Fantasy Premier League Gameweek 3 Review: Bargain Pereira, Leeds trio, high-scoring Perisic

Fulham continued their good run this season with a 3-2 win over Brentford.

Former Manchester United midfielder Andreas Pereira (£4.5m) was the star of the show and, after three games, he looks like he is going to be fantastic value. He registered an assist and also claimed maximum bonus points to give him an eight-point haul.

He has created seven chances for Fulham — the most in his team — and is also on corners and direct free kicks.

If you have Josh Dasilva (£4.6m), or even Leon Bailey (£4.9m), then a move for Pereira is worth looking at. The funds saved by downgrading a more expensive midfielder will also come in handy.

Aleksandar Mitrovic (£6.6m) and Ivan Toney (£7.2m) were again in the points and remain the best mid-priced forwards. Fulham and Brentford will score enough goals for them to be value.

Tottenham Hotspur scraped a 1-0 win over Wolves in Gameweek 3 and the highest points scorer was Ivan Perisic (£5.4m). The Croatian wing-back has been a hot topic among FPL players and he got a clean sheet and an assist in his first start to register a 12-point haul.

He created three chances and was also on corners. It’s still a tricky question of whether to pick him, though, as he’s likely to be rotated with Ryan Sessegnon.

If you have a good player you can rotate him with over the next few games, then I would look at investing. His upside when he plays is huge.

Leeds United impressed again, thumping Chelsea 3-0 at Elland Road. The standout players were Rodrigo (£6.3m), Jack Harrison (£6m) and Brenden Aaronson (£5.5m). All three of them should be on our watchlist. They all registered attacking returns and have been impressive since the start of the season.

Leeds have great fixtures all the way until Gameweek 14. Aaronson was sublime again and looks a prime replacement for those managers still with Pedro Neto(£5.4m) or a similarly priced midfielder.

He has had five shots and created three chances for Leeds. He is one of the best options in the £5.5million to £6million price point and looks to be a regular in that team.

Harrison has now returned in all three of his games and looks underpriced. If you can find a way to accommodate him in your team, now would be a good time as he carries both a goal and assist threat.

Aaronson and Harrison have had an excellent start to the season (Photo: David Rogers/Getty Images)

The same goes for his team-mate Rodrigo, who has risen to £6.3million. I mentioned the Brazilian in Gameweek 2’s takeaway as playing out of position, leading the line in Patrick Bamford’s (£7.4m) absence. Even if, or when, he shifts back to his usual No 10 role, he is still a smart buy.

For managers still with Marcus Rashford (£6.3m), or even Bukayo Saka(£7.9m) and Mason Mount (£7.9m), I would seriously consider the Leeds players for their replacements. They look much better value and the money saved can go a long way.

I would however keep faith in the Chelsea full-backs for now. Reece James(£6.1m) and Marc Cucurella (£5.1m) are popular picks and I wouldn’t worry about them defensively just yet. They also have a great run of games and are both still very capable of attacking returns.

I am not as confident in their attacking players, though. If you have Mount, Raheem Sterling (£10m) or Kai Havertz (£7.9m), then it’s time to move them on. They are just too expensive to hold on to and there are so many better value assets at a similar price or cheaper.

Everton and Nottingham Forest played out a 1-1 draw and it was again Neco Williams (£4m) who stood out. He hasn’t registered any attacking returns yet, but it is surely only a matter of time.

He has had four shots in the box and also created five chances, which is the highest among his team-mates. The Welsh international also has an expected goals (xG) of 0.3 and an expected assists (xA) of 0.7, which puts him in the top five of defenders for both metrics.

He is the perfect £4million defender and enabler. For those looking to downgrade one of their premium defenders and invest elsewhere in the squad, you won’t find a better option. He also rotates well with both Dasilva and Pereira.

Article Link:https://theathletic.com/3527683/2022/08/22/fantasy-premier-league-gameweek-3/

(Top photo: Craig Mercer/MB Media/Getty Images)

By Abdul Rehman