Brighton FPL Gameweek 11: Creative Kadioglu is a route to points
Brighton led for quite a while away at Liverpool in FPL Gameweek 10 thanks to a Ferdi Kadioglu strike before the hosts scored twice in three minutes to snatch a 2-1 win at Anfield.
Most observers felt the Albion worthy of a point, particularly for their first half performance in which they made the current Premier League leaders look ordinary.
Having pushed Liverpool all the way and already beaten Manchester United, Spurs and Newcastle this season as well as drawing at Arsenal, Brighton have shown they can compete with the top teams.
The Seagulls should therefore have little to fear from their Saturday evening meeting with champions Manchester City.
With all this in mind, here are a couple of interesting Brighton players for FPL managers to consider.
Ferdi Kadioglu (£4.5 million)
Summer signing Kadioglu arrived at the Amex with a reputation as one of the most versatile top level footballers in the world.
The 25-year-old has already displayed this trait for the Albion. He featured on both sides of defence and in midfield during the early weeks of the campaign.
Brighton boss Fabian Hurzeler deployed Kadioglu on the right wing in FPL Gameweek 10 against Liverpool, offering him more licence to get forward.
As a result, Kadioglu was able to fetch a Danny Welbeck (£5.9 million) flick cleverly dummied by Georginio Rutter (£5.6 million), driving a brilliant first-time shot in off the far post.
Kadioglu almost doubled the lead later in the first half with a back post volley. Unfortunately, it was a bit too high and ended up flying into the Kop rather than the back of the Liverpool goal.
Whilst much has been made of Kadioglu’s versatility, his creative abilities seem to have slipped under the radar somehwat.
He created 12 chances for Turkey at Euro 2024 and also scored for Brighton in the 3-2 EFL Cup third round victory over Wolves.
The attacking threat offered by Kadioglu means he can offer brilliant differential potential during an upcoming run of attractive fixtures.
Should he remain in Hurzeler’s starting XI, FPL managers should be tempted by a £4.5 million defender who is often used further upfield.
Yasin Ayari (£5.0 million)
Yasin Ayari spent last season gaining Championship experience on loan at Swansea City and Blackburn Rovers.
He did not make many headlines at either club, but Hurzeler has seen something he likes. The midfielder is now on a streak of three consecutive Premier League starts.
No Brighton player has created more attempts (seven) or big chances (two) in this period than Ayari. He should have had his first attacking return at Anfield. A perfect through ball played in Rutter, who missed the opportunity.
Ayari has sky high confidence currently having also netted his first international goal for Sweden last month.
The only question mark for FPL managers will come over Ayari being rotated. Hurzeler has a deep squad and with Carlos Baleba having been rested against Liverpool last week, may find himself on the bench.
Captaincy
It is getting tougher to justify Erling Haaland’s (£15.3 million) monster price as Gameweek 10 saw him once again outdone by Mo Salah (£12.8 million).
Haaland has just one goal and 14 FPL points from his last five outings. A growing number of managers are ditching him to enable an expensive midfield.
On a weekend where six of the current top eight sides face each other, it may therefore pay to look at a captain from one of the two clubs facing opponents further down the table.
Spurs are the Premier League’s top scoring side so far and host Ipswich Town. The Tractor Boys’ defence has leaked 13 goals in their past five matches.
Dominic Solanke (£7.6 million) was causing FPL rage before returning to form in Gameweek 10 with a huge haul. He and Son Heung-min (£9.9 million) will go into the weekend full of believe.
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