GW31+ Lessons Learnt – top 8 take aways on players, teams and all things FPL.

A {THREAD}

#fplcommunity #fpl

The new FPL bandwagon Anthony Martial unsurprisingly tops many of the key attacking metrics this GW. Of all players he was top for penalty box touches (11), big chances (3 – alongside Kane and Abraham) and shots inside the box (4). As we all know, as an FPL asset…

…he has been renowned for blowing hot and cold, lacking consistency. However across the previous 5 GWs there was a real improvement in his attacking stats. For example, he was second of all mids for shots in the box GWs 26-30 (12). A haul was coming but can he keep it up?

After Crystal Palace, joint second for shots conceded this GW was Man City (15) and they were joint top for shots conceded on target (7) – the perils of chasing a game to avoid conceding a PL title! Therefore this is more likely to be a one-off than any serious concern…

…but this was the second highest number of shots conceded by Man City in the PL all year (the most was 21 away at Wolves in GW19). Normally watertight, they have conceded the fewest shots of all teams across PL games this year by some distance (230, next fewest is Chelsea 266).

With his 2 assists, Marcus Rashford was the only player to create 2 big chances this GW. However, despite Sheff Utd sitting deep and Man United’s dominance, he only had 1 big chance himself and a total of 2 shots, neither of which were on target. Something to monitor.

Liverpool were predictably dominant against Crystal Palace, in attack and defence. As @optajoe highlighted Crystal Palace were the first team to fail to record a penalty area touch in the PL since Opta started data collection in 2008…

…In attack Liverpool had the most shots (21), most shots on target (7) and most in the box (14) of all teams this GW. Even considering possible rotation now the league has been won, it will be a significant risk to go without their key assets in defence and attack.

Dominic Calvert-Lewis had the most shots (7), shots on target (4) and shots inside the box (4 – joint with Martial) of all players this GW. Perhaps unsurprising against a Norwich side who concede so many – but shows that owners were unlucky not to see returns. Bodes well.

A reminder that we are entering a period where press conferences and team news (and this week also FA cup games) will all happen after the FPL deadline. Having a strong playing bench from this gameweek onwards could prove valuable and worth giving some attention.

Despite playing for only 28 minutes and against Man City, Tammy Abraham had the highest xG of all players this GW (2.19) and the joint most big chances (3). Only 1 of his 3 shots were on target – but shows the opportunities he may have over coming GWs if he begins to start.

GW31+ Total shots (on target) – selected players:

C Wilson 0 (0)
Wellbeck 0 (0)
Jota 0 (0)
Jimenez 1 (1)
Sarr 0 (0)
Grealish 0 (0)
Pogba 0 (0)
Son 0 (0)

Thanks for reading
Good luck with those GW32+ decisions…