Tom Carnduff looks at Gameweek 8 of the fantasy football season, discussing fixtures, transfers, captaincy choices and more.
The Premier League returns this weekend, with FPL's Gameweek 8 beginning on Friday night.
Due to events in London, changes have been made to the schedule with some moved forward on the Sunday, while others have been postponed.
Here, we discuss the best moves to make for the latest round of fixtures.
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When is the FPL Gameweek 8 deadline?
The FPL Gameweek 8 deadline is Friday September 16 at 18:30 BST, with the first game kicking off at 20:00 BST.
How do the FPL chips work?
- Bench Boost: This counts the points of those on your bench alongside your starting XI - this can only be used once a season
- Triple Captain: The captain earns 3x the amount of points for that gameweek - this can only be used once a season
- Free Hit: This allows unlimited changes for one gameweek only. A team reverts back to how it was before once this has been played - this can only be used once a season
What happens if I played a chip in Gameweek 7?
The Premier League have explained the rules regarding those who used a chip for FPL Gameweek 7.
"Any FPL manager who played their Free Hit, Triple Captain or Bench Boost chip for Gameweek 7’s postponed matches will have had them automatically reinstated," they said on their website.
"Any Wildcards played prior to the Gameweek 7 deadline will be rolled over into Gameweek 8."
Who has the best fixtures in Gameweek 8?
While there is Premier League action this weekend, the following six teams will not be playing:
- Brighton
- Chelsea
- Crystal Palace
- Leeds
- Liverpool
- Manchester United
It means that five of the seven games going ahead will be televised across BT Sport and Sky Sports.
From the typical big hitters, MANCHESTER CITY are still in action as they travel to face Wolves in Saturday's early kick-off.
Pep Guardiola's side have been brilliant once again to start the new season, with 20 goals scored across their first six Premier League games.
Wolves may have only conceded four, but that has come from a much higher 8.0 xGA. They have also only managed to find the net three times, although again this has come from higher expected metrics (7.2 xG).
FULHAM are an interesting one away at Nottingham Forest on Friday. They've scored nine goals from 8.4 xG this season, while Forest's 14 goals conceded has been from 12.9 xGA.
What are the best transfers for Gameweek 8?
As mentioned above, there are six teams not playing and they should be avoided when it comes to bringing in players for Gameweek 8.
There is likely to be a situation where you're short on numbers for this weekend, but it's important not to panic at this point.
Many, many others will be facing the same problem, so there is little point in sacrificing points to allow you to have a full squad available.
It's also worth remembering future gameweeks, and ensuring that transfers made now aren't done in the very short term. This leaves you with players you don't really want going forward.
For those looking to make a transfer or two for Gameweek 8, who should be targeted?
Alexander Isak
- Position: FWD
- Club: Newcastle
- Fixture: Bournemouth (H)
- FPL Price: £7.0m
Alexander Isak appears in this section again, but we included him in the Gameweek 7 column knowing that Newcastle had a very winnable fixture in Gameweek 8.
Obviously they didn't play last week, but their performance against Crystal Palace was really encouraging from an attacking point of view.
Newcastle put up a remarkable 4.17 xG in that game, with Isak having 1.28 of it. He also scored on his debut against Liverpool while having another ruled out for offside.
He remains at £7.0m, making him a great option to sit along the other forwards who command a huge price tag (hello, Erling).
Aleksandar Mitrović
- Position: FWD
- Club: Fulham
- Fixture: Nottingham Forest (A)
- FPL Price: £6.9m
From Alexander to Aleksandar, the Fulham forward has been in brilliant form to start the season and now finds himself in 27.0% of FPL teams.
His season so far has brought a total of six goals, making him the second-highest scorer in the Premier League behind, obviously, Erling Haaland.
As mentioned above, Forest have really struggled from a defensive perspective this season, conceding 14 goals from 12.9 xGA.
Mitrović will be looking forward to facing this Forest defence, and he can continue his fine start to the campaign with another goal on Friday night.
Ben Davies
- Position: DEF
- Club: Tottenham
- Fixture: Leicester (H)
- FPL Price: £5.0m
This feels like a slightly riskier suggestion but Ben Davies could be a solid differential pick given the numbers posted by him this season.
The left centre-back has played in five of their six Premier League games so far and started in the midweek defeat to Sporting. A game against Leicester presents a realistic opportunity for clean sheet points.
Only Aston Villa and Bournemouth have posted a lower xGF tally than Leicester across the first six games of the season.
Comparing Davies to Ivan Perisic shows the attacking impact they've had this season. Perisic edges average key passes per game (0.8 to 1.3) but Davies takes more shots (0.6 to 0.2).
Perisic has the slight edge given his position as a wing-back but Ryan Sessegnon is there as a rotation option. Davies could be worth the risk.
Armel Bella-Kotchap
- Position: DEF
- Club: Southampton
- Fixture: Aston Villa (A)
- FPL Price: £4.5m
I've tipped Armel Bella-Kotchap to score in Sporting Life's preview of this game (which you can read here) as it looks the right mix for him to find the back of the net.
The Saints centre-back has had seven shots across his first five games with the club, with four of those seeing at least one.
Villa have conceded a total of 27 shots from set-piece situations this season, while holding the fourth-highest xGA from set-piece situations.
His threat as a Southampton player is underlined by the fact he has seven shots and 1.23 xG from his first five games, and yet there were ten shots and 1.37 xG from a full season with Bochum.
Who should I captain in Gameweek 8?
Liverpool aren't in action but Manchester City are, meaning that ERLING HAALAND will be a popular pick.
Little more needs to be said about him that we don't know already, but he's showing no signs of stopping scoring in the league.
You could make a case that MITROVIC is the 'smarter' pick given the fixture. Forest have struggled defensively so far.
Fulham - or more specifically Mitrovic - keep scoring and while he has a decent ownership percentage, you can bet that many won't look to him for captaincy.
HARRY KANE could also have a good game against this Leicester defence. He's only in 17.4% of teams but has five goals and an assist on his tally so far - only once has he returned two points.
As mentioned above, ISAK may also be a brave pick but one that could easily deliver with a goal.
FPL: Gameweek 8 captain choices
Safer options:
- Erling Haaland, Harry Kane, Kevin De Bruyne
Alternative options:
- Aleksandar Mitrović, Alexander Isak, Gabriel Jesus
