FPL Gameweek 8 Preview – Injury Crises, Son In, & More

God, what a mess. And I’m not just talking about my own team – I’m talking about FPL in general. 

The ridiculous schedule in modern football probably just means this is what it’s going to be like. And by ‘it’ I mean constant injuries. 

There was an excellent article just today, actually, about how much more football players are playing now. It’s behind a paywall on The Athletic, but the gist of it is that young players are involved in vastly more games than they were just a generation ago. The likes of Bellingham and Saka have already played roughly 1/3 more minutes than Rooney had at their ages, which is just staggering. 

Anyway! We are where we are, and in both FPL and IRL we just have to grin and bear it. 

Talking Points

I’d say there are two main talking points to address this week. You’ll be shocked to learn what the first one is!

Injuries, Injuries, and More Injuries

At the time of writing, a significant portion of the best players in FPL are either injured, injury doubts, or just coming back from injury (or suspended).

The long and short of it is – it might feel like the world is against you right now, but lots of us are in the same boat. I’ve just had to take my first hit of the season – Saka and Estupinan (probably and definitely injured), out for Maddison (probably not injured) and Porro (definitely not injured… yet!). Even after that, I’m still having to bench Diaby (injured). Fortunately I already binned Chilwell last week (also injured). 

In short: injuries are wreaking havoc, but we’re all being affected by it. 

Internationals, and General Outlook

This very much ties into the previous point. 

We have an international break next week. Do not wildcard, and do not make loads of transfers!

The way things are trending right now, we’re almost certain to see more injuries from players on international duty. 

Of course you should be taking future fixtures into consideration, with any moves you make right now. But you certainly shouldn’t wildcard. And – as always – you shouldn’t really take any hits unless you’re very confident you’ll make up the points. 

If you basically can’t get a team out in FPL Gameweek 8, fine – take a hit. You’re likely making up 2pts automatically, and obviously you should take someone with a good chance at more than that this week alone, plus favourable fixtures heading forward. 

In my case, for example, Estupinan is definitely out, and I’d have been starting Archer for 1-2pts. I’m fine taking Porro for an automatic 2pts, and the high likelihood of a clean in the next 2-3 games, which makes up the points straight away. 

Fixture Ticker

Again, we’ve got an international break between Gameweeks 8 and 9. Here are your top fixtures for the next five games regardless. 

(Home games in capital letters)

Those defensive fixtures for Villa are so dreamy. If you haven’t got Cash already, now’s probably the time to jump on board. I’m not as confident in their attacking assets. Villa thrive on the counter against possession-based teams (see: last week vs Brighton), and all five of these sides are very defensive. 

Spurs’ fixtures are also defensively amazing. My defensive preferences are Porro, Udogie, and Romero in that order. I’m fine with their attackers too.

Liverpool’s attacking fixtures are great. They get three particularly crap defences, in Brighton, Everton, and Brentford. I’m not backing them to clean against anyone right now, though. 

Newcastle’s great defensive fixture run continues. They could easily clean against Palace, Wolves, and Bournemouth. Again, not as confident in their attackers, but we don’t really want any of them anyway right now. 

Man U’s nice fixtures are wasted on a rubbish team. Obviously we’re not backing them for any cleans. I guess you have to keep Rashford for these next couple of games… probably? But I probably wouldn’t bring anyone in until they prove they can actually, y’know, score goals. 

Should I Buy?

Let’s have a quick look at all the most-bought players ahead of FPL Gameweek 8. I’m ignoring the International Break Caveat that any of this lot could well be injured by Gameweek 9…

• Son – Yes

Enough waiting and seeing – it’s legit. He’s looked great up top, Spurs clearly function better with him there, he’s class and has years and years of pedigree, and Spurs’ fixtures are great. Price is the only problem, obviously, since you’ll struggle to have him, Haaland, Salah, and Trippier. 

