeil will be involved in a lot of their goals.
(Top photo: Glyn Kirk/AFP via Getty Images)
