Brighton FPL Gameweek 17: How to second guess Potter the Tinkerman?
Second guessing the selection policy of rotation enthusiast Graham Potter is tricky at the best of times – but when you throw in a congested Christmas fixture list, then the process of trying to work out what the Brighton boss might do and translate that into an FPL team becomes virtually impossible.
Despite the difficulty, we have decided to have a go. And in its own little way, the mad Brighton starting XI which Potter named for FPL gameweek 16 could actually make it easier to predict what the Albion boss will do for gameweek 17.
Time For The A Team
Brighton’s disappointing 1-0 loss to Arsenal on Tuesday night saw the Albion equal their club record for 12 home games without a win.
Both Potter and Mikel Arteta fielded different line-ups from their usual go-to options. And whilst Potter’s selection looked like it had been undertaken by a man who had received a bang on the head, it does suggest that the Albion boss should be handing runouts to more proven performers when Wolverhampton Wanderers visit the Amex.
Neither the Seagulls nor the visitors are exactly tearing up the scoring charts this season – the 33 goals they have managed between them is four shy of the tally Liverpool have banged in all by themselves.
So it might be worth a look at a Brighton defender ahead of this fixture. Brighton have managed just the three clean sheets thus far, and only four teams have kept fewer, so looking for a defender with potential upside seems wise.
Ben White (£4.4 million) was rested against Arsenal, and thus he should be back in the team for Wolves. As the team’s leading defender for tackles (43), interceptions (25) and blocks (10), he looks well-placed for FPL bonus points if Brighton can keep a clean sheet – and Potter selects him.
Your Maupay Pal
But it is another who didn’t start the Gunners game who could bring more New Year joy to your fantasy proceedings. Neal Maupay (£6.1 million) was given just 23 minutes in midweek and didn’t play at all in the gameweek 13 0-0 draw at Fulham, so he is as fresh as anyone can be during this ridiculous run of fixtures.
He remains the Seagulls’ prime attacking threat who is top for attempts (33), big chances (11) and penalty area touches (64) and is, of course, their leading scorer with five goals.
Wolves have been fairly tight at the back – the 171 shots they have conceded is a total just six teams can better – but they have still only managed one more clean sheet than Brighton and 13 of the 21 goals they have let in have come on the road.
Captaincy Corner
The increase in Covid cases among footballers and their families is making FPL team selection increasingly fraught. The same, therefore, can be said of picking a decent captain so banking on one of the most reliable FPL assets as a gameweek 17 captaincy pick seems wise.
Bruno Fernandes (£11.1 million) is, at the time of writing, the joint-top scorer in FPL, with 120 points, and has delivered returns for three straight matches, two of them involving double-digit scores.
Rotation, as ever, will be a worry as Manchester United played on Tuesday and will be in action at home to Aston Villa on Friday. Bruno however rarely misses out as he has become an essential cog in United’s wheel.
It seems highly unlikely that manager Ole Gunnar Solskjaer will drop his key player for a match against high-flying Villa – especially as a rest (courtesy either of the FA Cup or Covid) is right around the corner.
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