In this blog the Top Five Fantasy Premier League (FPL) Key Players for Gameweek 8 are discussed. Every FPL Gameweek, picks will be in the below format:

1x Defender or Goalkeeper

2x Attackers less than £8.5m

2x Attackers £8.5m or over

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Headliner – Heung-Min Son (lut)

Son’s six goals see the South Korean international trail only Haaland (eight) for goals this season, as the below image from our Match Stats feature shows he is top amongst Spurs’ players over their last five matches for goals (six), ‘Expected Goals’ (xG) (2.9) and shots on target (SoT) (nine). Spurs have scored 17 goals with only Newcastle, Villa (18 each) and Brighton (19) being more prolific. The London side are top of the league for shots (137). Their hosts Luton have conceded 14 goals and are yet to keep a clean sheet. Only Bournemouth (15), Burnley (16) and Sheff. Utd. have conceded more goals than the Hatters (14), who are also ranked a lowly 15th for shots in the box (SiB) conceded (108). Our Fix Algorithm currently projects a point score of 6.0 for Son.

Mohamed Salah (bha)

Salah has found the back of the net thrice this season and the Egyptian international is fourth amongst midfielders for xG (3.75). He is ranked fourth for shots (21) and second for SoT (10). As the Stats Sandbox image below shows, his creativity numbers have been excellent as well, no midfielder has registered more assists (four), ‘Expected Assists’ (xA) (4.26) or ‘big chances’ created (nine). Liverpool have scored 16 goals (fourth) and are top for xG (15.69). Meanwhile, only Newcastle (27) have fashioned more ‘big chances’ (BC) than their 24. Their hosts Brighton have conceded 14 goals and are yet to keep a clean sheet. The Seagulls are ranked 12th for ‘Expected Goals Conceded’ (xGC) (12.05). Our Fix Algorithm currently projects a point score of 5.0 for Salah.

Evaluate players with Opta statistics.

Ollie Watkins (wol)

Watkins’ hattrick against Brighton took him to second for goals (four) amongst forwards with only Haaland (eight) faring better. Only the Norwegian international (32) has taken more SiB than his 21 while only Jackson (4.41) and Haaland (7.99) have notched a higher xG than his 3.93. As the below image from our Transfer Analytics feature shows, he is the second-most ‘transferred in‘ player this week with nearly 650,000 managers bringing him in. Villa have scored 18 goals this season with only Brighton (19) profiting more in front of goal. The Midlands side are ranked sixth for SoT (43) and seventh for xG (13.80). Their hosts Wolves have conceded 13 goals and have kept just one clean sheet. Meanwhile, only Bournemouth (123) and Sheff. Utd (156) have allowed opponents more SiB than their 122. Our Fix Algorithm currently projects a point score of 4.9 for Watkins.

James Maddison (lut)

Maddison’s four assists and 21 chances created is top amongst midfielders, the England international is also top for SoT (12) which indicates that more goals are just around the corner. As the below image from our Fix Heatmaps feature shows, he has averaged 8.8 points per game in away matches this season. Spurs have scored more goals in away matches (11) than any other side and are second only to Man. City (40) for SoT on the road (27). They are also second for BC in away matches (12). Their opponents Luton are ranked 15th for shots conceded (108) and 17th for xGC (15.03). Our Fix Algorithm currently projects a point score of 5.1 for Maddison.

Pedro Porro (lut)

Porro has already notched two FPL assists this season and his 11 chances created ranks sixth amongst defenders. He is fourth for xA (1.29) with only Chilwell (1.42), Estupiñan (2.29) and Trippier (2.34) faring better. Spurs have conceded eight goals this season and have already kept two clean sheets. The London side are ranked ninth for SiB conceded (63) and 10th for xGC (10.60). Their opponents Luton have scored just six goals with only Sheff. Utd., Bournemouth and Fulham (five each) faring worse. The Hatters are ranked 12th for xG (9.73). Our Fix Algorithm currently projects a 30% probability of a Spurs clean sheet and a point score of 4.1 for Porro.

Use predictive FPL statistics to increase your Gameweek points.

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