Fantasy Premier League 2021/22 gameweek eight brings about a welcome return of club football after yet another break for international matches. During this time, we have seen a change of manager at Watford and a change of ownership at Newcastle United. However, those things should not affect FPL managers much for this gameweek at least.
Fantasy Premier League 2021/22 Gameweek Eight Picks
Quick Tips
As with any international break, one should hold off making moves until the pre-match press conferences are concluded. There is a plethora of issues to consider these days. In fact, the South American players may only return just hours before the weekend matches start. The affected clubs are trying their best to get those players back in the UK in time for these matches but only time will tell whether they can start or not.
Fantasy Premier League 2021/22 Gameweek Eight: Fixtures to Target
Manchester City v Burnley
Manchester City have beaten Burnley 5-0 on each of the last four encounters at the Etihad Stadium. Once again, another heavy defeat looms large for the Clarets. City have been quite superb in recent matches and there should be some big points from the players that will get to start this match. However, predicting the lineup is always tricky.
With Ferran Torres injured and Gabriel Jesus unlikely to return in time, not many options are left for Pep Guardiola to choose from. Phil Foden is in superb form and he could do really well in this game. Kevin De Bruyne and Jack Grealish are also good picks. Bernardo Silva, Raheem Sterling and Riyad Mahrez could do well too. Ilkay Gundogan is also a doubt so most of the available midfield/attacking options will have to start.
However, the best pick is João Cancelo. With Benjamin Mendy unavailable, Cancelo is likely to start. He’s played every minute of every league game so far this season. A big haul is possible.
Watford v Liverpool
Claudio Ranieri is the new man in charge of Watford. The Hornets will hope for a new manager bounce but they are facing an in-form Liverpool. Mohamed Salah should flourish against the team he made his Liverpool debut for. Salah has a great record against Watford with eight goals in six matches against them, including four goals in one game at Anfield. So, captaining the Egyptian is almost a no-brainer.
Sadio Mané also has a decent record against the Hornets with five goals and four assists in nine games. On the other hand, Trent Alexander-Arnold will likely return from injury and he too has a good record with three assists and one goal against Watford.
Fantasy Premier League 2021/22 Gameweek Eight: Teams in Focus
Chelsea started their favourable run of fixtures with a win against Southampton last gameweek. They face Brentford next who are unlikely to make things easy for Thomas Tuchel’s team. The Bees were superb against Liverpool and West Ham United and certainly have the players to hurt Chelsea. In fact, with doubts surrounding the availability of Romelu Lukaku and Antonio Rudiger, Brentford might even dream about pulling off a shock win in this London derby.
Brentford have decent fixtures coming up after this game so one could look at bringing in the likes of Bryan Mbeumo and Ivan Toney. Yoane Wissa is pushing for a start as well after impressive displays off the bench in the last couple of weeks.
From Chelsea, FPL managers should keep the assets that they currently own but must be very careful about bringing anyone in. The pre-match press conference should give us the latest team news. One should wait for that before deciding on the Chelsea assets.
From Arsenal, Bukayo Saka, Emile Smith Rowe and Martin Ødegaard are decent options from midfield, whereas Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang is a relatively pricey striker option. From defence, Ben White, Takehiro Tomiyasu and Kieran Tierney are available for selection. Aaron Ramsdale has cemented his spot as the number one and is a great option also.
Southampton also have a decent run of fixtures coming up and have some nice options available on the cheap. Tino Livramento and Adam Armstrong are the only ones worth considering though. James Ward-Prowse will miss the next three matches after his red card against Chelsea.
