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Hello everyone, and welcome to our full FPL Gameweek 3 review. We’ve got a couple of wider points first, FPL takeaways from every single game… and a shameful confession at the end of the piece too.
Let’s get started!
Another week, another highly transferred in player blanks.
I am not going to lie, Joe and I (James) were equally enamoured by the prospect of Cherki against Coventry.
I think the key point to take away from this (and Tzolis) is that, once again, we need to NOT OVERREACT to the first couple of games.
It’s peak FPL that a guy whose minutes we know are not secure, is bought in by over a million managers and he blanks and goes off early.
Of course, owners were somewhat unlucky that his 3 shots and 0.21 xG didn’t result in a goal, particularly as he hit the post.
And, he put Haaland through for a big chance that the Norwegian should have finished.
But, ultimately he only played two-thirds of a game and has only amassed 180 mins from 3 games without European football to contend with.
I’m gonna say it. I think he’s a bad pick going forward.
And it’s not just him. At the moment it feels like there are two guys for the left wing and number 10 position – Doku/Ndiaye, Foden/Cherki. Semenyo is probably the most nailed but also the most expensive.
Watching the highlights, I couldn’t believe this was only 1-0. Haaland looked like he should have scored at least two and maybe even three.
Of course, many of us triple captained Haaland and we are all a little disappointed about a single return. But, it’s still a return from a chip for an extra 9 points (appearance+goal+3 bonus).
Bear in mind that even the best assets in the game blank 25-35% of the time. So, a return is great.
xG: 2.12-1.37
I’ve covered Cherki and Haaland above. Here’s the rest.
I would say that Coventry looked much better than they did against Arsenal and I think City have to take some blame for that.
Anderson made 11 defensive contributions so didn’t get the points this week. However, 11 defcons against a team as bad as Coventry makes me happy – he should do better against better opposition which is basically everyone.
Enzo and Ndiaye immediately came into the side. The former was subbed after 76 mins for Bouaddi and the latter appeared to go off injured on the 87th minute. O’Reilly wasn’t even in the squad after sustaining an injury in warm up but he was supposed to start instead of Enzo.
Oh, and we were reminded for the millionth time why you should never, ever get Foden in FPL, however good he looks in a given game. Two assists last week, and benched this week. Different manager, same rotation problems.
xG: 0.75-0.69
As you can tell from the underlying numbers, Liverpool weren’t actually that good in this game. I think that is probably a result of game state.
Isak scored two goals off 0.21 xG in the first 10 minutes which meant they just didn’t need to push that much. Obviously if you have Isak you should be very happy with the result, but the fact he went off after 64 mins would worry me going forward – particularly since you are paying 9.0 for him.
Szoboszlai put up 9 defcons, 0.08 xA from two key passes and 0.16 xG from three shots. If he had stayed onside he almost certainly would have won and/or scored a penalty. So, he only got three points but I think you can still be happy with his routes to points.
Wirtz was pretty disappointing. After watching the game, I am surprised that his underlying numbers were basically the same as Szobo’s. Of course, he was nowhere near defcons. Again, game state might be the problem but I am worried about holding him right now.
At the back, Frimpong was benched with Araujo playing right-back and Jacquet/Virgil in the centre-back roles. If this continues, then Jacquet becomes very interesting at only 5.0.
xG: 0.71-1.37
With Osula injured, Joe Willock played in the 10. They signed Fernandez who I think will take that spot long term.
I really liked Barnes coming into this game and his goal was incredible. Joe really likes how involved Elanga is in the attack but for me, I prefer Barnes for shot volume and goal scoring.
Worryingly, Wissa didn’t have a shot.
Lewis Hall continues to be excellent, both in attack and for defcons. If you had Thiaw you were so unfortunate with the own goal.
I’ve been pleasantly surprised by Bournemouth. They don’t seem to have noticed that they have lost their great coach. Tavernier, Kluivert and Rayan will be good picks when they have good fixtures.
In this one, Tavernier put up 5 shots and 1xG and he might be on pens.
I’m not so sure about the defence, but that was equally true last year.
xG: 3.14-1.97
Neither one of these defences is inspiring confidence. If it weren’t for Kamada having a fat shin, Palace would have had four goals.
Obviously, Mitchell was one of the guys many of us were talking about as the cheap, attacking route into the Palace defence but I don’t think any of us expected a two goal return. If you haven’t seen the second one it’s hilariously fortunate – basically just a deflection. Chilwell actually replaced him on the 74th minute after he went off with a little limp and then he scored another goal from the left wing-back spot.
