First of all, we must start with an apology. Last weekend, in the gameweek six tips, we went against the grain and told you to stick with Ferran Torres for Manchester City. Pep Guardiola had our pants down once again, as the midfielder/forward didn’t even get onto the pitch at Stamford Bridge. Those frustrations were amplified by the blanks from Cristiano Ronaldo and Romelu Lukaku, while Diogo Jota did save us some points from midfield. That disappointing gameweek is in the past however, here are our tips for this weekend.
Chelsea look a safe bet
We’ve all been impressed with Chelsea’s start to the season and although they lost their first league match of the season 1-0 to Manchester City last time out, not much changes from an FPL perspective. This run of fixtures, starting with Southampton at home this gameweek and continuing until they face Manchester United in gameweek 11, is as easy as it gets in the Premier League.
For the next six weeks, we will be tripling up on Chelsea assets and suggest many other managers will be following suit. Obviously Lukaku (£11.6m) is an expensive option up top that many will be favouring over Ronaldo, but the likes of Mateo Kovacic (£5.2m) and Antonio Rudiger (£5.7m) are also handy picks.
If anything, we’d make sure we had two defenders in, plus Lukaku. Marcos Alonso (£5.9m) is a solid pick as long as he continues to get 90 minutes and this lot should see you safely over the next six weeks.
Take the Leeds risk
Similarly to Chelsea, Leeds United’s fixtures fall in their favour over the next month, although they do come with some risk. While Watford, Southampton, Wolves and Norwich are tasty opponents, their defence still cannot be trusted at this level which means we must look to the attacking positions to fill our boots.
The go-to option would be Patrick Bamford (£7.8m), but his ankle injury gives an unknown return date, although we’d consider getting him in as soon as he gets the green light. That opens the door for Rodrigo (£6.3m) to play up front, while there is another risk to be taken in Raphinha (£6.5m). He is suffering from a hip issue but could well return this weekend, and will be relied upon to provide the spark this Leeds’ team desires.
Take the risk on a couple of Leeds boys. They could provide key differentials.
Reshape that defence with Trent out
Although the attacking players have taken most of our funds this term, for many Trent Alexander-Arnold and Luke Shaw were both key pillars to have in your defence. Now, both English players have been hit with injuries, this is a great chance to relocate some of those funds, with decent alternatives available at the back.
We’ve already mentioned two Chelsea players who could provide solid returns over the next few weeks, but Man City’s Ruben Dias and Joao Cancelo are two great long-term options - albeit ones to be left alone until their fixture at Anfield has passed.
Under the radar bargain picks at this stage look to be Wolves’ Marcal at £4.6m, Pontus Jansson at the same price point and Tino Livramento at £4.2m. With premium defenders not performing quite as well as they were expected to, expect many people to go for a bargain backline and spend big on their attacks.
