Wildcard team reveal Gameweek 8

The Premier League season continues so we look to the new round. We bring in Fantasy Football Community and Fantasy Football Scout contributor @FPLReaction to give you his Wildcard team reveal for FPL Gameweek 8.

As we approach any given deadline, managers will be scrambling for clarity on some of the biggest decisions in the game like transfers and captaincy. Taking a look at @FPLReaction’s Wildcard team reveal for FPL Gameweek 8 could benefit other managers when making those decisions.

Gameweek 7 review

It was my worst Gameweek of the season yet as we can see. I managed just 38 points when the average was 49. I also had a big red arrow from 565k down to 1.1m.
One of the biggest issues I had was the fact that Botman didn’t start which meant Estupinan came off my bench with minus two points.
My midfield was very disappointing again as the Manchester United midfielders continued with their poor form. Mbeumo was another asset who further extended his poor run.
The biggest frustration was Jordan Pickford who has consistently let me down this season.
My only saving grace was Saka who many sold but started the game and picked up nine points.
Alvarez also bagged a return which was nice considering he blanked when I bought him in the last round.
Taking all of that into account I decided I needed to make major changes and so activated the wildcard.

Wildcard team reveal for FPL Gameweek 8 (subject to change)

No Salah

As you can see I have decided to go against the template, but not on purpose. Similar to the start of the season, including Salah would mean making too many sacrifices elsewhere for me. Having Salah would mean major surgery, losing the likes of Kieran Trippier or Ollie Watkins and going cheaper elsewhere within the squad.
I’m also not keen on the data Salah has been maintaining. Although one of the best in the game for non-penalty expected goal involvement a lot of that comes down to his creativity rather than his goal threat. His goal threat is a bit of a concern and ultimately because of that I think I can outscore teams who have Salah because of the additional players I can afford.
In addition, I don’t plan to captain Salah either. Although Haaland has been slightly out of touch lately I think it’s only a matter of time before he does start going big again. I also have Son as a very capable captaincy option as well and I even think he has more potential than Salah moving forward.

Goalkeepers

Matt Turner (£4m) & Alphonse Areola (£4.2m) – I don’t think there is any need to spend big on goalkeepers as none have performed well so far this season, or at least well enough for me to invest. Both are cheap, are first team for their clubs and rotate around the fixtures with eachother.

Defenders

Matty Cash (£4.9m) – He just makes sense. He leads all other defenders for non-penalty expected goal involvement and with the fixtures could probably be the best defender option in the game currently.
Kieran Trippier (£6.8m) – One of the biggest reasons I don’t want Salah. He looks back to his best in terms of assist potential and I don’t think he’ll stop performing the way he has been anytime soon.
Pedro Porro (£5.1m) – You can’t not invest in the Tottenham defence when considering the fixtures. Although I still like Destiny Udogie Porro’ attacking data has been better lately.
Dan Burn (£4.6m) -Burn could be a great and safe first substitute and if anything goes wrong I will happily start him of anyone who has an issue.
Tariq Lamptey (£3.9m) – He looks like he could be getting some gametime again whilst Estupinan is injured and who knows he may even keep his place if he’s good enough.

Midfielders

Son Heung-min (£9.4m) – Feels like an essential at this point. He’s been playing in a strikers role and his fixtures are very good when looking ahead. He could also be a great captaincy option and I’m actually considering captaining him this week.
James Maddison (£8m) – He’s been great this season and similar to Son he looks like an essential for the rounds ahead.
Bruno Fernandes (£8.4m) – People will think I’m mad here but I still think having a Manchester United attacker could be extremely rewarding. They also have some absolutely fantastic fixtures coming up and many could be looking to bring them back in after one or two good performances. He is also a very easy route to bring back Bukayo Saka with money in the bank.
Jarrod Bowen (£7.3m) – West Ham are another team who have some very appealing fixtures long-term and I think Bowen has brilliant potential for the run ahead.
Carney Chukwuemeka (£4.3m) – There could be a point where he becomes the best enabler in the game when fit. There is a big chance he starts games in an attacking position when fit and looked fantastic for Chelsea in pre-season.

Forwards

Erling Haaland (£14.1m) – Its crazy that people are considering selling him. Probably the best finisher in the world and someone who has the potential to score a hatrick in any given game.
Ollie Watkins (£8m) – The highest scoring player in the game at the moment and I made the mistake of selling him early in the season. He has returned in every single game bar one and has amazing fixtures coming up.
Darwin Nunez (£7.4m) – There is no point in using the Wildcard if you are not going to take some risk for me. The Liverpool fixtures are fantastic and I want an attacker from their side. I won’t be paying all of that money for Salah when I have someone who could outscore him in any given match in Nunez.