Here’s our fantasy premier league forward player rankings GW8 article. There’s a range of stats plus commentary on each player and their next 6 fixtures. This will help you choose the best transfer for your team
fantasy premier league forward player rankings GW8
First it’s important to remember that each player is ranked as a transfer target for this week. So while we generally look at fixtures form and underlying stats a player who’s away to Man City is going to be ranked lower than someone home to Huddersfield for example. If possible a transfer should have a good fixture first up.
Firstly there’s a table of stats. Then there’s a bit of brief commentary on each player.
This is the 4th player rankings article. I’ve also written a defenders and GKs player rankings article as well as a premium midfielders player rankings and budget midfielder player rankings
STATS DEFINITIONS
Fixt Ease: The ease of the mentioned fixture range from an attacking perspective. See our GW8 fixture ease article
PPG: the points per match taken from the FPL site
ATGS – the bookies anytime goalscoring odds for GW8.
xG and xA per 90 – the expected goals and assists per 90 minutes played from the excellent site understat.com. See our underlying stats summary for expected goal information on teams and players
The schedule
This article was written on the assumption that Aguero won’t play v Stoke and before the Pep press conference
Kane
6 goals in his last 4 games says about all that’s needed. Very good underlying stats too and also producing them fairly consistently. Fixtures are a bit mixed but in his current form it’s hard to think that it matters. Oh and also has pens.
Bournemouth (H)
Liverpool (H)
Man Utd (A)
Crystal Palace (H)
Arsenal (A)
West Brom (H)
Jesus
4 goals and 1 assist in 6 starts for the Man City striker. Has also produced excellent and consistent underlying stats to back this up. When on the pitch he will score. It’s just like anyone with Pep, gametime security is the issue. That insecurity could be the immediate issue of the international break fixtures and arrival back or the general rotation that goes on with Pep as he seems determined to use the squad to win as many competitions as possible. The attraction of the only out and out striker seems to have diminished somewhat with Aguero seeming on a quicker path to recovery than expected. Fixtures are very good though if you are gambling
Stoke (H)
Burnley (H)
West Brom (A)
Arsenal (H)
Leicester (A)
Huddersfield (A)
Lukaku
7 goals and an assist in his first 7 games is quite mind boggling really. Whats more he has the underlying stats to back that up. In fact his goal threat has never had so much of a wobble in any game. However if you’re searching for negatives you could say that he’s had a very easy schedule, the fixtures are now turning and Mourinho’s tactics in difficult fixtures will limit his opportunities. It depends whether you think those negatives and his price outweigh the deserved returns
Liverpool (A)
Huddersfield (A)
Spurs (H)
Chelsea (A)
Newcastle (H)
Brighton (H)
Vardy
5 goals in 7 games is no mean feat when the fixtures have included Arsenal, Man Utd, Chelsea and Liverpool. He has had penalty duties as well although he did miss one against Liverpool. He also provides a useful bridge between the Joselu’s and the £10m + strikers that Firmino once filled. There are some very good fixtures coming up.
His underlying stats could be better but they are at a similar level to when he scored 24 goals in the season before last. He has a pretty good record of out performing his underlying stats as well. Probably the only negative is that his most insipid performances came against Bournemouth and Brighton where you would expect him to make hay.
West Brom (H)
Swansea (A)
Everton (H)
Stoke (A)
Man City (H)
West Ham (A)
Lacazette
4 goals in his first 6 starts certainly isn’t anything to be ashamed of but he has been left a little behind the other premium strikers who’ve impressed in the opening parts of the season. The underlying stats are good though and until the Brighton game when I thought he was poor they were on a very positive upward trajectory. Should have pens depending on whether Sanchez has told Wenger that he’s taking them. There has been some debate about whether Sanchez would be a negative but that wasn’t the case against WBA when Lacazette scored twice. 1 game is hardly a dataset and Brighton was a bit of a disaster for Lacazette when Sanchez was on the pitch but it doesn’t do any harm. The other negative is that he could easily be a Giroud sub magnet
Watford (A)
Everton (A)
Swansea (H)
Man City (A)
Spurs (H)
Burnley (A)
Okazaki
£5.6m, 3 goals in 5 starts, great fixtures and fantastic underlying stats. Not only are the underlying stats good, apart from against Man Utd he’s been a significant goal threat in the 4 other games. Hang on, why isn’t he in everyones FPL team? Apart from the well known FPL phenomenon of price prejudice I think there are 2 factors.
