Eight-time top 10k finisher Zophar hosts his weekly Q&A, giving his opinion on the best Arsenal defenders, Anthony Gordon (£7.4m), Brighton and Hove Albion assets and more.
You can read his Gameweek 7 team reveal here.
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Q: Thoughts on Anthony Gordon as a punt for the next five Gameweeks? Do you think he will have penalties ahead of Nick Woltemade?
(via lilmessipran)
A: Newcastle United have had a slow start to the season, at least on the goalscoring front, as they have adjusted to life without Alexander Isak (£10.6m). The Magpies currently rank in the bottom five for non-penalty expected goals (NpXG).
They looked much more fluid and cohesive in attack in Europe last night but the quality of opposition faced means that must be taken with a pinch of salt. However, we did gain some useful information yesterday. The fact that Anthony Gordon (£7.4m) took two penalties, both of them when Nick Woltemade (£7.1m) was on the pitch, would indicate that he is their first-choice taker now.
Newcastle now embark on a great run of fixtures. The Gameweek 12 matchup against Manchester City is the only one that’s in ‘red’ on the Fixture Ticker up to Gameweek 16, and even that is at St James’ Park, where you fancy the Magpies to give them a game. I think he’s a great pick and one that is very low-owned right now.
Q: Other than the obvious Yankuba Minteh, are there any other Brighton and Hove Albion players worth a shout?
(via The Knights Template)
A: Yankuba Minteh (£5.9m) has been putting up very decent underlying numbers to go with his actual goal output. He is currently ranked fifth amongst midfielders for non-penalty expected goal involvement (NPxGI, 2.59), ahead of Antoine Semenyo (£7.8m) with 2.46. He has also got consistent minutes, which is usually a concern for Brighton attackers.
Apart from him, I think the options are slim, with Kaoru Mitoma (£6.4m) the only alternative – and it’s not a great one. The Japanese international has just 1.04 NPxGI this season; that’s less than Casemiro (£5.5m) and about the same as Sandro Tonali (£5.4m).
Q: Should Jarrod Bowen come into our consideration soon? Nailed as can be and the West Ham fixtures are turning after Gameweek 7. Or is there simply just not room for him with Erling Haaland, Viktor Gyökeres and Joao Pedro all having the fixtures as well?
(via aapoman)
A: Nuno Espirito Santo’s appointment at the Hammers should see a new managerial bounce and with the Hammers ranked third on the Fixture Ticker from Gameweek 8-12, you’d expect that to come soon after the international break.
Defensive solidity has always been the hallmark of a Nuno side and while his teams score goals, they don’t score many. That being said, they usually involve a talismanic player, who has a high percentage of goal involvement, and looking at West Ham’s roster, you have to expect Jarrod Bowen (£7.7m) to be that guy.
The point you make about forward spots being competitive holds true: Erling Haaland (£14.4m), Viktor Gyokeres (£9.0m) and Joao Pedro (£7.8m) are all great options and none are really worth dropping, given their own respective fixture runs over the aforementioned Gameweek 8-12 period. Could Bowen be more talismanic than Gyokeres or Pedro, though? That’s a possibility but if he’s playing on the wing more often than not, do we know that for sure? I think it’s all a bit uncertain still.
I think Lucas Paqueta (£5.9m) offers a great midfield alternative at just £5.9m. He took all set pieces with James Ward-Prowse (£5.8m) not in favour, is on penalties and looks great for defensive contribution points (DefCon) as well, playing in the no 10 role.
Q: I’m on a Gameweek 7 Wildcard and am considering Max Kilman as a potential DefCon monster, Anthony Gordon as a punt and Alexander Isak for Liverpool coverage going forward. Thoughts?
(via Mr Wolf)
A: I don’t think I would bother with the Max Kilman (£4.4m) punt right now, as I can think of 6-7 defenders that are all better options. I think it might take some time for Nuno Espirito Santo to make the Hammers truly compact.
As mentioned in the earlier question, I think the Gordon pick is great and I would definitely look to punt there on a Wildcard.
With Isak, yes, we expect him to start against Chelsea and then perhaps against Manchester United after the international break, in Gameweek 8. However, after that, Champions League games start coming thick and fast, with an away game to Eintracht Frankfurt and a home tie against Real Madrid. Will he start all three games in a Champions League week? That’s still speculative and when you have other good nailed forward options such as Bowen, Joao Pedro, Gyokeres and Haaland, it seems more of a move to ‘cover’ Liverpool, which doesn’t feel right.
Q: For those who can’t afford Gabriel Magalhaes or William Saliba, who do you recommend out of Riccardo Calafiori, Jurrien Timber and Cristhian Mosquera? I want one Arsenal defender.
(via @FPLBilly1001)
A: I think we can eliminate Cristhian Mosquera (£5.4m) quite easily from the aforementioned trio but both the full-backs have their merits. Jurrien Timber (£5.8m) and Riccardo Calafiori (£5.7m) were both benched last night against Olympiacos and should start against West Ham.
Their backups, Miles Lewis-Skelly (£5.3m) and Ben White (£5.4m), had contrasting evenings, with the latter often at the end of a telling off from Arteta on the touchline. So, I think of the two, I would prefer Timber as it looks like White is not at the races at the moment. That should see the Dutchman be firmly first choice for a while at least. That being said, do I expect him to miss a game in the busy November/December period? Yes. Gabriel Magalhaes (£6.2m) and William Saliba (£6.0m) are still better picks and it’s the year of centre-backs with DEFCON a big factor.
Timber does have upsides. He is the rare kind of defender who has both assist threat and goal potential from set pieces. Pedro Porro (£5.6m, 10) is the only defender to create more chances than Timber (eight), while Reece James (£5.4m, three) is the only one to create more big chances than Timber’s two.
Timber is also third for shots in the box (seven) with only Calafiori and Daniel Munoz (£5.6m, eight) each faring better.
Q: How would you set up an Erling Haaland + Mohamed Salah draft?
(via @colsoen_)
A: It’s surprisingly doable to set up a squad with Gyokeres, Mohamed Salah (£14.5m) and Haaland, especially if you’ve already used your Bench Boost:
Joe Rodon (£4.0m) and Omar Alderete (£4.1m) cover for Joachim Andersen (£4.5m) and Marcos Senesi’s (£4.9m) tougher fixtures in Gameweek 8, 9 and 10.
Paqueta sets you up for the Gameweek 9 West Ham fixture swing.
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