A WEEK OF FLAGS

Real-life football is dominated by the fallout from VAR’s latest “significant human error” but an increasing injury list means FPL currently resembles flag-waving similar to St James’ Park on a famous European night.

A combination of injuries, underperformance and rapid price changes has pushed many managers to Wildcard right now, rather than wait for Gameweeks 9 or 10. Pro Pundit Simon March has activated his, whilst ‘The Great and the Good’ revealed Az’s successful one from Gameweek 7. This ranking rise of over one million leads to Simon’s other article, believing that standings are currently volatile because the majority captain Erling Haaland by default.

So perhaps Gameweek 8 could be a time to armband someone else. Rate My Team, for example, predicts Son Heung-min will outscore Haaland this time. Liverpool assets like Mohamed Salah are on the rise, whereas Scout Squad picks are high on Aston Villa. Tom explores 23-point hero Ollie Watkins in his Digest, together with a comparison between him and team-mate Moussa Diaby. Having said that, Haaland produces at a decent rate against top opponents.

Already an owner of Watkins and Kieran Trippier who is avoiding some of the injuries, FPL General had a great Gameweek 7 and his previous perspective on being Salah-less hasn’t changed. For those wanting the Egyptian, sacrifices need making elsewhere.

Injury updates on Bukayo Saka and Moussa Diaby would help massively but the search for a cheap midfielder is hampered by Anthony Gordon’s suspension. More Pro Pundit pre-deadline pieces will arrive, just like Spot the Differential.

As always, check out our Gameweek 8 page to quickly access all recent articles, plus the standard press conference updates from managers. Visit our Members Area for comparison tools and an in-depth collection of Opta data.

Over on our YouTube channel, alongside the usual Scoutcast, Burning Questions and Deadline Dilemmas episodes is an insight into Joe’s Wildcard, with Az and Sam’s Q&A to come on Friday afternoon.