Brighton FPL Gameweek 37: Seagulls attack can give Man City a fright
Despite being without key personnel for their weekend match against West Ham United, Brighton still managed to pick up a decent point from a side fighting for Champions League football thanks to Danny Welbeck, who has been delivering serious returns in attack for FPL managers over recent weeks.
Welbeck (£5.5 million) brought his tally for the season to six, two of which have come in his past four matches. It was Welbeck’s 50th Premier League goal and he is now just three away from equalling his best ever top flight haul of nine from the 2013-14 campaign.
In FPL terms, Welbeck was joint third for BPS amongst forwards over the weekend, meaning that those of you who followed Fantasy Football Scout’s advice to pick Welbeck in attack for Brighton 1-1 West Ham had a good time of it.
Many managers may now find themselves turning away from Seagulls FPL assets because of the identity of Tuesday night’s visits to the Amex, but there is actually a decent case to be made for continuing to invest in the Brighton attack when champions Manchester City are in town.
City may have just set a Premier League record of 12 consecutive away victories, but they have also conceded in four of their past five top flight matches.
Pep Guardiola has been consistently rotating his defensive unit over the last few weeks and this is likely to continue in the build up to the Champions League final.
Those changes in personnel at the back can give the Albion a great opportunity to get at a defence which may be lacking match sharpness and togetherness. In gameweek 36, Newcastle United managed 11 shots against City with midfielder Joe Willock (£4.7 million) taking four of them.
Brighton too will be boosted by the return of fans to the Amex. 7,900 will be there to roar on the Albion and how much of a difference that could make to the hosts after the best part of 18 months playing in empty stadiums should not be underestimated.
So, who of Graham Potter’s attacking assets should you settle for other than Welbeck? Leandro Trossard (£5.6 million) was top for attempts on goal for Brighton in gameweek 36 with three from the team’s total of ten.
Over the course of the season, Trossard is second in the squad for shots on goal. He has mustered 57 at a rate of one every 45 minutes, with only suspended striker Neal Maupay (£5.9 million) having more attempts (71).
Trossard is also second for shots on target with 22 – just three behind Maupay. He is second for shots in the box and third for big chances created.
The midfielder has also received 115 penalty area touches this season, just five fewer than Bruno Fernandes (£11.4 million) and more than the likes of Diogo Jota (£7.0 million), Kevin De Bryune (£11.8 million) and Alexandre Lacazette (£8.4 million).
Whilst Trossard’s performances might have dipped a little since he was nominated for March’s Premier League Player of the Month award, both he and Welbeck could be great differential picks ahead of Brighton’s final two games of the season.
Captain Fantastic
With the race for European football hotting up, there are some good captaincy options for FPL managers for the midweek fixtures. Bruno Fernandes has returned in two of his last three Premier League games and faces a now-relegated Fulham side who have conceded in each of their last eight Premier League fixtures.
Fernandes looks a good captaincy choice, especially after a rest this weekend as a result of the FA Cup final moving United’s fixture with Leicester City into gameweek 35.
The Tottenham Hotspur trio of Harry Kane (£11.8 million), Son Heung-Min (£9.7 million) and Gareth Bale (£9.2 million) all have potential to wear the captain’s armband as they host Aston Villa in gameweek 37.
In front of 10,000 home fans and with Spurs needing to win their last two fixtures to try to secure European football, a Villa side who have conceded six in their last three Premier League games could be just the opposition the Spurs assets need to shine.
Finally Liverpool’s Mohamed Salah (£12.8 million) has returned in five of Liverpool’s last six Premier League fixtures and should not be overlooked.
He will likely be the most captained option and has just scored and received maximum bonus points in the dramatic win over West Bromwich Albion.
You can pick up expert advice throughout the 2020-21 Fantasy Premier League season with Fantasy Football Scout
