Fantasy Premier League: Eight takeaways from Gameweek 3 of FPL

Fantasy Premier League is officially paused after three weeks of breathtaking action as we head into the international break. 

This past weekend provided a lot of talking points, so here some of our quick takeaways from the third round of games.

Prices correct at the time of writing, subject to change. All statistics used in this article are from Opta unless stated otherwise.

Fantasy Premier League GW3 deadline: Saturday, 14 September, 11:00 BST

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Fantasy Premier League: Eight takeaways from GW3 of FPL

Haaland and Salah on level pegging

The big fantasy debate before the season got underway was Erling Haaland or Mo Salah? As it turns out, you’d be golden no matter which one you picked.

The Manchester City striker plundered West Ham this week to score a second consecutive hat-trick in the Premier League, leaving non-owners sweating bullets. Those who captained him were laughing all the way to the bank with his 17-point haul.

Fast forward 24 hours and Liverpool have similarly demolished Manchester United, with Salah being involved in all three goals – for a 17-point haul. All the ground that was lost was made up very quickly indeed.

After three gameweeks both players have 41 points, meaning the game feels more competitive than it did in Haaland’s first two seasons in England, when no one could hold a candle to him.

Salah owners come out on top due to him being £2.5m cheaper, meaning they can afford a more balanced team or an extra premium player. I myself have seen my rank drop despite captaining Haaland. This might actually be the year when you can get away without having the big Norwegian.

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Man Utd players should be avoided

It’s been a rough few weeks for Bruno Fernandes owners. The Portugal international should probably have at least one attacking return by now, but instead he’s on just seven FPL points – fewer than the likes of Mario Lemina, Wilfred Ndidi and Ryan Yates.

United’s 3-0 defeat to Liverpool was a demoralising watch for those hoping against hope that he will someday pay off. At £8.5m the opportunity cost is steep. There are better options around the league, but with Southampton away up next managers will feel obligated to hold for at least one more week.

Saints look like the best fixture at the moment, they are giving up chances to the opposition for fun. But I’m not sure I would invest in any United assets just for this game. The team looks no better than they did last season, and that was really bad.

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Watkins provides dilemma

Similarly, Ollie Watkins has been a rough watch for his owners. The Aston Villa striker is yet to break his duck this season, although he did get a very fortuitous assist against Leicester City at the weekend.

The Englishman doesn’t pass the eye test right now and I’m happy not to own him, but Villa have a good run of fixtures after the international break. If you have him I would probably hold for the time being, but I wouldn’t buy him.

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Mbeumo is one of the best picks in FPL

Every season I ignore Bryan Mbeumo and every season he punishes me. The Brentford forward picked up 14 points thanks to his second and third goals of the season against a dreadful Southampton side.

The Cameroonian excels when Ivan Toney is not in the side, and with the England international officially off to Saudi Arabia, he can now be the full-time talisman for the Bees.

The 25-year-old has outperformed his expected goals (0.91 xG) from just six shots, but he is the penalty taker now and has also created four big chances in three games. At just £7m Mbeumo is a must-have – just a shame Brentford face Manchester City away next.

Brighton offer exceptional value

One of my regrets from the start of the season is going with Rodrigo Muniz over João Pedro. It was a close call, but I went with the Fulham forward as he was the guaranteed starter, while Brighton have multiple attacking options that could be set out in any number of configurations.

As it turns out, Pedro has started every game as a second striker and even has more minutes than his Brazilian compatriot. Despite having tougher fixtures on paper, he has also been more clinical in front of goal, scoring against Man United and Arsenal in successive gameweeks.

Muniz is yet to find the back of the net, but his underlying numbers have been good. And yet, even though I expect him to find the net sooner rather than later, I’m probably going to belatedly swap him out for Pedro.

Priced at £5.6m, his value is just too good to pass up. In fact, Brighton’s value across the board when it comes to attackers is excellent. Kaoru Mitoma is just £6.6m, Danny Welbeck is available at £5.6m, and Yankuba Minteh is even cheaper at £5.5m.

The next six gameweeks see them face teams whose defences haven’t exactly impressed. Now is the time to jump on them.

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Patience with Eze pays off

Over the past fortnight this writer suggested that writing off Eberechi Eze was a mistake. He was playing too well and coming too close to getting returns to be worth selling at this juncture.

And so it proved on Sunday when he found the net with a superb finish in Crystal Palace’s 1-1 draw with Chelsea. The 26-year-old is proof perfect that if the player passes the eye test and has good underlying numbers, you should hold firm even if the returns are yet to manifest.

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Spurs assets frustrate

With Bukayo Saka and Cole Palmer both returning in GW3, it wasn’t a great week to own Son Heung-min. The Spurs star blanked against Newcastle, despite the fact they had 20 shots on goal as they fell to a 2-1 defeat.

The north London outfit should have gotten something from the match, but like against Leicester they could not breach a low block for that all-important second goal. Instead they succumbed to a critical goal on the counter.

Worryingly, Son only had one effort all game, although he did create three chances. James Maddison had two shots and created two more. Pedro Porro, meanwhile, ended the game with a monster tally of six shots, all of which were outside the area.

The potential for big returns is there, but they seem to be doing their best to avoid them. Son’s 16-point haul against Everton feels like an anomaly. With Arsenal up next, it might be the time to jump off Tottenham.

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Luis Diaz raises his hand

There is more to Liverpool’s attack than Mo Salah, that much we know. Diogo Jota garnered a lot of attention after grabbing a goal and an assist in the opening two games, but Luis Diaz stole his thunder with two goals against United on Sunday.

The Colombian’s 15 points in GW3 come on the back of his 14-point haul a week prior. Rather than hanging out wide, he appears to be taking a more direct route to goal under Arne Slot.

I’m not yet ready to peg him as a better FPL pick than Jota, who was fairly anonymous against the Red Devils, but he’s jumped ahead of him on my watchlist for now.

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