Brighton FPL Gameweek 25: Back the attack to make Palace miserable
Brighton continued their run of impressive performances when Aston Villa travelled to the Amex Stadium and if it were not for the brilliance of Emiliano Martínez, the Albion would be coming into the big one against Crystal Palace in FPL gameweek 25 with a big victory in the bank.
The Seagulls managed 26 shots against Villa, nine of which were kept out by the unbeatable Martinez. Two of those were categorised as big chances whilst Graham Potter’s side also registered 58 percent possession and won nine corners.
At the other end, a Villa side with the creative talents of Jack Grealish, Ollie Watkins and Ross Barkley were restricted to one effort on target, four shots in total, no big chances and only two corners.
A combination of that impressive defensive display in gameweek 24 and coming up against a Palace side who looked woeful in defeat to Burnley means that Brighton assets are among the top targets for FPL managers.
Defensive Dynamos
Lewis Dunk (£4.9 million) has already earned 54,000+ new owners and counting for gameweek 25, triggering a £0.1m rise in price. That is hardly surprising considering Brighton have five clean sheets in their last six with Dunk continuing the excellent form which had seen him top the WAB Power Rankings for January 2021.
Dunk’s performance in the 0-0 draw with Aston Villa left him fifth for aerial duels in gameweek 24. He registered a bonus point and moved up to third in the overall standings for creativity amongst defenders.
Dunk and his team-mates face a Crystal Palace team who have gone goalless in three of their last four and are yet to score a Premier League goal without Wilfried Zaha (£7.1 million) on the pitch this season. Palace boss Roy Hodgson said in his pre-Brighton press conference that Zaha would remain sidelined for the trip to the Amex with injury.
Robert Sanchez (£4.5m) has also had a well-deserved price rise on the back of his recent performances. The goalkeeper has returned in every match of the last six gameweeks, keeping five clean sheets in that and scoring on average 6.5 points per match.
Forward Motion
Turning our attentions to the Albion’s attack and there were some equally impressive performances in gameweek 24 there. Adam Lallana (£6.2 million) was only on the pitch for 30 minutes but still managed to finish joint-top for key passes with four, matched only by Manchester United’s Luke Shaw (£5.0 million).
Both Pascal Gross (£5.8 million) and Joel Veltman (£4.3 million) were in the gameweek’s top five for crossing too. Gross registered 12 and Veltman six, leaving them second and fourth respectively.
Five Brighton players were in the top ten for expected goals (xG) underachievers in gameweek 24, with only Liverpool’s Roberto Firmino (£9.3 million) ahead of Danny Welbeck (£5.5 million) who was an 80th minute introduction as a substitute, receiving even less game time than Lallana.
Albion players making up half of the entire Premier League’s xG underachievers suggests that the likes of Welbeck, Alexis Mac Allister (£5.3 million), Leandro Trossard (£5.7 million), Neal Maupay (£6.1 million) and even Dan Burn (£4.2 million) are doing the right things and were unlucky not to return last time out.
With Palace, West Bromwich Albion, Southampton and Newcastle United as four of the Seagulls’ next five opponents, there are plenty of opportunities for Brighton’s good form at both ends of the pitch to continue.
Captain Fantastic
Patrick Bamford (£6.8 million) will be a popular option for the gameweek 25 captaincy with The Leeds United facing a double gameweek against Wolverhampton Wanderers and Southampton.
Whilst Bamford failed to return in gameweek 24, he had registered 26 points over the three previous rounds. Bamford remains first for threat and third for influence among forwards in FPL this season.
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