Brighton FPL Gameweek 9: Can Cucurella spark another Pep meltdown?
The Albion continued their good run of form last at Norwich City, picking up a point at Carrow Road to move into fourth spot in the Premier League. Brighton recorded yet another clean sheet and although they face a much sterner test against Manchester City in FPL gameweek 9, the Seagulls’ defensive assets are worth a look – especially Marc Cucurella.
Norwich 0-0 Brighton means that the Albion now have four clean sheets from the opening eight gameweeks of the season. Just City, Chelsea and Liverpool have registered more and only City and Chelsea have conceded less goals than the Seagulls’ five.
The underlying stats from gameweek 8 also look impressive with Brighton ranked fourth for passes, third for crosses and third for touches in the oppositions half. This supports the feeling that the Albion were unlucky not to register an attacking return at Carrow Road.
Neal Maupay (£6.6 million) ranked fourth for expected goal (xG) underachievers for his showing against the Canaries. This means that Maupay should have returned points for his FPL managers, most notably with that late opportunity from a Solly March ball into the box which Maupay somehow side footed over the bar.
On top of this, Pascal Gross (£6.0 million) came third for gameweek 8 crosses with nine, four of which were successful. On another day, someone gets on the end of one of those and the Seagulls make the long trek back from Norfolk with three points.
Despite all these promising numbers, it is always tough to know what to do with FPL assets when they face the likes of City. Should we sell, bench or play them this weekend?
Most FPL managers who have invested in Brighton assets have done so in defensive options. Lewis Dunk (£5.0 million) was 10th for underlying bonus points (BPS) last weekend, whilst Shane Duffy (£4.4 million) came top for Brighton defenders on xG and expected goal involvement (xGI).
Indeed, Duffy’s xG ranks in the top 10 for defenders across the whole game. He is also top for aerial duals so far with 54 since the start of the season.
All of these expected stats show that Brighton’s defence pose plenty of threat in an attacking sense. And whilst most would think that the Albion’s back line will be far too pre-occupied with defensive duties to trouble City, Brighton won 3-2 the last time these two sides met with two defenders on the score sheet in Dan Burn (£4.4 million) and Adam Webster (£4.4 million).
One player in particular who could thrive against City is Cucurella (£5.0 million). He has made a flying start to life in the Premier League, becoming the first ever player to top the WAB Brighton Power Rankings within his first month at the club.
Cucurella leads Brighton defensive options for expected assists (xA) in FPL so far this season and that is despite only signing for £15 million from Getafe a month into the campaign.
His ability to motor up and down the left flank could cause problems for City. Cucurella is the Albion player most likely to spark another meltdown from Pep Guardiola should Pep’s team built with a billion petrodollars be humbled by little old Brighton again.
For those tempted to sell Brighton FPL assets like Cucurella ahead of the City game fearing defeat, then a quick look at the fixture list tells you this may not be the wisest move.
Aside from Liverpool away in gameweek 10, the Albion’s November matches take on a gentler look. Based on what we have seen so far in 2021-22, Brighton are worth siding with – maybe even against the Citizens and the Reds.
Captain Fantastic
Most FPL managers had Romelu Lukaku (£11.7 million) earmarked for the captain’s armband in gameweek 9 for his game at home to Norwich.
However, Lukaku has now blanked in five of his last six Premier League games and he came off injured in Chelsea’s midweek Champions League win over Malmo.
His negative form coincides with a revival in Norwich’s defensive strength, having kept two consecutive clean sheets. On paper and if fit, Lukaku is the most attractive option but this form is likely to tempt managers elsewhere.
Mohamed Salah (£12.8 million) is currently in line to have his best FPL season, having returned in seven of Liverpool’s eight league games.
Whilst Salah’s fixture against Manchester United may not appear hugely appealing at first, he has registered seven points in two of the last three Premier League fixtures against the Red Devils.
Meanwhile, Spurs’ Son Heung-Min (£10.1m) has now returned in his last two Premier League games and has also done so in three of his last four matches against Gameweek 9 opponents West Ham, just like teammate Harry Kane (£12.1 million) who netted his first league goal of the season at the weekend.
