FPL tips: Non-Salah Liverpool attackers | Squawka
Liverpool have a good run coming up in the Premier League, which is going somewhat unnoticed due to the many upcoming double gameweeks.
Three of their next five games have a Fixture Difficulty Rating of 2, with two of those coming at home, including fixtures against Leicester and Spurs. They host Everton in a midweek Merseyside Derby in Gameweek 30.
Over two thirds (69.5%) of FPL managers have Mohamed Salah in their squads. But aside from the Egyptian, where else can you look?
Squawka have taken the four main non-Salah Liverpool attackers to see whether they’re worth taking a punt on for Gameweek 30. Visit theirFPL tips page for more value picks in all positions.
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Luis Diaz
Price: £7.5m
Points: 138
Luis Diaz is the highest-scoring Liverpool midfielder other than Salah, though he’s a staggering 168 points behind the Egyptian.
The Colombian went into the international break in good FPL form, with 17 points from his past three games. That included assists in wins over Newcastle and Southampton.
Diaz appears to like playing at Anfield, as the winger has attacking returns in each of his past three home league games, with three assists and one goal.
Across those three matches – all of which he started – Diaz has created 11 chances, more than any other Liverpool player.
Those chances have come at an average of 3.99 per 90 minutes, again leading Liverpool.
Diaz also leads Liverpool in their past three home games for xA per 90 at 0.42, while sitting fourth for non-penalty xG.
Luis Diaz’ stats
Diogo Jota
Price: £7.2m
Points: 72
Diogo Jota benefits from being an FPL midfielder playing as a striker, at least when he is the man to lead the line for Liverpool.
The problem is, Jota has only started three of Liverpool’s past six games since returning from injury.
Now that the Reds only have the Premier League to play for, he may well start again. So is he worth the risk?
In the three games that Jota did start for Liverpool across their past six matches, he managed one assist.
That came in the 2-2 draw with Aston Villa, while he only managed clean sheet points in his other two starts.
Across those six matches, Jota averaged 1.25 chances created per 90 and 4.17 shots per 90 – the latter more than any other Liverpool player. But he also averaged just 0.42 shots on target.
In terms of xG, Jota posted 0.51 per 90 minutes but just 0.11 xG on Target per 90. That’s a shot placement ratio of just 0.21.
With poor finishing on top of the unreliable starts, Jota might not be the safest pick right now.
Diogo Jota’s stats
Cody Gakpo
Price: £7.4m
Points: 96
Cody Gakpo didn’t pick up too many minutes before the international break due to injury. But the Dutchman is expected to be back in the picture now.
Looking at a run of his last six starts in the Premier League, Gakpo has returned three goals and two assists – with three blanks.
Across those six matches, Gakpo averaged 0.57 goals per 90, the third-most of any Liverpool player. He also ranked third for chances created (2.11 per 90) and big chances created (0.57 per 90).
His shooting wasn’t too bad either. With a shot accuracy of 50%, Gakpo also boasts a shot placement ratio of 1.08 – increasing his 0.42 xG per 90 to 0.45 xGOT.
The one downside is that he’s a forward, so only gets four points for a goal, but it would be no surprise to see him return to goalscoring form.
Cody Gakpo’s stats
Darwin Nunez
Price: £7.0m
Points: 60
Darwin Nunez returned 10 points in Liverpool’s 3-1 win over Southampton before the international break.
That was more than he had managed across his previous six games combined (six).
The main problem for Nunez and those looking at him is the lack of minutes. He was a rotational option to start when Liverpool needed him during packed weeks.
Now however, there is less need for rotation, and he looks unlikely to get too many starts.
Even as an impact sub, Nunez wasn’t influencing games in a beneficial manner to FPL managers.
Across his past eight appearances Nunez had nine shots with four hitting the target. That works out to 3.88 shots and 1.72 shots on target per 90.
He also averaged 1.05 xG and 0.87 xGOT per 90, with a shot placement ratio of 0.82.
While all of that isn’t bad, Nunez also amassed 209 minutes across eight games, averaging just over 26 minutes per match. Avoid, there are better Liverpool alternatives.
Darwin Nunez’ stats
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