Brighton FPL Gameweek 19: Fresh & firing Lamptey can torment Bees
It has been a frustrating time of late for Brighton fans and FPL managers alike with two of the Albion’s last three Premier League games postponed due to Covid-19 – but on the flip side, the enforced rest will leave players like Tariq Lamptey fit and refreshed ahead of the festive period.
The Seagulls’ next game – all being well – will now be against Brentford on Boxing Day in gameweek 19. Injuries, suspension and omicron had ravaged the squad in recent weeks . Graham Potter used his pre-game press conference to confirm that the additional time off means that Neal Maupay, Pascal Gross, Adam Webster and Danny Welbeck are all now back in contention.
Lamptey (£4.5 million) though is the Brighton player that FPL managers should be most interested in. Many were concerned about investing in the right wing back after 10 months out injured, in case he had his game time carefully managed.
After two months of Potter easing Lamptey back in, he now has enough minutes under his belt to be trusted to complete games regularly. His form in November saw him voted as our WAB Player of the Month.
Potter will view Brentford as a winnable home game to end Brighton’s barren 11 game run without victory and that should mean that Lamptey is certain to start against the Bees.
With only 1.9 percent of FPL managers owning Lamptey, he has the potential to be an excellent differential across the festive period.
Brighton are performing well defensively this season, conceding just 113 shots in the box. Only Liverpool, Manchester City and Chelsea have allowed fewer.
Investing in players like Lamptey or goalkeeper Robert Sanchez (£4.6 million) – who made some big saves in the 1-0 defeat to Wolves last time out – could be a wise idea.
In terms of attack, Brighton have registered 191 shots so far this season. 120 of those have come from inside the penalty area.
This leaves them joint 11th for shots across the division. Apart from Manchester United however, all those teams above them have played either one or two more games.
Captain Fantastic
Mohamed Salah (£13.1 million) disappointed the FPL managers who captained him in gameweek 18 by registering only his second blank of the season.
However, even with no returns from the 2-2 draw with Spurs, he still registered 34 touches in the opponent’s half and had two shots on goal.
Up next, Salah faces a Leeds United team who have had their team ravaged by injury and have conceded 17 goals in the last four gameweeks.
For managers wanting to look outside of Salah for the captain’s armband then there are plenty of alternatives.
Teammates Diogo Jota (£8.1 million) and Trent Alexander-Arnold (£8.3 million) are both on excellent form, with Jota returning back-to-back goals and Alexander-Arnold scoring 74 points in the last eight gameweeks – including three double-digit hauls, a trio of nine-point returns and just one blank.
Outside of Liverpool, Manchester City have an attractive fixture against Leicester City, whilst a recovered Spurs face a Crystal Palace team who have only won once from their last six.
With Son Heung-Min (£10.3 million) and Harry Kane (£12.1 million) back on the score sheet in gameweek 18, they could be great differential captains.
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