Steem Fantasy Premier League - Gameweek 8 Overview

With 8 gameweeks played and the second international break up next it’s time to take a look at standings and results so far. In the top of the table we have 3 teams (Manchester City, Chelsea and Liverpool) on 20 points closely followed by Arsenal and Spurs on 18 points. In the bottom three we find Huddersfield (3 points) Newcastle (2 points) and Cardiff (2 points). The two horse race that almost everyone saw coming isn’t a two horse race, at least not yet. The ruling Champions, Manchester City, have been great so far scoring 21 goals and only conceding 3. Even though they haven’t looked as superior that last season. Last season I had the feeling they would win every match but this season the feeling isn’t quite the same. They are humans and they could lose or draw an odd game here and there. With that said they are still the the biggest favourite for the championship.

Liverpool are up there fighting without being on top. I Just feel they still could do much better. Liverpool have now 5 matches without a win but are still on “shared” first place in the league. Previous seasons they would have lost the games against Chelsea and Man City. Instead they have now 2 “extra” points from these matches, 2 points that could become very important in the end.

Chelsea and Arsenal have both got an excellent start to this season taking into consideration they have both new managers and new playing styles and football philosophies. Arsenal are on a eight game winning streak in all competitions. The Gunners have not enjoyed such a lengthy winning streak in 11 years.

Arsenals’ opponent this gameweek, Fulham, are now on the edge of the relegation zone in 17th place and their defensive display against Arsenal was awful. They have now conceded four more goals than any other team in the league. They have also allowed more shots on goal, shots in the box and big chances than any other club so far this season. They really have to find a solution for their defensive problems or else they could be in the relegation battle all season.

Huddersfield, Newcastle and Cardiff all putted in solid displays this weekend but despite that the only team coming out of it with a point was Huddersfield. They drew against Burnley in a 1-1 match. Cardiff lost 1-0 to Spurs and weren’t really close to getting something from that match. Newcastle on the other hand had a golden chance to take points in their match against Man Utd. Newcastle got an excellent start and were 2-0 up at half time. Int the second half they tried to sit back and defend their 2-0 lead but in the end Man Utd were to strong and turned it around to an 3-2 win. So disappointing for the Magpies but a big win and and big relief for Mourinho, his players and all Man Utd fans.

What did we learn from gameweek 8?

Wolves and their fantasy assets, defensive options in particular, are just excellent for FPL managers at the moment. Matt Doherty (4.7m) managed his third double-figure score with his goal, clean sheet and three bonus points while Rui Patrício (4.6m) in goal once again got bonus points and save points, He’s now on 41 points in total, only 2 points behind Ederson (5.7m) among goalkeepers. Up front Raúl Jiménez (£5.6m) continues to offer value and steady scores for his price.

Eden Hazard (£11.2m) continues to show superb FPL form. His 74 points in total makes him superior among midfielders at the moment. His 14 point score this gameweeks was his fourth double-digit haul in five weeks. Wow!!!

Liverpool against Man City was a boring match to watch. Nothing happened, neither team wanted to win or lose and the result was a 0-0 match. A match to forget for football fans around the world but for FPL managers yet a sign that these two teams have go the best defences in the league.

I talked up Harry Kane (£12.5m) last weekend but now he letted me and his 380,000+ new owners down by scoring only 1 point in Tottenham’s 1-0 win over Cardiff. Kane spent once a gain a lot of time dropping deep. His average position for the match was nearer to the centre-circle than the penalty area and this is nothing you want from an 12.5m forward. For me it’s bye bye Harry!
Gameweek 8 results:

Brighton 1-0 West Ham
Goals: Glenn Murray (£6.5m)
Assists: Beram Kayal (£4.4m)

Crystal Palace 0-1 Wolves
Goals: Matt Doherty (£4.7m)
Assists: Raúl Jiménez (£5.6m)
Burnley 1-1 Huddersfield Town
Goals: Sam Vokes (£5.3m) | Christopher Schindler (£4.3m)
Assists: Johann Berg Gudmundsson (£6.0m) | Chris Löwe (£4.4m)
Leicester City 1-2 Everton
Goals: Ricardo Pereira (£5.1m) | Richarlison (£6.7m), Gylfi Sigurdsson (£7.4m)
Assists: Kelechi Iheanacho (£5.9m) | Bernard (£5.9m), Kurt Zouma (£5.0m)

Tottenham Hotspur 1-0 Cardiff City
Goals: Eric Dier (£4.8m)
Assists: Davinson Sánchez (£5.8m)
Watford 0-4 Bournemouth
Goals: David Brooks (£5.0m), Josh King x2 (£6.3m), Callum Wilson (£6.3m)
Assists: Wilson x2, Ryan Fraser (£6.0m)

Manchester United 3-2 Newcastle United
Goals: Juan Mata (£6.2m), Anthony Martial (£7.2m), Alexis Sánchez (£10.0m) | Kenedy (£4.9m), Yoshinori Muto (£5.7m)
Assists: Martial, Paul Pogba (£8.1m), Ashley Young (£5.7m) | Ayoze Pérez (£6.1m), Jonjo Shelvey (£5.4m)

Fulham 1-5 Arsenal
Goals: Andre Schurrle (£5.9m) | Alexandre Lacazette (£9.6m) x2, Aaron Ramsey (£7.4m), Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang (£10.7m) x2
Assists: Luciano Vietto (£5.5m) | Nacho Monreal (£5.5m), Danny Welbeck (£6.5m), Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang, Aaron Ramsey, Hector Bellerin (£5.4m)

Southampton 0-3 Chelsea
Goals: Eden Hazard (£11.2m), Ross Barkley (£5.7m), Alvaro Morata (£8.7m)
Assists: Ross Barkley, Olivier Giroud (£7.8m), Eden Hazard

Liverpool 0-0 Manchester City

My gameweek 8 steem-pick (Trippier, 6.2m) got a decent 7 points score with a clean sheet and 1 bonus points. Quite what I expected from him. The average score in Gameweek 8 was 50 points. The new world number one manager from Norway with his team “FC Teo d'Or” managed scored 95 points, taking his total points to 649 points. 8 gameweks into the season it means he has had an average score of 81+ points/gw. In Steem Fantasy League Team “Meitanteiteam” kept the lead with yet a good score of 71 points. The highest score in gw 8 was set by team “Ezennaemeka team” with 90 points. With players like Hazard (11.2m, 14 points), Wilson (6.3m, 14 points ), Aubameyang (10.7m, 15 points)(captain) and a stabile 3-man defence the team got a high score even though the rest of the midfield and attack didn’t get any returns. Well done!

Current League Table

Disclaimer: This post is written by @matinho. The rewards of these posts are gathered in a pool to be rewarded to managers of the league and authors at the end of the season.

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