Brighton FPL Gameweek 33: Pedro pivotal for Albion run-in
Having seen an international break followed by a quick sequence of Gameweeks 30 to 32, FPL is back to a standard one-week gap between deadlines as the season run-in approaches – with good news for Brighton fans over the fitness of Joao Pedro.
Pedro made his return from injury in the Gameweek 31 draw at Brentford. Not wanting to overwork his top scorer, Roberto De Zerbi then rested the Brazilian to the bench in Gameweek 32 against Arsenal.
That should mean Pedro is refreshed and ready to go as the Albion travel to Turf Moor to take on relegation threatened Burnley.
Joao Pedro (£5.2 million)
Pedro was a big miss for Brighton during his eight weeks out with a hamstring injury. Of the six league matches he was absent from in that time, the Albion failed to score at Fulham and then needed an own goal from Nottingham Forest’s Andrew Omobamidele to beat the Tricky Trees 1-0 at the Amex.
At the time Pedro got hurt, he was actually sat joint-sixth for overall penalty area shots (44) despite only starting 12 of his 23 Premier League appearances.
Additionally, he is the Brighton player with most touches inside the box (148) and goal attempts (54). Pedro has also successfully converted 10 out of 10 penalties.
What makes Pedro even more appealing is his low FPL price of £5.2 million. He frees up budget for elsewhere at the same time as being a very useful FPL squad player, capable of producing in every match and he has a Double Gameweek on the horizon.
Pascal Gross (£6.3 million)
Regularly mentioned here is German international Gross, who remains the only Seagulls asset to have racked up over 100 points so far this season.
His latest three outings have failed to bring in any attacking returns but before that he delivered in five successive starts – winning WAB February 2024 Player of the Month in the process.
Brighton are the team with third-most shots on target (176), ahead of Arsenal, Tottenham and Aston Villa. Gross is a huge reason for this as he ranks second throughout the whole league for chances created (86).
Combine that with opponents Burnley allowing the joint-third most set-piece efforts (144) and the prospect of a Gross assist is very real.
What betting his impressive ability from set pieces provides an Albion goal for Lewis Dunk (£5.2 million)? The Albion captain is one of the leading defenders for attempts (31) and shots on target (11) this season.
Captaincy
When it comes to distributing the armband, initial thoughts immediately go to Erling Haaland (£14.3 million) being at home against Luton Town.
However, this match is squeezed between two meetings with Real Madrid in the Champions League and Pep Guardiola has very willingly rotated his squad of late. Haaland is therefore no guaranteed starter.
Another candidate could be Mohamed Salah (£13.4 million), who will be hoping to repeat what Haaland did last weekend by scoring against Crystal Palace.
The Egyptian forward enjoyed his last meeting with the Eagles, finishing with a goal, assist and 13 FPL points in December’s reverse fixture.
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