FPL GW8 tips: Fixtures, captaincy, Man Utd reserves in ‘Ole Out’ mini-league
We’ve got some GW8 tips. But why are these snubbed Manchester United youngsters in an FPL mini-league called ‘Ole Out’?
GW7 was notable for some great goals scored by unlikely players.
Full-backs Ola Aina and Rayan Ait-Nouri got beauties for Fulham and Wolves, while pot-shot lover Kyle Walker got in on the action for Manchester City.
More importantly, it was a big reprieve for the few FPL bosses still stubbornly leaving out Son Heung-Min.
The Tottenham forward — GW7’s second most popular captain — blanked after three successive hauls.
It was about time.
GW8 could be massive in Fantasy and real football terms, as Liverpool visit Man City and their team of annoyingly rotated attacking talents.
Will Jurgen Klopp trust Diogo Jota to continue his form in the biggest match of the season so far? Can a returning Gabriel Jesus take some of the goalscoring burden off poor Kyle Walker?
These are our tips for FPL GW8.
Best fixtures
Man City – Liverpool
You can’t visit your grandparents anymore, but when there are games like this on a Sunday afternoon, why would you want to?
There were four goals in each of the last two games between City and Liverpool: Liverpool won 3-1 at Anfield almost exactly a year ago, and City won 4-0 at the Etihad in July — although Klopp’s men had already secured the title by then.
Phil Foden (£6.6m) was brilliant in that July thrashing, but Diogo Jota (£6.4m) might be the better option in that price range on current form.
Bear in mind that all the £11m+ FPL assets — Mo Salah, Sadio Mane, Kevin De Bruyne and Raheem Sterling — scored across the two fixtures last year.
READ: Seven incredible stats about Diogo Jota after his first Liverpool hat-trick
Crystal Palace – Leeds
Bielsa’s all-action Leeds or Hodgson’s least-possible-action Palace?
This game could be fascinating or fascinatingly dull, and not knowing which is also itself fascinating.
One thing is for sure: Leeds have already conceded four penalties this season; no side has conceded more.
That will be music to the ears of Wilfried Zaha (£7.4m), who could easily win four in this match alone, and who may also return to spot-kick duties in place of the suspended Luka Milivojevic.
But an energetic Leeds will be confident of outrunning that bland and uninspiring Palace midfield and supplying opportunities for their own talisman, Patrick Bamford (£6.0m).
Finally, Palace full-back Patrick van Aanholt (£5.4m) is fit again and would have had a lovely assist last week if not for the offside flag.
Who to captain
Timo Werner
The most FPL-relevant event of the midweek Champions League fixtures was Timo Werner (£9.3m) taking two penalties in Chelsea’s game against Rennes.
Frank Lampard has confirmed that Werner is now ahead of Jorginho for pens, and that makes the Germany international a massively appealing option for a home tie against Sheffield United.
Blades keeper Aaron Ramsdale faced six penalties in the PL last season, saving just one: a really shit attempt from Danny Ings.
Harry Kane
Harry Kane (£11.0m) scored his 200th Tottenham in the Europa League on Thursday and was duly subbed at half time to put his feet up.
He’ll relish the chance to increase his goal tally against woeful West Brom.
A side note: Kane and Branislav Ivanovic haven’t been on opposing starting XIs since the Battle of the Bridge in May 2016, when Spurs lost their heads and conceded the title to Leicester.
Ivanovic just about got the better of Kane that day; he surely won’t on Sunday… will he?
READ: Grass is green and Harry Kane’s stats for 2020-21 are absolutely outrageous
Son Heung-Min
Ivanovic actually gave the ball away to Harry Kane to set up a goal for Son Heung-Min (£9.6m) at the Battle of the Bridge.
The Serbia international was 32 back then and (arguably) hasn’t gotten any faster. Semi Ajayi was 22 and playing for Cardiff Reserves following a loan spell at Crewe.
Man Utd kids mocking Ole via FPL
Since the start of the campaign, we’ve been trawling through the FPL database to find professional players who have FPL teams. (Last week we looked at the teams of a few Leeds players.)
We know they’re genuine because a lot of the mini-leagues overlap: Patrick Bamford is in the Leeds mini-league alongside Luke Ayling, who’s also in a mini-league with other former Arsenal graduates like Kyle Bartley, who’s also in a West Brom mini-league with the likes of Charlie Austin, and so on.
This week we’re highlighting a positively scandalous little contest.
This summer, Man Utd released 20-year-old midfielder Angel Gomes after the academy product rejected a new contract. He went to Lille in France, who immediately loaned him to Boavista in Portugal.
He recently scored from near the half-way line.
Watch: Ex-Man Utd star Angel Gomes scores stunning goal from 45 yards out
United also (temporarily) got rid of James Garner, 19, whom Ole Gunnar Solskjaer has previously compared to Michael Carrick. He’s currently on loan at Watford.
20-year-old D’Mani Bughail-Mellor is still at United but recently tore his ACL.
Shockingly, these banter-loving youngsters are competing in a mini-league called ‘Ole Out’. As if the poor Norwegian doesn’t have enough critics.
Worse still, Garner’s team, called JGARNZZZ, might just be poking fun at Jesse Lingard and/or his clothing brand, JLINGZ.
Alright, they’re probably joking. Are they any good at Fantasy though?
Gomes and Mellor only joined in GW5, but they’re both getting averages of 60+ per week, so that’s pretty good.
Harry Maguire also has a team, but he hasn’t been invited to ‘Ole Out’.
How we fared last week
What we got right: Backing Kane over Son; suggesting Sergio Reguilon as a Spurs option outside the big two; backing KDB getting back into point-scoring mode.
What we got wrong: Putting several eggs in the Marcus Rashford basket; not giving Sheffield United’s defence enough credit, which we’ve done again this week.
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Grass is green and Harry Kane’s stats for 2020-21 are absolutely outrageous