Brighton FPL Gameweek 14: No way you can ignore Pedro
Brighton ended a run of three consecutive 1-1 draws by picking up their first victory since FPL Gameweek 6 as two goals from Joao Pedro helped secure a 3-2 win at Nottingham Forest.
The Albion had to battle hard, particularly in the final 15 minutes. Lewis Dunk was shown a straight red card for protesting against a penalty awarded to the Tricky Trees.
Morgan Gibbs-White (£5.7 million) successfully converted to leave Brighton defending a one-goal lead with only 10 men. In the circumstances, it was an excellent three points for Roberto De Zerbi and his team.
Buoyed by events at the City Ground, Brighton travel to Chelsea on Sunday afternoon with a couple of interesting players for FPL managers to consider.
Joao Pedro (£5.3 million)
Whilst Pedro has continued to shine on the Europa League stage, he had gone a little quiet on the domestic scene after being a popular cheap FPL pick through the early weeks of the campaign.
A goal on the opening day against Luton Town from the penalty spot marked him out as successor to Alexis Mac Allister as the Albion’s designated taker.
Pedro subsequently found himself selected by 2.5 million FPL managers going into Gameweek 2. But a large, competitive Brighton squad combined with the De Zerbi’s heavy use of rotation means he has only started three Premier League matches since.
That brace for Brighton against Forest put Pedro firmly back in the FPL conversation. It gave him a 13-point haul from the bench but more importantly, should pave the way for more starting opportunities – especially with Ansu Fati ruled out for up to three months having gone off injured at the City Ground.
If Pedro does find himself playing more Premier League minutes, he suddenly looks like a superb FPL third forward option heading into a chaotic December schedule.
Pedro’s numbers back this position up. From just 686 minutes, he is the fourth-best forward across the Premier League for chances created (13) and fifth-best for penalty area touches (65).
Jan Paul van Hecke (£4.0 million)
Sticking with the theme of having a strong 15-man FPL squad for the festive period, managers will likely need their cheapest assets – usually substitutes – to step in from the side lines at some point.
Therefore, the minimum requirement is that these individuals can be trusted to bring in appearance points. Which brings us onto Jan Paul van Hecke.
The Dutch defender has started Brighton’s last three Premier League matches – and although no clean sheets have arrived yet, he has had two headed goal attempts from the inside the box.
Van Hecke looked every bit a future Albion captain in the way he led the defence after Dunk saw red in the Forest win.
With Brighton lacking defensive options due to their terrible injury list, Van Hecke looks almost undroppable. That means he provides value for FPL managers with the games coming thick and fast.
Captain Fantastic
Settling on an armband choice could be tricky for Gameweek 14. Erling Haaland (£14.0 million) is in form and faces a Spurs defence that is still without its main two centre backs.
Meanwhile, a weekend assist for Mohamed Salah (£13.0 million) means he has still only blanked twice from this season’s 13 outings. Salah is at home to Fulham.
One interesting development this week has been the escalating number of transfers of Bryan Mbeumo (£7.0 million) as Brentford prepare to host Luton Town.
Mbeumo ranks joint-sixth overall for both big chances (12) and shots on target (15) ahead of facing the struggling Hatters.
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