POSITIONAL RANKINGS 2018/19: FPL Gameweek 3
With so many transfer trends and varying levels of form impacting the strategies of FPL players around the world, ahead of each Gameweek we will be providing our top ten selections in each position (GK, DEF, MID, FOR) for standalone rounds of games. Our player selections will be based purely on our opinion of those players on our watchlist any given week, with may positively sway FPL or Draft players with their own thoughts and decisions heading in to a Gameweek. All aboard.
Fantasy Premier League: Gameweek 3 Deadline
For the 2016/17 Premier League season, the FPL deadline will be one hour before the commencement of the week's first game. The Premier League website lists each FPL deadline, you can always ask on social media, and you can also view a real time countdown on our Weekly Hype page.
FPL Gameweek 3: Goalkeeper Selections
1) Alisson (LIV) - £5.5m - vs. Brighton (H)
We begin our Positional Rankings by being the 100,00th social media account to inform you that Liverpool are the only team yet to concede a Premier League goal. Liverpool haven’t conceded at Anfield in 500+ minutes of Premier League football and look favourites to bag a clean sheet when Brighton come to town. Alisson, who has impressed, is the safest pair of hands this week by a long mile.
2) Ederson (MCI) - £5.6m+ - vs. Wolves (a)
Ederson is finding it hard on all fronts to overcome his international compatriot, Alisson, with the Brazilian number two Goalkeeper finding himself behind the Liverpool shot-stopper for Gameweek 3. Man City have been rarely troubled this season, only letting a rare slip of judgement to allow Stankovic to net for Huddersfield at The Etihad last weekend. Wolves do pose some form of a threat in front of goal, though it shouldn’t be substantial enough to derail the form of the title holders.
3) Ben Hamer (HUD) - £4.0m – vs. Cardiff (H)
4) Neil Etheridge (CAR) - £4.5M – vs. Huddersfield (a)
No one in the football world really batted an eyelid when Ben Hamer moved from Leicester to Cardiff. On paper, the move was supposed to be Hamer acting as backup for Jonas Lossl, who signed permanently at the club this summer. Hamer was the first Goalkeeper to make 9+ saves in a match this season when Huddersfield were thumped 6-1 at Man City.
Not a lot of people have batted an eyelid to Cardiff’s arrival to the Premier League, with Neil Etheridge being the man to out of the season so far with some acclaim after saving penalties in back-to-back matches against Bournemouth and Newcastle.
On paper the encounter between Huddersfield and Cardiff looks to be one that will be lacking in goals, which puts both value stoppers high on the agenda this weekend.
5) Fabri (FUL) - £4.5m – vs. Burnley (H)
6) Joe Hart (BUR) - £4.5m – vs. Fulham (a)
Fulham were compact and impressive in their recent loss at Spurs, which will be great motivation heading into a home fixture against a Burnley side who are on the verge of elimination from the Europa League. Fabri and Joe Hart are at around the same level of anticipation this week in terms of clean sheet potential, with both sides likely to lock up in a tight-knit affair, with chances at a premium.
7) Alex McCarthy (SOU) - £4.5m – vs. Leicester (H)
Southampton’s first choice keeper has made 11 saves so far this season so is a good bet to average 2 save points against a young and vibrant Leicester side, who by all accounts will be a weaker unit with Jamie Vardy suspended for the visit to St Mary’s.
8) Ben Foster (WAT) – £4.5m - vs. Crystal Palace (H)
Watford’s strong start to the season will put the club in great spirit ahead of the visit of a potentially difficult home tie against Crystal Palace. Foster is a save machine on his day and should have more chances to impress as Wilfried Zaha rolls through town.
9) Petr Cech (ARS) – £5.0m - vs. West Ham (H)
Arsenal have lost both of their opening fixtures of the season to decent opposition with a fixture against West Ham tomorrow the perfect opportunity to register a first clean sheet. Petr Cech, who made some brilliant saves in the defeat at Chelsea, hasn’t inspired a lot of pundits or fans alike with his performances, but nonetheless has a chance to stake a real claim in a winnable fixture verses West Ham.
10) David de Gea (MUN) - £6.0m - vs. Spurs (H)
Rounding off the goalkeeper selections is 4-point David de Gear. The United shot-stopper has kept back-to-back clean sheets at home against Spurs in the league. Despite a damaging defeat at Brighton, Man United will grind out a gritty game against Spurs, which might give de Gea the opportunity to register his first meaningful FPL points of the season.
