One In, One Out: GW27

Holly from Fantasy Football Community returns this week with One In, One Out. Which players should we be looking at bringing in sooner rather than later and, equally as importantly, who should face the chop?

Goalkeepers

OUT – Mathew Ryan (£4.8)

IN – Rui Patricio (£5.1)

Mathew Ryan was a very popular acquisition for wildcarders around the turn of the New Year, with a tasty run of fixtures for the Seagulls which extends for another three games. However, easy fixtures have not correlated with clean sheets: Brighton haven’t kept a shut-out in 2020, conceding ten goals in six games.

Clearly it’s time to look elsewhere, and Rui Patricio tops the potential replacements. Wolves have two clean sheets in four; against Manchester United and Leicester City, no less. They’ve conceded just four big chances over this spell, with Patricio making 15 saves over this period and collecting four bonus points. He also has two penalty saves for the season, which is always an appealing attribute for our fantasy keepers.

At current values, Patricio (69p) provides a saving over Ryan (79p) on the Footstock market too.

Defenders

OUT – Martin Kelly (£4.3)

IN – Federico Fernandez (£4.5)

Outside of the holy trinity of Virgil Van Dijk, Trent Alexander-Arnold and John Lundstram; Martin Kelly is one of the highest owned defenders in FPL. He was a mainstay in the early template team, as a £4.0 million starting defender, contributing six clean sheets this season. However, he’s currently red-flagged with a calf injury and given Lundstram’s absence from the Sheffield United’s starting lineup, we are frantically shopping for other cheapies in the defender market.

Newcastle have arguably the best run of fixtures from a defensive perspective over the next four games; facing Crystal Palace, Burnley, Southampton and Sheffield United. Federico Fernandez comes in at a budget-friendly price and has already collected ten bonus points this season.

He’s also been a popular entrant in the Footstock Roulette Tournaments, with excellent statistics in many of the defensive metrics.

Midfielders

OUT – Heung-Min Son (£10.0)

IN – Bruno Fernandes (£8.0)

News has broken this week that Heung-Min Son has fractured his arm and is likely to miss the majority of the remainder of the season. It’s a huge blow to see such an in-form differential out and there are very few options in a similar price bracket right now.

Bruno Fernandes has already emerged as a Footstock legend during his short stint in the Premier League. Somewhat of an urban myth stashed away in lucky packs, he’s commanded a high price tag on the market. Indeed, £30+ isn’t an uncommon price for United’s newest addition.

He’s made a great start to life in the Premier League, with recent performances showcasing his ability. He had five shots against Wolves and created three chances against Chelsea, demonstrating his potential talent as a set-piece merchant by setting up Harry Maguire’s goal from a corner.

Grab him while he’s hot.

Forwards

OUT – Tammy Abraham (£7.7)

IN – Raul Jimenez (£7.7)

Tammy Abraham was a surprise omission in Chelsea’s Gameweek 26 squad: a victim of the Winter Break as injury hit at the worst possible moment. He’s still the fifth most owned forward in the game, despite just one assist in four outings.

Luckily, there’s a perfect replacement at an identical price point: Raul Jimenez. The Mexican’s appeal is only strengthened by his guaranteed home fixture against Bournemouth in the looming big Blank Gameweek 31. The fixtures are excellent; with Norwich, Spurs, Brighton and West Ham in the next four games. Jimenez has four goals in his last four games, while having a massive 15 shots on goal over this period.

You’ll need to spend upwards of £10 to add him to your Footstock collection, but it will be a worthwhile investment, especially in the depleted schedule of Blank Gameweek 31.