Would it be better if we call him ‘Shady’ Gakpo? See, Cody(£7.6m) was one of the hottest properties in FPL as we approached double gameweek 25. Liverpool had Wolves at home along with a trip to Villa Park and despite scoring just 7pts in double gameweek 24, the Dutch forward was a top pick in the transfer window.
There was some shadow of doubt regarding his participation in the Wolves encounter. But more than one-fourth of the fantasy managers, including me, went ahead with him. The reasoning was pretty simple. Even if he doesn’t start the game against Wolves, he might be introduced later into the game — enough opportunity for attacking returns in a plum fixture like this.
But first he missed the match against Wolves. Followed by another major absence in last night’s 2-2 stalemate. To be honest, I didn’t expect him to miss the bus to Villa Park. It broke the hearts of his owners in FPL, when Arne Slot confirmed his exclusion from the squad only hours before the crunch game.
Switching to Ollie Watkins(£8.9m) would have been wise as even with a hit the England international could have guaranteed a +11 to your FPL account. Now, with the gameweek 26 deadline around the corner, we need to decide his fate in terms of fantasy — hold or sell?
The Liverpool gaffer stated in his pre-match press conference that he expects the Netherlands international to be back in contention for the away trip to Manchester City. But the next two games are a bit tricky for Pool. Following the trip to Etihad, they will invite Newcastle to Anfield.
Also, there is another catch — Diogo Jota(£7.2m) is back and Luis Diaz(£7.5m) is fit too. Both of them featured in double gameweek 25 and performed well. Gakpo will face stiff competition in the Liverpool final third as the RW position has Salah’s name written all over it. Moreover, Gakpo would be used wide instead of his cameos in the central areas, which amplified the chances of his attacking returns.
Liverpool plays Southampton at home in gameweek 28, which appears to be a fixture to target but Slot’s men will blank in gameweek 29. Though Gakpo has surpassed his xG by quite a distance in Fantasy Premier League 2024-25 — 8 goals from a total xG of 5.4, I would recommend to square him off at the moment.
In case you are playing a free-hit in gameweek 29, you may bring him in before gameweek 28. But currently, apart from Salah(£13.7m), Arnold(£7.4m) and Jota seem to be the most convincing Liverpool assets in fantasy.
Villa’s Ollie Watkins has regained his form, scored two goals in double gameweek 25 and looks fixture-proof from an attacking perspective. However, he also blanks in gameweek 29. Everton’s Beto(£4.9m) has become a sensation lately in FPL and has a kind run of fixtures now. Moreover, he has a fixture in blank gameweek 29.
Both of them can be the ideal replacement for Gakpo. Meanwhile, we need to keep a tab of his UCL duties to know if he has restarted firing with both the cylinders.
