As I sit here today writing this we sit 8 games into another exciting season in the premier league, Jose seems to be having his customary 3rd year fall out with his employer, Salah is struggling to live up to the hype of last year and perhaps most surprisingly AFC Bournemouth occupy 6th in the table.
It has certainly been a rollercoaster of a start for Howe’s men with 3 or more goals scored in 7 out of 9 games in all competitions (those other 2 both being 2-0), including 3 results with 4 goals from one team. There is certainly a lot to be excited about from a fantasy pl point of view, but whom to look at with your ever tightening budget
- Ryan Fraser – £6.0m
As predicted in my earlier article on AFCB differentials the “Wee man” has come out flying this season with 3 goals, 3 assists, 2 clean sheets and 7 bonus points, or in other words 6 points per game. He has really been a key component of the good start, playing a lot further forward than in the past, often working in a front 3 or 4 with King and Wilson.
I can’t see anything in the near future that is going to stop him and he will be one of the first names on the team sheet!
- Callum Wilson – £6.4m
There was a big debate pre-season on Wilson or King, certainly I was asked that more than any other question in the build up. I was pro-Wilson then and I am still very much in that camp, even if I did bench him vs Watford!
The key strength of this argument for me comes down to the assists portion of the points, Wilson has 7 assists, King has 1. I think King may continue to score 1 or 2 more than Wilson due to set piece duties but Wilson will not be a million miles behind with far more assists due to his natural game.
Wilson will often be seen holding up the ball before laying it off to a teammate then following it in should it rebound. King is more of a self-creator with a moment of personal magic.
- David Brooks – £5.0m
Must say I am surprised with this one, no one, myself included predicted him to continue his form from my last article. He has not only done this but added 2 goals to his tally and a few glistening performances for Wales, including an absolutely filthy outside of the foot assist which is well worth searching for if you haven’t seen it!
Much like Fraser he has been playing alongside Wilson and King in a 3/4 often providing through balls and mopping up outside the box. From what I have seen this boy will be a star, but I can see his game time tailing off should he fall from form.
- Junior Stanislas – £6.0m
A very interesting punt if you are looking for a cheap differential, he has proven to be a big favorite of Eddie’s in the past few seasons and has only been game time restricted due to an injury that kept him out of pre-season. Before the break he seemed to be on the cusp of a return to the starting XI, if that is the case I can see Brooks making way.
Stanislas makes for an interesting choice as when on the pitch he will take all our agressive set pieces giving options for plenty of assists and corners. Not to mention he has a great long shot on him.
May be worth waiting a week to see if he starts vs Saints to see if he is worth a long term slot however.
Worth noting to all FPL managers that 6 of our next 12 games are rated 4 or 5 on the difficulty scale with trips to Spurs, United and City all on the list. If we keep up the momentum however I can see some unexpected rewards in the future.