FPL Gameweek 3: Defender Selections
1) Andrew Robertson (LIV) - £6.0m - vs. Brighton (H)
2) Virgil van Dijk (LIV) - £6.0m - vs. Brighton (H)
3) Trent Alexander-Arnold (LIV) - £5.0m - vs. Brighton (H)
Two wins. Two clean sheets. Liverpool are proving difficult to break down and a home match against Brighton puts the duo of Robertson and van Dijk. Both are owned by 18-19% of FPL players and are locks for most FPL players right now. TAA also makes the list despite two yellow cards, though the ceiling is high for his potential.
4) Benjamin Mendy (MCI) - £6.2m + - vs. Wolves (a)
5) John Stones (MCI) - £5.5m - vs. Wolves (a)
Behind the expectant Liverpool defensive options sits the Man City ones. Benjamin Mendy is blazing a trail that is leading right to the Playmaker award, having notched 4 assists of the season in both opening fixtures. Quietly behind Mendy is John Stones, who looks to have secured a central spot in City’s defence, and is near the top of the radar for clean sheet points this week. Easy peasy.
6) Patrick van Aanholt (CRY) - £5.5m – vs. Watford (a)
Palace were half-decent against Liverpool at the back, and effective against Fulham away from home. PVA’s attacking threat on the left-flank with Jeffrey Schlupp could pose some massive questions to Watford’s defence, with FPL players more than comfortable to leave the Dutch international in their teams this weekend.
7) Jon Stankovic (HUD) - £4.0m – Cardiff (H)
Stankovic was playing in midfield for Huddersfield in the defeat at City, but scored the lone goal that ended hopes of a second clean sheet for City. If Stankovic plays again, Cardiff is the perfect fixture to earn more points, and could be a short-term option in Wan-Bissaka’s absence.
8) Marcos Alonso (CHE) - £6.6m – Newcastle (a)
As a devoted Newcastle fan, I wasn’t going to include Marcos Alonso in this list as Chelsea love losing to the Magpies away from home. It’s a bogey ground for Chelsea and even though I don’t expect a defensive return, Alonso is effective at both ends of the pitch so to fill space, and to keep some sort of credibility, Alonso begrudgingly makes the cut.
9) Jose Holebas (WAT) - £4.5m – Crystal Palace (H)
Jose Holebas was exceptional against Brighton during their opening day win against Brighton, and has the tools in the locker to unlock Palace from set-pieces.
10) Ricardo Pereira (LEI) - £5.0 million – Southampton (a)
Assists in consecutive games have put Pereira on the radar for an away day against a Southampton side that is struggling for goals. Danny Ings’s arrival could put doubt in players’ minds about the right-back, but with the game potentially close to call, a swing in results could see Pereira thrive at the south coast.
FPL Gameweek 3: Midfielder Selections
1) Mohamad Salah (LIV) - £13.0mil vs. Brighton (H) 2) Sadio Mane (LIV) - £9.6mil vs. Brighton (H) 3) James Milner (LIV) - £5.5mil vs. Brighton (H)
Either of يمكن أن يكون مادة الكابتن ، والمسلمين المقيمين في صفوف ليفربول سوف يعيثون الفوضى في فريق روي هودجسون. Also, James Milner is here for the ride after some convincing performances in the past two weeks, assisting during Gameweek 1 and is back on penalty duty
4) Bernardo Silva (MCI) - £7.6mil vs. Wolves (A) 5) David Silva (MCI) - £8.4mil vs. Wolves (A)
Obligatory mention of Man City midfielders. The two Silva’s look dead set in the team at the moment, but at any moment Pep roulette could strike and rotate the entire team, which is why the wingers (Sane, Mahrez, Sterling) all miss out.
6) Henrikh Mkhitaryan - £7.1mil vs. West Ham (H)
Arsenal’s in-form man has said that he wants to have the best season of his career in recent interviews, he wants no criticism his way which isn’t fair because he has been average since he joined Arsenal. He was bright against Chelsea, and if he can muster the same form against a struggling West Ham he will be a great option for this Gameweek.
7) Ryan Fraser (BOU) - £5.5mil vs. Everton (H)
Ryan Fraser makes the list this week after scoring and assist in his past two games. The Scot is now imperative to the attacking threat of Bournemouth who are in a nice little purple patch where Fraser is right in the heart of it.
8) Richarlison (EVE) - £6.8mil vs. Bournemouth (A)
The only reason Richarlison is behind Fraser is because of the form and home advantage of Bournemouth. Richarlison has been relied upon by Marco Silva, and Bournemouth are their biggest test to date in the Premier League. Richarlison is still a great option to have in your teams.
