The Scout on the best options to bring in for the Arsenal midfielder, who is an injury doubt for Gameweek 8

With Arsenal midfielder Bukayo Saka (£9.6m) an injury doubt for Gameweek 8 in Fantasy Premier League after limping off in the midweek 2-2 draw against Bayern Munich in the UEFA Champions League, The Scout looks at the form, fixtures and the underlying data to reveal their favourite replacements. 

Who’s in good form?

Brighton & Hove Albion‘s Pascal Gross (£6.2m) has stormed to the top of the midfielder standings thanks to a run of two goals and five assists over the last four Gameweeks.

The German’s total of 43 points is at least 13 more than any other player in his position during that spell, showing why his 45 per cent owners should be happy to start him at Liverpool this weekend.

Notably, all five of the top-scoring midfielders across Gameweeks 4-7 are priced under £6.5m in Fantasy, highlighting the great value on offer right now.

Aston Villa‘s Johan Manzambi (£6.0m) has scored or assisted in all three of his starts in this run, amassing 30 points. If he recovers from a calf injury, he is a great overlooked pick due to an ownership of just under three percent.

Top-scoring midfielders, last four Gameweeks

Player
Pts
G*
A*

Gross
43
2
5

Manzambi
30
2
2

Ayari
27
2
1

Belloumi
25
3
1

Schade
25
2
2

*G = Goals
*A = Assists
Scroll across to see the full table

Who’s had the most attacking threat recently?

You can get a better idea of each player’s potential for goals and assists by assessing their involvement in big chances, which are situations where a player is expected to score.

Fulham‘s Alex Iwobi (£5.4m) has had two big chances over the last four Gameweeks and created five more of them, which means he has been involved in seven big chances. The Nigerian has amassed 20 points over the last three Gameweeks ahead of a visit to promoted Coventry City.

Similary to Iwobi, Nottingham Forest‘s Dan Ndoye (£5.5m) and Morgan Gibbs-White (£7.9m) face a promoted opponent in Gameweek 8, visiting Ipswich Town on Friday night.

WATCH: An FPL expert reveals their favourite Saka replacements

Bryan Mbeumo’s (£7.8m) role up front for Manchester United is helping to boost his goal threat, with his four big chances and 10 shots in the box placing second. 

Chelsea‘s Cole Palmer (£9.8m) has matched the five big-chance involvements of Gross, while AFC Bournemouth Rayan (£6.3m) looks like one to watch.

While his team-mate Marcus Tavernier (£6.2m) is the most-bought midfielder in Gameweek 8, with 364,000+ transfers in, Rayan has been overlooked and can be found in under two per cent of squads.

Attacking stats, last four Gameweeks

Player
BCI*
BC*
BCC*
Shots in box

Iwobi
7
2
5
8

Ndoye
6
5
1
12

Dewsbury-Hall
6
3
3
7

Gibbs-White
6
0
6
2

Mbeumo
5
4
1
10

Gross
5
1
4
4

Palmer
5
0
5
5

Rayan
4
3
1
9

Tavernier
4
2
2
4

*BCI = Big-chance involvement
*BC = Big chances
*BCC = Big chances created
Scroll across to see the full table

Who’s had the most influence on their club’s attack?

By also factoring in each player’s involvement in their own club’s big chances, you can get a better idea of who is over or underperforming so far.

Midfielders such as Mbeumo, Manchester City‘s Rayan Cherki (£8.0m) and Chelsea’s Morgan Rogers (£8.0m) are more or less matching their underlying numbers with their output.

For example, Mbeumo has been involved in 56 per cent of Man Utd’s big chances and has been involved in 50 per cent of their goals.

Both Cherki and Rogers’ numbers for these statistics are near-identical, although the former’s lofty 28.3 per cent goal conversion is perhaps unsustainable.

In terms of the biggest underperformers, Iwobi, Palmer and Rayan are the standouts here due to the club and goal conversion numbers.

For example, Palmer has been involved in 44 per cent of Chelsea’s big chances but only 35 per cent of their goals. Furthermore, he’s converted a mere 8.7 per cent of his shots, showing he has huge room for improvement.

Rayan, meanwhile, has failed to pick up any attacking returns in 2026/27. But his 27 per cent big-chance involvement isn’t too far behind the 32 of Tavernier, showing that he is still offering a big threat.

In terms of overperformers here, Hull City‘s Mohamed Belloumi (£5.2m) and Villa’s Manzambi are worth monitoring, as their goal involvements far exceed their big-chance involvements by around 30 per cent.

Season statistics

Player
BCI*
GI*
GC*

Ndoye
69.0%
67.0%
11.8%

Mbeumo
56.0%
50.0%
16.7%

Rudoni
56.0%
40.0%
22.2%

Iwobi
47.0%
14.0%
9.0%

Neto
46.0%
31.0%
25.0%

Palmer
44.0%
35.0%
8.7%

Gibbs-White
43.0%
60.0%
8.3%

Belloumi
43.0%
71.0%
16.7%

Cherki
42.0%
43.0%
28.3%

Pino
40.0%
38.0%
12.5%

Manzambi
38.0%
67.0%
14.3%

Tavernier
32.0%
44.0%
25.0%

Gross
29.0%
41.0%
23.1%

Rogers
28.0%
29.0%
21.1%

Rayan
27.0%
0.0%
0.0%

*BCI = Big-chance involvement
*GI = Goal involvement
*GC = Goal conversion rate
Scroll across to see the full table

Who has the best fixtures?

Bringing in the Fixture Difficulty Ratings (FDR), where one is regarded as the easiest possible fixture and five the hardest, can also help refine your targets for the upcoming period.

If you’re looking in the budget bracket, Coventry’s Jack Rudoni (£4.9m) and Crystal Palace‘s Yeremy Pino (£5.5m) could offer great value, as both are featured in the table above and have kind schedules to follow.

Coventry’s average of 2.6 across the next five Gameweeks is the best of any club, with Frank Lampard’s side playing three of the current bottom eight in that spell.

Rudoni has scored twice and collected two defensive contribution points across the last three Gameweeks, totalling 18 points.

Yeremy has attacking returns (a goal or an assist) in three of his six starts this season and has scored three goals in as many matches in the UEFA Europa League. 

As you can see in the table below, Chelsea and Bournemouth – along with Coventry – also avoid all of the current top five in their next five matches.

Back-to-back visits to Liverpool and Man City in the next two Gameweeks, meanwhile, suggest there’s no harm in waiting until Gameweek 10 before making the move for Brighton’s Gross if you don’t already own him.

Schedule comparison, next five Gameweeks

Club
FDR ave.
No. of opponents in bottom eight
No. of opponents in top five

COV
2.6
3
0

CRY
2.8
2
1

CHE
3.0
4
0

BOU
3.0
3
0

AVL
3.0
3
1

FUL
3.2
2
1

MCI
3.2
2
2

 NFO
3.2
1
2

MUN
3.4
1
2

BHA
3.4
0
2

Scroll across to see the full table

So, who are the best Saka replacements?

Palmer’s individual numbers, both recently and over the season, show why we can expect a lot more from the Chelsea star.

The Blues’ upcoming schedule only adds to their appeal and having both Palmer and Rogers can earn you big points returns.

Bournemouth also have to be considered here and Tavernier is clearly the form pick, with a share of penalties making him their standout asset right now. Rayan, nonetheless, has the numbers to suggest he could also reward you with big hauls.

Villa’s schedule picks up after their home match with Man City this weekend, giving managers another week to assess Manzambi’s fitness and form.