Last updated on August 31st, 2023
Who should be your priority players for the next Gameweek, position by position
Written by Keiran Trotter (@fpl_del)
Week 3 Review
Picking clean sheets feels like a bit of a lottery at the minute. City was 0-1 up away to Sheffield United and coasting to victory until Kyle Walker decided to spice things up a bit. Bang goes the 6-pointer for my goalkeeping pick of week 3, Ederson! Elsewhere we had better luck. Ben Chilwell delivered a clean sheet for us but was disappointing not to have an attempt or create a chance.
Midfield pick of the week Bruno Fernandes (£8.5m) delivered a goal and an assist plus 3 Bonus points for a 12-point haul finishing as the T3 highest-scoring Midfielder. Only Sterling (£7.1m) with 2 goals and an assist and Leon Bailey (£5.5m) with a goal, an assist and a clean sheet (just as he was subbed in the 60th minute) bested Fernandes.
Nicolas Jackson (£7.1m) bagged his first Premier League goal for Chelsea and a bonus point as he notched 7 points for a T2 rank in the forward of the week. Only Darwin Nunez (£7.3m) topped him with his late double to sink Newcastle, so in total, I managed a very respectable 27 points from 4 players with last week’s picks. Unfortunately for me, none of those players were in my lineup as my entire team managed a paltry 36 points in total, with my 2 new players Mbeumo and March only managing 4 points between them.
Goalkeepers
I’ve been burned 2 weeks in a row now by Premium keepers conceding against ‘lesser’ opposition with Alisson in gameweek 2 vs Bournemouth and Ederson last week against Sheffield United, but honestly, I think I’m going to go there again.
Manchester City are the bookies favourites for a clean sheet again this week at 51% at home to Fulham. Fulham rank 4th worst for expected goals behind only Sheffield United, Burnley and Luton who have only played twice.
Chelsea are second favourites for a clean sheet with a 45% chance at home to Forest but Forest have already scored 3 times away from home this season with 1 at Arsenal and 2 at United so I am less keen on Sanchez.
Brentford are the only other team I would consider a good option for a clean sheet playing home to Bournemouth but as we saw against Liverpool, Bournemouth are more than capable away from home and should have scored more than once.
So I’m not going to overthink it this week, for the second week in a row, Ederson (£5.6m) of Manchester City is my Goalkeeping choice of the week.
Defenders
Matty Cash (£4.6m) was someone I had my eye on in pre-season this year and came into my thoughts this week after he delivered in gameweek 3 with a stunning brace. However, with Villa visiting Liverpool on Sunday I think there is less chance of a clean sheet for him and with Liverpool’s threat down the left he’s likely to be pushed back more.
Likewise, Pervis Estupinan (£5.3m) has been a fixture in this section so far but with Brighton looking less secure at the back and hosting Newcastle this week, I’m going to opt against him this week.
Having identified the teams that are most likely to keep a clean sheet in the goalkeeping section, I’m going to look to those teams for defenders with good attacking threat. Rico Henry (£4.6m) has looked good at Brentford so far delivering an assist and a clean sheet in 3 games. Facing Bournemouth he should get plenty of opportunities to attack and stands a solid chance of a clean sheet.
As a Spurs fan, I’ve been mightily impressed with Destiny Udogie (£4.6m) so far. He’s slotted in seamlessly at left-back and is getting in as many attacking situations as I saw any wingback do under Conte last season. He’s already logged an assist and a clean sheet and with a trip to Burnley this gameweek, should be looking to add to that tally.
Kyle Walker (£5.1m) has played every minute of City’s season so far and whilst he’s yet to log an attacking return, there is talk of him playing in a more advanced role for City. That said, he was at fault for them not making it 3 clean sheets out of 3 last week and Pep may use that as ammunition to implement some rotation with Rico Lewis (£4.5m) possibly deputising for him.
So that brings us to last week’s defender of the week choice, Ben Chilwell (£5.8m) who will again be my choice this week. On one hand, it’s not the most adventurous pick, but at least it proves what a good option he was to get in last week. He’s logged an assist so far and only Estupinan and Walker have had more touches in the opponent half, as defenders, in the first 3 games, proving how far forward he’s playing. With Chelsea hosting Forest he’ll have plenty of opportunities again and with Chelsea 2nd favourites for a clean sheet he’s another solid choice for me this week.
Midfielders
Midfielders are proving to be the key part of managers squads this season with so many top performers at affordable prices and the serious premiums not yet hitting the ground running.
Raheem Sterling (£7.2m) joined the party with 2 goals and an assist for Chelsea last weekend but whilst he has looked more at home under Pochettino, I want to see more consistency from him before he becomes a recommendation.
Brian Mbeumo (£6.8m) currently sits 2nd for expected goal involvements with 3.81. He already has 3 goals, is on penalties for Brentford and has the most big chances (4) of any midfielder this season. A home tie against Bournemouth should afford him some more big chances.
Bruno Fernandes (£8.5m) tops the expected goal involvement charts with 3.89 and he logged his first goal and assist last weekend. He’s had 3 big chances so far this season and created another 4 more for his teammates. A trip away to Arsenal will be a severe test for a United side that hasn’t quite got going yet.
James Maddison (£7.7m) has made an excellent start to his Spurs career. He added a goal last weekend to the 2 assists he has already logged moving him up to 4th on the expected goal involvement list with 2.89. With Spurs away at Burnley who have conceded 6 in 2 so far, you’d expect Spurs to be scoring and Maddison to be at the centre of any goals they do score.
I’m going to go a bit leftfield with my pick this week, but there is definitely evidence to back it up. Jarrod Bowen (£7.0m) already has 2 goals and an assist to his name and West Ham look much improved this season. They travel to Luton this gameweek who have already shipped 7 goals in 2 matches and look to be the team to target this season for attacking returns. So my Midfield pick of the Week is Jarrod Bowen from West Ham.
Forwards (minus Haaland)
Last week’s forward pick of the week Nicolas Jackson (£7.1m) got off the mark with his first goal for Chelsea and with a tie at home to Forest he comes into contention again this week. He’s 2nd behind only Haaland for expected goals this season and T1 with Haaland for big chances with 5 so the opportunities are there for him and his first goal last week should give him the confidence to kick on.
Yoane Wissa (£6.2) is proving a useful partner for Brian Mbeumo and has 2 goals already from an expected goals tally of 1.98 (ranked 3rd overall). He’s had 3 big chances and 12 attempts in total (also ranked 3rd overall). Hosting Bournemouth should give him opportunities to add to that tally.
Like Midfielder pick of the Week Jarrod Bowen, Michail Antonio (£6.0m) has the plum tie of the week with a trip to Luton. He already has 2 goals to his name although they came from an expected goals tally of only 0.87 (only 1 big chance) so that is a slight worry. As is the arrival of Mohammed Kudus (£6.5m) who, whilst registered as a Midfielder, may play through the middle and reduce Antonio’s minutes.
My forward pick of the week is going to Julian Alvarez (£6.6m). Whilst playing slightly behind Haaland, he already has a goal and an assist to his name and is 4th overall for expected goal involvements. He’s only had 1 big chance but I’m expecting that to change this week, with a home tie against a Fulham side who have struggled so far conceding 5 from 3 with an expected goals conceded rank of worst in the league at 9.85
Picks of the Week
Ederson (Manchester City GK £5.6m)
Ben Chilwell (Chelsea DF £5.8m)
Jarrod Bowen (West Ham United MF £7.0m)
Julian Alvarez (Manchester City FW £6.6m)
Best of luck for the week ahead and I’ll see you next week for another review and set of Picks of the Week.
