- Here is my article containing my GW2 differential picks. As always, I will be giving three choices of varying ownership; 5-10%, 1-5% and <1%. All ownership percentages are correct as of the time of writing.
Last week’s picks
Unfortunately, Pedro turned out to be injured so was unable to take his place in the starting XI for Chelsea’s shock 3-2 defeat to Burnley. However, the other 2 picks were rather successful! Kompany picked up a comfortable clean sheet away to Brighton but the star of the show was my <1% pick Mounie. A brace and 3 bonus points resulted in a double figures point haul in his first game in the Premier League game.
On that positive note, let’s move to this week’s picks.
Georginio Wijnaldum, Liverpool (6.7%)
With the reported news that Wilfried Zaha will be out for four weeks, there is a considerable number of FPL managers, myself and other FFG contributors included, looking for a replacement. FFG outlined a few options earlier this week and I was strongly considering was the Liverpool man.
One of the key factors for my consideration is his impressive home form; all of his 17 league goals have come in front of his own fans which is a Premier League record for most goals without an away goal. Last year, he had 6 goals and 5 assists in his 18 appearances at home which further demonstrates this. The reason that I’m mentioning these stats is that 3 of Liverpool’s next 4 games are at Anfield. The first game in this sequence is at home to a Palace team that got comfortably beaten by newly-promoted Huddersfield. They haven’t quite settled under their new manager which offers the chance of decent points for Wijnaldum.
Looking further forward, Liverpool do have a couple of tougher games against Arsenal and City to come but that shouldn’t necessarily be a deterrent. The Dutchman has previous for scoring in big games and netted against both upcoming opposition last season. Moreover, we all saw how his team defended last week against Watford. It’s very evident that they are going to need score goals to win their games and plenty of them at that. This can be viewed as a good thing for Wijnaldum from an FPL perspective as there should be ample opportunity for him to rake in the points.
Liverpool’s next 6 games:
Crystal Palace (H)
Arsenal (H)
Man City (A)
Burnley (H)
Leicester (A)
Newcastle (A)
Anthony Knockaert, Brighton (2.0%)
Knockaert has become something of a forgotten man in the FPL community due to the injury that he picked up during pre-season. He was unable to take his place in the starting line-up for Brighton’s first ever PL game but he was able to come off the bench for a 13-minute cameo. He took a corner in this time suggesting that he will maintain control of his side’s set-pieces despite new signings. Reasonably priced at 6.0mil, he will be playing in an advanced position for the promoted side and should be a key figure in their battle to avoid relegation.
He was their star man during their promotion campaign last year as he scored 15 goals and registered 8 assists. He also had 2.4 shots and 2.1 key passes per game. Brighton have a decent set of fixtures coming up and I believe that if the Zaha injury had happened a week later, then there would be a lot of managers rushing to transfer Knockaert in. Provided that he gets straight back into the starting XI, which seems very likely, he’s a player that could be a great option for our teams in the upcoming weeks.
Brighton’s next 6 games:
Leicester (A)
Watford (A)
West Brom (H)
Bournemouth (A)
Newcastle (H)
Arsenal (A)
Chris Lowe, Huddersfield (0.7%)
I am quickly learning that it is very difficult to find good FPL options with an ownership this low so I’m sticking with a proven formula and choosing another Huddersfield man. I think that the new boys put in the performance of the weekend with an impressive 3-0 win at Palace. Their upcoming fixture list presents a good chance to continue this fine form which would mean further FPL points for their players. There looks to be clean sheet opportunities within their next five games which means plenty of points for Lowe and his fellow defenders.
However, there’s a few things which make Lowe the standout option amongst his defensive peers for me. He had a good season last year as he scored 2 goals while also laying on 3 assists for his teammates. He is known for his raiding runs down the left-hand side and there looks to be an impressive target for him to aim for in Mounie now so there could be some assists around the corner. The penalty situation is quite unclear at Huddersfield but Lowe took and scored the last penalty that they received in the Championship so there’s a decent chance that he could be taking the next one they get. If we put all this together, he looks a good option at 4.5mil.
Huddersfield’s next 6 fixtures
Newcastle (H)
Southampton (H)
West Ham (A)
Leicester (H)
Burnley (A)
Tottenham (H)
That concludes my picks and I hope for further success this week. Let me know any of your differential picks in the comment section and feel free to ask any questions about your team for this week.
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