A high-scoring start to the Premier League season has meant headaches for defences – but FPL managers still have options at that end of the field.
Four players have already scored hat-tricks this season, while there have been seven instances of a team scoring four or more and seven games featuring six or more total goals.
Nevertheless, a Leicester City defender leads our transfer recommendations for gameweek four.
Goalkeepers
Leeds United provide our third-ranked goalkeeper this week, with Illan Meslier trailing Karl Darlow – excelling for Newcastle in Martin Dubravka’s absence – and Rui Patricio, whose stock is boosted by Wolverhampton Wanderers’ friendly upcoming run of games.
Popular choices have difficult games this week, after all. Mat Ryan of Brighton & Hove Albion faces a free-scoring Everton side, while Ederson at Manchester City is against a Leeds team who tend to pepper keepers. Time for a change, perhaps?
Defenders
FPL 27 essential Fantasy Premier League tips from old winners and experts
PA’s Transfer Score metric for every player in FPL assesses his form, ownership, price and upcoming fixture difficulty (FDR) to create an overall rating, with form accounting for 50 per cent and the other categories equally weighted.
Foxes full-back Timothy Castagne is far and away at the head of the rankings this week despite the rain of goals – or perhaps because of it, with the summer signing from free-flowing Atalanta contributing a goal and three assists but only one clean sheet in the first three games.
His 15 per cent ownership caps his differential potential but a transfer score of 83 nevertheless leaves him a long way clear of the pack, with fellow defender Ezri Konsa next up at 75.
Konsa’s Aston Villa team-mate Tyrone Mings completes the defensive podium on 73, rated fourth overall in the game behind Tottenham striker Harry Kane.
Midfielders
West Bromwich Albion have just one point to show for their first three games back in the top flight, but there has been some encouragement from their performances – at least in an attacking sense.
Midfielder Matheus Pereira made his move from Sporting permanent this summer after a successful loan in the Championship and has demonstrated his quality with a goal and two assists in the last two games despite his side losing 5-2 to Everton and blowing a three-goal lead to draw with Chelsea.
He has been transferred in by over 75,000 managers in the last week but remains at just 3.4 per cent ownership for a transfer score of 71 – narrowly ahead of Helder Costa, who has more than twice as many transfers in this week, and his Leeds team-mate Mateusz Klich. The latter, though, is the pick if you are putting your faith in penalties.
Forwards
Harry Kane leads our striker recommendations for the second straight week after his extraordinary performance against Southampton, when he set up all four of Son Heung-min’s goals before scoring the fifth himself.
Brighton’s Neal Maupay is not far behind, though, rising from third to second among strikers and to fifth overall after three goals and an assist in his last two games. Like Kane, the Frenchman is his side’s regular penalty taker – an increasingly valuable commodity early this season given the tighter rules on handball.
Burnley’s Chris Wood is just behind Maupay at the same £6.5m price point, with a transfer score of 70 to Maupay’s 72.
