Keep or Sell: FPL Gameweek 8

Keep or Sell. It’s a popular question seen everywhere in today’s society—from stock markets to weary furniture, or that one old car that’s barely legal at this point.

And while those are headaches in their own regard, let’s instead focus on which FPL assets you should actually hold in your team. Because seriously, why do all of my players forget how to score points the moment I transfer them in?!

Next 4: nfo, SUN, tot, WOL
Form: 7, 2, 2, 2

And now, for my next trick, I will convince everyone that I can consistently score goals! ~ João Pedro, every year, probably.

JP lit the world on fire when he joined Chelsea, only to revert to his non–shot-taking self, registering as many shots (1) as red cards (1) in his last five matches. Yikes.

So while his data isn’t great, Chelsea’s fixtures are about to turn for the better, as they face two relegation contenders and a pretty woeful Nottingham Forest side in their next four, meaning there’s plenty of room for an uptake.

Plus, with Palmer out, he has at least ~35% penalty share, and that’s worth punting on.

Popular Replacements: Haaland, Gyökeres, Mateta

Next 4: ful, CRY, bur, sun
Form: 6, 2, 2, 2

Arsenal won a penalty vs. West Ham last weekend. I, like every other Gyökeres owner, sat with bated breath. Then Bukayo Saka dashed my hopes and dreams. #notmystarboy

I think Gyökeres losing penalties is really, really bad news for owners. I don’t think he’ll never take one again, nor is he far from being given a sympathy penalty, but I wouldn’t give him more than a 30% chance of taking Arsenal’s next penalty.

It’s not all bad news, though. Until Havertz is back, Gyökeres is still the starting centre forward for the title favourites, and Arsenal’s fixtures are excellent, with the markets remaining relatively bullish on Gyökeres’ goal threat.

I think he’s a hold, but only just.

Popular Replacements: Haaland, João Pedro, Mateta

Next 4:  MUN, bre, AVL, mci
Form: 9, 5, 2, 2

It appears as if the Egyptian King is already preparing to be mummified. The song “Walk Like an Egyptian” is reportedly being renamed “Too Wide on the Pitch to Score a Goal Like an Egyptian.” Hmm. Not very catchy.

Over the course of his Liverpool tenure, Mo Salah has averaged an npxG+xAG/90 of 0.81. This season, he’s at 0.34. He’s getting older, and some regression is to be expected—but one of the best players ever doesn’t regress by that much, that quickly.

I believe much of this comes down to a shift in attacking dynamics: TAA’s absence and the need to fit in two elite strikers. Once that initial lag is over, I expect we’ll see something close to the Salah of old.

I don’t expect him to score every week, but I do think he’s quite underrated now, making Salah an easy hold (and even a captaincy option) for me.

Popular Replacements: Bruno Fernandes, Saka, Enzo

Next 4: liv, BHA, nfo, tot
Form: 2, 10, -1, 3

“Hop, skip, and a jump” is an idiom that means a task is very close to completion and easy to achieve.

For Bruno, though, it’s merely his way of skying every penalty he takes.

Owning a Manchester United player doesn’t exactly inspire confidence, but simply put, Bruno is a 90-minute man who takes penalties and set pieces, and who has historically run at an npxG+xAG/90 of around 0.50, averaging 10.64 DEFCONs/90.

Essentially, I think Bruno is one of the best assets in the game.

His projected points don’t vary much whether he plays as a DM or an AM, and where you see difficult fixtures, I see DEFCON potential. He just has so many avenues to points, and that’s why he’s a very easy hold for me.

Popular Replacements: Saka, Enzo, Semenyo

Next 4: EVE, avl, BOU, LIV
Form: 3, 9, 2, 3

Tijjani the well-trimmed-moustache Reindeer played five straight 90s (PL) for City before getting only 82 and 75 minutes in the next two. But I still think he’s as important to Pep as ever, and those early subs were only due to fatigue.

His underlying data is also pretty decent, with room for it to skyrocket (given some of the positions he takes up while playing as City’s #8). The odd +1 for a City clean sheet and some DEFCON potential doesn’t hurt either.

City’s fixtures are a mixed bag, but they’re good enough in the short term—and Reijnders is cheap enough—to warrant holding him. I’m not exactly bullish on this, though.

Popular replacements: Enzo, Sarr, Minteh