Every new Gameweek brings to light new information about teams and players that can influence our Fantasy decisions. Injuries, new signings, tactical shifts, new roles, young players emerging are all essential parts of the decision making process when a fantasy manager evaluates trades, waiver wire pickups or drops. In this new article, we aim to list everything that happened during the weekend and our takeaways through fantasy tinted glasses.
Fantrax Takeaways Gameweek 7
Here we outline our Fantasy EPL Takeaways from the previous gameweek and how to interpret them for draft fantasy.
Key Injuries and Suspensions
Mykhalio Mudryk (CHE, MID)
Prospects: Mudryk has finally gotten his first Chelsea goal. Unfortunately he was forced off at half-time with what seems to be a minor quad injury. Pochettino has slowly been giving Mudryk more and more chances, and he has looked better each game finally getting his first goal in the win vs. Fulham. As long as he is fit he should be in the starting XI for the foreseeable future.
Replacement: If Mudryk misses the weekend, then I would expect Palmer to get another start flanking Jackson or Broja with Sterling on the other side.
Verdict: I would try to trade in Mudryk from anyone who can't afford to hold more injured assets, if you have him though he is a definite hold.
Lisandro Martinez (MUN, DEF)
Prospects: Martinez is about to get surgery on a foot problem he has been dealing with over the last 2 seasons. Martinez will most likely be out until the new year which is a huge problem for United. They are already missing Shaw and Wan-Bissaka until close to Christmas and now will be without 3/4 of their first choice backline for the foreseeable future.
Replacement: Lindelof will slot in to partner Varane with Maguire and Evans offering spot starts and cover if more injuries arise.
Verdict: United defence will suffer significantly, and all their defenders other than Dalot should only be considered streamers.
Antony (MUN, FWD)
Prospects: Antony is back in contention after his leave of absence to fight his innocence. Antony has missed the last few weeks to clear his name, and is back training and available for selection. He wasn't really offering anything good for United to start the season, and fantasy wise he was offering FWD3 value at best. He should start in the RW role again, but will face rotation if he continues to show poor form.
Verdict: If you can pick up Antony and sell him to a United fan on the news he's back I would do that. If you can't trade him out he should be a decent FWD3 over this run of games and after that if he fails to hit form you can drop him.
Bukayo Saka (ARS, MID)
Prospects: Saka came off in the Champions League loss with an injury. Post-match Arteta has said it "doesn't look good". He was subbed off in the 34th minute and will most likely miss not only the City game, but potentially a few more games after the break. Assessments still need to be done, but Saka has been nursing an issue for quite some time and Arteta has chose to run the guy into the ground for no reason.
Replacement: Viera subbed on for Saka when he came off, so I would expect Viera to enter the XI against City. If Martinelli is fit to start however we could see Martinelli-Jesus-Trossard as the front 3.
Verdict: Saka is a must hold unless we hear this injury ended his season. I would look to make Viera a near top waiver add this week.
Moussa Diaby (AVL, FWD)
Prospects: Diaby came off in the thrashing off Brighton with an injury. Emery has already stated it should not impact his game time in the Wolves fixture. No need to worry here, at worst he may not start, but I would for now expect him to be in the XI unless we get anymore updates.
Replacement: Diaby is likely missing this weekend but hopefully back after the break. Bailey likely his replacement.
Verdict: No need to worry on Diaby. Hold and continue to enjoy his points.
Cody Gakpo (LIV, FWD)
Prospects: Gakpo will be out for the next few games, potentially longer. He suffered a knee injury in the loss to Spurs after scoring a goal. Gakpo will for sure miss the Brighton game, but it remains to be seen if he misses any time after the break as well.
Replacement: Nunez is the biggest beneficiary here, and needs to continue to score to win his starting XI place.
Verdict: Gakpo has next to no upside and no floor. He is a very limited player who will never go more than 70ish minutes. He is borderline droppable now, but try to sell to the manager with Nunez to convince them they need the double up.
Diogo Jota (LIV, FWD)
Prospects: Jota will be suspended against Brighton after a very harsh two yellow card game.
Replacement: Diaz-Nunez-Salah will most likely be the front 3 vs. Brighton.
Verdict: Jota has struggled for gametime since the opening weeks of the season, and should be considered a huge trade out target. Look to offer him to a manager rostering a non-Salah Liverpool forward.
Moussa Niakhaté (NFO, DEF)
Prospects: Niakhate will be suspended for just the 1 game and will be available for selection after the break. With injuries to a lot of the first choice back line Niakhate ended up disappointing in a rare start this year. There is no guarantee he will break the XI when everyone is fit.
Replacement: Who replaces him will depend on who is fit this weekend, but Forest do have an injury pile up list.
Verdict: Drop him and don't look back.
