Bruno Fernandes v Marcus Rashford in FPL

FPL have forced some tough decisions with pricing for the new campaign and it has drawn up some serious of debates within the community. One of those debates include the Manchester United midfielders so we take a look at Bruno Fernandes v Marcus Rashford in FPL.

Taking a look at the Bruno Fernandes v Marcus Rashford debate could be a vital one as we approach the deadline for Gameweek 1. It could also be worth highlighting the value in owning both and if it could be worth it.

The Manchester United fixtures

Below we have sorted the fixture ticker in attack order. This means that the teams at the top have the best fixtures from an offensive point of view.

We can see that Manchester United rank fifth on the season ticker – they face matches against Wolves, Tottenham, Nottingham Forest, Arsenal, Brighton and Burnley. This could suggest investing in the Manchester United attack a good move.

The Manchester United attack

Lets take a look at how the Reds faired when compared to every other attack in the division last season – they ranked:

Fourth best for passes in the final third (3787).
Second best for chances created (479).
Joint seventh for goals scored (58).
Sixth best for expected goals scored (68.74).
Joint fourth best for attempts on goal (593).
Sixth best for shots in the box (363).
Fifth best for big chances total (111).
Third best for shots on target (209).

The Manchester United attack maintained some great data last season but they should have scored more goals given they created the second most chances and third most shots on target.

Bruno Fernandes v Marcus Rashford

Fantasy stats

Firstly for each comparison graphic we show, Bruno Fernandes is situated on the left and Marcus Rashford on the right.

Of the 14 fantasy stats highlighted in red or green below, Fernandes edges his more expensive teammate in nine of them – he edged Rashford for starts, time played, appearances, assists, and clean sheets.

Rashford beat Fernandes for five stats including goals, yellow cards, total FPL points and minutes per FPL point.

Goal threat

Below we compare the goal threat of each asset. We can already see a clear winner when comparing both players and that winner is Marcus Rashford – he is ahead on penalty area touches, goals, headed goals, goal attempts, shots on target, and minutes per attempts.

Distribution

Similar to goal threat, there is a clear winner when comparing Fernandes and Rashford in terms of distribution. Fernandes beats Rashford in passes, crosses, assist potential and minutes per chance created.

Expected data

When comparing both of their expected data it becomes a little tighter overall. Of the 18 data points below, Fernandes leads in seven areas to Rashford’s 11.

Bruno Fernandes, Marcus Rashford or both?

Bruno Fernandes leads the way in terms of assist potential where-as Marcus Rashford edges the former in terms of goals. Goals are significantly more important than assists in FPL and ultimately, even though Fernandes is £0.5m cheaper and takes penalties, could still back Rashford ahead of his teammate.

Owning both is also a viable option due to the closeness of their comparison. Having both in our squads allows us to see if one player becomes more efficient than the other, with that we could then sacrifice the least performing player.