Picks of the Week (6)

DISCLAIMER: I always refuse to identify myself as any sort of FPL 'guru' or 'mentor' or 'expert'. And I have previously on this blog expressed my reluctance to share many details of my own selections, or to make very specific player recommendations.

However, in addition to occasionally critiquing common 'sheep picks' of the moment (not all necessarily outright bad, but ridiculously over-popular selections), I will occasionally try to highlight one or two players who seem not yet to be very widely owned but are starting to look very tempting prospects.

I will generally try to come up with at least 2 options per week - so that it doesn't look like I'm making a sole recommendation. And these suggestions are intended to be simply 'worth thinking about', not at all 'must-haves'. (And some weeks, most weeks, I'll have nothing.....)

Well, I haven't done one of these roundups yet this season, so I suppose I'm overdue....  Here goes.

The guy I've got most excited about over the past month is Brighton's new attacking midfielder from Paraguay, Diego Gomez. He really looks a complete package, and is brimming with confidence: that brace of goals against Leeds didn't look like a one-off to me. Brighton's team form has appeared to be on a strong upward trend in recent weeks, and  - apart from away trips to Liverpool and Arsenal! - they have a fairly inviting run of fixtures over the next month-and-a-half. And he's a steal at 4.9 million! If you're looking for a change in midfield - tiring, perhaps, of Grealish or Reijnders or Enzo Fernandez or Kudus or Semenyo - he's a tempting possibility; and completely 'under the radar' at the moment, with a puny 25,000 owners. However, we have to acknowledge that this would be a particularly speculative and risky pick: Gomez has only just graduated to a regular start, and Brighton have such a deep squad that rotation is always a danger; he might be competing with Mitoma or Gruda for the place before long. But I have an inkling this might be a gamble worth taking. He's just playing so damn well the moment that he might even be able to keep the start over Mitoma; but I think he could equally play off the right side (displacing Minteh), not as an outright winger perhaps, but nominally starting out wide, and drifting in to fill in a playmaker role in the right-half space, like Cole Palmer or Martin Odegaard. Indeed, I have a hunch his best position might actually be as a central 'No. 10'; it would be hard for him to achieve precedence over the excellent Georginho Rutter in that slot - but it is surely inevitable that Welbeck will pick up an injury sooner or later, and if that happens, I think it is likely that Rutter will switch to operating as their '9' or 'false 9', vacating the 'No. 10' space for Gomez. But of course, none of those optimistic eventualities may come to pass, and he might just be relegated to the bench again as soon as Mitoma's fully fit.

Alejandro Garnacho has also started to look on fire in his last couple of outings for Chelsea. At just 6.4 million, and with an ownership of less than 70,000, he too seems to be an underappreciated asset. The reservations on this pick would be that his frequent defensive weaknesses (I prefer to think of them as being down to 'inattentiveness' rather than 'laziness', but he can be a bit of a liability out of possession sometimes, especially in the defensive third) probably make him more likely to get limited minutes even when he's starting; he'l almost always be taken off for the last 20 minutes or so, whenever Chelsea have a lead to protect. And a regular start might be in doubt - as Palmer will probably start nominally wide on the right when he's available again (soon, we hope!) and Neto will probably then be regarded as the strongest option for a regular spot on the left. Also, Chelsea have a bit of an up-and-down fixture schedule: a few inviting opponents, but a home game soon against Arsenal, and then away trips to Bournemouth, Newcastle, and Manchester City over the following month. Nevertheless, I feel strongly tempted by Garnacho at the moment; I think I would resist the temptaion; and I fear I might regret resisting it - as he'll probably come up with one or two really big hauls in the next few weeks!

And finally, it might be worth giving Leandro Trossard a thoughtt as well (if you don't have him already: only 85,000 do - but that number is substantially up from two weeks ago); he's looked Arsenal's most dangerous player in recent weeks, with 2 goals and an assist in his last 4 starts. The doubt about him is that once Odegaard's available again (although there's still no definite timeline for his return), Eze is likely to switch back to the left flank, returning Trossard to the bench (although he might also start as a central striker if Gyokeres is going to be out a bit longer). Arsenal might face a bit of a challenge with London derbies against Spurs and Chelsea in their next two matches; but after that, they have a pretty soft run through the rest of December. Trossard would therefore be a very appealing pick - if only we could be confident that he would retain a regular start. (Unfortunately, that is becoming more and more of a doubt for a majority of players at the top clubs. It is a major pain for FPL selection!)