Oscar Bobb looked really dangerous and could be excellent value at 5.5. But, he was absolutely awful the week before at Sunderland so possibly it was just a flash in the pan.
Pino is a more interesting shout here – his per 90 underlying numbers have been good for a while but he didn’t get enough minutes. With Sarr gone he could be one to step up and he put up 0.55 xGI this gameweek in 88 mins.
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xG: 2.19-2.49
Wieffer was injured, Ayari returned from injury and slotted straight in. Boscagli went back to left-back, Yalcouye played at 10 again with Hinshelwood still out. Kostoulas started up top.
And, De Cuyper continued to play right wing – what a bargain he remains until Mitoma is fit. He eventually got the assist for Vuskovic who also picked up defcons.
Gross had five shots for 0.79xG. Owners are incredibly unlucky there.
Elvedi replaced Rodon who was injured. Gudmundsson came in for Bijol.
I really think Calvert-Lewin owners can feel hard done by that he didn’t score. However, I am also worried that he went off after 73 mins with Leeds chasing. I guess it could be because he picked up a yellow card. But my worry is that they were just trying to defend out the draw and catch Brighton on the counter but took off the guy many of us own.
xG: 1.21-1.71
I was delighted when I saw O. Dango started and of course he went off at half time again. He’s not a pick… I’m so annoyed with myself. Sangare and Kayode also went off with him as they basically changed everything up.
Still, they all did better than Collins who went off injured after 17 mins.
Le Fee didn’t do much again but he did get a pen (that wasn’t a pen in my opinion but that doesn’t matter).
Meunier played right-wing until he was replaced until by Hume in the 64th minute, but either way the Hume dream is over.
xG: 0.92-1.06
This game was pretty bad, just like Spurs – they didn’t register a shot on target.
Savio came straight into the squad, Kudus replaced him at 61 mins. Senesi didn’t start again – he’s a sell. Marmoush’s finishing was just awful.
Delap started for Forest, and at only 5.5 he could be very good value. Forest are basically never that good going forward, but that didn’t stop Chris Wood banging in a fair few goals for a while there.
xG: 0.57-1.93
I think Villa are going to be fine. They look better and were pretty unfortunate to not get a pen or two, and Buendia should have put a good chance away.
Like many, I am baffled by Hull’s early results but I won’t stop targeting them. Based on xG, they should have conceded 5 already.
xG: 1.01 – 0.72
Mbeumo was the big story here. Joe wrote last week about being baffled by the massive selloff, and of course he ended up scoring a very nice goal here. I’ve actually already sold him (more on that below), but Joe still strongly rates him as a hold.
Man U’s defence continues to be rubbish. Both Everton’s goals were very good finishes, but that’s still two goals conceded in all three games so far, against three of the worse attacks in the league. Sell them all, and don’t let a very rare attacking return from Shaw persuade you otherwise.
I wouldn’t draw too many takeaways for Everton. Barry continues to be an interesting option going forward though – he seems nailed up top, and has averaged 0.88 xG/game so far (across a small sample size I know).
xG: 2.11 – 0.35
Arsenal just look great. They might finally be getting back to their good attack of 22-23 (especially down the right), but pairing it with their ridiculous defence from the last few seasons.
We need to pile on their defence ASAP. Holding maybe the best attack in the league to 0.35 xG is crazy. Calafiori continues to look like the standout pick (he’s basically playing striker a lot of the time), and Konsa played very well, so is probably settled as the starting RCB now.
Tzolis also looked good here, so don’t panic after his bad half against Villa. He got his first full 90, his passing was very good, and he probably played well enough to hold his starting spot over Eze.
Same old story for Chelsea. Their attack will still be great – there’s no shame in struggling against the best defence in the league. Their defence continues to look crap. They were so open here, especially in transition, and stat of the day on Sky Sports was definitely their not having kept a clean sheet since Liam Rosenior’s first game in charge. Incredible.
Almost all of the time, I tell people not to make early transfers. But I made three transfers before a ball had been kicked.
Mbeumo, DCL and Dango all left my team for Rogers, Joao Pedro and Slater on Friday night.
I basically did that to avoid losing money on Mbeumo and Dango. That’s pretty cowardly and generally a bad idea. The only excuse I have is that I MAY wildcard and I originally had a Free Hit booked in for this week anyway, which would obviously cancel out the transfers if I did pull the trigger.
Right, that will do it for your Gameweek 3 review. We’ll be back later in the week with a Gameweek 4 preview, and the members-only Midweek Fixture newsletter will be going out too before then.
Thanks for reading, everybody!
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