By Graham Ruthven, in conversation with Jonas Sand Låbakk
Introducing our expert
Jonas is a 21 year old student who, like FotMob, hails from Norway. He was Fantasy Premier League champion for the 2023/24 season, finishing ahead of 11 million other managers. So who better to provide expert advice?
Read his expert advice every week.
*Don’t forget the FPL deadline for this round – make your transfers and get your team sorted before 11:00 GMT on Saturday 8 March*
The Eye Test vs. The Stats
Yoane Wissa (6.4m) has consistently delivered for Brentford this season, registering 13 goals and two assists in just 23 games. This makes him the seventh-highest scoring attacker in Fantasy Premier League.
Brentford’s recent favourable run of fixtures might be coming to an end, but the unavailability of Jean-Philippe Mateta and Matheus Cunha means you might have to look elsewhere for an attacking option.
When fit, Wissa plays almost every minute of every game for the Bees, playing 90 minutes in his last eight Premier League outings.
Wissa is a constant threat to opposition teams and this is reflected in his statistics. Indeed, he is ranked sixth for Expected Goals (xG) in the Premier League this season with 13.1. This is even more impressive when considering Wissa doesn’t take penalties.
The DR Conga international scored Brentford’s only goal in their GW 27 draw against Everton, finding himself in the right place at the right time to convert a 0.85 xG chance.
Brentford have tricky fixtures against Aston Villa, Bournemouth and Newcastle coming up in their next three gameweeks. However, the Bees scored eight goals across the same fixtures earlier in the season with Wissa notching three of those.
Thomas Frank’s team have proved their ability to score against any opponent and so Wissa and Bryan Mbeumo will be threats.
Daniel Muñoz (5.0m) is worth your attention ahead of GW28 with Crystal Palace in excellent form. With Ipswich Town and Southampton in their next two Premier League fixtures, the Eagles’ recent run could continue.
Muñoz is an attack-minded full back and is focused on getting into good positions high up the pitch. This is shown in his recent attacking returns. Indeed, the Colombian has registered six goal involvements (three goals and three assists) in his last seven games. These are ludicrous numbers for a defender.
Not only does Muñoz pass the eye tests, the statistics back up his FPL value. Only Trent Alexander-Arnold and Joško Gvardiol have better numbers than the Palace right back in an attacking sense. His average of 0.24 Expected Goal Involvements (xGI) per 90 minutes possibly makes him the best defender in FPL right now.
The only downside with Muñoz is that Crystal Palace don’t have a fixture in GW29. If you plan on using your Free Hit chip during that week, though, Muñoz should be high on your list.
Long shot
After a number of weeks out through injury, Evanilson (5.6m) is back for Bournemouth and he should be on your FPL radar.
While Dango Ouattara performed well in the Cherries striker’s absence, Evanilson is a level above and made his return to the starting lineup in last week’s penalty shootout win over Wolves in the FA Cup, finding the back of the net during the match.
Injury has dropped Evanilson’s FPL ownership to just 0.7%, meaning he could be a huge differential as Bournemouth look to continue their Champions League qualification challenge.
Bournemouth have a run of favourable fixtures ahead of them with games against Tottenham Hotspur, Brentford and Ipswich over the next three gameweeks.
However, the lack of information on how many minutes Evanilson will play still makes him a long shot. The Brazilian is a good bet to start against Spurs this weekend, but it’s a risk to pick him when Andoni Iraola could sub him out later in the game.
Upcoming games to follow
A number of interesting matches could make GW28 a high-scoring one from an FPL point of view.
Liverpool host Southampton on Saturday with the Saints on track for one of the worst seasons in Premier League history. Therefore, the table-toppers should destroy the visitors to Anfield this weekend.
My picks for big scores are Mohamed Salah (13.8m) and Alexander-Arnold (7.4m). Dominik Szoboszlai (6.4m) has also been in great form lately and is one to monitor.
At the same time on Saturday, Crystal Palace host Ipswich at Selhurst Park. Muñoz, Ismaïla Sarr (5.5m) and Eberechi Eze (6.7m) are worth targeting from this match.
Chelsea’s home match against Leicester City on Sunday is another one worth highlighting.
Enzo Maresca’s team battered Southampton 4-0 in the last gameweek. Cole Palmer (11.1m) was unfortunate not to score with an xGI of 1.4, but Christopher Nkunku (5.7m) and Pedro Neto (6.2m) both scored and assisted.
Marc Cucurella (5.1m) is another asset who could be set for a big points haul against the team in the relegation zone.
(Cover image from IMAGO)
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