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Making case for keeping Darwin Nunez in your FPL team

Making case for keeping Darwin Nunez in your FPL team

Liverpool assets have been a frustrating pick throughout this season in the FPL. Salah and Trent-Alexander Arnold, two must-haves of the seasons gone by, have been disappointing this season.

Trent has a lowly 15th rank among all defenders based on points, while Salah’s rank, while 2nd now, has only very recently improved after a poor start to the season.

No Kop player features in the top 5 FPL players thus far, with Haaland leading the way, followed by Kane, Trippier, Almiron and Toney, all at or above 100 points.

This situation was certainly not expected at the start of the season, especially with the high-profile incoming in the form of Darwin Nunez.

Bought for a whopping £64 million from Benfica, the Uruguayan was expected to deliver week in and week out and replace the outgoing Sadio Mane. Unfortunately, that has not happened.

Nunez has only scored 5 goals so far this season, and only 2 in the last five games, with both of them coming in the same game against the Saints.

He also has three assists to go with the goals, making his overall FPL point haul equal to 51 points. At a price of £9M, the returns are certainly sub-par, especially when you compare them with another new striker this season, Erling Haaland, who has 136 points.

It is not for a lack of trying though. Just take the game against Leicester as an example.

The 23-year-old striker had 7 shots, and an xG of 0.66, but could not end up on the scoresheet. He did hit the post, however, which directly resulted in Faes scoring an own goal. But that shot aside, he missed two other clear-cut chances that a player of his price tag, both real and fantasy, should be converting.

In the game before that, against Aston Villa, Nunez has an xG of 1.16 but no goals.

Darwin Nunez and big chances.

So we know for a fact that the player is getting into the right positions but is failing to convert. Maybe it is just a matter of time before these shots start to go in. And that is something Klopp would be hoping for. Because, well, the money has already been spent.

But can fantasy managers afford to wait for such time when the player starts finding the net? After all, there are cheaper players available in Mitrovic, Toney and others who are scoring and it can be very frustrating to watch rival teams get points off players while ours struggle.

Just the amount of scoring opportunities Nunez is getting is enough to get the managers’ hearts racing.

But it is the same reason why Twitter is pro-Nunez when it comes to FPL.

https://twitter.com/Linn_FPL/status/1608947800901058560

Getting chances to score is indeed a very clear indication that the player is a good asset. With Salah finding his scoring touch, assists will also flow.

It is a game of patience and from experience, not a lot of us are adept at it. With double-game weeks coming for Havertz, Mitrovic and others, it would be interesting to see who decides to stick and who decides to twist.

Our recommendation would be to keep Nunez and ride out the poor phase.

But it’s football, and there are no guarantees, so best of luck with whichever way you decide to go. One thing is certain, you will be disappointed and frustrated. It’s FPL after all. Our favourite stress machine.