Fantasy Premier League

GW8 Forwards #3: Jamie Vardy

By The Scout 5 Oct 2017

The Scout's series on six players who can help managers with problems up front continues with the "best third striker" in FPL

As we face a forward crisis in Fantasy Premier League, The Scout is looking at six candidates to help managers pick their attack.

Jamie Vardy (LEI) £8.5m

The Form

Vardyങs strong start to the season has gone largely unnoticed.

He has scored five goals in seven matches and ranks fifth of all FPL forwards, with 38 points.

But the Leicester City striker is still owned by only 12.8% of managers.

A lack of consistency could be to blame. Vardy has failed to produce points in three matches for an erratic Foxes side, who have won only once, against Brighton & Hove Albion in Gameweek 2.

The statistics

Vardyങs 13 goals from 35 appearances last season was a disappointment after his 24-goal campaign in 2015/16, but his latest data shows an improvement.

The striker is averaging a shot every 43.3 minutes, compared with 52.9 last season.

While a total of 14 shots is modest compared with some of his premium-priced rivals, he has hit the target with 57.1% those efforts.

No striker with more than 500 minutes played can better that statistic, with seven-goal Romelu Lukaku (£11.8m) recording 48.3%.

Vardy in 2017/18

	Total	FPL forward rank
Goals	5	3
Shots	14	11
Shots in box	12	8=
Shots on target	8	5=
Big chances	5	6=
ICT Threat	282	6=

The prospects

Vardyങs price tag and points-per-million potential look vital to his Fantasy appeal and he looks to be a ready-made replacement for Roberto Firmino (£8.5m), who has been sold by 105,000+ managers ahead of Gameweek 8.

Over 21,000 have made that direct swap.

Leicester faced Arsenal, Manchester United, Chelsea and Liverpool over their opening six Gameweeks.

Given those opponents, Vardyങs returns are encouraging ahead of an improved schedule where four of Leicesterങs next six opponents score two in the Fixture Difficulty Rankings (FDR).

Vardy has also been rested over the international break after a minor hip problem.

That should guarantee that he is fresh and ready to reward the 86,000 managers who have acquired him as a solution.

The Scout's verdict: Fixtures and form finally align for Vardy. He looks to be the best option as a third striker in a three-man attack, or even as a second forward for those investing heavily in midfield.