Fantasy Premier League

GW2 Lessons: Jota can help you get Lukaku

By The Scout 23 Aug 2021
Jota Lukaku

The Scout says managers can own Liverpool and Chelsea stars for same cost as Salah and Toney

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Two Liverpool players continue to provide a major source of value as Fantasy Premier League managers look to free up funds for Romelu Lukaku (£11.5m).

Deputy left-back Konstantinos Tsimikas (£4.1m) has claimed 17 points this season, combining two clean sheets with an assist.

Diogo Jota (£7.6m), meanwhile, is the only Liverpool player to score in each of their matches against Norwich City and Burnley

Liverpool 2-0 Burnley highlights

Their performances have made a big impact on the plans of Fantasy managers for Gameweek 3.

Tsimikas is the second most-bought player in the Gameweek, earning 171,000+ new owners for his home fixture with Chelsea.

Robertson return presents problem

But Andrew Robertson’s (£7.0m) appearance on the bench against Burnley on Saturday is a big concern for the Greek’s 28.9 per cent ownership.

Robertson is Jurgen Klopp's first-choice left-back and the Scot looks set to demote Tsimikas to the bench.

This means it will now cost a lot more to double-up on Trent Alexander-Arnold (£7.5m) with another attack-minded Liverpool defender, as Robertson and Virgil van Dijk (£6.5m) are both at least £2.5m more expensive than Tsimikas. 

Jota, meanwhile, is the most transferred-in midfielder for Gameweek 3, with 123,000 new owners. 

His 16 points so far this season are only four fewer than Mohamed Salah (£12.6m) and five more than Sadio Mane (£11.9m).

Most transferred-in players for GW3
Player Transfers in
Romelu Lukaku (£11.5m) 202,000
Konstantinos Tsimikas (£4.1m) 171,000
Shane Duffy (£4.1m) 166,000
Danny Ings (£8.0m) 132,000
Diogo Jota (£7.6m) 123,000

The Portuguese has been preferred to Roberto Firmino (£9.0m) in the first two matches as Liverpool’s central attacker.

But Firmino will start a lot of matches over the season, meaning Jota is by no means a regular.

Jota over Salah?

Crucially, though, Jota's statistics indicate he can still produce points when he does play.  

His average of 123.7 minutes per goal was quicker than any team-mate last season. 

Picking Jota over Salah would be a huge risk. The Egyptian's 10 shots and three big chances created are both joint-top in the first two Gameweeks.

But given the considerable price difference, such a move could appeal to those looking to generate funds to bring Lukaku in their forward lines. 

Considering a Jota and Lukaku pairing costs exactly the same as Salah and Ivan Toney (£6.5m), the Portuguese's appeal in Fantasy may soon be on the rise just as Tsimikas' nears an end.

Also in this series

Part 1: FDR Analysis: Everton can build momentum
Part 2: GW2 FPL stats: Lukaku outscores Salah and Fernandes
Part 3: GW2 Bonus points: West Ham duo add to scores
Part 4: FPL Saturday review: Mings leads dominant defenders
Part 6: FPL experts: What to do with Tsimikas and Jota?
Part 7: GW2 Lessons: Dias can avoid Pep rotation

Remember, the Gameweek 3 deadline is at 11:00 BST on Saturday 28 August.

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