RADIO
Welcome to Gameweek 4 of the FPL season, RotoBallers! This is the third year covering FPL on the site, and we are bringing you more coverage than ever before. We will publish the Gameweek Preview, consisting of a Staff Roundtable and our weekly rankings every week. Then, once a month, we will publish our newest article, The Watchlist, a review of the previous month and a look ahead to the upcoming fixtures.
Three gameweeks down, 35 more to go. Gameweek 4 brings arguably the biggest game of the season so far as Manchester United travel to Arsenal on Sunday afternoon. Both sides have had up-and-down starts to the campaign and will want a big win over each other in a historic rivalry. Elsewhere, Sheffield United and Everton battle in an early relegation duel while Brighton and Newcastle wage war on the seaside.
The Fantasy Premier League Gameweek 4 deadline is 1:30 PM EST on Friday, September 1, for the Luton Town-West Ham United game. Also, look out for the rest of our excellent soccer coverage as the squad gets you all set for every English Premier League, Major League Soccer, and UEFA Champions League slate from a DFS and betting perspective.
Fantasy Premier League Staff Roundtable - Gameweek 4 Preview
The Staff Roundtable is an attempt to get you inside the mind of our FPL staff. Our top soccer writers will answer questions each gameweek to give you an idea of how they view the games. So, without further ado, let’s kick off Gameweek 4!
Gameweek 3 Fantasy Premier League High Scorers
- Goalkeeper: Jose Sa, Wolves - 11 points
- Defender: Matty Cash, Aston Villa - 17 points
- Midfielder: Raheem Sterling, Chelsea - 19 points
- Forward: Darwin Nunez, Liverpool - 11 points
After three gameweeks, what is your biggest knee-jerk reaction to the new season?
- Euan Leith: We don't want our FPL players taking penalties. Misses from Erling Haaland and Mohamed Salah scarred many an FPL manager over the last two weekends. Meanwhile, Arsenal hasn't decided who their primary penalty man is between Martin Odegaard and Bukayo Saka. Also, Ollie Watkins is off penalties at Aston Villa. Bruno Fernandes and Bryan Mbeumo are the only spot-kick takers I trust now.
- Jamie Steed: Red cards are meaningless after seeing Fulham, West Ham United, and Liverpool (twice) score late goals while down to ten men. And every defender I roster will be injured and need transferring out.
Erling Haaland missed a penalty, Phil Foden was on the bench, and there was a late clean sheet wipeout. Will FPL managers ever be able to trust Manchester City?
- Euan: It was later revealed that Phil Foden was dealing with an illness before Sunday's game against Sheffield United. However, he notched an assist when he came on and should've had a second. If we get the all-clear that he's fit, I'm sticking with Phil until the European competitions begin. Defensively, they are still hard to trust because it feels like six points with a clean sheet or two points. There's not a lot of attacking threat along City's backline.
- Jamie: No, and that shouldn’t have come as a surprise. Pep will Pep, and while Haaland will start almost every EPL game this season, Ederson is the only other Manchester City player you can confidently roster. But the returns are still too high to avoid the likes of Foden altogether.
Over 550,000 managers brought in Phil Foden...
He's on the bench 😬#FPL #SHUMCI pic.twitter.com/9dkmAhM1rX
— Fantasy Premier League (@OfficialFPL) August 27, 2023
Marcus Rashford and Bruno Fernandes returned to form against Nottingham Forest. Are you tempted to stick with them for the upcoming run after this weekend's Arsenal match?
- Euan: I went a bit contrarian last week and brought in Bruno Fernandes, and it paid off nicely. Now I have two Man United midfielders, but I'm not convinced I need them for the long term. I'll keep them for the foreseeable future as I've got other fires to put out, but I'm leaning toward letting Rashford leave my squad over Bruno Fernandes.
- Jamie: I’ve always said Rashford is best playing wide left, so I’m standing by him, assuming that sticks. I’d still want to see more from Fernandes, but I wouldn’t drop him now if I stuck with him at this stage.
There have been several injuries and mysterious benching in defense. Who are your top three wants along your FPL backline?
- Euan: Ben Chilwell is Chelsea's Captain and looks incredibly dangerous in the final third. Destiny Udogie also looks like an offensive threat for Spurs and is only £4.6m at the time of writing. Finally, I'll choose Pervis Estupinan. Brighton was stunned over the weekend as West Ham tore them apart on the counter. Still, the Ecuadorian defender was in the attacking areas we want to see, and his offensive upside outweighs the lack of clean sheets for the Seagulls.
- Jamie: Ben Chilwell, Ben White and Matty Cash. Chilwell needs no explanation. I suspect White reverts to a more traditional right-back role with the return of Oleksandr Zinchenko. His link-up play with Bukayo Saka can reignite Arsenal’s attack. And I like Aston Villa’s fullbacks, but with Alex Moreno set to return, he’ll be competing with Lucas Digne, so Cash is a safer option.
One to consider for coming Gameweeks? 👀 #FPL #BURAVL pic.twitter.com/DUhA9ZmlrR
— Fantasy Premier League (@OfficialFPL) August 27, 2023
Are you open to a Wildcard this early in the season? Or would you rather take a hit to perform quick surgery on your squad?
