BBC Sport’s FPL expert Gianni Buttice does not see De Cuyper and Gross as essential buys for FPL gameweek seven. He says they are close to must-have status, but the timing is poor.
The pair face Liverpool and Manchester City away in their next three games. A home derby with Crystal Palace this weekend is a good fixture. Even so, Buttice would not rip up his team for either player. If he had to choose, he would pick defender De Cuyper (£5.1m).
Bruno Fernandes an easy sell
Bruno Fernandes (£11.9m) is owned by a third of FPL managers. He is the second most expensive player in the game and has blanked in five of six matches. Buttice calls him an easy sell. He suggests Bukayo Saka (£9.6m) or Cole Palmer (£9.7m) as replacements. United defenders should also go, he says. Bryan Mbeumo (£7.9m) is more of a hold. He has 33 points and is level 10th among midfielders.
Chelsea’s attack
Buttice likes Chelsea. They have an attack-minded manager in Xabi Alonso, no European games and a full week of training. He thinks they can score two or three goals every match. Joao Pedro (£7.8m) is now a must-have in his view, but one Chelsea attacker may not be enough.
Choosing between Palmer and Morgan Rogers (£7.9m) is hard. It likely comes down to budget and how many penalties and set-piece goals you expect Chelsea to score, with Palmer the main beneficiary. In open play there is little between them. Rogers has slightly better underlying data and more FPL points from six games.
Haaland and the chips
Buttice says a double gameweek before gameweek 19, when chips reset, looks unlikely. Managers who still hold a chip should bear that in mind.
Haaland has three standout home fixtures before the end of the year: Ipswich this weekend, Fulham in gameweek 11 and Hull in gameweek 16. Buttice sees little to separate them. He notes that Ipswich do not usually sit deep away from home. They have lost 5-2 at Manchester United and won 3-2 at Crystal Palace in the league this season.
Defensive options
De Cuyper has been the standout defender, but Buttice also likes covering the Arsenal defence. He expects them to stay the league’s best defensive unit under Mikel Arteta. Riccardo Calafiori (£5.9m) looks the strongest way in.
He also points to four players who collect defensive contribution points: Leeds’ Tarik Muharemovic (£5m), Brighton’s Luka Vuskovic (£5.1m), Bournemouth’s Antonio Silva (£5m) and Everton’s James Tarkowski (£6.2m). All four are reliable in that area and play for solid teams that do not concede many goals.
Source: BBC Sport
