Every new Gameweek brings to light new information about teams and players that can influence our Fantasy decisions. Injuries, new signings, tactical shifts, new roles, and young players emerging are all essential parts of the decision-making process when a fantasy manager evaluates trades, waiver wire pickups or drops. In this new article, we aim to list everything that happened during the weekend and our takeaways through fantasy-tinted glasses.
Fantrax Takeaways Gameweek 8
Here we outline our Fantasy EPL Takeaways from the previous gameweek and how to interpret them for draft fantasy.
Key Injuries and Suspensions
Leandro Trossard (ARS, MID)
Prospects: Trossard tweaked his hamstring in the win vs. Manchester City. He was replaced by Martinelli who ultimately got the winner in the closing stages. Trossard won't be going on international duty and, unless it is a serious injury, should be back within 2 weeks.
Replacement: With Martinelli back, and Saka potentially back post break, Trossard will once again find himself a rotation piece. He will get starts in the UCL, and if a winger gets another injury.
Verdict: Trossard is a very high upside rotation piece and is not droppable unless he has a serious injury.
Chris Basham (SHU, DEF)
Prospects: Basham had a gruesome injury, and is more than likely out for the season and maybe longer. Basham is key to that Sheffield Utd defence, and while they were already bad, this will make them significantly worse.
Replacement: It remains to be seen who steps in for Basham long term, but it really doesn't matter. The Blades are probably getting relegated and their entire team minus Hamer are nothing more than streamers.
Verdict: I wish nothing but the best for Basham after that horrible injury, but I would not recommend picking up his backup or any other Sheffield Utd defender.
Alexander Isak (NEW, FWD)
Prospects: Isak was forced off in the draw vs. West Ham. He will not go on international duty, but look for more information in the days leading up to gameweek 9.
Replacement: If Isak misses any time Wilson will see an increase in starts and overall minutes.
Verdict: No need to panic yet. The Isak vs. Wilson rotation is frustrating for managers and I would try to either have none or both if you can. Do not sell for cheap, but expect a lot of rotation in the next few months.
William Saliba (ARS, DEF)
Prospects: Saliba withdrew from international duty with an injury he has been playing through. It remains to be seen how severe this is or if the injury will get worse. Saliba is key to that Arsenal backline and clearly has a high pain tolerance.
Replacement: I really don't expect Saliba to miss any time, but if he does we could see White go to CB and Tomiyasu start again or see Kiwor back into the XI.
Verdict: Saliba is a decent DEF3, but is droppable if he misses any games.
Jeffrey Schlupp + Jairo Riedewald (CRY, MID)
Prospects: Schlupp and Riedewald were both withdrawn with injuries in the draw vs. Forest. Palace have a lengthy injury list, and we have no idea how they will recover over the break.
Replacement: If Olise somehow returns quicker than expected he could take back his spot in the XI and be rushed back. Franca is nearing full fitness but it could be a few games before he starts. If Schlupp doesn't recover there is a small chance Rak-Sakyi could start, but I still think that is very unlikely.
Verdict: Both these players are droppable but it is worth picking up Franca wherever you can.
Taiwo Awoniyi (NOT, FWD)
Prospects: Awoniyi will be out for a month with a groin strain. This is a huge blow to Forest as Awoniyi has 3 goals and 2 assists from the first 8 games.
Replacement: We saw Chris Wood get the nod up top this weekend and he should continue in Awoniyi's absence.
Verdict: I would not be rushing to add Chris Wood; he is a very poor fantasy asset on a team that struggles offensively [Editor's note: he is projected to score 10.9 against Luton]. Awoniyi is a great FWD3 with FWD2 upside and is worth holding unless he starts to get multiple setbacks.
Raphael Varane + Sergio Reguilon (MUN, DEF)
Prospects: Varane and Reguillon missed the win vs. Brentford and were replaced by Maguire and Lindelof, with the latter taking the left-back role. Both these players should be ready to go after the break and we should see a back line of Dalot - Varane - Lindelof - Reguillon for the next 4-5 weeks until Wan-Bissaka or Shaw are back.
Replacement: If either of these players miss any more time expect Evans to be first up, followed by Maguire.
Verdict: Most of this United defence is droppable, and if anyone has to miss time, especially these two assets, they are droppable.
Tactical Discussions
Back-to-back losses for Manchester City
Observation: Man City have just lost back-to-back EPL games for the first time in what seems like forever. They were shockingly beaten by Wolves, and more recently succumbed to a late goal vs. Arsenal. Is it time to panic with regards to City? No. Rodri will be back after the international break, and he will greatly improve this team; the likes of Nunes, Lewis, and Silva just can't fill the hole left by the City star. Adding Rodri back should improve both defence and attack, but it's safe to say Pep may look to bring changes elsewhere. Grealish is someone who may finally start to get a look in over one of Doku/Foden/Alvarez. Despite not always being consistent, he was key in the final stretch last season to help City win the title. City's defenders don't score well in Fantrax Default Scoring; all of them are droppable/not worth rostering except maybe Walker, but he has a tough schedule now so he might be worth trying to trade out.
