English football is back after an international break and it brings back the excitement of Fantasy Premier League at an interesting point in the season. We have already stated, that GW8 in FPL is a great time to wildcard, which can give you an advantage against your rivals in your mini-leagues and in overall rankings.
If you see gameweek 8 similarly as we – like a great opportunity to make a lot of changes in your FPL team, make sure to not overlook these players in your decision-making process. They are low-owned and have the potential to do well in the upcoming run of fixtures.
José Sa
Perhaps one of the most overlooked goalkeepers in the game. His points output this season has been solid – he scored points for clean sheets, saves, bonuses, and even for an assist. Wolves achieved a great defensive rise this season – they conceded only 6 goals (4th best) and 7.68 xG against (5th best) and still have a great run of fixtures ahead.
Surely, we will see few more clean sheets from them in that run. With a price tag of £5.0M and given that he is selected by only 2.7% of the teams, José Sa could prove to be great value for wildcarders who look for a change on the goalkeeper post.
Joel Veltman
After missing the first two games of the season through injury, Veltman has regained his starting position and since Matchday 4 has managed to score 19 points (4.75 points per match). He is selected only by 1.3 % which is even more interesting considering his modest value of £4.4M. Just like Wolves, Brighton has been solid defensively this season: three clean sheets in 7 matches (that is very good), 5 goals conceded (3rd best) and 7.47 xG conceded (4th best).
Brighton has an appealing fixture against Norwich in GW8, however, in GW9 and GW10, their schedule gets tougher. However, as we mentioned Veltman costs just £4.4M so you can easily bench him in those fixtures and rotate him with Livramento or other cheap defender from the bench of your FPL squad.
Ezri Konsa
When talking about Aston Villa defenders, there are two names that come to mind first: Cash and Mings who are the most productive defenders of Villans. Both of them have already got their attacking returns, and perhaps it is time for Ezri Konsa to get his, too, as he was a bit unlucky to not score more fantasy points in the first seven matches of the season.
When we look at Konza’s underlying statistics, with 0.75 xG, he is 4th for xG among Aston Villa players and with 0.21 xA 5th for xA among Villans. Basically, he should have had 0.96 goal involvement (xI) already. He had 6 shots – a similar number as Mings (5) and Cash (7). That is a good sign that his attacking return is yet to come. In the last two seasons, he registered at least 2 attacking returns in each.
Not a lot of FPL managers are looking at Aston Villa’s defense, but when they do, they are primarily interested in Mings or Cash. However, both of them have already got their attacking return while Konsa has not despite having similar underlying numbers and points potential.
Konsa is selected only by 0.7% of the FPL teams. So, if you are looking for a differential who is a sure starter for his team and who has also an attacking threat, do not overlook Konsa whose price of £4.9M and very low ownership are very appealing.
Emil Smith-Rowe
A rising star in the Gunners’ midfield, Smith-Rowe has very good fixtures in the coming days. 4 of the next 6 Arsenal matches are played at home against easy oppositions. (3 x FDR 2, 1 x FDR 3). His recent performances showed a lot of promises and potentials despite Gunners attack was not very convincing. With 25 points, he is the second most productive Arsenal player (after Saka). His underlying stats are OK too, he scored 1 goal from 1.21 xG and one assist from 0.47 xA.
However, given his low price tag of £5.4M, he could prove to be a great value and solid FPL asset through the upcoming 6 fixtures. He is only selected by 5.7% of FPL managers, so he is definitely a wildcard differential.
Timo Werner
Yes, a very surprising pick. But with the possible absence of Romelu Lukaku, this could be a good opportunity for the German to finally prove himself as an FPL option.
The last two games against Manchester City and against Southampton (where he scored) were his first consecutive starts this season. He is not a certain starter but he can play with or without Lukaku. He is just in 1.6 % of FPL teams and he could be a great “punt” for wildcarders given upcoming Chelsea fixtures. His higher price tag of £8.6M could be an issue, but he could be easily downgraded to the likes of Antonio, Jimenez, Jesus or Toney if it is does not work out.
Adam Armstrong
For the saints, the start of the season was not easy at all. They faced tough opposition, however their new striker Adam Armstrong managed to score one goal and one assist in that period. Now, their fixtures turn green and no team has better fixtures in next 5 gameweek that Southampton.
Armstrong showed good potential during first 7 gameweeks of the season, as he registered 3.08 shots per game. He is selected by 2.6 % of FPL teams and has offer decent value for £6.0.
