Premier League football returns over the weekend with uncertainty surrounding the availability of the South American players. The Bix Six will be deeply affected should the contingent miss the upcoming Gameweek 8 of the competition.
Gameweek 8 will begin with a home tie for Claudio Ranieri's Watford against Liverpool on Saturday, October 16. While Leicester City will host Manchester United, Chelsea and Manchester City face Burnley and Brentford, respectively.
Tottenham will be in action on Sunday as they make an away trip to Newcastle United while Arsenal will take on Crystal Palace at home in the early hours of Tuesday (per IST).
With so much action to look forward to, here are our top picks for Fantasy Premier League Gameweek 8:
Best attacker: Jamie Vardy
After a rather slow start, Leicester City forward Jamie Vardy is back among goals. With Manchester United without both of their first-choice centre-backs, the former England international should trouble United's defence and build upon his tally of four goals in three games.
Best defender: Trent Alexander-Arnold
Liverpool's Trent Alexander-Arnold could be available for Game Week 8, and if he is, there's no better option than the 23-year-old. Liverpool is most likely to keep a clean sheet against Watford, so it wouldn't surprise me if the defender played a role in one of Liverpool's goals.
Budget player: Hwang Hee-chan
Wolves’ new signing Hwang Hee-chan has made quite an impact this season. The 25-year-old attacker has so far netted three goals for the club and is expected to continue his scoring streak when his team faces Aston Villa on Saturday. After a rocky start to the 2021-22 season, Wolves are on a two-game winning streak and Hee-chan, valued at just £5.6m, could showcase why he is an absolute steal.
Fantasy Premier League stats for Gameweek 8 fixtures
Watford vs Liverpool
Liverpool forward Sadio Mane is on the cusp of making history. Currently, the 29-year-old is one goal away from becoming only the third African to score 100 Premier League goals, following Didier Drogba and Mohamed Salah. It doesn't end there. In the event of him hitting 100 goals, Mane will be the only third player to enter the 100-goal club without any penalty goals.
As we speak, new Watford manager Claudio Ranieri has won four of his five Premier League home matches against Liverpool.
Leicester City vs Manchester United
Manchester United haven’t conceded more than one goal in each of their last 15 away Premier League matches.
Jesse Lingard has been involved in six goals in his last six Premier League outings against Leicester City (G3, A3).
Brentford vs Chelsea
Brentford are undefeated in their first three London derbies, winning at Arsenal, West Ham United, and Crystal Palace.
The Blues have won each of their last six London derbies away from home, and they could become the first team to win seven successive London derbies in English football.
Arsenal vs Crystal Palace
Arsenal has had an outstanding record in home matches played on a Monday, winning all seven of their games in recent years. During this period, the team has scored 15 goals and conceded only two.
Patrick Vieira is set to become only the fourth manager to play for Arsenal and then manage a team against them after David O’Leary, Tony Adams and Remi Garde.
Featured photo: AFP / Lindsey Parnaby
