- Best Ekitike Replacements With his suspension from GW6, a lot of managers are looking to move on from Ekitike, and here are some of the replacements you can consider:

With more minutes under his belt, Isak looks ready to step up. He scored in the EFL Cup midweek, posting 0.60 xGI in just 47 mins, and will lead the line for a Liverpool side already on 11 goals. Owned by only 10.1%, he’s a like for like Ekitike replacement

A cheaper replacement with 2 goals, 1 assist & 8 BPs already is Joao Pedro. Chelsea’s red card last GW made them suffer, but overall their stats are solid, top for big chances & top 4 for xG. With good fixtures till GW12 (barring Liverpool), Pedro offers value.

With 3 goals, 1 assist & 29 points already, Richarlison has thrived under Thomas Frank. Spurs’ next 4 fixtures look juicy, with 3 of them against bottom-7 xGC teams. Nailed up front and in form, he has good haul potential.

- Saka vs Gyokeres With Arsenal’s fixtures set to take a turn after GW6, managers who plan to wildcard this GW and those who plan to bring in Arsenal players using their FTs are pondering over Gyokeres and Saka. Here’s what we think:

Let’s look at the stats: Saka vs Gyokeres xGi/90: 0.3 vs 0.54 Goals: 1 vs 3 Assists: 0 vs 0 Mins Played: 187 vs 396i Shots/90: 1.44 vs 1.58 DEFCON points: 0 vs 0 Ownership: 4.1% vs 25.4% Price: 9.8m vs 9.0m Points: 10 vs 22

Gyokeres has had three games in which he registered ZERO shots & his three goals came from the other two games (vs LEE & NFO). It’s fair to say that he hasn’t set the PL alight & the underlying numbers reveal the same. But, he is way more effective vs weaker opposition.

Saka has just returned from injury and his performance after coming on vs Man City in GW5 showed glimpses of his true ability. With Madueke’s injury, Saka may feature more despite concerns over the recurrence of his hamstring problems, similar to the last season.

With uncertainty looming around both picks, we’re inclined towards avoiding both of them and tripling up on the more assured Arsenal defence, and take a call later on bringing in either of them, rather than making the move now.

- Best Budget Midfielders With other priorities emerging across the team for which more budget will be needed, FPL managers are on the lookout for some budget midfielders and here are some of our choices that you could consider:

After 3 blanks, Kudus bounced back with 2 assists and continues to look lively with his dribbling & pace from the RW. Now nailed in that role, and with 3 of the next 4 vs bottom-7 xGC sides, he’s a budget midfielder with strong upside potential.

The move to Everton has unlocked Grealish with more freedom, better numbers, and he’s truly thriving. He tops the league for assists (3) with the best xA, has started the last 4, and looks nailed. With decent long-term fixtures, he’s a strong budget midfield pick.

With 2 assists in his last 3 games across comps, Reijnders has already impressed with his ball progression and late runs into the box. Rodri’s return has boosted him, and with 2 of the next 4 vs bottom-4 xGC sides, he’s a strong budget midfield shout

Gvardiol vs Gabriel Let’s look at the stats first: Goals + Assists: 0 vs 0 Mins Played: 180 vs 450 DEFCON points: 2 vs 2 Ownership: 4.1% vs 22.9% Price: 5.8m vs 6.1m Points: 10 vs 25

Gvardiol has returned from injury and has slotted into the CB position with ease. He has played the full 90 in both games & with his versatility, offers another option at LB too with the injury to Ait-Nouri. With the fixtures easing up, he becomes a solid choice among defenders.

Gabriel has been ever-present for Arsenal, who already have kept 3 cleansheets so far. While he is the safe pick with no xMins risk (rested in midweek - only played 19 min), his price may be the only factor that could prevent more managers from picking him.

We’d go with Gvardiol as there are cheaper routes to the Arsenal defence than Gabriel.

- Team Structure for WC6 With a lot of managers planning to activate the wildcard ahead of GW6, we’d like to look into what the ideal structure should be and some potential options would be:

Goalkeepers We’d go for the safer picks here by selecting Raya and Dubravka (4.0m) which provides a balance between sure xMins and save point capabilities. If you’re already loaded up on Arsenal defence, then Donnarumma isn’t a bad option either.

Defence Here’s where we would take a slightly riskier route by focusing not just on fixtures, but also on their DEFCON potential. Options we’re considering include Gvardiol, Gabriel/Calafiori, Tarkowski, Senesi, Andersen, Lacroix and Mukiele.

Midfielders While the attacking potential is of prime importance, we’d also choose options whose xMins aren’t risky and also if they’re captaincy shouts too. We’d be picking from Reijnders, Kudus, Bruno, Mbeumo, Semenyo, Ndiaye or Stach who could be a great enabler at 5.0m

Forwards Things get slightly easier as Haaland is essential among the forwards. Depending on the remaining budget, we’d pick from amongst Gyokeres, Joao Pedro, Richarlison and Evanilson.

So in summary, get all starters, who have minimal xMins risk so that WC6 navigates smoothly to a Bench Boost in GW8/GW9 maybe just be the way to go!

- Raya vs Donnarumma Let’s look at the stats xGC/90: 0.4 vs 0.5 Saves per 90: 2.6 vs 2 Clean sheets: 3 vs 1 Mins Played: 450 vs 180 Ownership: 24.5% vs 6.1% Price: 5.6m vs 5.6m Points: 26 vs 25

Raya has continued his brilliant form from last season, and has started the season very well with 3 cleansheets already. He’s the undisputed No.1 at Arsenal and a secure pick with the fixtures coming up for Arsenal from GW7 onwards.

Donnarumma, on the other hand, has had a decent start to life in the PL, with a cleansheet already within his first two games. City tend to rotate their defence a lot more and hence we’d be curious to see how he copes with this situation.

We’re preferring Raya with his superior experience and proven ability in the PL, and with him being a cheaper route to the Arsenal defence.

- Triple Captain: Now or Later? With plenty of managers having already earmarked GW6 as one of the perfect slots for using the Triple Captain chip, we’d like to share our thoughts too.

Man City face a Burnley side who have the highest xGC (10.5) and have conceded the most shots (95), which is 25 more than any team so far this season. While they’re not pushovers by any stretch, this is a perfect opportunity for using the TC chip on Haaland.

Haaland’s previous record in this fixture isn’t bad either with 5 goals in his three games against the GW6 opposition. If you’re not wildcarding in GW6, then Triple Captain is the way to go.