Brighton FPL Gameweek 16: Sanchez & Lamptey v goal-shy Spurs
If Brighton v Spurs in FPL gameweek 16 goes ahead, then the Covid outbreak in the Tottenham squad combined with the visitors’ recent shyness in front of goal makes this look a good week to invest in Albion defensive assets – with Robert Sanchez and Tariq Lamptey top of the list.
Spurs’ Thursday night Europa Conference game against Rennes has been postponed and their first team training centre is now closed to try and contain the outbreak.
Five members of staff and eight players have so far been confirmed as testing positive for Covid, so should the Premier League decide that Sunday’s game at the Amex must be played, then Brighton will be facing a weakened opposition.
Neither side have been great in front of goal in recent weeks. The Seagulls have now drawn five of their last six league games, registering five goals in that time at a rate of a chance every eight minutes. Spurs are even worse at one chance every 8.7 minutes.
Brighton have had 179 attempts on goal over that six game period, with 113 from inside the box. Tottenham meanwhile have registered only 152 attempts, the fewest in the Premier League.
Robert Sanchez (£4.6 million) and Tariq Lamptey (£4.5 million) will fancy their chances of picking up FPL points defensively, whilst Lamptey has also been almost unplayable going forward for Brighton since his return from injury.
He was voted as our WAB Player of the Month for November 2021 and already has an assist to his name from two December appearances, teeing up Neal Maupay (£6.3 million) for that late overhead kick against West Ham United in gameweek 13.
Speaking of Maupay, he now had two goals from two matches. The 89th minute equaliser at the London Stadium earned him eight points whilst his 98th minute leveller in the 1-1 draw at Southampton in gameweek 14 meant he put nine points on the board.
Maupay also topped the player ratings at St Mary’s for the second game running, a sign that he is enjoying his best run of form of the season.
The three forward spots in FPL have been difficult to fill over recent weeks, with very few strikers regularly returning.
With Maupay appearing to find some form, he could be a wise investment as a relatively cheap forward option – allowing managers to invest significant funds in their defence, which is where most points are coming from this year.
Leandro Trossard (£6.5 million) was stretchered off against Southampton and although his injury is said to be not as bad as it would first appear, his situation should be monitored carefully by FPL managers.
With Trossard registering the majority of Brighton attempts this season (39, with 22 of those inside the box), he is still a great differential with just 2.4 percent ownership.
Captain Fantastic
Yet again, Mohamed Salah (£13.1 million) returned an assist for all the FPL managers who captained him last time out. Whilst this was not the points haul hoped for, it means that he continues to be the most consistent and trustworthy pick when handing out the armband.
He looks like a good captaincy option for gameweek 16 against Aston Villa, who have kept just one clean sheet since gameweek six. No need to remind you who that came against…
Manchester United are about to embark on a run of Premier League fixtures that looks primed for FPL points, including Brighton at Old Trafford next weekend.
With Ralf Rangnick leading them to victory in his first match, he will be hoping to build on this in gameweek 16 against Norwich City.
The likes of Jadon Sancho (£8.9 million), Marcus Rashford (£9.4 million) and of course Cristiano Ronaldo (£12.3 million) could all be excellent differential captains against Norwich this weekend.
You can pick up expert advice throughout the 2021-22 Fantasy Premier League season with Fantasy Football Scout
