Matchweek 7 was the lowest scoring of the season, with WSL fantasy teams scoring just 48 points on average. We fared better, though. And for the first time this season, our set-and-forget team (65) got more points than the main squad (55).
The 55 points in MW7 take us to 559 points for the season, which would put us 188th in the world.
Our team for Matchweek 8 uses the full £100m budget and lines up in a 4-3-3 formation.
Starting XI
Phallon Tullis-Joyce (Manchester United) £5.5m
Saturday’s only game is Everton v Manchester United. Their two goalkeepers, Courtney Brosnan and Phallon Tullis-Joyce, are both on 33 points so far this season. Both could collect points for saves, but United are the side more likely to keep a clean sheet. That gives the American the nod.
Andrea Medina (Manchester United) £5.5m
At the time of writing, Medina is the seventh-most transferred-in player and has only been transferred out of 40 teams. Fantasy managers love her for the fact she’s still playing as a winger in this United setup, making her an excellent goal threat for a defender.
Leah Williamson (Arsenal) £5.5m
Arsenal are playing in the early kick-off on Sunday and will be the favourites at home to Villa. Williamson didn’t start the midweek UWCL match against Benfica and I therefore expect her to maintain her streak of not missing a WSL minute for Arsenal this season.
Caitlin Hayes (Brighton) £5.5m
The least-selected player in this squad at 2%, but a promising enough pick to make our XI. Hayes has scored 22 of her 29 points in her last three matches, which is fantastic form. Brighton’s opponents, Crystal Palace, are averaging less than one goal per match, so there’s a good chance of a clean sheet at home.
Ellie Carpenter (Chelsea) £7.0m
The Australian was absent from Chelsea’s XI for the first time this season in their UWCL game against Roma on Wednesday. Carpenter did, however, come on at half-time and score the opening goal. She remains an integral part of this Chelsea side, so I expect her to start on Sunday.
Lisa Baum (Arsenal) £6.5m
Tripling up on Arsenal is the play this week, and the midfield choice comes down to Baum or Stanway. Both are great options at £6.5m and both have played in all seven matches and scored 34 points. Baum gets my vote because she is so much more direct with her attacking play. She averages roughly one expected goal involvement per 90 in the WSL this season, whereas Stanway is lower on 0.29. If you already have Stanway, don’t waste a transfer switching to Baum. If you have neither, prioritise the German.
Océane Hurtré (Birmingham City) £6.0m
After seven matchweeks, the French forward is the top scorer in the game with 67 points. Spurs at home is not the kindest fixture, but Hurtré has shown that she will score points regardless of whether Birmingham win. She picked up seven points in MW7 without registering a goal or assist. Don’t forget to consider attacking actions when making your picks.
Lauren Hemp (Manchester City) £8.0m
Of players with two or more WSL appearances, only Lauren James (10.80) is averaging more points per match than Lauren Hemp (10.67). London City Lionesses (A) may prove to be one of Man City’s hardest fixtures this season, given the opposition’s form. Hemp is still one of the best wingers in the world and can cause any defence a problem.
Elisabeth Terland (Manchester United) £7.0m
At £7.0m, Terland is the cheapest of my forward picks this week. It’s a good time to invest in the front line. The Norwegian scored her second WSL goal of the season when she got the equaliser in last week’s Manchester derby and she has a favourable run ahead. After Everton (A) on Saturday, her MW9 and MW10 fixtures are Villa (A) and Palace (H), so Terland is a good pick to keep for a few weeks.
Alessia Russo (Arsenal) £11.5m
Despite being the second-most expensive player in the game, Russo has not been a lucrative points scorer this season. That may be changing. She registered two goal involvements against Spurs last weekend and scored a hat-trick in the UWCL against Benfica on Wednesday night. This will all be music to the ears of the 47% of managers who have her in their team.
Bunny Shaw (Manchester City) £12.5m
Shaw is the top-scoring forward by some distance, even more so if you ignore the WSL2 players who have no fixture in MW8. She has 24 points more than any other forward, has featured in all seven matches and is averaging 9.0 points per match. All are reasons to pick the Jamaican, as if you needed convincing.
The Bench
Hannah Hampton (Chelsea) £5.5m
For our Sunday GK, I’ve gone for Hampton. She looks nailed on to start and I expect Chelsea to keep a clean sheet. Charlton are unlikely to pose much threat, so I’m not expecting many points for saves or defensive actions. If Tullis-Joyce gets a good haul on Saturday, we can leave Hampton on the bench. If not, she’s one hell of a backup.
Keira Walsh (Chelsea) £5.5m
Tripling up on Chelsea is sensible given their trip to Charlton, but we could see some players rested, as Man City did a few weeks ago. That makes secure starters especially important. Walsh played just over half an hour on Wednesday night so we know she’s fit enough to play. I’m expecting Bompastor to start her on Sunday.
Gabby George (Brighton) £4.0m
George was rotated out of the starting line-up in Brighton’s 3-0 win at home to West Ham last weekend, but she featured in the midweek 6-0 win away at Wolves in the Subway Players Cup. At £4.0m, she frees up some budget for premiums and is still a good backup to bring into the XI on Sunday morning if we need to.
Daniëlle van de Donk (London City Lionesses) £4.5m
Given the other picks this week, there wasn’t much left in the budget for our final midfielder. That’s where van de Donk comes in. She has been one of the best-value picks in the WSL this season, averaging 7.0 points per match for just £4.5m. A difficult home fixture against Man City puts her last on our bench, but she is still the best fall-back option at this price point, in my opinion.
Captaincy choices
Saturday’s game leaves us with a decision between Medina and Terland for captaincy. I’m going with Terland because she was rested in midweek. If she is not named in United’s XI, Medina will get the armband.
If Saturday’s captain gets at least six points, they’ll keep the captaincy. If not, we’ll move it. Russo gets my armband on Sunday if she starts for Arsenal. If she doesn’t, it goes to Bunny Shaw.
Set-and-forget
If you haven’t got the time to make changes to your team on Sunday morning, then get the armband on Russo from the outset. In terms of your bench, set it in this order: Tullis-Joyce, Williamson, George, van de Donk.
Differentials
These are the players that can give you the edge; the ones that most people have not noticed. Here are my top picks per position, with a maximum of 5% ownership:
GK: 3% - Lize Kop (Spurs)
Defender: 2% - Caitlin Hayes (Brighton)
Midfielder: 2% - Julia Zigiotti Olme (Manchester United)
Forward: 4% - Beata Olsson (Liverpool)
This matchweek, there are a lot of relatively kind fixtures for some of the top-scoring players. That makes the differentials a little more left-field than usual. However, all four are great picks this week and likely to return points. I’d expect these players to get 15-20 points between them.
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