Fantasy Premier League

Loftus-Cheek back to bring FPL value

By The Scout 19 Oct 2017
Ruben Loftus-Cheek, Crystal Palace

The Scout reviews the early FPL team news as midfielder's return adds to selection options

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Ruben Loftus-Cheek (£4.5m) is back in contention for Gameweek 9 and set to re-launch his bid for Fantasy Premier League attention.

The Crystal Palace midfielder was ineligible to face parent club Chelsea in last weekend's 2-1 victory.

But he could return to Roy Hodgson's line-up at Newcastle United on Saturday.

Owned by 300,000 FPL managers, the 21-year-old has created five chances over his four appearances for the Eagles.

They include three big chances - a chance where the receiving player is expected to score.

Loftus-Cheek could now be handed a central attacking role by Hodgson.

Against Chelsea, it was Andros Townsend (£5.7m) who partnered Wilfried Zaha in a two-man attack.

But Townsend could now move back to the right flank to accommodate the return of Loftus-Cheek.

Abraham in demand

Elsewhere, another Chelsea loanee is set to enjoy boosted FPL interest.

Tammy Abraham (£5.7m) is again poised for the lone striker role as Swansea City face Leicester City at the Liberty Stadium.

Striker Wilfried Bony (£5.9m) remains sidelined with a hamstring injury so head coach Paul Clement is expected to continue with the 4-3-3 formation trialled against Huddersfield Town in Gameweek 8.

Abraham produced a season-high 13 points against the Terriers in that system.

He has since been snapped up by over 198,000 managers, second only to Gabriel Jesus (£10.7m) for transfers in among forwards prior to today's 19:00 BST deadline.

Baggies goalkeeper concerns

Meanwhile, West Bromwich Albion visit Southampton with fitness concerns over both their goalkeepers.

Ben Foster (£4.5m) and Boaz Myhill (£4.0m) have returned to training and head coach Tony Pulis says he hopes one of them will be fit enough to start.

Foster is still owned by 14.6% of managers.

But the Baggies have struggled to provide defensive points of late, claiming only one clean sheet in the last six Gameweeks.

Three of their next five opponents also score four or more in the Fixture Difficulty Rankings (FDR).

That suggests that this may be a time for FPL managers to seek alternatives to Foster and his defence.

West Ham tweaks

Finally, West Ham United could change tactics for tonight's encounter with Brighton and Hove Albion.

Manager Slaven Bilic has deployed a 4-4-2 formation in each of the last two Gameweeks.

But with Andy Carroll (£5.9m) suspended and Diafra Sakho (£5.5m) injured, the Hammers may shift to a 4-2-3-1.

Bilic expects Chicharito (£7.0m) to recover from a minor hamstring problem to lead the line against the Seagulls.

This could allow Manuel Lanzini (£6.8m) to occupy a No 10 role behind the Mexican.

See: FPL Show – Pep's settling on Man City stars

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