Heung-min Son is a man in form, after scoring five goals in his last three appearances for club and country. (Image: Official FPL/Twitter)
It’s been a long time between drinks, as the last FPL gameweek was played nearly two weeks ago.
Assets have either been struck by injury or found form during the international break. The Premier League season is set to resume its next stint, until the World Cup.
Injury updates
Some hyped assets sustained injuries while away on international duty. Managers may see themselves in a spot of bother, as wildcard chips might have already been activated.
Dejan Kulusevski (Tottenham): £8.1m
Kulusevski returned to London midweek, following Sweden’s 1-1 draw with Slovenia. The Swede felt tightness in his hamstring, before receiving scans.
He played both matches, grabbing an assist in the 4-1 defeat to Serbia. Kulusevski is still in doubt for Tottenham’s ‘North London Derby’ against Arsenal, in GW9.
If he isn’t up to scratch, Antonio Conte may turn to new-signing – Richarlison, who showed great form for Brazil.
Nathan Patterson (Everton): £4.1m
Everton’s Scot was stretchered off in Scotland’s 3-0 win over Ukraine in the UEFA Nations League. It was suspected that Patterson may have a serious knee injury, which could keep him out of action for some time.
Patterson is one of three Everton players to play every minute of the Premier League this season, under Frank Lampard.
The Scot is expected to be back toward the end of October – GW14. If managers own Patterson, it may be worth keeping him until his return, unless his price begins to drop.
Alexander Isak (Newcastle United): £7.1m
Isak has burst onto the scene since joining the Magpies. In his first three matches, the Swede has netted two goals, with an average of six FPL points per match.
After sustaining a leg injury before going to international duty for Sweden, he was withdrawn from the squad due to the thigh problem.
The injury isn’t suspected to be long-term. Nonetheless, Newcastle will be without him for GW9 at least, when it visits Fulham.
More FPL News
Captaincy Selection – Gameweek Four
Assets to watch
Despite injuries occurring on international duty, plenty of players impressed, or continued to. Some assets may get their chance in GW9, while some may continue to shine.
Kai Havertz (Chelsea): £7.7m
Havertz shone in Germany’s entertaining 3-3 draw with England. The attacker scored Germany’s second and third in its comeback draw.
He has found some sort of form, after his first Premier League goal came in GW6, coming off the bench for Chelsea against West Ham.
Chelsea faces Crystal Palace in GW9, after missing out on GW7 and GW8 due to postponements. The Blues face a congested October fixture, including six Premier League games.
Heung-min Son (Tottenham): £11.7m
Another player who had a slow start to the season, Son has found a good patch of form over the past fortnight. Son scored a hat-trick in 31 minutes, coming off the bench for Tottenham in its 6-2 win over Leicester City in GW8.
The South Korean scored twice whilst on international duty, once each against Costa Rica and Cameroon in a series of international friendlies.
Unlike Chelsea, Tottenham has a tricky period dawning upon them. Next up are the league leaders – Arsenal, before another heaped fixture-set.
Aleksandar Mitrovic (Fulham): £6.9m
Mitrovic continued his spectacular season, netting four goals while on international duty with Serbia. The striker scored a hat-trick in Serbia’s 4-1 win over Sweden, and another in a 2-0 win over Norway.
Since the beginning of the season, Mitrovic has a tally of 10 goals for club and country, and most say he is a Championship striker.
Fulham has favourable fixtures heading into the World Cup, with only one five-rated fixture – against Manchester City in GW15.
Richarlison (Tottenham): £8.5m
Although he is yet to score for Tottenham in the Premier League this season, Richarlison has shown promise in other competitions.
He scored a brace on his Champions League debut, when Tottenham defeated Marseille, 2-0. On international duty, Richarlison scored three goals and provided one assist, as Brazil looked strong heading into Qatar.
With the injury to Kulusevski likely to keep him out until after GW9, managers should open their eyes to Richarlison. He is not only a player in form, but also a player pushing for his position.
Reece James (Chelsea): £6.0m
England head coach Gareth Southgate opted to use James at right-wingback, over the likes of Trent Alexander-Arnold and Kieran Trippier.
James did his job, as England claimed two points over the two fixtures. However, England was still relegated to Group B of the Nations League.
In a much more comfortable position for James, he claimed an assist from the three goals England scored. If Graham Potter decides to use James at right-wingback, he may pay dividends.
Captaincy selection
Erling Haaland (£12.1m) v Manchester United
Haaland has tallied a record 11 goals so far this Premier League season, and plenty of people will captain him for this reason alone.
In his previous two home games, Haaland scored hat-tricks. He has only missed out on scoring once this season, in GW2.
Manchester United should be wary of him, as he is set to explode once again. Haaland’s ownership has crawled over 80 per cent, with many managers predicted to give him the armband.
Mohamed Salah (£12.9m) v Brighton
It is quite evident that Salah hasn’t had the greatest start to the season in comparison to years past. But what also is evident, is the fact that he holds a decent record against Brighton.
From his 10 appearances in the Premier League against Brighton, Salah has six goals and five assists, equating to more than one attacking return per appearance.
He scored twice in the one match he played for Egypt over the international break. Following the match, Egypt decided to send him back to Liverpool to rest.
Harry Kane (£11.4m) or Heung-min Son (£11.7m) v Arsenal
Both Tottenham attackers will appear as threats to league leaders Arsenal. Kane has shown good form throughout the season, while Son has just found his mojo in the last month.
Arsenal’s cracks have began to show, but nonetheless still appears strong, even when conceding goals. Either option could be vital, as Arsenal may not concede many, or none at all.
Both values of players are justified, it just depends whether managers believe taking the risk is worth it, as no player is in better form than Haaland.
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