Fantasy Premier League Gameweek 5 - The Wildcard Special

Siddhant Lazar
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Club football has taken a 13 odd day-break for international football, which is never good news when it comes to your FPL teams. But, this time might prove to be the exception to the rule with no major injuries to any FPL players, but given the fixtures that lie ahead, it's time for your wildcard!!

The Must-haves

Teemu Pukki

If you haven’t yet jumped on the Pukki plane or train, then now is the time. At 7m he represents a drop in the bucket and if you haven’t watched TIFO’s video on why he scores so much, then go and do so. It’s the perfect offensive solution to the Premier League and while it may not always work, Pukki has proven that he needs just one chance.

One minuscule chance to shatter Liverpool, Chelsea, and Newcastle hearts ever so brilliantly, but like most things, his luck will eventually run out. That hasn’t shown any sign of happening right now, with Pukki’s only fault against West Ham, the fact that the Hammers dominated that game. Not via possession stats but everywhere else.

That changes a lot for Pukki and while playing the wildcard and bringing him in now does mean a Manchester City clash, it’s more than worth it with the fixtures after that. Fixtures that just happen to include Burnley, Crystal Palace, Aston Villa and Bournemouth.

Son Heung-Min

We all know what Son can do, and he does it exceptionally well even for a Tottenham player. So far, in his career as a Premier League player, the South Korean has not hit double figures for goals just once in his debut season. Since then, he’s managed a decent total of 14, 12, 12 and this doesn’t even include his assists.

It’s impressive for a Tottenham player, and there’s a reason why the word Tottenham keeps appearing. Spurs, at the moment, aren’t in the best run of form but are slowly getting there. Their fixtures haven’t been kind to them facing Newcastle United, Arsenal and Manchester City all in one straight go.

But if there is one positive that Tottenham can take from the North London derby, it’s the fact that Son was their best player by some margin. Christian Eriksen may have had a great 20 minutes, but Son was by far their best attacker and looks like he might score a bag full of goals.

The Maybes

Emiliano Buendia

A questionable choice he is, but hear us out. Norwich City do not care that they are in the Premier League, because defending has never been their greatest skill. What has been their greatest skill especially under Daniel Farke is their offensive movements and transitions. That transition from defence to offence is simply wonderful to watch.

And at the heart of everything, just happens to be Emiliano Buendia. The Argentine is brilliant to watch with the ball and ranks 5 for creativity according to the Fantasy Premier league’s official website. That’s only behind Kevin De Bruyne, Manuel Lanzini, James Maddison, and Trent Alexander-Arnold. But ahead of Paul Pogba, Gylfi Sigurdsson, Riyad Mahrez and so many more. It shows just how good he has been with an average of 2.5 key passes per game. That combined with his price (6m) and his expected shots (1) makes him an interesting pick.

Alexandre Lacazette

Two goals in his first two starts, not bad results for someone who walked into the season injured. And while Arsenal’s defence might be a troublesome area, you cannot say the same about their offence, or so you hope. Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang already has three goals to his name, but at 11m he’s too expensive. That leaves Nicolas Pepe and Alexandre Lacazette, but once again the Ivorian is not a regular star for the Gunners yet, which makes him a questionable choice right now.

Lacazette, on the other hand, is priced at a reasonable 9.4m, which does allow us to bring in a third of Salah or Mane alongside the natural Manchester City pair. Add to the fact that the Frenchman does lead the Gunners for shots-per 90 and XG per 90 is the and is behind only Aubameyang and Nicolas Pepe for XG (expected goals).

It’s pretty impressive for someone who has played less than 150 minutes so far.

The Questionables

Callum Wilson

Gameweek 4 saw Wilson (not Harry) open his account for the 2019/20 season and it was a brilliantly taken dink over Leicester City. While they did eventually lose the game, Wilson was very very bright and looked like he might net a few more goals. That did not happen and yet given Bournemouth’s next few fixtures, it makes him a very interesting choice.

They face Everton, Southampton, West Ham and Arsenal. The expected goals against each side are as follows; 4.23 for Everton, 3.79 for Southampton, 7.29 for West Ham and 3.83 for Arsenal. Now, this is just based on pure stats, but if Wilson keeps moving and playing like he does, then he will get goals against teams that simply cannot defend.

And then there is his XG, which just happens to be 1.53. That's higher than Josh King, Harry Wilson and any other Bournemouth player you could think of. Then there is his key passes per 90 and that sits at 2.35 and once again that's higher than any Cherries star. The only problem with the latter is the fact that his expected assists per 90 is at 0.58.

Daniel James

Daniel James is having one helluva start in his debut season for Manchester United. Three goals in four games and that’s downright fantastic because it means he’s scored as many goals as Alexis Sanchez has for the club. But as a fantasy asset, the Welshman isn’t half bad either. So far he has 21 points, which is the most for any Red Devil.

It’s at an average of 8 points a game, which once again isn’t that bad and he has an XG of 1.07. That plus the fact that James does take more shots than any other Red Devil barring Marcus Rashford does say a lot. That plus the fact that James loves getting inside the box before scoring and his resurgence since Ole Gunnar Solskjaer moved him out left, makes him a tidy option.

The only downfall? It’s Manchester United, and they are not in the best form right now. So far the Red Devils have managed just one win out of four games, and that was their very first game. It might change as the season progresses, but it does make James a questionable choice.

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