FPL: Top 4 overlooked picks for the upcoming fixture swing

Honestly, I didn’t see fixture swings in Gameweek 6 particularly crucial or exciting. But now I’m buzzing. For me, GW12, which comes right after the upcoming international break, is this season's first major fixture swing period.

It’s an opportunity to bring fresh players whose teams experienced tough opening fixtures. Some of them were even injured or had their xMins questionable.

This time, I won’t discuss the most obvious picks from teams like Arsenal and Chelsea or pricier options from other sides. The focus will be on budget options with sub-10% ownership.

Let’s do this.

Lewis Hall (£4.3m, 2.6% TSB)

It was a confusing situation during pre-season. Nick Pope was set to return from a lengthy injury spell, and the opening fixtures looked good, so targeting one of their defenders seemed sensible.

The question was: Who will draw the short straw? Kieran Trippier? Tino Livramento? Lewis Hall? Or even Dan Burn? Now we know for sure—Hall and Livramento are preferred as fullbacks.

So, here's another question: Are any of them viable options for our FPL teams? The answer is straightforward:

While data show Tino Livramento is a defensive beast who vastly improves Newcastle’s backline, Lewis Hall generates the final product.

Only three other players with more than 450 minutes played (Trent Alexander-Arnold, Leif Davis, and Lucas Digne) are averaging higher expected assists per game. Hall is on 0.23 per 90 minutes, so about 2 in total. He’s also third for key passes per90.

The good thing is that these are not only from the open play, but he also takes many set pieces (he shares them with Gordon). Plus, Nick Pope is once again amazing, and the defence has been improving lately. What’s not to love?