Gameweek 6 saw some well-known faces from last season return to the Team of the Week. Topping the table in terms of FPL points was Kieran Trippier with 18, thanks to a hattrick of assists against helpless Sheffield United. Second place was shared by three players, these being Tottenham’s Heung-Min Son, Brighton’s Kaoru Mitoma and Everton’s James Tarkowski, all with 14 FPL points each. The third spot was shared as well, between Arsenal’s Bukayo Saka and Newcastle’s Bruno Guimaraes with 13 points each. As a matter of fact, the only player to make it into the Team of the Week with a single-digit score was Luton’s Carlton Morris with 9 points, courtesy of a penalty versus Wolves.
On to gameweek 7 then, which is actually the first double gameweek of the 2023-24 Premier League campaign. We don’t expect too many managers to pay too much attention to it though, as the two teams doubling are also both in the relegation zone at the moment. Both Luton Town and Burnley have managed just a single point so far this season, though they did play a game less, which they will catch up with this coming Tuesday. Out of the two, Luton looks like the most appealing side if you’re looking for an out-of-the-box differential fantasy pick to shake things up a bit. The Hatters are preparing for a visit to Everton on Saturday followed by a home game against Burnley on Tuesday, while the Clarets themselves will be visiting Newcastle on Saturday before travelling to Kenilworth Road three days later.
Don’t forget, the deadline for gameweek 7 is set at 11h00 (UK time) on Saturday, September 30th, 2023.
Most transferred in/transferred out players (as per September 27th, 2023)
| TRANSFERS OUT | TRANSFERS IN | POSSIBLE REASONS | |
| GK | Leno (ARS), Areola (WHU), Turner (NOT) | ||
| DEF | Chilwell (CHE), Gusto (CHE), Henry (BRE) | Botman (NEW), Trippier (NEW), Walker (MCI) | Newcastle form + fixtures, Henry injury, Gusto suspension, Chilwell benched |
| MID | Rodrigo (MCI), Rashford (MUN), Mbeumo (BRE) | Son (TOT), Mitoma (BRI), Gordon (NEW) | All transferred-in players recorded double digits in GW6, Rodrigo suspension |
| FOR | Jackson (CHE), Isak (NEW), Wissa (BRE) | Morris (LUT), Alvarez (MCI), Darwin (LIV) | Luton DGW7, Alvarez form, Jackson suspension |
Premium pick
At £6.6m, Kieran Trippier is one of the most expensive defenders in the official fantasy game and last weekend showed us just why that is. The England international had an underwhelming start to the season in terms of FPL, taking just 5 FPL points from his first four games. Gameweek 5 brought the Toon their first clean sheet though, and with it came the first return for Trips. It proved to only be the start, as Newcastle followed that first shut-out up with a resounding 0-8 victory over Sheffield United last weekend. On top of that second clean sheet in a row, Trippier also recorded a hattrick of assists in that game to make him gameweek 7’s highest-scoring player. Next up are Burnley at home, followed by a visit to West Ham, a home game against Crystal Palace and a visit to Wolves, so it could be right about the moment to bring Trippier (back) into your squad.
Non-premium pick
Gameweek 7 could also be a good moment to move some West Ham United assets closer to the top of your scouting lists. The Hammers have had a more than decent start to the season with 10 points from the first six league games and they are about to embark on a run of favourable fixtures. This weekend, it’s time for a visit from Sheffield United, who just conceded eight against Newcastle last weekend. Considering the opposition and their weakness, amongst other things, our non-premium fantasy pick for GW7 is James Ward-Prowse (£6.3m). The free-kick master and set-piece specialist has hit the ground running in West-London with 2 goals and 3 assists in his first five games. As a matter of fact, his blank at Anfield last weekend was his first blank this FPL season. We would be surprised to see him make it two blanks in a row with Sheffield United’s visit coming up. That game is followed by a run of favourable fixtures, apart from gameweek 8’s home game versus Newcastle and gameweek 15’s visit to Spurs, all the way until the end of the first half of the season. At just £6.3m, Ward-Prowse might just be a shrewd pick for the very short and the very long term.
The budget enabler
Our budget fantasy pick for gameweek 7 is also our only double gameweek player recommendation. Carlton Morris (£5.5m) is Luton Town’s talisman and even though the newly promoted side are not expected to score a lot of goals in any game this season, DGW7 might be the gameweek to take a punt on Morris if there ever was one. The Hatters have scored three goals so far this season and 2 were scored by the 27-year-old Englishman. He also provided the assist for the third goal, by the way. In other words, based on a small sample, it looks likely that Morris is involved whenever Luton score a goal. That also makes sense if you know that he is on penalty duties and his 2 goals so far have actually both come from the spot. This makes him extra attractive as a double gameweek target, on top of the fact that he is guaranteed to play 90 minutes and will be facing mediocre opposition. We’re not saying that Luton can easily dispose of Everton at Goodison Park and of Burnley at home, but if they want to have any hopes of staying in the Prem this year, they know this double gameweek will have to yield some points.
The differential
With a 0-8 drubbing in their back pockets and possibly the most positive run of fixtures of all teams in the league coming up, you can expect interest in Newcastle players to spike in the build-up to gameweek 7. Lots of interest will be directed at forwards Alexander Isak and Callum Wilson, and at the defensive likes of Kieran Trippier and Sven Botman. The Magpie roster boasts even more potential though, with Anthony Gordon (£5.6m) standing out for us as a differential fantasy pick. Harvey Barnes is expected to be out with an injury for the foreseeable future, which cements Gordon’s spot in manager Eddie Howe’s starting eleven. The confidence is clearly doing him good, because he already sits on 2 goals and 3 assists this season, including his goal and assist at Bramall Lane last Sunday. What’s more, only Liverpool’s Mo Salah has so far created more big chances than Gordon in the league, which emphasizes the winger’s growing influence on the Newcastle attack. Burnley at home is the Magpies’ next challenge and we can see the young Englishman add to his current totals against the leakiest defence in the league bar Sheffield United.
The (vice-)captaincy
Seeing as Erling Haaland is currently part of 92.4% of all teams in the official Fantasy Premier League, the smartest thing to do is probably to just captain him again this weekend for Man City’s visit to Molineux.
Alternatively, Kieran Trippier or Alexander Isak at home to Burnley could be interesting as well, as could Heung-Min Son at home to Liverpool. Those managers who really want that authentic double gameweek feeling can put the armband on Carlton Morris for his double against Everton (away) and Burnley (home).