Fantasy Football: Best Saka replacements

The Premier League is about to enter a very busy period, with there being three game weeks in the space of nine days.

Such a run of matches is likely to cause big swings in the Insurance Times table, given managers usually resort to rotating their players.

So, there is no doubt that Fantasy Football team choices are going to be key. But who heads into this busy period with a points advantage?

It’s Hiscox’s Bernardo Gomes who leads the way in the Insurance Times league, with him having secured 1,173 points so far.

Insurance Times news editor James Cowen sits in second place with 1,145 points, while Ollie McGrath is in third with 1,143 points.

Meanwhile, there are plenty of managers knocking on the door of the top 10, with the gap between 10^th and 20^th just being 11 points.

Saka injury 

Therefore, as stated earlier, team choices are going to be key. And right now there is one big talking point, that being the injury to Arsenal’s Bukayo Saka.

Saka was forced off early during Saturday’s match against Crystal Palace due to picking up a hamstring injury.

In an update, Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta said that Saka was set to be unavailable for many weeks.

Arteta was quoted by Arsenal.com as saying: “It’s not looking good.

“Obviously he’s a big player for us. You just have to see the impact that he has on the team, but it’s going to be a really good exercise for all of us to think about ways to overcome another challenge, because we’ve already had a lot in the season.”

Replacements

So, who are the best Saka replacements? Firstly, the two most obvious choices are Chelsea’s Cole Palmer or Liverpool’s Mo Salah if you do not own them already, with both being top captaincy choices.

But who else is there? Well one option could be to try and use the funds from Saka to make a move for Manchester City’s Erling Haaland.

Manchester City have struggled over the last few weeks and Haaland has been getting barely any goals, but the next few fixtures against 15^th placed Everton and 17^th placed Leicester could present an opportunity for Haaland to get back to scoring ways.

Should you wish to go down this route, it would require a double transfer as Saka is classed as a midfielder in Fantasy Football, while Haaland is a forward.

If you want to make one like-for-like transfer, however, expensive midfield options include Manchester United’s Bruno Fernandes and Tottenham’s Son Heung-min.

Cheaper options include Tottenham’s James Maddison, who has a total of 13 goal involvements this season, as well as Liverpool’s Luis Diaz, who has also reached double-figures for goal involvements.