Whilst West Ham United’s FA Cup hopes were brought to an end at Southampton this week, a 1-0 win over Wolverhampton Wanderers kept them firmly in the upper echelons of the Premier League.
And, with that result, came plenty of Fantasy Premier League points to boot!
Here are your weekly dose of FPL headlines ahead of a trip to face Liverpool at Anfield on Saturday evening…
Happy birthday, Tomáš Souček!
The Czech Republic midfielder picked up his second ‘Kings of the Gameweek’ inclusion on Sunday, with his close-range second-half goal bolstered by all the bonus points in the 1-0 victory!
Falling on Souček’s 27th birthday, the No28 was back to his influential best in the narrow win, finishing as one of the top-scoring Premier League midfielders in the fixture round.
The Hammers have previously seen 12 other players finish as one of the top scorers in their respective positions in an FPL Gameweek; Michail Antonio and Jarrod Bowen lead the way on four inclusions apiece.
Bowen gets creative on the road
We’ve written at length about Bowen’s FPL exploits so far this season – but the numbers continue to prove impressive!
While the forward didn’t manage to register a goal involvement against Wolves – just his third ‘blank’ in his last ten Premier League games, a period in which he has scored or assisted eleven times – he still came close on several occasions.
And as the Irons chart their course for Anfield on Saturday, Jürgen Klopp’s Liverpool team should note that Bowen has been particularly creative on the road in recent weeks.
Indeed, the second top-scoring midfielder in FPL (and third overall on 152 points), has one goal and five assists in his last four away matches, totalling 34 points.
Opposition report
The only two players ahead of Bowen in the FPL points tables both play for Saturday’s opposition, Liverpool – and you can probably guess who they are.
Mohamed Salah’s (£13.2m) glittering season goes on, with the Egyptian registering an almighty 209-point total at this stage.
Salah might fancy his chances of bettering his own record of 303 points in a single season (2017/18), given that he has already scored 19 goals and assisted a further eleven in FPL terms, particularly impressive when considering his recent absence at the Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON).
Second to him in the standings is full-back Trent-Alexander Arnold (£8.5m), but the England international is still some way behind Salah, having registered 162 points so far this season.
With three further players in the Premier League’s top ten at this stage – Virgil van Dijk (£6.7m, 130 points), Sadio Mané (£11.7m, 126 points) and Diogo Jota (£8.3m, 126 points) – the Hammers will be aware of the depth of talent Liverpool’s squad contains.
And the winner is…
In case you hadn’t heard, we’ve been inviting Claret and Blue supporters who enjoy a spot of casual FPL to take part in our own mini-league, where the top-scoring players each month could are in with a chance of winning West Ham-themed rewards.
And with February now out of the way, we’re delighted to reveal the monthly winner to be… Daniel Galvin, who scored 386 points over the month with his ingeniously-named side, CoufalWhatYouWishFor!
You’re the winner of a first-team shirt – either home, away or third – signed by a player of your choice. We’ll be in touch!
If you’d like to throw your hat into the ring, all you’ll need is our league code: nlz9u2