• Watkins – Maybe

He’s not exploding for 23pts every week, but he should’ve had more returns already this season, so it balances out to an extent. As noted above though, I don’t love Villa’s fixtures from an attacking point of view – the teams they’re playing aren’t good, but they’re all very defensive, negating Villa’s counter attacking threat. 

Hold him if you’ve got him, but I wouldn’t rush to bring him in. 

• Cash – Yes

His underlying stats are great, Villa’s defence is solid, they’re playing poor attacking teams, and he’s nailed. 

• Maddison – Yes

Super-consistent, constantly involved in the attack, has those nice fixtures, and remains good value even at 8.0.

• Trippier – Yes

He’s the only true premium defender left. An absurd 38pts in his last three games, and has nice defensive fixtures coming up. He’s super expensive at 6.8, but between his current attacking output, and Newcastle’s defensive form, he’s still worth it.

• Anderson – Maybe

He’s only on this list because he happened to score a goal last week. He has never scored more than one goal in a Premier League season. 

That said, Palace’s defence is excellent, and they have Forest, Burnley, Everton, and Luton coming up… but also Newcastle and Spurs. If he was 4.5 I’d be tempted, but at 4.8 I’d rather have someone with attacking potential.

• Bowen – No

He’s obviously great, and I’d be tempted even with Newcastle this week. But you’re probably better off waiting until after the internationals, and seeing how your team looks then. Villa isn’t a great fixture in GW9 either, but West Ham’s schedule gets amazing after that. 

• Burn – Yes

Obviously I’d rather have Trippier. But Burn is the cheapest long-term way into Newcastle’s defence right now, and I’d be absolutely fine doubling up. 

• Neto – Yes

We can’t ignore him any more. He plays for a rubbish attacking team but has still been getting the job anyway. He’s returned in five straight games, including against City and Liverpool. His upcoming fixtures are so-so, but he’s excellent value right now at 5.7.

• Diaby – No

He’s carrying an injury. Maybe he makes this weekend’s game, but it’s not worth the risk. Just wait until after the internationals, when hopefully he’ll be better.

• Areola – Maybe

As always, the caveat is that you shouldn’t waste transfers on a goalkeeper. As a Pickford/Turner owner myself, however, I’m really weighing up whether or not to just hit Pickford out, since he’s a complete black hole in my lineup. 

If you are getting a keeper in, Areola is the value pick. He’s only 4.2, and is the third-highest scoring keeper right now. 

Newcastle isn’t the best fixture to get him for, however. Try to last one more week, then get him in for West Ham’s nice fixture run. 

• Porro / Udogie – Yes

Spurs’ fixtures are great, and Porro especially is a major attacking threat. Either are fine, but I’d rather (and just did) pay the extra 0.2 for Porro. 

• Salah – Yes

Always Yes. But especially right now, when they have such good attacking fixtures.

• J. Alvarez – Yes

I’ve begrudgingly, finally upgraded Alvarez from his usual Maybe to a full Yes. History suggests he’ll randomly lose his place at some point, and ruin a load of FPL teams. But he’s been great in all competitions this season, is brilliant value at only 7.0, and seems as nailed as it’s possible to be in a Pep team.

• Odegaard – No

He’s fine in general with Saka and Martinelli’s injury worries. But don’t get him in before Man City. 

• Almiron – Maybe

We’ve seen this movie before. 

It was right around this time last year that Almiron decided to lay waste to the league. He’s just scored in his past three games in a row (including the PSG match), is only 6.3, and has solid fixtures.

It still feels like a bit of a risk, but I don’t mind it, especially since he was already must-own last season. I’d probably rather wait for Gordon’s return from suspension in GW9 though, since he’s 0.7 cheaper. 

Should I Sell?

Now it’s time to turn our attention to the players on the hot seat. Let’s run down the most-transferred out players, and decide whether they should indeed be binned or not. 

• Estupinan / Chilwell – Yes

Both injured for ages. Trippier’s the obvious replacement. If you have him already then a Newcastle double or a Spurs defender are my next favourites.