9) James Maddison (LEI) - £6.5mil vs. Southampton (A) Leicester have picked up a real gem by acquiring the young Englishman from Norwich City. After only a few showings it is fair to say that Maddison looks at home in the Premier League, and after his first goal and Jamie Vardy’s suspension all eyes will be on him to fill the void of the forward.
10) Pedro (CHE) - £6.6mil vs. Newcastle (A) Tenth on the list is Chelsea’s Pedro due to his ridiculous form under new boss Sarri. Chelsea might have their hardest game of the season against Newcastle (a place they always struggle to get a point) but with Pedro in scoring form he might be their best outlet to break the Toon curse.
FPL Gameweek 3: Forward Selections
1) Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang (ARS) - £11.0m – West Ham (H)
West Ham’s slow start to the season will have Arsenal all fired up this weekend as they look to kick-start their season with goals at the Emirates. Aubameyang, who missed an absolute sitter against Chelsea, could be set for his first big haul of the season. FPL players just need Arsenal to jumpstart their own slow start to the campaign.
2) Sergio Aguero (MCI) - £11.1m+ – Wolves (a)
Goals are flowing as of late for Aguero. Wolves fans will be quivering at Man City’s attack, and it looks o paper that the Argentine is in good shape and set to retain his place in the starting line-up. A must for Fantasy players right now.
3) Wilfried Zaha (CRY) - £7.0m – Watford (a)
The highly-selected Forward has proven to be a menace against Watford in recent years and starts a run of very good fixtures for Palace. Zaha could be to go-to £7.0 million option.
4) Roberto Firmino (LIV) - £9.5m – Brighton (a)
Barring an assist on the opening day against West Ham, Firmino has gone through a quiet start to the season and is dropping deeper and deeper in matches to provide space for Salah, Mane and Keita to progress up the pitch. This is impacting Bobby’s goal and assist output, but with Brighton, you never know. This might be one of them days with Firmino’s influence stamped all over proceedings.
5) Alexsander Mitrovic (FUL) - £6.5m – Burnley (H)
Mitro’s start to the season will put him in optimistic mood against a Burnley side who will have one eye on staying in the Europa League. The Serbian scored at Wembley against Spurs last weekend and was unlucky not to net against Crystal Palace the week before. Mitro owners will be confident of some differential points.
6) Callum Wilson (BOU) - £6.1m+ - Everton (H)
At times last season Clalum Wilson was relentlessly mocked and taken aim at by the FPL community on Twitter for letting players down when entrusted. We too joked before the season started that Callum Wilson was a 'friend' for FPL players this season, with the opening games of the season putting egg on our faces that an il-fated prophecy is coming true.
Wilson has started the season strongly, scoring against both Cardiff and West Ham - fixtures that the Englishman would have blanked in last season. Wilson's equalising goal against West Ham was a superb solo-effort, highlighting several factors of play, including speed, hunger, technical ability, confidence on the ball and general form, which has made the 14-point Forward a serious contender for a place in your Fantasy team.
Wilson, who has stripped Josh King of his pre-season limelight to begin the campaign, faces an attack-minded Everton squad that will leave gaps at the back for Wilson to exploit. Everton haven't found their niche from a defensive perspective this season, making Wilson a perfect alternative to captain - one wo you mini-league rivals won't bank on.
7) Troy Deeney (WAT) - £6.0m – Crystal Palace (H)
8) Andre Gray (WAT) - £6.0m – Crystal Palace (H)
The combo of Deeney and Gray tore Burnley to sunder last weekend with a series of good attacking interplay. Deeney is the preferable Fantasy option due to penalty kick duty, though it is Gray that is getting into the more advanced areas of the pitch. If Watford turn up against Palace, there will be points in the English duo.
9) Danny Ings (SOU) - £5.5m – Leicester (H)
When a low-priced FPL option comes to attention, it’s almost as if their form gets better when they’re backed by a portion of the FPL player base who merely want a cheap option to succeed. Danny Ings is one such option, who looks to be a good enabler against a Leicester side who could be prone defensively.
10) Ayoze Perez (NEW) - £6.5m – Chelsea (H)
Newcastle are incredibly good at home against Chelsea, so it is only right that we end the list by throwing a left-field option in for consideration. Ayoze Perez’s season hasn’t gotten off of the mark yet, but an attacking side will present some opportunities for Newcastle to exploit.
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