It is fair to say that the last few weeks in the FPL world haven’t gone to plan, with some big names failing to live up to their price tag.
Gameweek 7 was always identified as a significant moment in the campaign, with fixtures starting to ease for the likes of Chelsea.
In contrast, Manchester United’s fixtures are about to get a little tougher, and it seems like the right time to make some changes.
In GWK6, we scored 43 points, which is somewhat disappointing, but we can blame Bruno Fernandes for missing a penalty in the final minute. Luke Shaw, Trent Alexander-Arnold, Adama Traore all scored one point, while Ferran Torres failed to register.
Last week, we mentioned a potential wildcard, and from GWK8, that is the plan.
However, City’s fixture against Liverpool and the upcoming international break means we are going to play it safe and only take a -4 hit this week.
Our transfer plans are to remove Fernandes – as it’s highly likely, he will be taken off penalties, while United’s fixtures are about to take a turn for the worse.
That means we can save some money in the final third and bring in Romelu Lukaku.
So without further ado, we bring you are our team for Gameweek 7.
Goalkeeper – Robert Sanchez
Brighton face a tricky fixture as Arsenal travel to the AMEX Stadium. Sanchez failed to keep a clean sheet yet again on Monday night, but Palace were pretty wasteful, and Patrick Vieira’s side were only able to score from the spot.
Even if Arsenal do score, there’s every chance they will test Sanchez on a number of occasions, meaning he could rack up several save points.
Defenders – Trent Alexander-Arnold, Luke Shaw, Nelson Semedo, Ben White
TAA let us down last week with just one point, but it’s always a risky strategy to leave him out. Liverpool might concede against Man City, but the ceiling is always high for Alexander-Arnold, who can bag an assist or a goal with relative ease.
Even though Shaw came off injured against Aston Villa, he is classed as having a 75 per cent chance of playing against Everton at the time of writing. We are more than happy to give him the benefit of the doubt for one more week before United’s fixtures become much tougher.
Semedo got a clean sheet last week and will face a Newcastle United side who are without a win this campaign. Ben White was close to following suit, and Arsenal’s form seems to be on the up.
Midfielders – Mohamed Salah, Adama Traore, Raphinha, Ismaila Sarr
Salah scored his 57th point of the season last weekend and has so far only failed to score more than three points on one occasion.
The Egypt international has reached double figures three times and continues to be a mainstay in our team, and is likely to do so until the end of time.
Traore started Wolves’ last game on the bench, but he continues to impress when given a chance. Against a fragile Newcastle defence, he can cause a plethora of problems.
Raphinha scored and hit the post against West Ham, and he currently offers incredible value as Leeds face Watford at Elland Road. The Brazilian is set to head off on international duty for the first time, and he is 19/10 to leave on a high by scoring anytime.
Ismaila Sarr has scored in two successive matches and he comes into our team as a “one-week wonder”. Leeds’ defence has still got injuries to contend with, so Sarr can add to his tally for the campaign.
Strikers – Michail Antonio and Romelu Lukaku
Antonio’s eight points against the Whites means he now has 47 for the season and he continues to reward managers with his consistent performances.
With Brentford up next, West Ham will fancy their chances of scoring a few goals. Last but not least, we have Lukaku, who has gone two matches without scoring.
There should be no panicking though, as Lukaku faces Southampton next up, and FPL players will get plenty of longevity out of the pick as Chelsea also play Brentford, Norwich, Newcastle, Burnley and Leicester in the coming weeks.
The Belgian is 17/5 to score two or more and Chelsea should be able to find the net against the Saints, having scored four goals against them during the previous two fixtures.
Captain – Romelu Lukaku
*All odds correct at time of writing.