FPL Best Players to Buy – Gameweek 8

With plenty of stories emerging from the weekend, there will no doubt be price changes galore as plenty of managers will move early to try and beat said changes. With lots of focus around the bigger assets, there are also plenty of other great options to keep managers ducking and weaving to the top of their Mini-leagues. Make sure you keep up with the Predicted Line Ups Hub for all key start-sit decisions before locking your teams in.

We are not going to bother recommending players everyone probably owns already such as Haaland, Semenyo, Senesi etc. The following players are all great options who may not be a template feature amongst all teams, but who could definitely enhance any FPL team.

 

Daniel Munoz – £5.6m – 12.5% Ownership

 

If you’ve read anything we’ve been saying the last few weeks you’ll know we have been banging the Munoz’ drum as hard as can be. Now yes, we know Crystal Palace’s unbeaten streak is over, and yes, they did end up conceding multiple goals for the first time this season. But this is only a small part of the reason we own Daniel Munoz. Even with the 2 goals they conceded against Everton, they have still conceded the 2^nd least goals in the Prem this year. So his clean sheets aren’t going to suddenly dry up.

Munoz’ key draw however is his attacking return potential. He spends as much time in the opposition half as his own and frequently gets into the opposition box itself. His xGI is hovering around 0.3, which would have him on pace for 12 attacking returns this year.

 

What’s even more exciting was his 16 Defensive Contributions last game. He has registered 8+ in 4/7 games this season so he can also be considered an occasional Defcon candidate moving forward. He is also cheaper than your top tier options like Gabriel, VVD etc so offers a great alternative if you’re a bit short/want to save the extra cash.

 

Bukayo Saka – £9.9m – 9.3% Ownership

 

Now even though Saka currently sits at just 9.3% ownership, we can expect this to rise significantly over the next week. This is in no small part down to one key bit of information over the weekend. SAKA IS ON PENS. Contrary to the reports we heard earlier in the season about Gyokeres assuming penalty duty, the West Ham fixture showed us that at minimum, Saka will be taking some if not all.

Arsenal’s current fixtures are still fantastic so if you are going to move for him then we recommend doing it as soon as possible to really maximise the potential returns. One good route into Saka could be the move from Salah to Saka. As Liverpool have now suffered 3 losses in a row and seem to be sputtering, particularly going forward. Arguably one of the top players to buy at the moment in FPL.

 

• Value Alert: Saka is currently 2/1 to score against a Fulham side who have conceded 6 goals in their last 2 games! Why not make use of one of the great sign up offers below to maximise value on this!

 

 

Jurrien Timber – £5.9m – 17.1% Ownership

 

It should be no surprise to see another Arsenal player on here, considering they currently top the league, have the best defence and have incredible fixtures. Timber was also a feature in our differential’s article from last week where his ownership was still below 15%. Since then, it has now risen significantly.

Timber is currently FPL’s 3^rd highest scoring player overall, so the fact he still finds himself below 18% ownership is crazy. Much like Munoz, Timber’s real X-Factor comes from his attacking return potential. Yes 3/4 attacking returns came in 1 game, but the underlying numbers tell a different story. Timber is currently averaging a whopping 0.4xGI per game, even more than Munoz. On pace for 15 attacking returns. What’s even better is Timber’s ratio is heavily weighted towards xG over xA.

The only downside to Timber is Arsenal’s plethora of defenders and potential rotation issues, particularly with Europe games. But with every extra game he starts and every extra 90 minutes he logs; Timber is quickly cementing himself as the best defender in the entire game. I would honestly think about leaning Timber over Gabriel at this point. Even though Arsenal defenders will rarely log consistent DefCon returns, their propensity for clean sheets more than outweighs this. So please do not be put off by DefCon truthers.

 

Ismaila Sarr – £6.5m – 7% Ownership

 

The fact that this list is almost doubling as a differential list is downright crazy at this point. Another great option who is severely under owned and under priced is Palace’s Ismaila Sarr.

Another key feature of not just our Gameweek 7 Wildcard but also our Gameweek 7 Differentials pieces. The Palace star has picked up right where he left off pre-injury. Crystal Palace currently top the league for xG, averaging just over 2 per game. With Sarr personally accounting for 0.67 of that per 90.

3 goals and 1 assist in 5 starts, even better underlying numbers and a team who top the league for xG. £6.5m is an absolute steal for all that upside. One of the Best Players to Buy at the moment.

 

Mohammed Kudus – £6.7m – 32.6% Ownership

 

One of FPL’s most owned assets and for a reason. Kudus is playing some of the best football of his career under Frank while also registering 90 minutes a game. Even just using the eye test you can see how dangerous the man is. After his 2 blanks in GW2 and GW3 we saw many managers moving to sell him. Much like Munoz, we warned managers that attacking returns were coming, and lo and behold, they did.

With 4 returns in his last 3, Kudus is absolutely flying at the moment. So at £6.7m he offers fantastic value.

 

Moises Caicedo – £5.7m – 13.3% Ownership

 

Now normally we would shy away from recommending defensive midfielders, and with good reason. But when they are playing as well as this man here, it is hard not to stand up and grab your attention.

It is worth mentioning quickly that Caicedo is here mainly because of his price tag and capacity as a budget enabler. With Premium options like Saka emerging, enablers like Caicedo become even more key for financial balancing.

The occasional goals are becoming weirdly less occasional now and it seems like him and Enzo (also a great option) are enjoying the extra attacking license they are provided by Palmer’s absence.

Chelsea have unbelievable fixtures so this super budget, DefCon, clean sheet and bonus point beast should enjoy plenty of points during this stretch.

 

Joe Rodon – £4.0m – 5.3% Ownership

 

We round things out with another fantastic budget enabler in Joe Rodon. As mentioned in our differentials article, Leeds have been one of the leagues’ sneaky good defences. Sitting 5^th lowest for xGA. They now take that from into a fixture stretch which contains Burnley, West Ham, Brighton, Forest and Villa as their next 5. This fixture stretch contains 4 of the bottom 5 teams in the league for xG, making it a fantastic fixture stretch for any defender. Especially one whose top 5 for lowest xGA.

Rodon is also averaging 9 Defensive contributions a game and even popped up in the goal column against Bournemouth, so there’s not much to dislike at all. For £4m he is the perfect budget enabler for anyone seeking to accommodate premium options elsewhere like a Saka.

 

 

Make sure you stay up to date with more great tips by keeping an eye on our Game Week Tips section. Let us know who your priority buys are and best of luck in your mini-leagues.