Arsenal fixture flip, Salah’s vengeance and other things to observe closely in Gameweek 7
WE’VE identified five intriguing talking points ahead of Gameweek 7.
We encourage you to notice, observe and scrutinise these points of interest — full immersion in Dream Team is the best way to climb the leaderboard!
5
Cherry Picking
The first thing that demands your attention in Gameweek 7 is the deadline.
Bournemouth v Fulham is scheduled to kick-off at 8pm on Friday night, which means the deadline is 6:30pm — don’t wait until Saturday morning.
It’ll be all eyes on Antoine Semenyo (£4.8m) once the game gets underway as the Ghana international features in over a quarter of teams.
He ranks fourth among midfielders at the time of writing having amassed 52 points from seven outings.
The only downside to owning Semenyo is his limited schedule as the Cherries do not have European commitments and were eliminated from the Carabao Cup early doors.
However, that’s not relevant right now as Gameweek 7 simply consists of a full round of Premier League games.
Semenyo will always come to the fore when every club has the same number of fixtures to fulfil.
Stat Padding
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The Saturday lunchtime fixture sees Tottenham visit Leeds, who haven’t lost at home in well over a year.
Thomas Frank will hope the early kick-off time will negate the Elland Road atmosphere, which seems to have drawn out below-par performances from Everton, Newcastle and Bournemouth this season.
Anton Stach (£2.9m) and Sean Longstaff (£2.7m) have produced unexpected mega hauls in recent weeks but Dream Team managers will be more focused on Mohammed Kudus (£4.9m), the fourth-most selected midfielder in the game.
The mercurial 25-year-old is leading the way for both successful dribbles (33) and accurate crosses (18) among all players, an indication of his influence and, more importantly, a consistent supply of bonus points.
Kudus has racked up 45 points but he’s not the best Spurs midfield right now, that honour belongs to Joao Palhinha (£3.7m) on 49 points.
Everyone expected the Portuguese loanee to rack up tackles – only Moises Caicedo (£4.7m) has made more challenges – but he’s been surprisingly effective in final third so far with three goals to his name.
Whether his attacking output is sustainable remains to be seen.
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Fixture Flip
5
Arsenal assets should be at the forefront of your mind now their difficult run of fixtures is seemingly at an end.
The Gunners have already been to Old Trafford, Anfield and St James’ Park, not to mention a home game against Manchester City, but the schedule flips in their favour now with an appealing string of match-ups until the November international break.
Mikel Arteta’s side are due to face West Ham (h), Fulham (a), Atletico Madrid (h), Crystal Palace (h), Brighton (h), Burnley (a), Slavia Prague (a) and Sunderland (a) over the next five Gameweeks.
It’s notable that the hardest opponents of that bunch (Atletico and Palace) are both home games.
If you’ve resisted Arsenal players until now because of their tricky fixtures, consider this a turning point.
Backers of David Raya (£4.8m) and the first-choice defenders will be particularly hopeful of substantial points this autumn.
Cue Jarrod Bowen (£5.2m), boosted by Nuno Espirito Santo’s new manager bounce, playing the role of party pooper on Saturday.
The Hammers’ talisman ranks third among forwards at present, a mighty effort without European fixtures.
Mo Problems
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At the time writing, Mohamed Salah (£7.3m) is the third-most transferred-out player ahead of Gameweek 7.
It’s extremely rare that the Egyptian superstar suffers a significant dip in popularity when fully fit and available.
He mustered just four points in Gameweek 6, worlds away from the massive haul achieved by a certain Norwegian poacher, but he remains the second-best performer among players in his position.
Given Salah’s history, might everything be set up for a statement performance at Stamford Bridge this weekend?
The Blues haven’t won in the league since August and with absentees in defence, they may find it hard to resist Arne Slot’s troops.
Alisson (£4.1m) is unlikely to recover before the weekend and so Giorgi Mamardashvili (£3.5m) is expected to start between the sticks for Liverpool.
Salah has registered nine goal involvements in 15 league meetings with Chelsea.
Wouldn’t it be typical of him to take revenge on the swarm of gaffers who have ditched him this week?
Best for Last
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We’ve skirted around the issue but it’s time to address the elephant in the room that is Erling Haaland’s (£7.7m) otherworldly form.
After just six Gameweeks, the relentless striker has 105 points to his name and a lead of 41 over his closest rival.
A brace against Monaco in the week took his goal tally for the season to 11 — nobody else has scored more than five.
Haaland will take to the stage last in Gameweek 7 as Man City’s trip to Brentford is the late kick-off on Sunday.
And who would bet against another double-digit return?
The Bees are 13th in the table but their underlying numbers are a concern.
Only Burnley have conceded more shots than Brentford while Keith Andrews’ mob rank dead last for shots taken.
Igor Thiago (£3.3m) and company have the capacity to make life difficult for their opponents but Pep Guardiola will expect one-way traffic in his favour at the Gtech.
The captaincy conversation is a non-starter, it’s Haaland and anyone that sees it differently is playing with fire.
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