Anthony Gordon (NEW, MID)
Prospects: Gordon will miss one game due accumulating 5 yellow cards. Gordon has had himself a great season, and will easily slot back into the XI after his suspension is up, especially since Barnes is injured.
Replacement: We could see Murphy enter the XI here, or a front 3 with Isak, Wilson, and Almiron for the weekend.
Verdict: Hold Gordon he has been a great asset this year and should continue with a decent schedule for Newcastle after the break.
Curtis Jones (LIV, MID)
Prospects: Liverpool lost the appeal on the red card, so Jones will miss the next 3 matches. Despite not being the best fantasy asset Jones has played really well in the midfield alongside MacAllister and Szoboszlai, and his presence will be missed.
Replacement: Endo or Gravenberch have the best chance of gaining minutes here, but Elliott is also in with a shout. All three of these players a low end streamers that probably won't get more than 70 minutes. Unless you are in a jam I wouldn't recommend streaming anyone here.
Verdict: I would drop Jones if you roster him. His three game suspension and the fact he has been poor in fantasy doesn't make him worth holding.
Joelinton (NEW, MID)
Prospects: Joelinton has a minor injury, and will most likely miss the UCL tie and probably the weekend. Joelinton has had an injury riddled season, and Newcastle have done decent without his presence. His fantasy stats have been streamer level at best, and he just can't seem to stay fit.
Replacement: You would expect Anderson to continue in midfield after some great performances the last few games.
Verdict: Joelinton is borderline droppable, if you can trade him out to a believer even for some FAB I would do that, if not feel free to drop him with no regrets.
Tactical Discussions
Brighton Defenders and Rotation
Observation: Brighton are becoming a tough team to roster assets from. They are very inconsistent defensively and you just don't know which Brighton will show up. On top of that they have made more than one sub at halftime in their last two EPL fixtures. Brighton are now contending in Europe and you just don't know what De Zerbi has planned. Obviously it is tough to recommend playing anyone from the bench, even after that Mitoma super sub performance. Personally I think it might be time to see what you can get for your Brighton assets. That doesn't mean sell low, but for the bigger assets like Mitoma, March and Gross, see if you can get a deal involving MID1s such as: Maddison, Bruno, Saka, Odegaard, and even Ward-Prowse. Defensively other than Estupian no other Brighton defender is worth rostering unless it's vs. Sheffield, Burnley or Luton.
Verdict: Look to see what value you can get for Brighton assets, and avoid their defenders unless it's vs. the bottom 3 teams.
Arsenal Penalties
Observation: Arsenal have had 5 penalties this season with 3 different takes in Saka, Odegaard, and shockingly...Kai. Odegaard seems like the clear first choice but it is worth noting that Jesus seemed ready to take the penalty Kai ended up scoring against Bournemouth which throws in another wrench. With Saka out hurt it will be Odegaard or Jesus going forward. Kai will not be the PK taker unless those 3 are not on the pitch. In my opinion it doesn't really hurt the value of Jesus or Saka, but increases the value of Odegaard to become a proper MID1. Odegaard has been somewhat inconsistent this year but is showing he can be a top 5 midfielder.
Verdict: If you can somehow get Odegaard in for MID2 value I would try that, especially with him being first choice on penalties.
Disjointed United
Observation: United have been very poor in recent weeks and are coming off back to back losses across all competitions. A big factor is the loss of 3/4 of their starting XI. Especially in the underrated Luke Shaw. Luke Shaw not being on the pitch affects a lot of United's play and the front 3, especially Rashford. Shaw was also on a good chunk of set pieces which now Mount/Bruno have fully taken over. What Shaw offered most is his running ability both offensively and defensively. He would be hard to catch out on a fast break because of his pace, and his overlapping runs presented Rashford with another option. Now we see Rashford trying to just run through multiple defenders and lose the ball or take a wayward shot that ends up nowhere near a goal. When Shaw is back Rashford has the option to play some quick 1-2s with him or send him to the byline for Shaw to chip in a cross to the other attackers. the likes of Amrabat and Reguilon do not offer this, not even close.
Another issue for United is clearly that RW role. With Antony back expect him to get a chance to make it his own, as Bruno out wide affects a lot of the rest of the build up play. Antony even then hasn't been great this year, so a gaping hole at RW that can't be filled by Antony, Sancho, or Garnacho is a problem United need a proper long term solution to.
Finally - Casemiro. The dude is half a step off this year, maybe a full step. Despite him scoring some goals here and there he is always behind the play and forced to make silly tackles leading to free-kicks and of course...cards. Mainoo is an option to come in and replace Casemiro in that role when he is fit. In preseason that's how United started a few games, and it seemed to be something that Ten Hag is thinking about. Mainoo is still a few weeks away from this, but Casemiro is proving to be a serious liability to United.
Verdict: I wouldn't really buy low on any United asset unless you can get Bruno in for cheap. This team is very disjointed right now and will need a few successive wins to start finding their feet again.
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