Gameweek 8: three players to pick and three to avoid
The Gameweek 8 deadline is 18:30 on Friday 23 October. Here are three players we think can beat their PAR, and three whose PAR looks a step too far. Every figure is a FotMob rating from this season.
| Player | Fixture | PAR | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pick | Diego Gómez (Brighton) | Liverpool (A) | 6.9 |
| Pick | Boubacar Kamara (Aston Villa) | Man City (H) | 6.9 |
| Pick | Brandon Thomas-Asante (Coventry) | Fulham (H) | 6.9 |
| Avoid | Bruno Fernandes (Man United) | Bournemouth (H) | 8.1 |
| Avoid | Matz Sels (Nottingham Forest) | Ipswich (A) | 7.1 |
| Avoid | Kai Havertz (Arsenal) | Everton (H) | 7.2 |
Three to pick
Diego Gómez, Brighton (PAR 6.9, away at Liverpool)
Gómez has rated 8.0, 7.9 and 8.3 in his last three games, and he's started every one of them. His PAR is low because Brighton go to Anfield, but he's beaten 6.9 in five of his seven games this season. Liverpool are also without Dominik Szoboszlai, which should give Brighton's midfield more of the ball.
Boubacar Kamara, Aston Villa (PAR 6.9, home to Manchester City)
Kamara has rated 7.9, 7.4 and 7.8 in his last three, playing the full 90 in two of them. City are favourites, but a holding midfielder in a game where his side has to defend gets plenty of tackles and interceptions, which FotMob rewards. He's one of the steadiest players in the game right now.
Brandon Thomas-Asante, Coventry (PAR 6.9, home to Fulham)
Since coming into the side in Gameweek 5, Thomas-Asante has rated 7.6, 7.9 and 7.4. That's a big step up from the 6.0 to 6.4 he managed in his first four games. With Haji Wright out with a thigh injury, he should lead the line again in one of the closest games of the week.
Three to avoid
Bruno Fernandes, Manchester United (PAR 8.1, home to Bournemouth)
Bruno has the toughest PAR in the game this week. He's only reached 8.1 once in seven games this season (a 9.8 back in Gameweek 2), and his last two ratings were both 6.9. United are favourites, but he needs one of his best games of the season just to break even.
Matz Sels, Nottingham Forest (PAR 7.1, away at Ipswich)
Forest are favourites at Portman Road, which pushes their keeper's PAR up. But Sels has rated 5.9, 6.7 and 5.8 in his last three, and he's only gone above 7.1 once all season. A keeper on the favoured side often has little to do, and that rarely earns a big rating.
Kai Havertz, Arsenal (PAR 7.2, home to Everton)
Arsenal should beat Everton, but Havertz has rated 6.8, 6.5, 6.7 and 6.4 in his last four games, all below this week's PAR. He was taken off after about an hour in the last two, too. Arsenal's big home win is already built into his PAR, so he needs more than an ordinary afternoon.
Team news to check before the deadline
Bukayo Saka went off injured at Bayern Munich on Wednesday, and Mikel Arteta said it "doesn't look good". Leave him out unless he's declared fit. Aston Villa's Johan Manzambi is also a doubt with a calf problem. Players who don't play score +0.3 this week, and Gameweek 8 has no bench, so it's worth checking the news on Friday afternoon.
That's our view. Yours might be different, and that's the fun of it. Pick your Gameweek 8 XI before 18:30 on Friday.