Verdict: If you can buy low on the likes of Haaland, Rodri, or Grealish I would see what kind of value you could get. Haaland will likely still be the Golden Boot winner and a top 1-4 player overall. Rodri should offer solid MID2-3 value every week, and Grealish has the upside of a round 2 player that you can probably get for round 4-5 value right now.
Spurs Surprise
Observation: Tottenham have been the surprise package of the season, being tied for first with Arsenal after 8 games. The loss of Kane has hardly been felt for Spurs who are finding a way to get results. The likes of Romero, Bissouma, Sarr, and Kulusevski have all improved leaps and bounds over last season and are a huge part of Spurs' success so far. Spurs are entering a decently good schedule right now where they will need to capitalize on points if they want to stay in the title race.
Personally, I think this squad is just missing one to two pieces from being title challengers but might need to wait another year or so to mount a serious challenge. That being said they should easily be a top 4 side. Their top assets in Son, Maddison, Kulusevski, and Romero are all above 10 PPS, and I would not be surprised to see these four continue to produce high-level fantasy numbers. If you have a piece of this Spurs attack you would be foolish to sell them unless you are truly getting someone to pay 2x their value. The one role that is still up for grabs is the LW role between Richarlison and Johnson now that Solomon is injured. For now, I expect Ange to go with Richarlison but don't be surprised if by GW10-11 Johnson is back in the XI.
Verdict: If you can get a piece of this Spurs attack for proper value look to do so. There is no need to trade out any Spurs attacker, but Richarlison is one the one exception if you are in need of a more guaranteed FWD2.
West Ham Need Kudus
Observation: Kudus has proved his importance to West Ham with his off-the-bench heroics in the 2-2 draw with Newcastle. Kudus deserves a start, no matter where it is on the pitch; his work ethic alone helps West Ham immensely on both sides of the ball. Unfortunately for Antonio, he just lacks the same explosiveness he once had, something Kudus can add to an already very strong attack. West Ham are doing very well for a team everyone thought would struggle with the loss of Rice. In fact, it seems the presence of JWP, the revival of Soucek, and the new signing Alvarez have made fans forget all about Rice. If West Ham want to have any chance of continuing a top 6 push I would expect Kudus to start....very soon.
Verdict: I would look to bring in Kudus. Look to offer a midfielder that may offer more consistent minutes, but lacks the upside of Kudus. A deal involving one of: Douglas Luiz, Gallagher, Enzo or Rice with the addition of a defender such as Dan Burn has a chance of being accepted. If you need to go up a level the likes of Doughty, Gross, and Gordon are all options to offer for Kudus.
Are Chelsea Ready?
Observation: Chelsea are about to enter a brutal schedule. Their next 7 games consist of Arsenal, Brentford, Spurs, Manchester City, Newcastle, Brighton, and Manchester United. This is after their very friendly run that they truly did not capitalize on. I would expect Chelsea to struggle, especially on the defensive side, in these fixtures. Chelsea are coming off back-to-back wins vs. Fulham and Burnley, but these two teams are just relegation fodder that will not compare to this upcoming schedule.
I personally think this stretch will make or break Chelsea's season; a few wins can give them the confidence needed to challenge for the top 6, but one or fewer wins will probably hurt their confidence to the point they struggle to make the top 10 this year.
Fantasy-wise, this is not the time to trade in any of their assets. In fact, I would be looking to actively ship out the likes of Sterling, Jackson, Enzo, Gallagher, Colwill, Silva etc... The only player that might be worth holding is Reece since you will not get proper value for him. Other than him and Chilwell, I think all their defenders are droppable. You probably won't start them more than 1-2 times over the next 7 games and defenders are the easiest position to stream; there's no value in holding some DEF3 level assets.
Verdict: I would trade out as many Chelsea assets as I could over this break, and drop any defenders not named Reece or Chilwell.
Toothless Palace
Observation: In their last three games Palace have scored one goal, and it was a great strike from CB Andersen against a troubled United squad. This team is just too injury-riddled right now to have a proper attack. With Olise and Franca back within a few weeks, the hope is they can at least start to score more consistently. For now, streaming defenders against Palace is a great idea. At worst, they may concede one goal but it seems their odds of giving away clean sheets are starting to rival those of Sheffield Utd and Luton.
Edouard is back but he is lost up there with any creative players to help feed him. Andersen can only do so much, having already scored 2 times in 8 games. I am not panic-selling any top Palace asset, but it is worth considering trading out Olise on the hype he is back soon. I expect him to be rushed back and he may struggle to gain full fitness.
Verdict: I would look to stream defenders against this toothless Palace side, at least until more players return from injury.
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