Last updated on September 30th, 2021
By Matthew Petersen @Matt_Petersen13
Gameweek 6 of the 2021/2022 premier league season saw one of the games of the season so far as new boys Brentford and title challengers Liverpool played out to an exciting 3-3 draw. Chelsea and Man City played out a hard-fought game which City edged 1-0 to leave both sides on 13 points. Despite their contrasting starts to the season, Arsenal and Spurs now find themselves level on points after Arsenal won 3-1 in the first North London derby of the season. United suffered a 1-0 home defeat to Aston Villa after Bruno Fernandes’ missed penalty in stoppage time. On the FPL front, a gameweek average of 43 saw the lowest of the season so far with a lot of big names failing to score considerable points. Of my picks last week, only Sarr and Saint-Maximin returned points so I will be hoping this weeks’ picks improve on that. As more FPLmanagers deal with injuries, wildcards are becoming more viable and hopefully, my picks help with some managers’ decisions.
Gameweek 6 top 3 performers:
1. Kourtney Hause – 15 points (1 goal, clean sheet, 3BPS)
2. Jose Sa – 14 points (clean sheet, 1 assist, 6 saves, 3BPS)
3. Bukayo Saka – 13 points (1 goal, 1 assist, 3BPS)
Let’s take a look at the 6 picks for gameweek 7, reviewing their performance from gameweek 6 and their scoring potential for gameweek 7.
1. Antonio Rüdiger – £5.7m (DEF); 14.8% ownership
GW6 review – 1 point (90 minutes, yellow card)
GW7 preview – Southampton (H)
Despite their loss against Man City last week, Chelsea still boasts the second-best defence in the league, only conceding one goal against Liverpool and Man City respectively. The German has been a mainstay at the heart of their defence and Chelsea will be hoping to bounce back against a toothless Southampton attack, still lacking goals following the departure of Danny Ings. Rüdiger also has a serious threat from set-pieces which means he has an opportunity to return points on either end of the pitch. Chelsea’s favourable fixtures also means Rüdiger could be an excellent long-term pick.
2. Saïd Benrahma – £6.6m (MID); 36.5% ownership
GW6 review – 3 points (90 minutes, clean sheet)
GW7 preview – Brentford (H)
West Ham’s co-star this season alongside Michail Antonio (£8.0m). The Algerian winger has shown his Premier League credentials and has delivered with three goals and two assists in six games already this season. An intriguing personal encounter for him against his old side, Brentford, could give him an opportunity to show the Bees what they’ve been missing out on. The connection he has formed with Antonio, Jarrod Bowen (£6.3m) and Pablo Fornals (£6.0m) has been good this season and the Brentford defence would need to be on high alert to deal with them.
3. Chris Wood – £6.8m (FOR); 1.5% ownership
GW6 review – 2 points (90 minutes)
GW7 preview – Norwich (H)
This selection is not so much about Burnley and Wood being an incredible attacking threat, rather because the Norwich defence have been so poor this season. FPL managers would do well to target games against Norwich. For the last few PL seasons, Wood has been Burnley’s main attacking outlet and his physicality and size could cause serious problems for Norwich. He had a last-minute winner ruled out against Leicester for a tight offside call so he is getting into the right areas and this week presents a great chance for him to get his second goal of the season.
4. Bukayo Saka – £6.2m (MID); 8.4% ownership
GW6 review – performance noted under top 3 performers
GW7 preview – Brighton (A)
Arsenal have greatly improved and this is largely due to Mikel Arteta being able to name a consistent lineup for the last few gameweeks. Key to that has been the presence of Saka back in the starting lineup. He, along with Emile Smith Rowe (£5.3m) and Martin Ǿdegaard (£5.5m), have formed a formidable attacking midfield trio and that was shown in an impressive performance against Spurs last week. On the back of this good run of form, Arsenal will be hoping to get a result against an impressive Brighton team this season. They will be hoping to go on a good run in the next few weeks with some good fixtures ahead.
5. Danny Ings – £7.9m (FOR); 18.2% ownership
GW6 review – 2 points (77 minutes)
GW7 preview – Tottenham Hotspur (A)
Aston Villa have had a mixed season so far with impressive results against Everton and Manchester United amongst losses against Watford and Chelsea. Ings has added quality to Villa’s attack and has two goals and two assists in his first six games for his new side. Spurs’ defence has looked a shadow of the solid one that started this season and on the back of three consecutive losses, Ings and Villa could take advantage of Spurs while they’re still vulnerable.
6. Nelson Semedo – £4.9m (DEF); 3.6% ownership
GW6 review – 6 points (86 minutes, clean sheet)
GW7 preview – Newcastle (H)
Wolves have bounced back from their slow start to the season with many of their players starting to hit their stride. Lage made a few changes and dropped some of his regular starters for the game against Southampton and it paid off. Semedo retained his spot and is always a threat as an attacking fullback. A game that looks good on paper against Newcastle, a side not looking too good defensively either, means that he could add an attacking return along with a possible clean sheet. Semedo could definitely go on a good run while Wolves have picked up form.
*Price and ownership figures as of 30 September 2021*
To have a look at the 6 picks from the GW5 review and GW6 preview, click the link below:
