After an eventful international break, which saw England name former Chelsea manager Thomas Tuchel as Gareth Southgate’s permanent successor on Wednesday, the Premier League is back to the delight of domestic football fans.
Tottenham host West Ham in north London for Saturday’s early kick-off, and Ange Postecoglou will hope the two-week break has given his squad ample time to forget their dismal defeat by Brighton last time out, having squandered a two-goal lead to lose 3-2.
Erik ten Hag, whose Manchester United side are five games without a win across all competitions, survived the sack over the international break and will be desperate to get back to winning ways against Brentford at Old Trafford on Saturday.
Sunday’s clash between Liverpool and Chelsea at Anfield is no doubt the neutral’s showpiece of the weekend, with popular FPL assets Mohamed Salah and Cole Palmer going head-to-head in what promises to be an important match in the top four and title races.
Fantasy Football Hub expert Holly Shand reveals who you should consider transferring into your FPL teams in Gameweek 8 according to AI predicted points.
FPL is back as the Premier League returns this weekend after an eventful international break
Mohamed Salah is predicted to score more points than Erling Haaland in Gameweek 8
Best Captain Pick: Mohamed Salah (£12.7m)
8.3 Predicted Points vs Chelsea (H)
It’s a rare occasion that Erling Haaland is ousted from top spot in the AI predictions, but it’s Mohamed Salah who has the edge this week with a home game against Chelsea. Salah has had a consistent start to the season, producing eight goal involvements in seven appearances with just two blanks.
Salah’s underlying numbers are equally impressive, top among midfielders for shots on target with 15. His routes to points are plentiful given that he’s also on penalties, plus he has assist threat, with four big chances created for his team-mates this season.
Liverpool will be a difficult test for Chelsea, sitting top of the Premier League table and scoring 13 goals so far this season. Chelsea have conceded eight goals in this campaign but do have consecutive clean sheets on the road, against Bournemouth and West Ham.
Best Differential Pick: Phil Foden (£9.2m)
6.0 Predicted Points vs Wolves (A)
Despite no Erling Haaland for the captain pick this week, Manchester City still see a significant inclusion in the form of midfielder Phil Foden. He was a surprise absentee in the early weeks of the season, getting his first start of the campaign last time out against Fulham. That’s seen his ownership drop to 5 per cent.
While Foden is still waiting for his first goal involvement of the season, he was one of the most attacking midfielders in the game last season, finishing the campaign just behind Cole Palmer for fantasy returns, with 27 goal involvements.
The trip to Wolves comes at a good time, since they have had a torrid start to the season, sitting rock bottom of the Premier League table. Wolves have just one point on the board and are without a clean sheet too, conceding a league high 21 goals and an average of three goals per game.
Phil Foden could now be a smart differential given his sensational run of form last campaign
Best Defender Pick: Gabriel (£6.2m)
4.9 Predicted Points vs Bournemouth (A)
Arsenal’s defence remains resolute in the rankings for clean sheet potential, despite failing to keep a shut-out in plum home games against Leicester City and Southampton. Two of their three clean sheets have come on the road.
That statistic bodes well for the trip to Bournemouth, facing a side who have failed to score a goal in three of their last four games. They are missing Dominic Solanke, who provided 19 goals for them last campaign, with this Arsenal defence tough to break down.
Gabriel remains the key target given his obvious goal threat, having already found the back of the net on two occasions this season, coming from dead ball situations. He sits top among defenders for big chances on goal with five.
No defender has accrued more big chances than in-form Arsenal centre back Gabriel
Best Premium Midfield Pick: Cole Palmer (£10.8m)
6.6 Predicted Points vs Liverpool (A)
Chelsea’s Cole Palmer remains a key acquisition in midfield, being the highest scoring player in the game so far this season. He also took that outright crown in 2023-24, while the injury flag for the similarly priced Bukayo Saka caused more transfer traffic for the Chelsea man.
Palmer sits top for goal involvements this season with 11, having had 24 shots on goal. He is a favourite in the number ten role for new manager Enzo Maresca, sitting second to Saka for big chances created this season with nine.
Palmer has perhaps one of the most challenging fixtures of the weekend, with a tricky trip to Anfield. He faces a Liverpool side with five clean sheets this season, having conceded only two goals. Although in current form, Palmer should be considered fixture proof.
It’s been a superb FPL campaign for Cole Palmer so far with two monster hauls in seven weeks
Best Mid-Priced Midfielder Pick: James Maddison (£7.5m)
5.6 Predicted Points vs West Ham (H)
There’s plenty of potential for Spurs in FPL right now, as their good form coincides with an attractive run of fixtures. Most transfer traffic is going in the direction of Brennan Johnson, but James Maddison is the current favourite according to the AI predictions.
Maddison has produced five goal involvements this season to be Spurs top FPL performer to date. He is an ever-present in the side and their key provider from set pieces. They’ve had more joy from dead ball situations this season, with Solanke a key target man.
Don’t sleep on Tottenham playmaker James Maddison, who has West Ham at home this week
Spurs will be the favourites when West Ham visit the Tottenham Hotspur stadium, having scored seven goals in three home games to date. Maddison is also a good long-term buy, with three home fixtures in the next four gameweeks.
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