Manchester United assets are selling like hot pancakes on a pleasant evening in FPL, but unfortunately as much as managers would like to, they can’t have all of them. Having the right combination of players from United, and fitting them into the right mix of Players from other teams like Manchester City will be key to a successful end to the season.
Bruno Fernandes
Bruno Fernandes‘ impact on the pitch can be felt by supporters and FPL Mangers alike. Since his first appearance against Wolves way back in gameweek 25, the Portuguese has amassed 6 Goals and 5 assists, all while maintaining a baseline BPS of 29.96/game.
His impact might almost seem unreal, but parallels can in fact be drawn. Fernandes’ statistics are similar to Mohammed Salah’s first season at Liverpool. Comparing their first 9 appearances, Salah and Fernandes nearly stand neck-and-neck. Salah and Fernandes averaged 3.4 and 3.7 shots/game with 2.0 and 1.7 on target, respectively. Though Salah had the far superior touches in the opposition box/game with 6.6 over Fernandes’ 2.8, Bruno’s free kick and long shot ability more than compensates for it making him a far greater threat from outside the box.
The main aim of drawing this comparison was to not make the same error, many mangers made during Salah’s first stint. Bruno Fernandes is the best captain option for the remainder of the season, barring any injury. His low rotation risk and consistency of returns alongside a sea of great fixtures for United make him the standout Captaincy choice for the remainder of the season.
Anthony martial
This has been a breakthrough season for Martial, scoring 15 goal and assisting 3. Martial’s uptick and form can also be correlated to his positioning. Manchester United’s fluid front 2 of Rashford and Martial has seen the Frenchman assume more of an inside-forward role as compared to a winger under Jose Mourinho. Majority of Martial’s shots have come from the left or centre of the box. He averages nearly 2 shots inside the box/game with an xG of 0.48 per 90 mins.
Priced at only 8.3 million, he presents a slightly cheaper alternative to Bruno Fernandes. Bruno and Martial have also Been a popular combination ownership wise with 32.3% of the top 10k squads owning both and 95.9% owning at least one of the two midfielders. Martial also presents a more reliable option over the likes of Riyad Mahrez starting in all of United’s games since the restart.
Mason Greenwood
Mason Greenwood has presented himself as the best budget striker in the game. Competing with the likes of similarly priced forwards Eddie Nketiah and Aaron Connoly, Greenwoods output has been greater than all of them. He has also become a more consistent starter for United being preferred over Juan Mata and Daniel James on the right.
Although his 8 premier goals at at price of 4.5 million price is a sight to marvel at, his shot map in an xG lovers nightmare. His xG throughout the season has only been a meagre 2.68 meaning his xG per shot taken is only 0.09. Although he has over performed his xG massively, he is still the best budget option in the striker bracket owned by 17.7% of managers.
Marcus Rashford
With Firmino and Lacazette not performing, Rashford is the only decent option in the 9.0-10.0 million striker bracket. But playing as an out of position winger he has assumed more of a creative role since the restart. With majority of his touches coming near the touch line, Rashford has scored only once.
Although his dip in goal scoring can also be associated with his return from an injury, and Bruno taking over penalty duties. Owning the trio of Rashford, Martial and Bruno however enticing it might be, will make owning other expensive assets like Kevin De Bruyne, Mohammed Salah, Harry Kane and Sadio Mane extremely difficult budget-wise. A more balanced combination of Bruno, Martial and Greenwood might enable managers to fit other high performing assets into their squads.
Paul Pogba
Paul Pogba hasn’t produced returns like his afore mentioned teammates so far, and if the numbers are to be believed, he probably won’t do it in the coming weeks either.
Priced the same as Martial, there really isn’t a case to pick him over Martial. He has only taken 4 shots since the restart with an xG of only 0.22. Although he has a high number of attempted assists/game of 3.09, his point scoring potential still doesn’t exceed that of his teammates. Pogba too has been returning from injury has seen his minutes managed playing only 65 minutes/game.
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