- Euan: I try to make it to the first international break to assess my squad with many changes. However, if you have a lot of injuries or players dropping in price, activating the Wildcard may be the move for your team. I will accumulate two free transfers and take a hit to perform a mini Wildcard. Regardless, the Wildcard button is getting smashed if I need to make six or seven changes to my Fantasy Premier League squad.
- Jamie: I’m fine taking a hit, but I am considering using my Wildcard already. Despite transferring out an injured player every week, I still can’t field a starting XI due to having four injured players. I’ll leave it as late as possible this week, but I’m leaning into using the Wildcard.
Who’s keeping a clean sheet in Gameweek 4?
- Euan: West Ham went to the seaside and stole three points from Brighton on Saturday and has the chance to make it three wins on the bounce against newly-promoted Luton Town. The only problem with backing the Hammers is that they could play either of the goalkeepers. As a result, it's probably safer to go with one of their nailed-on defenders to pick up those clean-sheet points.
- Jamie: A couple of 0-0 candidates this week, with Wolves traveling to Crystal Palace and Sheffield United hosting Everton. I expect at least two of those four sides to keep a clean sheet, with Palace being my favorite of the quartet.
Which defensive player is providing an attacking return?
- Euan: Destiny Udogie tortured Bournemouth's right wing on Saturday afternoon. Now, Brentford's Rico Henry gets his chance. His 0.87 Expected Assists (xA) is fourth among all defenders. Meanwhile, Bournemouth has the fourth-highest Expected Goals Allowed in the league at 6.2. That's only ahead of Brighton, Sheffield United, and Fulham.
- Jamie: Pedro Porro always looks like a liability when having to defend. But he’s a threat going forward, and Burnley just saw Aston Villa’s fullbacks tally two goals and an assist against them. Porro has had four shots in two games, hitting the woodwork.
THE SCOUT: Destiny Udogie (£4.5m) delivered his second successive clean sheet which, combined with his assist against Bournemouth, sees him earn the maximum three point bonus for a 12-point haul 👏 #FPL pic.twitter.com/1OQbwNfoEf
— Fantasy Premier League (@OfficialFPL) August 26, 2023
Who’s a midfielder or forward rostered on less than 10 percent of teams that will grab us those FPL points?
- Euan: Taiwo Awonyi can't stop scoring goals. The 28-year-old is 3-for-3 during this campaign, scoring in seven straight Premier League games for Nottingham Forest. It breaks Stan Collymore's club record that's stood for 28 years. The Nigerian is in 3.0 percent of squads, and while it feels like a points-chasing move, he's $6.5m and has to be in the starting XI for the City Ground side. A test against Chelsea will be challenging, but he just went to Old Trafford and found the back of the net.
- Jamie: James Ward-Prowse has a goal and two assists in his two appearances since joining West Ham. He’s still on fewer than 3% of FPL teams, as many managers haven’t been able to transfer him in yet. His set-piece delivery and free-kick prowess will see him tally 15 goal involvements this season. A fourth of the fledging season away at Luton Town on Friday night is on the cards.
Who is the player you want to, but can’t, have for the Gameweek 4 fixtures in Fantasy Premier League?
- Euan: It's James Maddison. It would be against my better judgment to ignore the Gabriel-sized hole in my defense for another Fantasy Premier League gameweek. That defensive fire must be put out. Maddison scored over the weekend and still looks integral to the Tottenham attack. He will be on my FPL side soon enough, but probably not for Gameweek 4.
- Jamie: I can have anyone I want, given I’ll likely be using my Wildcard. But as much as I want to back Trent Alexander-Arnold to come good, the £3m saving you can make by not rostering him is enormous. I want him on my team, but I just can’t fit him in with everything else I want to do.
📈 #FPL PRICE RISERS 📈
⬆️ James Maddison - £7.7m
⬆️ Bryan Mbeumo - £6.8m
⬆️ Ederson - £5.6m
⬆️ Josko Gvardiol - £5.1m
⬆️ Matty Cash - £4.6m
⬆️ Alphonse Areola - £4.1m pic.twitter.com/uEcuu2CqSa— Fantasy Premier League (@OfficialFPL) August 29, 2023
Who’s wearing the Captain’s armband for Gameweek 4 of the Fantasy Premier League season?
- Euan: We are still waiting for that massive Erling Haaland haul for the 2023/24 FPL season, but it's only a matter of time. I won't risk giving the armband to someone else for a couple more weeks because a big day from the Norwegian could seriously negatively affect your season. So it's Haaland with the armband against a floundering Fulham.
- Jamie: Erling Haaland is the obvious choice, and I wonder if some FPL managers will be a little gun-shy, captaining him again after his penalty miss. Fulham has conceded five goals and sports the highest expected goals against (xGA) this season. A Haaland brace looks pretty impossible.
Finally, what’s your bold prediction for Gameweek 3?
- Euan: Sheffield United sends Everton to its fourth-straight loss of the season and the Toffee fans into a tailspin. Meanwhile, West Ham fans will go to bed on Friday evening with their team at the top of the Premier League table.
- Jamie: Liverpool has seven points from three games but hasn’t been convincing and will be without captain Virgil Van Dijk. Aston Villa’s attacking play has been electric at times this season, and I can see them causing Liverpool problems. A first away win at Anfield since 2014 wouldn’t shock me.
Is there a question you would like to have answered every week? Hit us up on Twitter @RotoBaller. We would love to hear your feedback and ideas!
