Fantasy Premier League: Gameweek 7 Preview – Chelsea players key to success over next few weeks

They take on Southampton at home on Saturday before Liverpool host Man City on Sunday in the Box Office game of the weekend.

Below, we pick out the best captain picks, discuss who’s hot, who’s not and the ones to watch ahead of this week’s transfer deadline on Saturday 2nd October at 11am. Follow @Gameweek38 on twitter for more Fantasy Footballing insight.

Captain Picks

Cristiano Ronaldo and Mo Salah are captainable against any team they play, so let’s take a look at some this week’s other options.

Romelu Lukaku (£11.7m) vs Southampton (H)

Although Chelsea have failed to score against Man City and Juventus over the last week, you should still fancy The Blues to do well against Southampton this week. Since his debut against Arsenal, no Chelsea player has taken as many shots or had more chances from open play than the Belgian who averages more than a goal every other game.

Jamie Vardy (£10.4m) vs Crystal Palace (A)

Going slightly under the radar, Jamie Vardy is the league’s joint top goalscorer, having scored five goals already this season. No player had more shots in the box than Vardy last week, which signals his attacking threat and how he was well worth his brace. Having been rested for all but the final 10 minutes in the Europa League on Thursday, Vardy should be fit and fresh to face Palace on Sunday.

Differential: Chris Wood (£6.8m) vs Norwich (H)

A worthwhile strategy this season could be to just captain someone who’s playing Norwich. The Canaries have conceded the most goals and big chances in the league so clearly have the league’s worst defence. Step up Chris Wood. Unlucky to not score a last-minute winner due to a tight VAR call last weekend, Wood has scored over 10 goals in his last four seasons and remains Burnley’s most reliable attacking threat.

Who’s Hot?

Marcos Alonso (Chelsea, £5.9m)

Up against Southampton, Brentford and Norwich in their next three games, now is a great opportunity to load up on Chelsea players. Marcos Alonso is their leading point scorer, averaging one return per gameweek via a goal, an assist and four clean sheets and no cheaper player has scored more points than him across the entire game.

Joao Cancelo (Man City, £6.1m)

With 30 points over his last three games, Joao Cancelo is the most in-form player in the league. In this spell, Man City have kept cleans sheets away at Leicester and Man City and will be hoping to do the same in Liverpool this weekend, after which, they take on Burnley, Brighton and Crystal Palace.

Bukayo Saka (Arsenal, £6.3m)

After a man of the match display in last week’s North London derby, Bukayo Saka has three goal involvements over his last two games since adopting a more attacking role compared to earlier in the season when the Gunners struggled. Only Pierre Emerick Aubameyang has had more shots than Saka since gameweek 4.

Who’s Not?

Trent Alexander-Arnold (Liverpool, £7.6m)

Points may have been hard to come by regardless of Trent’s groin injury that’s ruling him out of Sunday’s game due to Liverpool’s unfavourable upcoming fixture schedule. The Reds face Man City and Man United over their next three games.

Luke Shaw (Man United, £5.4m)

After picking up a knock against Aston Villa, rumours have surfaced that Luke Shaw may be ruled out of Saturday’s early fixture regardless of whether he recovers due to picking up an illness over the last few days. Over 600,000 managers have already transferred him out of their teams.

Ones to Watch (<5% ownership)

Abdoulaye Doucoure (Everton, £5.6m, 4.6%)

With three goal involvements in his last three games, Doucoure seems to be thriving under Rafa Benitex in a more advanced attacking midfielder role as he has already generated as many combined goals and assists as he managed last season. Up against a depleted Man United side on Saturday, he will be keen to build on his strong start.

Jose Sa (Wolves, £5.0m, 2.4%)

Sa picked up the first goalkeeper assist of the season last weekend as Raul Jimenez managed to work a goal out of his hail-mary punt up the pitch. Sa scored 14 points in that game and a favourable fixture run against Newcastle, Aston Villa and Leeds to look forward to.

Neal Maupay (Brighton, £6.5m, 3.0%)

As mentioned last week, any striker at a joint second-place side priced at £6.5m and on penalties is tempting. Maupay has scored four goals in Brighton’s first six games and faces Arsenal at home in what will be a proper litmus test to see how far the Seagulls can go this season.