Welcome back for another article.
Who are the best players to buy for GW27? We're going to break it down simple by position, looking at all the best picks in the game right now.
Goalkeepers next, and the next 5 column has BGW31 baked into it now, which is why you'll see Raya, Donnarumma, Henderson and Sa lower on these whenever they appear the next few weeks. The same applies to defenders, mids and forwards from Arsenal, Man City, Palace and Wolves.
🧤 Goalkeepers
Sanchez is top this week, they've got the stand out fixture defensively, playing home to Burnley. He's been a disappointing pick given some of the fixtures, they had a run of Fulham, Brentford, Palace, West Ham, Wolves and Leeds and he has 1 clean sheet over those 6 games. After the Burnley game Chelsea have Arsenal, Villa and Newcastle so avoid him and it's a potential fixture swing to look at for any Chelsea assets you have. In my case just Enzo who will be shifted on after the next gameweek.
Henderson is second on the table, 4.0 points projected vs Wolves which is another home fixture, off the back of a home upset last match losing 3 - 2 to Burnley. Then it's Raya for the North London derby, Tudor's first game in charge of Spurs.
Looking at the next 5 gameweeks, it's actually Kelleher who is top. Brentford have such a fantastic fixture run they'll be pushing for European spots if they continue their form into these games. Brighton, Burnley, Bournemouth, Wolves, Leeds, Everton, Fulham, Man Utd, West Ham. Lot of exciting picks across all positions, and he's only 4.6m. Defensively they haven't been the best, 13th for expected goals conceded over the last 6, likewise 13th over the season.
That said, he's the fourth top scoring keeper thanks to lots of saves and some penalties stopped. Only 12 points behind Raya in fact at 1.4m cheaper.
🛡️ Defenders
Defenders next. Collins was looking like he could be a promising pick for this fixture run but he's not started the last 3 league games in a row, Ajer and Van den Berg has been the CB pairing.
Munoz leads this week on 5.4 points with Palace home to Wolves, he still has potential, created a big chance last week and a 1 pointer was unlucky, it's Man Utd away, Spurs away after that which isn't great though, but does have Leeds home in GW30, followed by the BGW31.
For the exact same price Van Dijk is the one who could be a better consideration, doesn't blank in 31 so he's well ahead of Munoz for the next 5 gameweek projections, 17 points was his second biggest score ever in a single match, last gameweek. He scored a brace vs Brighton in 2019/20 and conceded for a 17 pointer, but also scored a brace once against Watford in 2018/19 and kept a clean sheet for a 20 pointer.
He's in a sweet spot that only he and Gabriel are in, elite defence, he's good for defcons, averaging 9.65 per 90, plus has goal threat off set pieces and corners. Liverpool's 29.69 xGC ranks third best this season, they're 3rd best over the last 6 gameweeks as well.
Given everything we were saying about Sanchez and his fixture swing after GW27, the same applies to James and Chalobah who don't look the best buys right now. If you're playing draft or challenge then absolutely get them in for the 1 week.
Andersen is on 4.3 projected points this week, and he's actually second only to Van Dijk in the league for the next 5 gameweek projections, obviously without a blank Arsenal defenders would be top but this is what we're working with at this part of the season, if you're not using a chip in GW31 then Andersen and Van Dijk are fantastic picks, as is Senesi for 4.8m, he's third for the next 5 gameweeks. His 4m counterpart Hill has been really impressive and proper taken his chance since Iraola gave him it. He's returned in 4 straight gameweeks with 3 assists and a clean sheet.
Bournemouth's fixtures are West Ham, Sunderland, Brentford, Burnley, Man Utd. Some other names to mention with the next 5 gameweeks in mind specifically:
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Cash: 18.0 if he's fit for GW27
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Tarkowski: 17.7 points
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Mukiele: 17.4
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Hill: 16.9
⚽ Midfielders
Midfielders next, if you're a Palmer owner then he's got to be the choice for captaincy. Obviously a few pens in there but a 20 pointer and a 12 pointer in his last 2, and faces Burnley whose 50.9 xGC ranks worst in the league by a distance.
