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Draft Fantasy Soccer Risers

Lucas Moura

Here’s a nice obvious one. If the goal at home to Fulham last week took the handbrake off, the Old Trafford double ensured that the Lucas Moura bandwagon has rolled into town for draft fantasy soccer managers. The pace and composure shown for his second was particularly impressive.

Lucas knew that he’d have a short window to impress his manager at the start of this season. It’s fair to say that he’s taken the opportunity with both hands and that Son Heung Min’s inclusion in the 11 upon his return from the Asian games is far from a foregone conclusion. His minutes will, no doubt, still be shared so another good performance at Watford this weekend could present a great opportunity to dip into the trade market for Lucas Moura owners.w

Luciano Vietto

Alexander Mitrovic took the majority of the headlines from Fulham’s first victory of the season but it was Luciano Vietto who pulled all the strings in an impressive display. Two assists were the least his performance deserved.

Vietto went under the radar on the last day of the transfer window, mainly due to the sheer number of incomings into Craven Cottage, but his signature could prove to be the most valuable. He has another chance to impress against Brighton this weekend. The best thing about this pick is that he will still be available in a lot of leagues. He’s still only owned by 42% of Fantrax managers.

Sol Bamba

The latest member of the “head it” gang. This tactic has served the likes of Shane Duffy and Christopher Schindler well and Sol Bamba may be the latest defender who racks up serious points due to the sheer number of aerials won, tackles completed and clearances hoofed.

An active GW3 saw him claim a colossal 19.5 to back up the 19.75 scored in GW2. Even with one goal conceded, this translates to a very respectable score of just over 11 points for the last two weeks. The next three fixtures (Arsenal, Chelsea and Man City) will be a good way of testing if Bamba is fixture proof and though he may not be an immediate purchase, he’s one for draft fantasy soccer managers to keep an eye on.

Here’s an odd one. Jose Mourinho is on the verge of disarray but Luke Shaw is enjoying his best status as a Manchester United player. Old Trafford isn’t a happy place to be for 99% of the playing staff but the circulating images of an overweight Shaw seem to be a thing of the past as his lung-busting runs up and down the left flank have led to him being United’s one bright spark.

Even Mourinho praised him this week. Shaw doesn’t look like losing his place any time and the fact that he is a DEF1 on his day makes his average draft position this year of 136 look ridiculous. One goal and one assist so far. There may be plenty more to come.

Marcos Alonso

“He’ll be more defensive this year.”

“Goalonso is a thing of the past.”

“Emerson will take his place this season.”

Marcos Alonso has made us all look stupid already this season. Yes, he’s defensively suspect. Yes, he’s slow. But yes, he’s still an incredible draft fantasy soccer asset. One goal and four assists in three games is Kevin De Bruyne levels. Ridiculous. This spot could easily have gone to Callum Wilson again but ignoring Alonso would just be rude.

Draft Fantasy Soccer Fallers

Pierre Emerick Aubameyang

I’m not saying you should trade him away. As an Aubameyang owner myself that hasn’t even crossed my mind.

I’ve seen Auba go as high as 3rd overall in some drafts this summer so for him to fail to register in his first three outings is extremely disappointing. His upcoming fixtures are amazing and continue to be that way for a while but the ever-growing calls for him to be pushed out wide to allow for Lacazette’s inclusion are what concern me the most.

Richarlison

What was he thinking? For 221 minutes in an Everton shirt, Richarlison did everything right. However, one moment of madness has brought his purple patch to an end in the most abrupt fashion, leaving draft fantasy soccer managers around the world cringing in frustration.

The suspension shouldn’t be catastrophic but if Bernard hits the ground running and Theo Walcott and Gylfi Sigurdsson continue their good form, it would allow Marco Silva to teach the young Brazilian a lesson by allowing him to warm the Goodison Park bench for a little while.

Christian Benteke

The new campaign was meant to signal a fresh start for Beneteke but the big man still can’t buy a goal. He couldn’t ask for better service, with Andros Townsend in particular serving crosses on a silver platter that the Benteke of two years ago would have gobbled up.

Southampton at home represents an excellent chance for the Belgian to get off the mark but with Max Meyer and Alexander Sorloth waiting in the wings, you get the impression that nothing less than a GW4 goal will do for Benteke.

Johann Berg Gudmundsson

An impressive end to last season saw Gudmundsson’s ADP rocket this summer. JBG enjoyed and ADP of 59 pre-season but so far the EL has severely stunted all of Burnley’s FPL assets.

Olympiakos are on the verge of ending Burnley’s EL dream this week, meaning they should once again become a decent FPL bet. However, a hamstring injury to JBG, one which first him off early against Fulham at the weekend is far from ideal for his owners. At least it wasn’t his ACL.

Manchester United

I picked on West Ham last week, this week it’s the turn of a different United. They didn’t start badly against Spurs on Monday but they certainly finished it that way. The defense is creaking, largely due to the fact that no one (literally no one) knows their best centre-back pairing. Going forward United are still disjointed while those who talked Fred up during pre-season are being left a little red-faced.

Despite his three (yes, three) Premier league titles, another Mourinho reign looks to be coming to an end. From an FPL perspective (as well as an Old Trafford season holder perspective) his departure may be the best possible outcome. In Alexis Sanchez, Paul Pogba and Romelu Lukaku, they have three first-round big-hitters. Bar Pogba’s two penalties, none of them have give owners any reason to be excited about them going into a weekend.

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