This article is part of our Fantrax Waiver Wire series.
Raheem Sterling was a talking point in this article last week, and this time it's Kevin De Bruyne after news of a groin injury surfaced midweek. The midfielder missed Tuesday's match, but more importantly for FPL, no timeline for a return was released. Given that he's the most popular midfielder on close to 45% of teams, moves will have to be made ahead of Gameweek 8.
FPL DIFFERENTIALS
Riyad Mahrez is technically a differential because he's only on four percent of teams as of Wednesday, but that number will undoubtedly rise in the coming days. He's started City's last four matches, producing three goals and three assists, the best rate of anyone on the team. With four favorable matches ahead of the trip to Liverpool, there's no harm in turning to Mahrez at a discount. The other news that came out midweek was a possible ban for Bernardo Silva, which makes Mahrez and Sterling more likely to feature in upcoming matches. If, for some reason, you want to look elsewhere to replace De Bruyne, Son Heung-Min is almost the same price and faces Brighton and Watford in the next two matches. John McGinn is another player who continues to make things happen, though a one-for-one replacement would leave you with some leftover cash.
Teemu Pukki is the second-most owned player in the game, and his price continues to rise even after a couple down outings. He's a reasonable player to hold onto with matches against Villa and Bournemouth ahead,
Raheem Sterling was a talking point in this article last week, and this time it's Kevin De Bruyne after news of a groin injury surfaced midweek. The midfielder missed Tuesday's match, but more importantly for FPL, no timeline for a return was released. Given that he's the most popular midfielder on close to 45% of teams, moves will have to be made ahead of Gameweek 8.
FPL DIFFERENTIALS
Riyad Mahrez is technically a differential because he's only on four percent of teams as of Wednesday, but that number will undoubtedly rise in the coming days. He's started City's last four matches, producing three goals and three assists, the best rate of anyone on the team. With four favorable matches ahead of the trip to Liverpool, there's no harm in turning to Mahrez at a discount. The other news that came out midweek was a possible ban for Bernardo Silva, which makes Mahrez and Sterling more likely to feature in upcoming matches. If, for some reason, you want to look elsewhere to replace De Bruyne, Son Heung-Min is almost the same price and faces Brighton and Watford in the next two matches. John McGinn is another player who continues to make things happen, though a one-for-one replacement would leave you with some leftover cash.
Teemu Pukki is the second-most owned player in the game, and his price continues to rise even after a couple down outings. He's a reasonable player to hold onto with matches against Villa and Bournemouth ahead, but it may be best to cut ties with him at some point in the near future. Sebastien Haller remains one of the better forward differentials and is a similar price to Pukki. He's made the scoresheet in three of six starts, and West Ham's upcoming slate includes home matches against Crystal Palace, Sheffield United and Newcastle. Whether you want to drop Pukki or someone like Raul Jimenez, who has a harder schedule, Haller is a good place to turn and isn't widely owned.
The popularity of Crystal Palace players should drop in the coming weeks as they're at West Ham this weekend followed by games against Man City and Arsenal. Martin Kelly is fine because he's cheap, but Patrick van Aanholt and Wilfried Zaha are a bit over-owned. Jan Vertonghen is one of my favorites because his price hasn't risen since going down after missing the first three matches of the season. He's cheaper than van Aanholt in addition to having an upcoming schedule that should feature a clean sheet or two.
Overall, Arsenal may have the most intriguing schedule with home matches against Bournemouth, Crystal Palace and Wolves in three of their next four, which surround a trip to Sheffield United. It wouldn't be surprising if Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang became more popular, but the differential and value play is Bukayo Saka. He's started the last three matches (including Europa League), producing five shots and eight chances. I talked up Nicolas Pepe in recent weeks, and while their numbers are similar, it's a no-brainer to go with Saka because he is much cheaper. In the last couple matches, he's turned into the player everyone thought they were getting when they added Dani Ceballos after he had two assists earlier in the season.
FANTRAX FINDS
Replacing De Bruyne (and possibly Silva) in draft leagues will be a little more difficult and hopefully you have a reasonable bench choice. Otherwise, the list of options is slim, with a lot of the best ones coming from Aston Villa, who are away against Norwich next match. That's at least a viable matchup for production, whether through Conor Hourihane, who went a full 90 last match, or Marvelous Nakamba, who started the last three. Elsewhere, John Fleck is taking half the corners for Sheffield United, and outside of the last match against Liverpool, he's had solid production and is widely available. While they may not be the easiest team to back, a trip to Watford isn't an overly difficult test.
Ismaila Sarr got his first start last weekend, and while he didn't do much (neither did anyone else for Watford), he'll draw more attention if he makes another starting XI, especially against Sheffield United this weekend. He and Allan Saint-Maximin remain the two forwards I have my eye on since they could turn into regular starters a month from now given the lack of attacking options on both sides.
Aaron Cresswell is still available in a lot of leagues, and while he won't score every match, he's at least showing he'll get up the pitch for West Ham. Teammates Ryan Fredericks and Angelo Ogbonna are just as likely to produce from a defensive perspective and a friendly upcoming schedule helps. And while Norwich City don't have a reliable back line, Ben Godfrey can at least be used in a pinch in matches against Villa and Bournemouth.
CAPTAIN DEEP DIVES
The majority of fantasy bosses will lean to the biggest favorites of Gameweek 8, with Arsenal, Liverpool and Manchester City all at home. Some may also go with their trusted forwards in Harry Kane at Brighton or Tammy Abraham at Southampton, but I'd rather take a chance on someone like Teemu Pukki (v. Aston Villa) or Ashley Barnes (v. Everton). I already somewhat discredited Pukki earlier, but Norwich have six points in two home matches and Villa have zero points from three away games. Pukki is widely owned, but he hasn't been a big name in captain conversations. For the those who added Mahrez, this seems like the perfect spot to give him the armband: home against struggling Wolves.
