Is Kieran Trippier a must-have in FPL?

Following our look at whether Chelsea’s Cole Palmer (£5.2m) is a must-have asset, we ask the same about Newcastle defender Kieran Trippier (£7.0m).

The attacking full-back is continuing last season’s dominance by already being the top-scoring FPL defender with 69 points. Yet the big difference is that Trippier began 2022/23 at just £5.0m whereas this time he’s already risen to £7.0m.

And that’s where things get difficult for FPL managers. Many active squads contain most, if not all, of Erling Haaland (£14.0m), Mohamed Salah (£13.0m), Son Heung-min (£9.7m), Bukayo Saka (£8.6m) and Ollie Watkins (£8.4m).

With that quintet, squeezing in Trippier becomes extremely tough. Some high-profile managers have committed to being Haaland-less or Salah-less, whereby owning Trippier is one of its few benefits. Maybe an upcoming mass movement will see Son or Saka downgraded to someone like Bryan Mbeumo (£6.8m), Jarrod Bowen (£7.7m) or Moussa Diaby (£6.8m), therefore freeing up Trippier money.

However, those sticking with the five will have to find alternatives. A cheaper Newcastle defender can partially cover the 33-year-old and they have one of the few defences that can be trusted.

If we write off Gameweek 12’s shock defeat at Bournemouth as an off-day, where their decimated squad forced Eddie Howe to go with a patched-up, exhausted starting XI, let’s remember that the Magpies had three clean sheets from the previous five outings.

No team has conceded fewer big chances (10) and they’re third-best for expected goals conceded (xGC, 13.33).

TRIPPIER STATS

So not only is Trippier a vital part of the defence with joint-most clean sheets (five) but his six assists are comfortably the most of all in his position. Furthermore, this bonus points magnet has 15 – way ahead of the next-best defensive tally of nine.

With a league-high 33 chances created, he is more than justifying his price tag – despite its big rise. On set-pieces, he’s the only defender with three double-digit hauls, blanking just twice in his last eight outings.

Although consecutive home games with Chelsea and Man United won’t intimidate Howe’s troops – they ended up as 1-0 and 2-0 victories last season – it probably needs pointing out that Trippier has only had two shots for himself. Eight defenders have had at least ten attempts, so he truly is relying on set-piece deliveries and open-play crosses.

NEWCASTLE’S FIXTURES

Using Fantasy Football Scout’s Season Ticker, we see that the Magpies have the best fixtures between Gameweeks 13 and 19. Switching from the ‘overall’ tab to ‘defence’, they unsurprisingly remain top.

The only truly difficult match there, clean sheet-wise, is Gameweek 16’s trip to Trippier’s former club Tottenham. They conceded on both occasions last occasion but also did the double, winning 2-1 and 6-1, giving plenty of potential for attacking output.

IS TRIPPIER A MUST-HAVE?

Overall, the question remains whether managers would rather sacrifice a popular attacker or Trippier. Something has to give, meaning he’s not a must-have.

Newcastle have arguably the league’s best defence and are about to enter an appealing run of games – not that fixture-proof Trippier needs to worry about those. He’s created more chances than anyone else but comes at a big cost.

Perhaps a cheaper Newcastle defender like Fabian Schar (£5.2m) or Jamaal Lascelles (£4.1m) can partly cover their team-mate. Or maybe downgrading a big-name midfielder to a cheaper, still very good one enables the England international.

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