'Don't risk Foden FOMO' - FPL tips and team of the week

How Fantasy Premier League players approach gameweek eight could largely depend on what you think the score will be as Liverpool host Chelsea at Anfield.

If you predict that game is going to be low-scoring - there were recently four consecutive 0-0s in this fixture - then you're going to want to avoid attacking assets.

Liverpool won 4-1 at Anfield last season, but how much can you read into that with two new managers at the helm?

I'm saying it'll be a tight one, so there's no Mohamed Salah or Cole Palmer in this team of the week - but the midfield is still pretty tasty!

The team of the week is selected based on current FPL prices to fit within a £100m budget, as if you were playing a Free Hit.

How did last week's team do?

A decent week despite a blank from captain Erling Haaland - plenty of FPL managers felt that pain!

Six returns including a clean sweep for the midfield, a Rico Lewis assist and Kai Havertz banging in a goal.

Result - 51 points and a gameweek rank around 3.1m.

Listen to the latest Fantasy 606 podcast here.

Goalkeeper and defence

Pedro Porro, left, had eight assists and three goals last season

Matz Sels, Nottingham Forest, keeper, £4.5m - home to Crystal Palace

Palace have scored once in their past three games and only Fulham have conceded fewer big chances than Forest.

Sels is the best £4.5m keeper this week - he pulled out of the Belgium squad with an adductor injury but should be OK, and I've got his deputy on the bench if not.

Trent Alexander-Arnold, Liverpool, defender, £7.1m - home to Chelsea

I'm expecting Liverpool to win a tight game against Chelsea on Sunday so picking Alexander-Arnold is a no-brainer. We have talked about his attacking potential before in this column - he can get a return in any game.

And Liverpool have five clean sheets this season, and are capable of keeping Chelsea at bay.

Gabriel, Arsenal, defender, £6.2m - away at Bournemouth

Plenty of budget in this week's team so goal-magnet Gabriel is in against a Bournemouth side who, despite some fine performances, have failed to score in three of their past four games.

Same as Alexander-Arnold - could get an attacking return and a good shout for a clean sheet so is nailed in this team.

Pedro Porro, Spurs, defender, £5.5m - home to West Ham

The Spanish right-back started the season with a bang and a goal but hasn't done much since. We know he's got a lot of attacking potential and West Ham concede 25% of their chances down his right-hand flank, compared with 18% on the left.

That's a small margin but those are what you sometimes have to look for in FPL.

Don't expect Spurs to keep a clean sheet but those are few and far between this season, so looking for attacking potential is the best tactic.

Midfield

Bruno Fernandes, Manchester United, midfielder, £8.2m - home to Brentford

Chasing points from United's talisman can be a frustrating experience. You know they are coming at some point, all the underlying data points to FPL points around the corner and yet here he is, entering week eight, with just one return, a measly assist.

Fernandes is symbolic of United's offensive struggles but they face a Brentford side without a clean sheet this season, having just conceded three against struggling Wolves. so there should be goals at Old Trafford.

At 3.2, Fernandes has the highest expected goal involvement (xGI) of any player who is yet to score this season. A goal is coming, my gut can feel it!

Anthony Gordon, Newcastle, midfielder, £7.3m - home to Brighton

I like Brighton because games involving the Seagulls seem to equal guaranteed goals.

There have been 15 goals in their past five games so you have plenty of FPL options in this encounter.

Gordon is the most reliable FPL player involved - he was amazingly consistent in returning at home last season and, like Fernandes, is underperforming his underlying stats.

Anthony Gordon scored 7.39 FPL points per home start last season

Phil Foden, Manchester City, midfielder, £9.2m - away at Wolves

Foden feels like a risk worth taking this week and he will likely be in the side next time too at home to Southampton.

Based on last season's superb display - 19 goals and eight assists - this is not a gamble, but the England midfielder has only started one Premier League game this season and you can never predict Pep roulette.

The potential is too good to pass up though - one of the most explosive midfield assets in the game against a Wolves defence that has conceded 21 goals in seven games.

Tyler Dibling, Southampton, midfielder, £4.6m - home to Leicester City

You can't help but be impressed by Southampton's 18-year-old winger. Dibling has a touch of Jack Grealish about him and a decent goal threat.

He's a great budget enabler, already has one double-digit haul and faces Leicester in a game that could have goals - these sides have conceded 27 between them in seven gameweeks.

