Players in Focus Ahead of FPL Gameweek 8 Based on Eye Test

At the moment of writing, we are only halfway through the international break lull which can be maddening at times. So, in order to get our FPL brains running hot and early, this is a great time to look at some of the best FPL differentials for Gameweek 8.

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Players in Focus and Differentials Ahead of FPL Gameweek 8

Hwang Hee Chan

Price: ₤5.6M
FPL Ownership: 3.8%
Next 6 fixtures: avl | lee | EVE | cry | WHU | nor

Hwang increased his goal tally to 3 already this season after scoring a brace against Newcaste United in Gameweek 7. For a newcomer to a new league, this really bodes well for the South Korean’s season ahead.

What I like about Hwang as an FPL option is the amount of support provided by Raul Jimenez.

As all top strikers seem to do these days, Jimenez has shown some tendency to drop deeper and link up plays with his teammates whilst Hwang is the one making runs in behind. A similar dynamic has already been seen at Spurs with Kane dropping deep and Son Heung-Min, a fellow South Korean, making similar runs in behind.

It may be a tad too early to start comparing a newcomer with someone who has consistently proved himself in the Premier League over the past couple of seasons. But, aside from nationality, there is certainly a similarity between Hwang and Son in terms of playing style.

There is directness in Hwang’s playing style, sprinkled with some dusts of magic on top, which allowed him to jinx past two Newcastle defenders effortlessly at one point.

With Jimenez creating chances for him, I imagine Hwang will not be starved of service. For his first goal, it was Jimenez who slipped him in behind. There was still a lot to do for Hwang who showed impressive composure in putting a well-placed shot into the bottom right corner. His shot was perfectly measured – with not too much power behind it but just enough to make it past Karl Darlow.

For his second, again Jimenez did almost all of the hard work in the middle of the pitch, brushing off the challenges of two players, before releasing Hwang in behind. Again, Darlow was well-beaten by a similarly cool finish that somewhat trickled over the goal line rather than blasted into the net. Hwang appears to be the player Traore could only ever dream of – an ice-cold finisher in front of goal.

Traore has now been dropped to the bench for two consecutive league matches in favour of the Wolves man in fashion most likely due to the former’s glaring lack of end products in recent matches. Having just scored two brilliant goals, there is no reason for Bruno Lage to drop Hwang for Traore for the foreseeable future. His Wolves team badly needs someone to convert their high xG numbers into goals.

With his pace and direct running, apparently he is also the player toward whom Wolves would be looking to slip balls in behind during counter-attacking situations. This greatly adds to Hwang’s attacking potential further.

I think this trio of Hwang, Jimenez and Trincao complements one another perfectly. Jimenez has been the ‘brain’ of Wolves attack whilst Trincao is the ‘ballerina’. But all this means nothing without some cutting edge to it. This is where Hwang comes in for Wolves.

There will obviously be some threat of rotation with Traore waiting on the wings but with three goals compared to Traore’s zero to date, it is clear who deserves to stay in the starting line-up at the moment.

Up next, Hwang will face an Aston Villa side which are playing an aggressive high line at the moment and might potentially present mouth-watering counter-attacking opportunities for Hwang. Villa’s right-back, Matty Cash, was also very advanced positionally which could be exploited by Hwang who plays down that side. At only 5.5M, Hwang could be an excellent no-risk option.

Further Read: FPL GW8 Wildcard Structure and Best Possible Drafts and Combinations

Phil Foden

Price: ₤7.9M
FPL Ownership: 1.7%
Next 6 fixtures: BUR | bha | CRY | mun | EVE | WHU

We have now arrived at a point where we are ready to play the Pep Roulette again. Which basically means more FPL misery!

But there is one City player that is so good to ignore despite the obvious risks – Phil Foden.

Apparently, without Trent Alexander-Arnold in the side, City attempted to target his replacement, James Milner, as a point of weakness and there was no better player to do just that than Foden. The way he bullied the Liverpool veteran was just mesmerising.

After a long ball from Ederson who also bought into the game plan of targeting Milner, Foden took several great touches on the ball, leaving the makeshift full-back reeling. Fortunately, Alisson’s feet was big enough to prevent Foden from going full circle around him. Otherwise, he would be clean through on an open goal.

