Brighton FPL Gameweek 23: Welbz can be Dat Guy against Palace
Following the large two-and-half-week gap between FPL Gameweeek 21 and 22, there is a very quick turnaround going from Gameweek 22 into 23 – where Brighton will welcome arch rivals Crystal Palace to the Amex.
Many FPL managers would have been left scratching their heads over what happened to the Albion at Kenilworth Road on Tuesday night.
Having recorded back-to-back Premier League clean sheets for the first time this season, Brighton were hammered 4-0 by a Luton Town side who started the evening 18th in the table.
The Hatters scored twice inside the opening three minutes, setting the tone for what was the worst performance and result of the Roberto De Zerbi Era so far.
Brighton do at least tend to have a good record when it comes to bouncing back from such disappointments under De Zerbi.
They ended Arsenal’s faint title hopes by winning 3-0 at the Emirates last May just a couple of days after being hammered 5-1 at home by Everton.
September’s 6-1 defeat at Aston Villa was followed with a battling 2-2 draw away against Marseille, a result which helped turn the Albion’s Europa League campaign around after a difficult start.
A combination of motivation to right the wrongs of humiliation at the hands of Luton and the added incentive of victory over their arch rivals should have the Seagulls fired up for facing the Eagles.
FPL managers considering Brighton assets for the Palace game should be aware that cheap in-game forward Joao Pedro (£5.5 million) came off worse from a challenge on Tuesday night and was substituted with a knock.
Doubts over Pedro therefore add interest to a certain teammate whose minutes suddenly look more secure and who has already netted against the Eagles this season.
Danny Welbeck (£5.7m)
33-year-old Danny Welbeck started most of the Albion’s early matches until a hamstring injury at Manchester City in October ruled Dat Guy out for almost two months.
Welbeck’s first goal back was the equaliser as a second half substitute during the 1-1 draw at Selhurst Park. He has since started all four subsequent Premier League games for the Albion.
In this period, only Alexander Isak (£7.6 million), Darwin Nunez (£7.5 million) and Julian Alvarez (£7.0 million) have recorded more big chances than Welbeck.
Three of those came in midweek at Luton and all from inside the penalty area. It might have felt like a woeful Brighton display, but Welbeck getting into some good positions should count as a positive.
Despite not having scored for three Premier League matches now, Brighton rank third for shots on target (132). Palace meanwhile have gone 11 games without a clean sheet, conceding over two per game.
Looking beyond the clash with the Eagles, Brighton have upcoming games against Sheffield United (A), Everton (H), Fulham (A) and Nottingham Forest (H). They look like fixtures which could provide plenty more opportunities for Welbeck to deliver attacking returns for FPL managers.
Captaincy
The race for FPL armbands intensifies heading into Gameweek 23. Erling Haaland (£14.0 million) is back from injury as Manchester City travel to Brentford.
City assets other than Haaland will be popular captaincy choices, with Phil Foden (£8.0 million) and Kevin De Bruyne (£10.7 million) thriving in recent weeks. The only question mark over them being a slight risk of rotation.
With Arsenal taking on Liverpool, players from those sides make much appeal. Outside the box thinking can instead lead to Ollie Watkins (£8.8 million).
The Aston Villa forward is finally back amongst the goals, just in time to face bottom of the table Sheffield United at Bramall Lane.
Then there is Dominic Solanke (£7.1 million). Bournemouth are at home to Nottingham Forest and Solanke plundered a hat-trick in December’s reverse fixture between the two at the City Ground.
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