Who To Target for Fantasy Premier League 2024/25 Gameweek 8?

Dive into our weekly analysis where we spotlight the top performers from the previous Gameweek, examine the latest FPL transfer trends, and reveal the must-have players to consider for your lineup this week.

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FPL Gameweek 8: Which Players to Target?

Expected FPL Points Review - A look at the Stats

Saka tops the Custom Stats xFPL table for Gameweek 7 with a score of 13.5. No player took more shots (seven) or shots in the box (six) than the England international over the weekend and he was also top for attempted assists (seven).

The West Ham trio of Antonio (11.1), Kudus (10.2) and Bowen (9.4) profited from Ipswich's leaky defence. They managed 13 shots in the box and seven 'big chances' between them with Antonio and Bowen also creating two 'big chances' each.

Havertz found the net in consecutive matches, the German international was joint-top with Saka for shots in the box (six) and was also afforded two 'big chances' which led to an xFPL score of 9.1.

Last week's highest FPL points scorer, Palmer took four shots in the box and attempted six assists but had just one 'big chance' involvement overall which meant a relatively lower xFPL score of 8.3.

Haaland was a popular captaincy choice but blanked for the second consecutive game. The Norwegian international took just two shots in the box and was afforded no 'big chances', he registered an xFPL score of just 3.8.

What is xFPL?

xFPL is calculated primarily using expected goals (xG), assists (xA), which combine as Fantasy Premier League (FPL) involvements (xG + xA = xI), as well as expected clean sheets (xCS). These numbers are a result of underlying statistics (i.e. shot type and location will give a probability of scoring = xG). xFPL is the combination of these statistics and factors in appearance and bonus points to give an overall expected FPL point score.

Early FPL Transfer Activity Analysed - Which Players are FPL managers buying and selling?

As the below image from our Transfer Analytics feature shows, Mbeumo is the most popular transfer in for Gameweek 8 so far with nearly 130,000 FPL managers bringing him in already.

Mbeumo, Saka, Johnson and Palmer are popular acquisitions after the quartet all registered at least one FPL return over the weekend. However, it is strange to see nearly 100,000 FPL managers bringing in McNeil after a blank. Perhaps the Ipswich fixture next is the temptation.

Luis Díaz was on the bench for the first time this season which has seen over 130,000 FPL managers part ways with the Colombian international. João Pedro and Isak missed out entirely which has seen a combined 150,000 FPL managers sell the duo. Salah's blank and early substitution has also seen 90,000 FPL managers sell him.

Up top, budget forwards are in vogue with eight of the top 10 forward transfer combinations involving buying Delap, Raúl or Wood. In midfield, the Liverpool duo of Luis Díaz and Salah are sold in droves with eight of the 10 midfield transfer combinations involving selling them for Mbeumo, Johnson, Palmer and Saka. In defence, it is surprising to see the top scoring defender in the game Alexander-Arnold being sold by several managers with Aït-Nouri, Lewis, Gvardiol and Justin coming in.

Johnson vs Solanke - Which Spurs Attacker to Buy?

As the above image from our Opta Player Heatmaps feature shows, Johnson (27) has outscored Solanke (19) by 8 points since the latter's return to the side from injury in Gameweek 4. Johnson has started all the games but has been substituted early with Solanke often playing 90 minutes.

As the above image shows, though Johnson has scored more goals (three vs two), Solanke is significantly ahead for 'Expected Goals' (xG) (2.10 vs 3.41) which indicates that the England international is getting better quality chances.

However, a closer look at the shot volume shows that there is a significant difference, Johnson has had 16 attempts in the box compared to just nine for Solanke. He has also attempted four assists compared to just two for the striker.

Based on this data and the significant price saving when opting for the midfielder, Johnson looks to be the Spurs attacker to go for.

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