Foden was getting into excellent goalscoring positions all game. After a mazy run from Bernardo Silva in the center of the pitch, Foden was then released in behind and got into another one-on-one situation with Alisson. His two shots inside the box, both excellent goalscoring opportunities, and 8 penalty box touches suggest a high involvement in the penalty area.

There were so many creators within this City team. Aside from the in-from Silva, Kevin De Bruyne, just back from injury, appeared to be returning to his best form as well, pulling the strings from midfield as usual.

And, Jesus, again playing from the right flank, also proved himself to be an able provider over the past couple of games, providing the assist for Foden’s eventual goal.

What can I say about Foden’s left-footed finish? This finish was not as easy as it first looks but he somehow made it look like child’s play. Such was his talents and current form.

Also, considering the state of City were in after getting sucker-punched by a Sadio Mane goal, the way the young Englishman soaked up all that pressure and rifled it in to get City back on their feet showed how highly influential Foden is within this City team.

In Gameweek 8, City will face Burnley whom I wouldn’t expect to leave as much space in behind as Liverpool did. But again, I wouldn’t be surprised to see City put another 5 goals past Nick Pope.

Which then brings us to the most burning question of all: Will Pep Guardiola start him? I would be more inclined to say yes, given how little he has played so far this season in the league (194 minutes out of possible 630). I think it also depends on how much he would play over the international break with the England national team which makes monitoring his minutes over this period worth a go.

Anyway, even if Foden does get benched, he might still come on against the tiring legs of Burnley and score a few. We have seen that happen before.

Further Read: FPL GW8 Wildcard Structure and Best Possible Drafts and Combinations

Son Heung-Min

Price: ₤10.1M
FPL Ownership: 13.0%
Next 6 fixtures: new | whu | MUN | eve | LEE | bur

This one is for all those Gameweek 8 wildcarders out there. I think Son Heung-Min is at an awkward price point of 10.0M that somewhat makes him quite hard to get without a wildcard, thus making him an enticing differential.

I know Spurs have been in terrible form so far this season which culminated in a gutless performance against their North London rivals Arsenal in Gameweek 6. But Son Heung-Min has quietly been playing in very close proximity to Harry Kane in a second striker role to date.

With Kane often looking like a lost child without his mother, Son instead has been stepping up like a big brother. Despite the lack of service, Son looked sharp in his movement into the box which eventually bore fruits to a goal against Arsenal.

However, the Villa game in Gameweek 7 was really the catalyst behind my thinking of getting Son in my FPL team.

Villa deployed a very high line defence in order to execute their high-pressing game plan and Son quickly smelled blood. Every time he saw space in front of him, he would quickly attack it.

Son displayed intelligent movement throughout. As Villa center-backs often moved out of their position to press, Son was quick to pounce on any such opportunities.

His two assists in this game resulted from exposing the aforementioned high line and arguably, he should have added a goal to his name after exploiting the same weakness in Villa’s backline on another occasion.

Spurs in general looked sharper in their passing against Villa, not dilly-dallying on the ball for too long of which they were guilty previously. With Matty Cash often being too far up the pitch at times, Spurs exploited this with their crisp one-touch passing which then led to N’dombele running clear into space.

Apparently, Harry Kane was also done grieving over his failed move to Manchester City and back to his best with his link-up play. His back-heel pass to Lo Celso was easily the highlight of the game. The return to form of such a big player like Kane would without doubt uplift Son’s game exponentially. Aside from Kane, Lucas Moura had also been tremendous with his forward passing.

In Gameweek 8, Son could soon be on the receiving end of the same joy against Newcastle United who have been playing a rather expansive style of football lately. This would potentially leave more space in behind for Son to exploit as Hwang Hee-Chan gladly found out with his brace against the same opponents in Gameweek 7.

The stars are indeed aligning for another Son haul.

Further Reads from ALLABOUTFPL Ahead of FPL Gameweek 8:

FPL GW8 Wildcard Structure and Best Possible Drafts and Combinations

We have also made an elaborate guide covering every rule and chip available in FPL for the 2021/22 FPL Season ~ 2021/22 Fantasy Premier League Season Rules, Tips | The Ultimate Guide

Link to all our FPL Gameweek 8 blogs.

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