The first is Ihenacho. Why would you pay £25m for someone and then not play him. To be fair he has been injured part of the time but given the money wasted on Slimani and Musa I’d probably be more surprised if Iheanacho did play. Seriously though, Okazaki’s pressing from the front suits Shakespears style of play and add the form he’s in he may just hold his place.
The 2nd is that how did a glass ring suddenly turn into a diamond and is it really still glass? He’s already got the same amount of goals in 400 minutes than he did in 1600 minutes last season. His xG 90 at the moment is better than Kanes and nearly 5 times more than it was last season. I mean Jonny Evans has a better xG than Okazaki did last season. I think there’s an element of if it sounds too good to be true maybe it is.
Still by the basic formula of Form , Fixtures and underlying stats he is currently ticking the boxes.
West Brom (H)
Swansea (A)
Everton (H)
Stoke (A)
Man City (H)
West Ham (A)
Wood
2 goals in his first 5 games isn’t too bad for the price and there’s some good home fixtures on the horizon. It’s whether the terrible underlying stats and the rather defensive outlook of Burnley can be overlooked for that
West Ham (H)
Man City (A)
Newcastle (H)
Southampton (A)
Swansea (H)
Arsenal (H)
Abraham
This is solely about a cheap striker fixture gamble and the fixtures really are quite spectacular. His returns of 2 goals in 7 starts is hardly inspiring and his underlying stats unconvincing too. Needs to be some caution as well over his place in the team. Clement has talked about the desire for 2 strikers in the team but he is a fairly defensive manager so how much security he has is a question.
Huddersfield (H)
Leicester (H)
Arsenal (A)
Brighton (H)
Burnley (A)
Bournemouth (H)
Chicharito
Where do you start with West Ham and how Chicharito fits in? Shunted wide for 2 games as the manager worries about the defensive effects of 2 strikers. In those 2 games he barely got a sniff of the goal. In fact 4 of the 7 games he may as well have not turned up.
We know he can put the ball in the net. It’s just will he be allowed or able to at West Ham
The fixtures are very good though so if you’re going to roll the dice now or GW9 is the time to do it
Burnley (A)
Brighton (H)
Crystal Palace (A)
Liverpool (H)
Watford (A)
Leicester (H)
Firmino
The Mane injury will continue the uncertainty around Firmino’s role. Will he stay as a CF and Coutinho plays on the left of the front 3 or will he be subbed for a more orthodox striker like Sturridge or Solanke. The turning of the fixtures don’t help either. After starting with 2 goals and 2 assists in the opening 3 games it’s now 4 blanks and an unexpected benching for GW7. What’s more his goal threat underlying stats in all the games except for Arsenal and Watford have been nothing short of abysmal
Man Utd (H)
Spurs (A)
Huddersfield (H)
West Ham (A)
Southampton (H)
Chelsea (H)
Joselu
After seemingly unable to put the ball in the net he probably got a bit of luck he deserved in the game against Liverpool when the ball was tackled on to his shin for the goal. However he doesn’t have a history of been unable to finish which is a positive. It’s just that his underlying stats for Newcastle are so far ahead of the stats for his other clubs. Is it real is the question? Good fixtures after the Southampton game so there are worse times to gamble on him
Southampton (A)
Crystal Palace (H)
Burnley (A)
Bournemouth (H)
Man Utd (A)
Watford (H)
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