Forwards

Liam Delap is up front alongside former Manchester City team-mate Erling Haaland in this week's team

Erling Haaland (captain), Manchester City, striker, £15.4m - away at Wolves

See above for how bad Wolves have been defensively this season and, on top of that, Haaland has scored more goals (8) against the Midlands club than any other opponent.

Don't let two consecutive blanks put you off - Haaland is going to be essential for City's upcoming run of juicy fixtures.

Kai Havertz, Arsenal, striker, £8.3m - away at Bournemouth

Havertz is rivalling Bryan Mbeumo for the best-value FPL asset this season.

The centre-forward for one of the most prolific attacks in the league for just £8.3m? It's a steal, and Havertz already has four goals and an assist in seven games.

The German has had 14 [FOURTEEN!] shots in his past two games and five big chances. He's been unlucky to come away with just the two goals.

Liam Delap, Ipswich Town, striker, £5.7m - home to Everton

The former Manchester City man is becoming a bit of a talisman for Ipswich. He's scored half their goals this season and has three in his past two games.

Despite a clean sheet last week, Everton's defence has been unrecognisable from the one that kept them up last season and, if Ipswich are going to score, Delap will likely be involved.

Subs bench

Carlos Miguel, Nottingham Forest, goalkeeper, £4.3m - home to Crystal Palace

Facundo Buonanotte, Leicester City, midfielder, £5m - away at Southampton

The 19-year-old Argentine midfielder now has two assists and two goals and a nice run of fixtures coming up. He's a minutes risk, but you'd accept that in exchange for a goalscoring cheap midfielder.

Nikola Milenkovic, Nottingham Forest, defender, £4.5m - home to Crystal Palace

Rapidly emerging as one of the best £4.5m picks in the game, a great fourth defender with a huge presence at set-pieces.

Dara O'Shea, Ipswich Town, defender, £4m - home to Everton

Third sub, likely to start for Ipswich, hopefully not needed this week.

Total team cost = £99.8m

Team to target

Wolves - Man City (h), Brighton (a), Palace (h), Saints (h), Ipswich (a)

You have to feel for Gary O'Neil. The Wolves manager has had one of the worst fixture runs to start a season I've ever seen.

Arsenal, Chelsea, Newcastle, Villa and Liverpool in the first seven games and next up Manchester City!

But after that, the fixtures really turn for winless Wolves, who are better than their league position suggests.

From week 10 to 17, all but one of their opponents is from the bottom half of the table - including the five teams directly above them at the bottom of the league.

Player to watch

Rayan Ait-Nouri was a budget gem in FPL towards the end of last season

Rayan Ait-Nouri, Wolves, defender, £4.4m

The Algeria left-back is one of only two defenders - along with Brentford's Nathan Collins - to have four goal involvements this season (two goals, two assists).

With that lovely looking run of games coming up and a friendly price, Ait-Nouri could be the solution to some of your budget issues.

Clean sheets are a bonus, given his attacking threat, but Wolves will surely tighten up at the back.

Fantasy 606 corner...

Is gameweek eight the right time to take a gamble on the captaincy?

I would suggest not but Fantasy 606’s maverick manager Chris Sutton showed what can be done last time out by backing against Erling Haaland, captaining Bukayo Saka for 32 points and shooting up the overall rankings.

Haaland blanked for the second successive gameweek but this time he’s up against Wolves who have conceded more goals than any other team in the league this season and that’s why I’m giving the armband to Manchester City’s number 9 for the sixth time this season.

That might also explain why I’m ranked outside the top one million managers in the game and Chris Lee, who sits top of our BBC Sport FPL league, is currently 12th in the world.

The captaincy calls have been perfect – going with Haaland for the first 3 gameweeks including a triple captaincy against Ipswich for 51 points in gameweek 2, but then selling Haaland on the wildcard and choosing Ollie Watkins vs Everton (26 pts), Trent Alexander-Arnold vs Bournemouth (22 pts), Cole Palmer vs Brighton (50 pts) and Bukayo Saka vs Southampton (32 pts).

No Haaland against Wolves and Southampton looks scarier but there are always other players who can deliver the hauls as Chris has proved.

The code to join the league is ‘bbcfpl’ and if you’d like to come on the podcast and have a go at managing our listeners’ team then send us an e-mail on [e-mail]

This week’s manager has taken a bit of a risk by taking a -4 to remove Chelsea pair Levi Colwill and Cole Palmer to bring in Rico Lewis and James Maddison.

I think getting a Tottenham attacker in this week is a great idea but I wouldn’t want to lose Palmer.

The listeners remain top of the podcast minI-league