The Digest – Gameweek 13

The Digest brings the curtain down on Gameweek 13, as we look to the player, team and talking point catching our attention ahead of Tuesday’s new dawn.

Fantasy interest in Raheem Sterling is on the rise again, while Watford’s recent change in tactics brings more of Marco Silva’s charges onto our radars.

Finally, Pascal Gross’ additional points haul in Brighton’s 1-0 loss to Man United brings the Bonus Points System – and perhaps our tendency to overlook its impact – into sharp focus.

The Player

In a Gameweek where we were, once again, reminded of the futility of second guessing a Pep Guardiola Manchester City teamsheet, Raheem Sterling emerged from the shadow of team-mate Leroy Sane to reinforce his case for inclusion in our squads.

Heading into the deadline, the chatter centred on Sane’s security of starts in light of their manager’s recent comments on selection.

Although the German was handed an eighth straight league start in yesterday’s win at Huddersfield, it was Sterling who hogged the limelight thanks to a goal, assist and a maximum bonus haul.

Subject to nearly 300,000 transfers-out in the previous three rounds of fixtures, Sterling now sits third overall in the FPL player standings – just three points behind Sane.

Sterling is City’s number one midfielder for both shots inside the box (20) and minutes per attempt – an average of 29.2 is more or less identical with Gabriel Jesus (28.2) up front, for example.

All the more impressively, an average of 94.2 minutes per goal is quicker than any regular FPL midfielder. Compared with FPL forwards with a minimum of five starts, only his team-mates Sergio Aguero (76.8) and Jesus (88) can exceed that performance.

This underlines the improved eye for goal that has seen Sterling surpass his best scoring haul in all competitions for a season – with another 25 Gameweeks still to go.

Having started only four of the last six Premier League matches, it’s evident that Sterling’s pitch-time will continue to be managed by Guardiola. Indeed, having featured in their last five in all competitions, he could even be benched for Southampton’s visit on Wednesday.

But even in limited minutes, he’s still managed to deliver points. The England international has found the net on two of the three occasions that he has featured as a substitute in 2017/18.

At a cost of just 8.1, his appeal as the cheapest route into the league leaders’ attack is catching on once more – he’s the fourth most transferred-in player over the last 24 hours ahead of back-to-back home fixtures.

The Team

A run of three straight losses between Gameweek 9-11 had threatened to derail Watford’s early-season momentum under Marco Silva.

But a tactical tweak to a 3-4-2-1 formation appears to have reignited their prospects at both ends of the pitch. Back-to-back wins and clean sheets over West Ham and Newcastle have helped the Hornets climb into eighth spot and forced a reassessment of their potential.

Undoubtedly, Richarlison remains the jewel in their crown.

A relentlessly consistent source of points, the Brazilian’s assist in the 3-0 weekend hammering of the Magpies means he has produced attacking returns in nine of the first 13 Gameweeks.

Yet Silva’s recent decision to accommodate Marvin Zeegelaar and Will Hughes in his line-up has proven hugely significant, with the pair both racking up 22 points in Watford’s last two fixtures.

Handed a first start at left wing-back in Gameweek 12, Zeegelaar was the top-scoring player in Gameweek 13, bagging two assists and 14 FPL points against Newcastle.

Named on the teamsheet for the first time in Gameweek 11, Hughes has flourished since being shifted into a central support role alongside Richarlison the following week, netting in each of the last two fixtures. At a price of 4.6, his impact may have already been a factor behind the decision made by over 36,000 managers to part company with Abdoulaye Doucoure.

With Adrian Mariappa (4.0) also back in contention as the cheapest starting defender in FPL and Andre Gray chipping in with a goal and two assists in the previous three, the Hornets look set to offer further value for FPL managers.

Watford now hand us the classic form versus fixtures dilemma. Back-to-back home matches with Man United and Spurs, followed by a trip to Burnley may well keep investment to a minimum until the schedule turns more favourable in Gameweek 17.

While that might steer us clear temporarily, Richarlison owners will surely hold regardless – returns against the likes of Liverpool, Arsenal and Chelsea highlight the Brazilian’s fixture-proof appeal.

The Talking Point

Gameweek 13 also offered further evidence that we should make more effort to pinpoint those players whose style of play is well suited to the Bonus Points System in FPL.

This was highlighted in Liverpool’s draw with Chelsea at Anfield, where Eden Hazard claimed two bonus despite providing just an assist, whereas Mohamed Salah failed to collect additional points after firing the Reds’ opener. Hazard’s successful take-ons – nine from 11 attempts – was one of the factors behind this and ranked as the most of any player in a single Gameweek so far.

Despite conceding at Anfield, the Blues’ Cesar Azpilicueta – the top-placed player in the BPS – also claimed a single bonus point to strengthen his claim over Marcos Alonso as the optimum route into Chelsea’s defence.

Azpilicueta now has 11 bonus points – more than any defender and over twice Alonso’s total of five.

Arguably, though, it was the output of Brighton’s Pascal Gross in Brighton’s 1-0 loss at Man United that stood out.

Handed maximum bonus against the Red Devils, the German is now up to fifth in the midfield rankings – one point ahead of Richarlison – and is the number one midfielder for points per million value.

He may not offer the goal threat of the Brazilian, firing just 10 shots to Richarlison’s 45, but Gross’ suitability to the BPS means he’s accumulated 14 of his 73 points via bonus – more than any midfielder and joint-top with Harry Kane for the season.

By comparison, only four of Richarlison’s 72 points have been courtesy of BPS.

Although the focus on pure goal threat tends to dictate most of our transfer decisions, we need to be mindful of the role that these supplementary points can play and consider the “bonus point darlings” when plotting festive plans.