Brighton FPL Gameweek 22: Mitoma in the goals before United
Thursday night saw the Seagulls end their six game winless streak by grabbing a first Premier League victory since November. Goals from Kaoru Mitoma and Georginio Rutter secured a 2-0 success for Brighton away at Ipswich Town, helping to deliver a whole host of points for FPL managers owning Albion assets.
The clean sheet recorded by Bart Verbruggen (£4.5 million) and his defence at one end of the pitch was good news. At the other end, Danny Welbeck (£5.5 million) played his first league minutes in over a month. A timely boost to Fabian Hurzeler’s forward options.
Gameweek 22 sees Brighton head to Old Trafford to face one of Welbeck’s former clubs, Manchester United. Here are a couple of Alion players who might be of interest to FPL managers this weekend.
Kaoru Mitoma (£6.3 million)
One of the main talking points across all of FPL before Gameweek 21 was the availability of Joao Pedro (£5.7 million).
Pedro required an MRI scan on an ankle injured in training before Brighton’s 4-0 FA Cup victory at Norwich City.
Having missed the trip to Carrow Road, Pedro did indeed return against Ipswich. Hurzeler named the Brazlian forward in the starting XI and he got through 77 minutes.
But it was teammate Mitoma who delivered the goods at Portman Road, breaking the deadlock for the Albion on the hour mark.
Build up play from the right-side of the area found Matt O’Riley (£5.5 million) in a central position.
O’Riley cleverly shifted the ball towards Mitoma, who applied the finish underneath the body of former Brighton goalkeeper Christian Walton.
A couple of bonus points meant Mitoma ended Ipswich 0-2 Brighton with a total of 10, meaning he returned his joint-best tally of the season for his FPL owners.
Part of Mitoma’s appeal is that he is the club leader for touches (117) and shots (30) inside the penalty area. He is also ahead for attempts on target (15) and chances created (30).
The Albion have a fine recent record against Gameweek 22 opponents United, winning five of the last six Premier League meetings between the clubs.
If Brighton are to continue that impressive form and come away from Old Trafford victorious for the third season in succession, Mitoma is likely to play a starring role.
Pervis Estupinan (£5.0 million)
Three FPL bonus points were meanwhile claimed by Pervis Estupinan, aided by making a match-high seven ball recoveries.
After Mitoma, Estupinan is the best Brighton player for creating chances (10) and big efforts (five) – although his popularity in FPL is suffering from a lack of goals.
Estupinan is still yet to notch so far this season, meaning the 26-year-old has not captured the attention of the FPL community like he did at the start of the 2023-24 campaign.
Back then, he accumulated one goal, three assists and 27 points in the first five matches. That gave Estupinan peak ownership of 6.2 million.
Just 165,000 currently have him in their squads. That number though may well increase with games against Everton and Southampton on the horizon.
The Toffees have scored only once in their past six games. And the only team to have scored fewer overall than Everton? Last-placed Saints.
Captaincy
It is tough to go against Mohamed Salah (£13.7 million) for the Gameweek 22 armband, even though he suffered a rare blank in midweek when Liverpool drew 1-1 at Nottingham Forest.
Salah remains by far and away the leading scorer in FPL this season. He will fancy his chances of adding to an already astronomical score when visiting the leaky backline of Brentford.
Then again, Cole Palmer (£11.4 million) has bettered Salah in three of the last four rounds. Alexander Isak (£9.4 million) meanwhile has outscored Salah 66-60 over the latest six Gameweeks.
Isak would have worn even more midweek armbands had Eddie Howe not created doubt about the Swedish striker’s involvement with his pre-match press conference words. Isak went on to bag 16 points and Palmer is about to face the same Wolves defence.
Also worth considering is Chris Wood (£6.9 million) at home to Southampton. He has netted on three consecutive occasions as Forest continue their unlikely title charge.
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