• Rashford – Maybe

I’m just glad I don’t own him, because I still think this is a somewhat difficult choice. 

On the one hand, we know what he’s capable of, he’s underperforming his underlying stats, and his next couple of fixtures are good. 

On the other hand he’s not scoring any goals…

I don’t think you’re an idiot whichever route you take. He’s obviously expensive, and there are many, many better value midfield options. I also get why you’d want to keep him for Brentford’s shaky defence though, especially when you’ve probably got injuries to deal with elsewhere. 

• Saka – Maybe

He’d been in my team since the start of the season, but I finally got rid this week.

I specifically just wanted Maddison more. I feel like Maddo matches Saka’s production over the next couple of games, at the very least, even if Saka does play. 

In general I just don’t like where this is going. He’s clearly injured, he’s literally gone off three games in a row with various injuries, but Arteta keeps on playing him. 

He’s so good that he keeps returning anyway. But with City and Chelsea in the next two games, and so many cheaper midfield options (most notably Maddo and Bowen), or a possible upgrade to Son, this just feels like the right time to get rid. He’s not too expensive to just get back again for Sheff Utd home in GW10. 

• Mbeumo / Wissa – No

I won both, and they’re driving me crazy. Wissa has blanked five games in a row. Mbeumo has blanked the last three games, and I thought he looked awful against Forest (James disagreed, for the record).

Either way, I just can’t drop either of them before Man U. 

Brentford have unsurprisingly struggled against teams that like to sit back. They’re a counter-attacking team. Guess who’s rubbish at defending the counter? Man U. They were woeful in transition against Brighton, and poor again against Galatasaray. 

For the record, Brentford also have Burnley home in GW9. That’s also fine, since Burnley actually do like to keep the ball. After that Brentford’s fixtures get brutal (Chelsea, West Ham, Liverpool, Arsenal in a row), so we can bin both of them then. 

• Botman – Maybe

He’s been dealing with one injury or another for weeks now, and will definitely miss this weekend’s game. 

There’s a good chance he’ll be back after the break though, when Newcastle’s good fixtures continue. I’d hold, if you possibly can. 

• Mitoma – Maybe

I’m fine with binning him. Brighton just got smashed by Villa, following the loss to AEK, and now have Liverpool and City back to back. Eek. 

Mitoma’s fine as a long-term asset. I just think there’s better value in the midfield right now, so you don’t really want to be wasting a spot. Dropping down to Neto to free up funds elsewhere, for example, would be a nice move. 

• Bruno – Yes

Man U are rubbish, he’s 8.4, and he’s not returning. An easy bin. 

• Sterling – Yes

165k managers have finally decided enough is enough so far this gameweek. I don’t really know what took so long. Another very easy bin. 

• Alvarez – No

For the second straight week, Alvarez has been both one of the most bought and most sold players. Why on earth you’d sell him when he returns every week, I don’t know. Especially before a trip to the Emirates which usually ends with lots of goals being scored, and City winning. 

• Gordon – No

You have to hold him. He’s only missing this week’s game, and is insane value at 5.6. 

• Foden – Maybe

Tricky one. For once, Foden actually seems nailed to start. He’s not really getting the returns you’d hope for, though. 1 goal and 3 assists isn’t bad, but you’d expect more, and his output is obviously being dwarfed by Bowen’s right now, for instance. 

Again, the Arsenal game is actually a fine fixture for City, and they have Brighton’s awful defence after the internationals. I’d hold. 

• Haaland – No!

Obviously. 

Final Thoughts

I’m pretty apprehensive about Gameweek 8, in general. I’m guessing a lot of people are feeling the same. I’ve had to take a hit to even get a competent team out, and I’m still not exactly enamoured with my starting lineup. 

But fine. As I said earlier, a lot of people are in the same boat. Let’s just cross our fingers, try to get through to the international break, and reassess when we have a load more injuries to deal with after that. 

Cheers for reading everybody, and good luck in Gameweek 8.