FPL DGW22: Best Son Replacements to Consider in FPL

FPL darling Son Heung-min (£10.7) was taken off at the 79th minute during Spurs’ defeat against Chelsea on January 5th and following scans on the next day he is now set to be out for the rest of the month. He will thus likely miss the crucial DGW22 and GW23, which is a huge blow for FPL managers who had him as a placeholder for Salah, who will also be back for GW24 (the AFCON final will be held on 6 February). In this article, I consider the best replacements for Son in the short term – for those whose only current route to Salah is Son.

Best Son replacements to consider in FPL ahead of FPL DGW22

James Maddison

Leicester are 3rd on FFScout‘s Fixture Ticker (Attack) for GW22 & GW23, facing bur+TOT and BHA respectively.

With the Vardy & Daka out injured and Iheanacho off to AFCON, Leicester played a 4-2-3-1 with Lookman up front with Maddison behind him. Looking at the average positions from SofaScore however, James Maddison (£6.9) looks like the more advanced player, making multiple runs past Lookman.

The midfielder is in hot form with 5 goals and 5 assists in the last 6 GW. Known to be a streaky player, this may be a good opportunity to buy Leicester’s talisman.

Leicester’s upcoming opponents have some weakness in the Centre zone of the pitch. Over this season, Burnley are 4th worst for chances conceded in the center, Tottenham are 13th while Brighton are 5th worst.

Another argument for Madders is that Leicester’s fixtures turn sour after GW 23, meaning it’ll be an easy decision to transfer him out for Salah then.

The caveat, however, is that Leicester has very few fit and available first-team players and might not even have enough to fill the 13+1 player requirement. Their latest scheduled game against Everton was postponed as Leicester only had 8 available players.

The reality is we have eight first-team players available. We have to see what that looks like. But certainly it’s way below what the stipulation would be.

Brendan Rodgers, prior to the Everton game

As per @BenDinnery, Leicester currently have 16 players unavailable, including 4 off to AFCON. 4 injured players are currently being assessed for a comeback against Burnley. There is thus a slight possibility of this game going through, although it’s worth noting that Burnley are also hit with a small covid outbreak with 5 players ill.

Keep a good eye on the injury/covid situation before transferring in Madders.

Bruno Fernandes

Bruno (£11.6) is one of the popular picks in consideration this GW as a Son replacement. Last season’s FPL King has clearly not been himself this season ever since Ronaldo joined the team.

Looking at the heatmaps, it’s clear that Bruno is a lot less in the box, and the stats back it up as well:

Here we can see that Bruno’s goal threat has significantly reduced. Last season he was getting a big chance every 2 games, compared to one every 10 games this season. His shot accuracy and goal conversion % also took a hit which is worrying. His assist potential look to have been less affected with similar BCC and CC as from last season.

The bigger issue is however undoubtedly United’s form. Under Ralf Rangnick, the team does not look to have the same attacking prowess as last season. The team only scored 6 goals under Ralf in 5 Premier League games against CRY, nor, new, BUR, WOL. They were expected to score a goal every 70 min during that spell.

With most people already owning Ronaldo, I do not advise doubling up with Bruno in a team that does not look able to score loads of goals, especially when Bruno only has a % Goal Involvement of 28% this season with Ronaldo in the team. Bruno has also not scored a goal or assisted under Ralf.

It is worth noting that Ralf played a 4-2-3-1 against Aston Villa and his post-match interview hinted at the possibility that he might stick to a 3 or 4 midfield system with a 4-2-3-1/4-3-3/4-1-2-1-2.

I think the game against Villa today confirmed that we would need minimum 3 central midfielders, even with those 3 central midfielders he had problems to control the center of the pitch. From the very moment when we changed to a diamond in the last 20 minutes, when Donny came on, from then on we controlled the game, we had our counter-attack situations.

