This week’s FPL Challenge is called Classic Rivalry. It marks the start of Coca-Cola and FPL Challenge teaming up for a “Beat The Icon” event over the next seven Gameweeks, with a different challenge being set each week by football legends, pundits and top creators - and Fantasy managers being invited to try to beat them, starting with Rio Ferdinand in Gameweek 4.
This week, players in the Manchester derby will score DOUBLE POINTS. There is a limit of three players per club, with managers selecting a 6-a-side team using an unlimited budget.
Here, FPL expert Tom Johnson reveals his team and explains his thinking, to help managers pick their own line-ups and beat Rio!
This week in Fantasy Challenge, managers face the tough decision of whether to go all-in on the Manchester derby to maximise the double points, or strike a balance and target other fixtures such as Burnley v Liverpool and Crystal Palace v Sunderland.
Goalkeeper
Between the sticks, I’ve looked outside of the two Manchester clubs and gone for Dean Henderson.
The Englishman has notched two clean sheets and one save point already this season ahead of Crystal Palace’s home encounter with Sunderland.
The Black Cats failed to score against Burnley in their only away match so far this season.
This week's Icon, Rio Ferdinand, has opted for David Raya. With Ange Postecoglou replacing Nuno Espirito Santo in the Nottingham Forest dugout and promising an attacking style of football, the goalkeeper position may be a good one to differentiate from Rio!
With no substitutes in Fantasy Challenge, I’d strongly recommend avoiding a goalkeeper from the Manchester derby. We can’t be sure whether new signings Gianluigi Donnarumma and Senne Lammens will start for Man City and Man Utd respectively.
Defenders
For the solitary defender slot in my 1-3-1 formation, I’ve opted for Daniel Munoz of Crystal Palace, making it an Eagles double-up in my team.
The Colombia international is the perfect, all-round Fantasy defensive package. So far this season, he has returned two clean sheets, two defensive contribution points, one bonus point and produced an assist.
Rayan Ait-Nouri and Matthijs de Ligt are the standout defenders from the Manchester derby, but I’ve decided to back my hunch that both teams will score, so I'm going with the upside of Munoz.
Ait-Nouri combines attacking threat with defensive contribution potential, as shown in Gameweek 1 while De Ligt has registered four shots in the box, four more than any other Man Utd defender. He has also picked up defensive contribution points twice in three starts this season.
Midfielders
Two of my three midfield picks, Bruno Fernandes and Tijjani Reijnders, will benefit from double points.
The former is a safe option with multiple routes to points; namely penalties, defensive contributions and bonus points. Fernandes impressed last time out, returning 10 points against Burnley.
Reijnders is the only Man City midfielder to play every Premier League minute so far, and the injury to Omar Marmoush may force Pep Guardiola into playing him in a more attacking role.
Elsewhere, Mohamed Salah has started the season slowly, but a match-up with promoted Burnley is too tempting to ignore. Despite his poor underlying data, the Egyptian has still notched a goal and an assist to date.
Bryan Mbeumo is very unlucky to miss out. The Cameroonian scored his first Premier League goal for Man Utd in Gameweek 3, a goal that contributed to him earning three bonus points.
Impressively, his nine chances created rank third among all players.
Forwards
Erling Haaland completes my 1-3-1 formation and will also be my captain. In truth, he was the first name on my teamsheet.
The Norwegian has begun the season in electric form, scoring three goals and picking up maximum bonus points on two occasions.
No player comes close to matching his Expected Goal Involvement (xGI) tally of 4.16 and, encouragingly, Haaland is actually underperforming his expected data.
Rio Ferdinand has opted to captain Fernandes and selected Leny Yoro in his team. Backing Haaland captain could be the best way to beat the Icon in Gameweek 4.
On the red side of Manchester, Benjamin Sesko is surely a player to avoid, with serious doubts over his expected minutes given he is yet to start a Premier League match.