Speaking to the media this week, Brighton manager Fabian Hurzeler confirmed that Joao Pedro will not be available to take part in the Seagulls’ trip to face Chelsea on Saturday. The Brazilian was spotted in crutches after the 2-2 draw at Nottingham Forest, and his return date has not been specified.
Fantasy Premier League managers who wildcarded in GW4 and those playing their chip in GW6 are now all asking the same question – who is the best cheap striker after Pedro’s latest injury? Football FanCast have taken a look at five players who could be the answer.
5. Danny Welbeck, Brighton, £5.8m, 19% owned
The easiest answer is a quick switch to Pedro’s teammate Welbeck. The former England international could be in line for a return to the Three Lions set-up if his form this season continues, as he’s already racked up three goals and one assist, only failing to provide a goal involvement in two games so far.
Welbeck is ever so slightly more expensive than Pedro at £5.8m instead of £5.6m, but for managers with a bit of spare change looking for a straight swap, Welbeck’s 0.46 expected goal involvements per 90 is the obvious solution. The one downside to picking the former Manchester United and Arsenal star is his upcoming fixtures, with Brighton facing Chelsea, Spurs, Newcastle, Wolves, Liverpool and Manchester City next, with the home fixture against Wolves the only one with a 2 fixture difficulty rating (FDR) or better.
4. Raul Jimenez, Fulham, £5.4m, 2% owned
For managers looking for more of a differential – and one they can swap to from Pedro without making other transfers – Jimenez has sneakily become one of the best options available. The Mexico international was expected to serve merely as back-up for last year’s FPL breakout star Rodrigo Muniz, but has taken over starting duties in the last two gameweeks, scoring in both starts against West Ham and Newcastle, racking up 0.3 and 0.5 expected goal involvements in those two games.
Jimenez could well be on penalty duty, has the creativity of Adama Traore and Emile Smith-Rowe behind him, and faces some relatively kind fixtures after Fulham’s trip to Manchester City in GW7, with no more matches above a 3 FDR until December.
3. Jhon Duran, Aston Villa, £6.1m, 5% owned
For the risk-averse managers, a striker who is yet to start a game in the Premier League this season feels like a disaster waiting to happen, but there is plenty of reason to believe Duran’s move into the first XI is just a matter of days away, with Unai Emery saying as much last week.
“His talent is there and he is now playing more and with confidence. He is respecting his teammates. There is still work to do, but the process he is doing. He is close to being in the starting XI and he has to understand as well how he can play with Ollie Watkins, both in the starting XI, but also sometimes alone in different competitions.”
The numbers behind his start to the season are frankly ridiculous, as his expected goal involvement per 90 stands at a whopping 1.52, scoring in four of his five appearances from the bench and facing newly promoted Ipswich Town in GW6.
2. Jamie Vardy, Leicester, £5.7m, 11% owned
While the GW6 trip to Arsenal is an obvious hit to Vardy’s claim as the number one option to replace Pedro, Leicester’s fixtures after that are quite remarkable – the Foxes star doesn’t face another FDR above 3 until a trip to Newcastle in GW16, and the clash at the Emirates is followed by Bournemouth at home and then the other two promoted teams sandwiched either side of Forest at home.
Vardy is as nailed as can be to take penalties, has scored twice already this season, and most importantly has very little competition for his place with Odsonne Edouard clearly unfavoured having played just seven minutes in the last three games and Patson Daka injured for the forseeable future.
1. Iliman Ndiaye, Everton, £5.4m, 0.5% owned
Don’t tell us we haven’t delivered on our promise for low owned players! Ndiaye is hardly a name on many FPL players’ lips at the moment, but ask any Everton fan and they’ll tell you the the Senegal international is just about the only bright spot in their season so far.
Playing on the left-wing, Ndiaye found his first Premier League goal against Leicester in GW5, is by far his team’s most talented and dangerous player, and now faces an unbelievable run of scorable fixtures, including two of the promoted sides, an out of sorts Man Utd, Newcastle in terrible away form and a West Ham side who have conceded eight times in their last two games.
|
Everton’s upcoming fixtures |
FDR |
|---|---|
|
Crystal Palace (H) |
2 |
|
Newcastle (H) |
3 |
|
Ipswich (A) |
2 |
|
Fulham (H) |
2 |
|
Southampton (A) |
2 |
|
West Ham (A) |
2 |
|
Brentford (H) |
2 |
|
Man Utd (A) |
3 |
|
Wolves (H) |
2 |
So… how’s that for a proper differential? Let us know who you’re bringing in by commenting below!
