Brighton FPL Gameweek 17: A gamble on the fitness of Leandro Trossard
The outbreak of Covid-19 at Spurs meant that Sunday’s FPL gameweek 16 fixture between Brighton and the North London team was postponed – giving Leandro Trossard an extra three days to try and recover from the elbow injury he picked up at Southampton.
Trossard of course was not the only Albion player to be in the treatment room last week. Seven others are out with injuries and Shane Duffy is suspended.
The Spurs game being delayed until later in the season to a time when the Seagulls squad is not so threadbare could actually be seen as a blessing for Brighton.
Some of the injured may be back for the gameweek 17 clash with Wolves at the Amex. Trossard (£6.4 million) looks the most likely with Graham Potter suggesting things were not as bad as they appeared when the Belgian was stretchered off at St Mary’s and that he may actually be fit for Wolves.
Trossard has registered four goal involvements for Brighton so far this season and with an expected goals (xG) tally of 3.14 and just 1.6 percent ownership, he could be an excellent FPL differential pick.
Both Adam Webster (£4.4 million) and Adam Lallana (£5.3 million) would have missed the Spurs match with calf and thigh injuries respectively.
They could be available for Wolves, although it is more likely their returns will be delayed until the gameweek 18 might be fixture against Manchester United – presuming that goes ahead after a Covid-19 outbreak at Old Trafford.
Tariq Lamptey (£4.5 million) was a great miss to Brighton throughout his own 10 month injury lay-off. The Albion missed both his defensive qualities and attacking potential.
Lamptey has returned in three of his last four gameweeks despite being yet to play more than 78 minutes in a match. His form throughout November saw him voted as WAB Player of the Month and top the WAB November Power Rankings.
With the exception of gameweek 18 against United and gameweek 20 when Brighton go to European Champions Chelsea, Brighton’s next nine fixtures are marked as friendly blue on the FPL difficulty scale.
This means that there is good potential for clean sheets and attacking returns – something which a player such as Lamptey who thrives at both ends of the pitch can take advantage of.
Captain Fantastic
Mohamed Salah (£13.1 million) continues to be this season’s most reliable fantasy asset and therefore the player that can be most trusted with the captain’s armband.
Liverpool’s Gameweek 17 fixture against Newcastle should give the Egyptian plenty of opportunities to increase his FPL points returns, as Newcastle have conceded the most goals in the Premier League so far this season.
FPL managers looking for a differential captain option could look at the Manchester City midfield. Bernardo Silva (£7.7 million) has now returned in five of City’s last six Premier League fixtures including 31 points over the last three.
Phil Foden (£8.0 million) came back from injury for 34 minutes in gameweek 16 against Wolves and with a potential back injury for Ilkay Gundogan (£7.3 million), he could be in line for a start in midweek.
Likewise, Manchester United’s Cristiano Ronaldo (£12.4 million) has now returned three goals and 24 points during the last three Gameweeks, making him a viable captaincy option for this weekend.
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