Fantasy Premier League Risers
James Maddison
Hardly a hot take but James Maddison is good. Really good.
Five attacking returns in seven Premier League games make a mockery of his average draft position of 104 in Fantrax FPL draft leagues this summer. Those who snagged him anywhere around this figure will be feeling very smug at this stage.
His hot start makes Maddison the ultimate “trade high” asset but if you own him, why would you want to lose him? The Leicester new boy will become a firm favourite of my FPL draft players this season.
Top 30 pick next season?
Kevin De Bruyne
Once again, Kevin De Bruyne has confirmed that he is not your average human. This phrase is often used to describe his on-pitch exploits but, once again, KDB’s recovery from a serious injury has been remarkable.
FPL draft managers will have been delighted by the pictures of the Belgian in training at the start of this week. A serious knee injury had owners fearing the worst, but there are murmurs of a derby day return for the City star.
The savvy FPL draft managers among us will have taken advantage of demoralised opponents and moved for KDB as the injury news approached. If his original manager still owns him, don’t waste your time in going for him now.
For those who kept faith in the magician, now is the time to sit back and watch your first round pick in action.
Sean Morrison
This points magnet is still available in 22% of Fantrax leagues.
FPL draft managers shouldn’t expect many clean sheets from Sean Morrison, but the Cardiff City battering ram won’t be relying on shutouts to record serious points.
Morrison gets his head on everything. A threat in both boxes, the centre back is producing midfielder style stats, already claiming two assists as well as nine key passes.
A monstrous nineteen aerials won contributed to a 23.5 point haul, despite conceding two goals at home to Burnley.
Morrison is still someone who needs half decent fixtures to thrive. For example, I’d think twice about starting him against Tottenham Hotspur this week.
Five double-figure scores in seven games prove that he can be an excellent, inexpensive asset to FPL draft managers.
Gylfi Sigurdsson
The Icelandic star is red hot at the moment. An embarrassing penalty miss acted as a catalyst for an inspired one-man second-half show.
Sigurdsson is posting consistently excellent Fantrax scores, averaging 14.93 ppm with just two of them being below 14.
Three goals and one assist suggest that Sigurdsson is back to his FPL draft best. A joy to own.
Junior Stanislas
He’s back! An old FPL gem has resurfaced this week in the form of Junior Stanislas.
Returning from yet another long layoff at Burnley last week, Stanlislas needed just six minutes to win the game for Bournemouth off the bench on Monday night.
His extensive injury list has earned him the nickname of “Stanisglass” in some quarters. But, if (and it’s a big if) he can stay fit, the Bournemouth winger can be an excellent asset for your FPL draft team.
Fantasy Premier League Fallers
Petr Cech
I’m not one for holding on to one ‘keeper for the whole FPL season, but owners of Petr Cech can count themselves unlucky in GW7.
An injury on the stroke of half-time put an end to any hopes of a clean sheet, doubly disappointing for FPD draft owners after his 21.5-point showing in GW6.
Bernd Leno now has the perfect opportunity to claim the number one jersey. Time to sell Cech.
Dele Alli
Another week and another injury for Dele Alli. The England star will be frustrating those who will have, no doubt, used a first or second round pick on him.
Whether his injury misfortunes owe a lot to fatigue caused by a long summer in Russia is hard to prove but his lack of rest can’t help.
His latest knock keeps him out until after the internationals. Far from ideal for FPL draft owners that are relying on their goal/assist magnet.
N’Golo Kante
The attacking prowess added to N’Golo Kante’s game seems to have disappeared.
A more advanced position brought with it a GW1 goal and Kante 2.0 was born. Or so we thought.
Fast forward to GW7 and the old Kante is back. As good as he is, it appears that the Frenchman is back to his old self: not one to consider for your FPL side.
Well done to those who traded away after the double-figure hauls in the first two weeks, meaning that you missed the less than 3ppm average of the following five. Droppable.
Diogo Jota
Wolves are having a party, but it appears that Diogo Jota hasn’t been invited. The likes of Raul Jimenez and Matt Doherty have won many admirers from FPL draft managers but Jota hasn’t enjoyed similar success in the Premier League.
Last weekend’s 2-0 win over Southampton brought a -0.5 return for Jota who was hooked off and replaced by Ivan Cavaleiro…who scored.
Once seen as a good way into the Wolves attack for FPL draft managers, you’d be forgiven for shipping out last year’s top scorer.