Bruno is second on the table with 6.2 points, to Palmer's 6.7. Then Salah 6.1. A goal and assist for Salah in the FA Cup, he's been getting consistent returns since his return from AFCON but no hauls in the league with 3 assists in 4 games. We've seen some managers go Haaland-less with Salah and Palmer and it's worked a treat. Enzo and Neto are also on the table, I wouldn't go there with a Chelsea attacker unless you can bench or sell them in GW28 really.
Semenyo's been immense since signing for City, and don't get me wrong of all the talk of BGW31 if you're already planning to free hit that week he's a very strong buy this week. Man City are home to Newcastle, who have no Joelinton and now no Bruno G in midfield. Newcastle have never won a league game without Bruno G since he joined in 2022. 10 games, 5 draws 5 losses.
So going back to the Brentford conversation, they've got fixtures worth targeting and Schade makes the table with 4.9 points, back from suspension, the other one is Dango who is on 4.5 points. His default average minutes are 76 for the next 5, that could be too harsh. He's played 2 90s in a row, but in the 2 before that he played 59 and 53. There's not a great deal separating the two for the next 5 gameweeks, looking back over the season so far Schade leads on xGI with 10.39 to Dango's 6.24. In terms of minutes per xGI, since Dango went AFCON it's a little closer but Schade's 178.3 mins per is better than Dango's 224 mins per. Interestingly Dango's been the winner for points per match though, and they are 1.1m apart in price so it's what that money can do for you.
For example in my case Enzo to Dango in GW28 when Enzo has Arsenal, leaves just about enough for Rice to Wirtz potentially, whereas Schade doesn't afford that luxury. Data comparison is from Scout, go to https://si.id/FPLFocal for 50% off!
So since we looked at the top defenders for the next 5 gameweeks let's do the same with mids. That list is:
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Salah
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Bruno
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Palmer
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Wirtz
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Schade
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Dango
So Wirtz in 4th is something I'm determined to get in GW28 when they're home to West Ham, however he's perfectly fine to buy this week too. Some other mids of note: Mbeumo 22.2 points, Wilson 22.0, Rogers 21.4. The right time to buy Wilson could be GW29, West Ham home that week, then BGW31 it's Burnley home. You can also give yourself a couple gameweeks to observe if Bobb will have any more of an impact on his minutes or not. Last gameweek Wilson came off at 72 minutes for him. Rayan has returned in all 3 games since joining Bournemouth, he's on 20.4 points for the next 5. Though Review seems to struggle sometimes with new signings, it's very hard to predict exactly how a new arrival will do. He does look a brilliant signing though, a possible gem Bournemouth have found there with an eye for goal.
🎯 Forwards
Onto the forwards, Haaland has a yellow flag currently after missing the FA Cup, which has a penalty against his points. 5.2 places him joint top with Thiago, without the flag he'd be on 6.8 so that's something to keep in mind if we see him training near the deadline if Pep confirms he's fine. 6.8 would place him very marginally top, Palmer was on 6.7, Bruno 6.2.
The latest quote from Pep on Haaland is as follows:
"He’s not 100 per cent but we’ll see today how he feels. It’s not a big issue, the doctor said to me. But had some disturbance before and during the game and we will see his evolution."
It's worth noting that due to not finishing Top 8 Newcastle are having to play a Champions League game midweek on Wednesday, away vs Qarabag which will do them absolutely no favours before an away game vs Man City. Forest and Palace are the other two that play in Europe before GW27, their games are on Thursday. Plus of course the finale of DGW26 for Arsenal and Wolves.
It's a very strong week to buy Thiago if you don't own him, he really should have scored against Arsenal, and he's bound to score in these upcoming fixtures. Worth every penny for 7.0, he's the top forward for the next 5 gameweeks, just about. Ekitike to Thiago is a tricky one, in theory that's just about worth it since it frees up 1.9m which can be used on Wirtz. I like Wirtz and Thiago more than Dango and Ekitike. Bowen has Bournemouth home, and is only .2 points behind Thiago this week so if you want to wait another week for more info and an extra transfer that's perfectly fine. Strand Larsen bagged a brace against Burnley, a dream start to his Palace career, I'd be reluctant to buy though unless you're free hitting in GW31 or have enough transfers to navigate that week easy enough.
What are your transfer plans? Who are you thinking of buying and selling?
Thanks for reading, see you soon for the next one.