Ralf Rangnick when asked about what he thought of the 4-2-3-1 after the Villa game

This should in theory improve Bruno’s underlying numbers over the next 3 games, although United have played with a 4-2-3-1 under Ole earlier in the season and Bruno did not shine (mins/xGI of 224 under the 4-2-3-1 with Ronaldo in the team). In my opinion, formation is not the issue for Bruno but rather the presence of Ronaldo in the team restricting Bruno’s freedom. In conclusion, against 3 decent defences in avl, bre and WHU, you will be hoping for returns rather than expecting.

Further Read: Best Free hit Team Ahead Of FPL Gameweek 22 Deadline (Mulitple Drafts)

Leandro Trossard

Brighton will be hosting Crystal Palace and Chelsea during DGW22 before travelling to the King Power stadium to face Leicester in GW23 and then blanking in GW24. This provides a good opportunity to do a short term Son>Trossard move before moving to Salah in GW24.

The talisman has been playing on the left side of the attack in either a 4-3-3 or a 4-2-2 under Graham Potter. This provides a good cheeky punt for fpl managers as the matchups somewhat favour the Belgian, who plays mostly on the left.

Chances conceded down the right zone over the last 6 matches:

• CRY (3rd worst)
• CHE (9th worst)
• LEI (14th worst)

Trossard is also on some set pieces where Leicester struggle massively. Leicester have conceded 37 attempts over the last 6 matches on set pieces, averaging 6 attempts per game!

Further Read: FPL DGW22 Team in Focus – Watford | Dennis vs King

Lucas Moura

Another possible replacement for Son is the player who will actually replace him for Spurs for the next 2 GWs. Moura (£6.5) played up front for Spurs against Chelsea in the EFL Cup next to Kane.

Spurs have looked revitalized since Conte joined, with 5 wins and 3 draws in 8 games, accumulating 16.05 xG and 6.25xGC during that time.

We need to caveat this however, as in the 8 games played under Conte there has been 4 red cards for their opponents. In those 4 games, they’ve only scored 2 goal after the red card was awarded which includes a penalty scored right after a red card was given for a foul in the box.

Moura has looked better for Spurs with a mins/xGI of 197.8 since Conte came compared to 536.2 prior to that. Moura has also been involved in 50% of Spurs’ goals under Conte when he’s on the pitch!

The next 3 games for Spurs – ARS, lei, CHE – should be good for Moura on paper, as Spurs will most likely try to hurt on transitions, where Moura’s pace should come in handy. We’re also more likely to see Conte deploy a 2 striker system rather than a sole striker with 2 wingers in those games.

A £6.5 midfielder playing Out of Position for Spurs is an enticing proposition. In my opinion, however, Spurs would need to score first to stand a chance in these games. Arsenal and Chelsea are 2 teams I trust to be able to contain a lead, especially against a Spurs side that lacks the creativity to break down low blocks.

Further Read: FPL DGW22 Players to Target | FPL Double Gameweek 22

Personal Preference

In my opinion, Maddison is the best option as a Son replacement for the short term. He is in form and I would not be surprised to see him score against any team at the moment. I will again advise caution with the possible postponement and encourage anyone considering him to keep the transfer for as late as possible. Recently, postponements have been announced days in advance, so if the game is still on Friday, I personally think there’ll be high chances that it’ll go through.

Should the Leicester game be postponed, I will reluctantly go for my namesake. Ronaldo will be the player with the highest EO this GW and if Bruno gets an assist for his goal, the double returns would be a good way to go past Ronaldo captainers.

This article was written using stats from Fantasy Football Scout. Sign up using the following link to get 20% off your subscription: bit.ly/FFS_FPLBRUNOO

Further Reads from ALLABOUTFPL Ahead of FPL Gameweek 22 :

FPL DGW22 Team in Focus – Watford | Dennis vs King
Best FPL GW22 Free Hit Team Ahead Of FPL Gameweek 22 Deadline
FPL DGW22 Players to Target | FPL Double Gameweek 22
FPL Free Hit Chip Explained | Extra FH Chip | FPL Guide
FPL GW22 Ultimate Guide: Announcements, Tips, Differentials, Captaincy

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

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