We’ve teamed up with Ryan Keaney and George Osborn from the 3 Bonus Points podcast to bring you three players to transfer in and three players to ship out of your FPL line-up. For more tips, follow the podcast here.
Who to bring in this week
Richarlison, Watford, £6.3m
Three assists and one goal in the last three game weeks, three goals and four assists so far this season, and just 14% ownership – there is a big upside to forking out just £6.3m of your budget on Richarlison.
He plays closer to goal than most midfielders and lots of the good things that Watford do tend to go through him. He missed two decent opportunities to score against Chelsea, but gets into the right areas and should be a threat against Stoke City.
The last time the Potters kept a clean sheet was in August and, given Watford’s start to the season, the Hornets are heavy favourites to bounce back from defeat to Chelsea.
Maya Yoshida, Southampton, £5.1m
Southampton might be pretty dull to watch at the moment, but their strong defensive performances can offer a solid foundation for a decent points return this game week.
The Saints have shipped just nine goals so far – the fifth best record in the division – with full-backs Ryan Bertrand and Cedric both proving popular choices with FPL managers.
It’s perhaps time to consider Yoshida too, however, with the centre-back outscoring his teammates by some distance so far with 44 points.
What’s more, the Japan international has been selected in only 4.9% of FPL squads, meaning you could stand to benefit from the Saints’ next two fixtures against low-scoring Brighton and Burnley.
Mohamed Salah, Liverpool, £9.1m
Given their stuttering form in recent weeks (just one win in six Premier League matches) it might not seem like the best time to be bringing Liverpool players into your FPL side – especially one selected by a large number of rival managers.
The Reds remain potentially devastating in attack, however, as proved by their 7-0 Champions League demolition of Maribor.
Salah was on target twice that night, adding an assist for Roberto Firmino, and the underlying stats suggest he’s set to continue his impressive streak of form in the Premier League.
Only Harry Kane has averaged more shots on target per game than Salah this season, with the Liverpool midfielder (in FPL classification, at least) scoring five goals in the top flight and picking up 53 points.
That puts him fourth in the overall midfielder rankings, ahead of the pricier Kevin de Bruyne and Dele Alli. And with a relatively kind set of fixtures on the horizon, bar the visit of Chelsea at the end of November, Salah could maintain his decent return.
And who to ship out
Antonio Valencia, Manchester United, £6.7m
Jose Mourinho has changed tact in the last couple of weeks and his Manchester United side are in a weird place. They looked disjointed and flustered against Huddersfield and, with Tottenham coming up this week, they could struggle again.
Even without Harry Kane, Spurs will put United’s defence under pressure and, when really pressed, it’s clear that a lot of responsibility is placed on David De Gea.
As such, there isn’t a great deal of benefit to be had from having Antonio Valencia in your side. At £6.7m he eats up too much of your defensive budget to offer so little for three weeks in a row – just one point last week and Spurs and Chelsea to come in the next two game weeks.
Grab yourself Kyle Walker for the time being, and come back in a fortnight to see where United sit after two important games.
Hector Bellerin, Arsenal, £5.9m
Despite a drop in form in 2017, Bellerin remains popular with FPL managers, finding himself in 10.5% of all squads. That’s the same proportion as teammate Nacho Monreal, who costs £0.3m less and has returned 14 more points so far.
Most of Bellerin’s points have come from Arsenal keeping four clean sheets – the fourth best record in the league – but at £5.9m you should be expecting an awful lot more from a supposedly an attacking full-back.
The problem is that the Spaniard is yet to contribute a goal or an assist, which has seen his original price decrease since August.
It might be time to ditch him for a more affordable option (Stephen Ward continues to perform well for £4.7m), or a more reliable high-price alternative such as Cesar Azpilicueta.
Leighton Baines, Everton, £5.8m
Similar to Bellerin, Baines is another normally reliable choice at full-back who hasn’t lived up to his usual return this season.
Although he’s still selected by 5.5% of FPL managers, the 32-year-old has scored just 15 points in what has been a dreadful start for Everton.
Baines’ average number of key passes per game has decreased by two-thirds since 2012/13, suggesting he’s no longer the attacking threat he was once down the left flank.
With the Toffees’ defence continuing to look porous, especially in the 5-2 hammering against Arsenal, it makes sense to downgrade on price and upgrade on points return – Watford’s Kiko Femenia is a tempting alternative at just £4.5m.
