Brighton FPL Gameweek 15: Maupay up top allows an expensive defence

There were a lot of underlying stats for FPL managers to analyse from the gameweek 14 draw between Brighton and West Ham with Neal Maupay one of the major topics of conversation.

Maupay (£6.3 million) put an end to his Premier League goal scoring drought on Wednesday, scoring his first goal in the competition since the 1-1 draw at Crystal Palace in gameweek 6.

His world class strike secured the draw for Brighton, alongside three bonus points for his FPL managers that sealed an eight-point return.

Indeed, Maupay was third amongst forwards in the Bonus Points System before the two Thursday evening fixtures between Spurs and Brentford and Arsenal and Manchester United that closed gameweek 14.

Currently, FPL managers are struggling to fill their front three positions due to a lack of consistency from the forward options.

With many looking to move money from the front line into an expensive, premium defence, Maupay could offer decent value for money if he can build on his attacking return in the coming gameweeks.

Another Brighton player to feature prominently alongside Neal Maupay in recent FPL discussions is Tariq Lamptey (£4.4 million).

Against West Ham, the Seagulls had 66 percent possession, managing nine shots on goal with the highest concentration of attack coming from the right-hand side of the pitch.

Lamptey had begun the game rested, only playing for the final 20 minutes. Still, in that time he managed to record 25 touches – nine of which were in the final third – before assisting the equalising goal.

He has now returned either a clean sheet or an attacking return in each of the last three gameweeks, registering 18 points in that period. The fact Lamptey sat on the bench at the London Stadium means that he surely starts against Southampton this weekend.

Jakub Moder (£4.5 million) is becoming ever-more trusted by Graham Potter. Against West Ham, he was fifth for expected goals (xG) underachievers, putting in six crosses as well as registering a big chance for himself.

This means that, whilst Moder failed to return for his owners in gameweek 14, the numbers suggest he was unlucky not to. St Mary’s could be the place that changes.

And what of Southampton? Well, they have conceded eight goals and only scored three within the last three matches.

This bodes well for the popular Brighton defence, especially Robert Sanchez (£4.6 million) who, even though he conceded, still returned four points for his owners as a result of a save point and bonus point on Wednesday.

Captain Fantastic
It is becoming increasingly difficult to look beyond captaining Liverpool’s Mohamed Salah (£13.0 million) after his brace in gameweek 14.

Salah has still only failed to return once so far this Premier League season and is offering FPL managers a consistency of returns which make him the most reliable captaincy option.

However, for managers who are looking for a differential captain for gameweek 15, Tottenham host Norwich on Sunday. Whilst Norwich are unbeaten in four matches, Spurs’ attacking options have a good record against newly-promoted sides.

Harry Kane (£12.3 million) averages 7.25 points per match and Son Heung-Min (£10.4 million) has returned in 10 of his last 13 fixtures in the Premier League against such clubs.

Managers looking for a real differential could also consider moving early to Jadon Sancho (£8.9 million) or Marcus Rashford (£9.4 million) for the expected new manager bounce at Manchester United.

First up with Ralf Rangnick in the dugout, they face a Crystal Palace side who have picked up just one point from their last three matches.

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