This week’s FPL Challenge is called Ice Cold. It marks the fifth Gameweek of Coca-Cola and FPL Challenge teaming up for the “Beat The Icon” event. Every week there is a different challenge set by football legends, pundits and top creators - and Fantasy managers being invited to try to beat them, continuing with content creator WillNE in Gameweek 8.
In the United Kingdom and Ireland, managers will be able to go head-to-head with WillNE by scanning the QR code on any bottle or can of Coca-Cola and Coca-Cola Zero Sugar and be in with a chance to win prizes, including Premier League match tickets.
Managers outside the UK will still be able to take part in the weekly challenges as usual, but will not be eligible to enter the head-to-head element and win prizes.
This time around, big chances scored are worth SIX additional points. There is a limit of one player 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.
Goalkeeper
I’ve opted for Robin Roefs of Sunderland between the sticks. In truth, this was the final position I picked, with outfield spots taking priority due to the one player per club limit. No goalkeeper has scored more FPL points this season than Roefs, who has kept three clean sheets.
In Gameweek 8, the Black Cats face a Wolves side that sit bottom of the table and have scored a league-low five goals.
Defenders
Defenders are less likely to register big chances than midfielders and forwards, so I’ve only picked one in my 1-2-2 formation.
Only two defenders have notched more than a couple of big chances across the opening seven Gameweeks in Trevoh Chalobah and Marc Guehi. Both are undoubtedly good picks for this week’s challenge, but I am instead selecting attacking assets from Chelsea and Crystal Palace respectively.
Therefore, I’ve opted for Gabriel as the sole defender in my team. Arsenal’s set-piece threat is well-known, with the Brazilian at the forefront of that. The centre-back scored against Newcastle in Gameweek 6 and has recorded two big chances overall.
As well as his attacking threat, Gabriel has picked up defensive contribution points on three occasions and averages 9.4 defensive contributions per 90 minutes, just under the required threshold of 10.
If you add in Arsenal’s incredible underlying defensive numbers - they have the best records for Expected Goals Against (xGA) and big chances conceded - Gabriel is the perfect, all-round defensive asset.
Midfielders
Moving into the midfield, I’ve picked Mohamed Salah and Enzo Fernandez.
Despite not having the best of starts to the season, Salah has still produced four attacking returns and he did score twice for Egypt over the international break. Only two players have been involved in more big chances this season, with four created and four of his own. I’m backing him to deliver at home to Manchester United this week.
More convincingly, Salah’s personal record against the Red Devils is outstanding, racking up 13 goals and six assists in just 15 matches. Moreover, he scored in both matches against Man Utd last season. It looks like the perfect fixture for the Egyptian to finally register his first double-digit haul of the season.
Among Chelsea players, Enzo ranks first for big chances, Expected Goal Involvement (xGI) and shots. Among midfielders, only Antoine Semenyo has registered more big chances than the Argentinian. Enzo also took a penalty in Cole Palmer’s absence in Gameweek 3 and has defensive contribution potential.
If Fernandez, who is an injury doubt, is not named in Chelsea’s starting line-up, I will simply swap formations to a 1-1-3 and select his Blues team-mate Joao Pedro instead.
I think a Chelsea attacker is more or less essential this week considering Nottingham Forest’s poor defensive data; no team has allowed more big chances over the last six Gameweeks.
Forwards
No player in the entire league has registered more big chances than Erling Haaland’s tally of 14, five more than the next best. The Norwegian scored another hat-trick for his country over the international break, taking his tally in all competitions to 21 goals in 12 matches this season.
Haaland is an automatic selection and, unsurprisingly, will also be my captain.
The final spot in my team goes to Jean-Philippe Mateta of Crystal Palace. The Frenchman sits second to Haaland for big chances with nine, albeit he has missed eight of those. In the spirit of this week’s challenge, it feels right to back a penalty-taker who regularly gets big chances, and Mateta certainly fits the bill.