Brighton FPL Gameweek 3: Welbeck gets goals against old clubs

A generally high-scoring FPL Gameweek 2 brought hat-tricks for Erling Haaland (£15.1 million) and Noni Madueke (£6.5 million), other double-digit hauls for popular picks and the familiar sight of Danny Welbeck (£5.6 million) netting against a former club.

Dat Guy opened the scoring for Brighton against Manchester United as new head coach Fabian Hurzeler made it two wins from two matches.

The Albion were patient in the second half, saw off a period of United pressure and then got their reward when Joao Pedro (£5.5 million) headed home a stoppage time winner.

Brighton face a huge test in FPL Gameweek 3, making the trip to Arsenal – another old team of Welbeck, giving Dat Guy an opportunity to continue his incredible record against ex-employers.

Whilst visiting the Emirates will not be easy for the Albion, Mikel Arteta is probably thinking the same over hosting Brighton in light of the Seagulls’ confident start to the campaign.

With that in mind, here are a couple of interesting Brighton players for FPL managers to consider.

Danny Welbeck (£5.6 million)

Welbeck has been this week’s third most-bought FPL player on account of his performances against United on Saturday and in the opening day win at Everton a week earlier.

Dat Guy has two goals, an assist and has taken the maximum three bonus points in both games so far. Only Haaland and Mo Salah (£12.5 million) have more points than the 21 acquired by Welbeck so far this season.

He is ranked fifth for expected goals (1.31) and with consecutive home games against Ipswich Town and Nottingham Forest to come, Welbeck’s appeal has already led to one price rise.

Brighton had 561 shots in the 2023-24 season, bettered by only four teams. Just 9.8 percent of those were turned into goals.

Promisingly for Welbeck backers, that conversion rate is up to 20.8 percent from the admittedly small sample size under Hurzeler so far.

Joao Pedro (£5.5 million)

Despite having suffered a pre-season injury which caused him to miss the tour of Japan, early signs for the Brazilian’s FPL prospects have been encouraging.

Pedro hit the weekend winner against United and claimed two bonus points. Equally important is his game time, starting both and playing almost all minutes.

It was a different story under Roberto De Zerbi in 2023-24. Only 19 of Pedro’s 31 Premier League appearances came from the beginning and no more than nine were completed.

Although competition for place is even fiercer now that Brajan Gruda (£5.5 million), Georginio Rutter (£5.5 million) and Yankuba Minteh (£5.5 million) have arrived, Pedro’s versatility and proven quality will encourage further investment from FPL managers.

The 22-year-old is already in 20 percent of all squads, meaning he is currently the fourth highest-owned forward.

Part of the appeal is his penalty-taking, as 10 of 11 spot kicks (in all competitions) were successful last season. And he tucked away the rebound from the one he did miss against Aston Villa back in May.

Captaincy

Well done to the 477,386 who used their triple captain on Haaland against Ipswich. It was a brave move to activate the chip so early but one that completely paid off. The Norwegian remains a strong armband contender away to West Ham United.

Liverpool meanwhile face United, fixture which we know Salah loves. The Egyptian forward has delivered a staggering 10 goals and four assists during the last seven meetings between the great rivals. A trio of those games brought at least 19 points.

Another option is Cole Palmer (£10.5 million). He brought in big numbers during Chelsea’s 6-2 win at Wolves and faces an out-of-form Crystal Palace.

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