Best FPL players for Gameweek 8: Top 5 best midfielders | OneFootball

Who are the best FPL midfielders for Gameweek 8?

Four-time top 1k and six-time top 5k finisher Abdul Rehman uses the Hub's Opta, Prediction, Comparison and Fixture tools to identify the best Fantasy Premier League midfielders for Gameweek 8.

Don’t forget to check out our Ultimate FPL Gameweek 8 Guide, which has everything you need to make the best decisions ahead of the deadline.

Other articles in this series:

Best Forwards for FPL Gameweek 8

Best FPL midfielders for Gameweek 8

Son Heung-min (£11.7m) – Spurs

Fixture: Leicester City (H)

The South Korean hasn’t had the best start to the season at all, with only one assist to his name in his first six games.

Looking at his underlying numbers though, he has been unfortunate.

He has 15 shots in the box with an expected goals (xG) of 1.95 and also created 13 chances with an expected assists (xA) of 0.95.

He is a proven FPL asset and looking at his attacking returns over the years and his stats tells us he will come good again sooner rather than later.

Spurs have a good fixture in Gameweek 8 as they take on struggling Leicester City. The Foxes have conceded 16 goals (19th) with an expected goals conceded (xGC) of 11.1 (16th).

Antonio Conte’s men have been good going forward this season scoring 12 goals (fourth) with an xG of 11.4 (sixth).

It’s only a matter of time before Son starts scoring points again and he has a really good fixture to get back on track.

He has both goal and assist threat and with him also being on set-pieces, is capable of big hauls - as we have seen in the past.

Our Points Prediction Tool ranks him as the highest-scoring player overall (7.3 points) for Gameweek 8.

Gabriel Martinelli (£6.5m) – Arsenal

Fixture: Brentford (a)

Martinelli has three goals and one assist so far and is a great value option.

He has registered an xG of 2.77 and an xA of 2.26, which is the highest among his team after Gabriel Jesus (£8.1m).

Furthermore, his spot in the team looks secure at the moment as a result of his performances and with Emile Smith-Rowe (£5.7m) out injured.

The Brazilian’s underlying numbers are fantastic, especially at his price, and he is probably the best budget option in the game.

Arsenal have a decent fixture in Gameweek 8 as they take on Brentford. They have conceded nine goals (16th) with an xGC of 10.3 (12th) so the Gunners will fancy their chances here.

Mikel Arteta's men have scored 14 goals (third) with an xG of 12.78 (third) and are one of the best attacking teams in the league.

Our also has him as the fifth-highest scoring midfielder (5.0 points) for Gameweek 8.

Kevin De Bruyne (£12.2m) – Manchester City

Fixture: Wolves (a)

De Bruyne has had a decent start to the season with one goal and four assists.

He has an xG of 1.79 and has created 21 chances, with an xA of 3.66 (first).

The Belgian should also be good for minutes this week with an international break after this Gameweek.

Manchester City play Wolves in Gameweek 8 who have been good defensively. They have only conceded four goals (first) with an xGC of 7.3 (sixth).

However, City have scored 20 goals (first) already with an xG of 15.84 (first) and are also the favourites to score 2.5+ goals (45%) according to the bookmakers.

Their attackers are just too good and their players will be among the best captain options this week.

De Bruyne is always going to be involved in a fair share of Man City’s goals, whether it be goals or assists.

He has the highest xA this season so far and I don’t see this changing come the end of the season.

Our has him as the second-highest scoring midfielder (6.3 points) for Gameweek 8.

Jarrod Bowen (£8.1m) – West Ham United

Fixture: Everton (a)

Bowen had an incredible season last term, returning 12 goals and 17 assists.

He was one of the best-value players in the game but has struggled this season.

He hasn’t registered any attacking returns at all thus far.

He is nailed to start and was the talisman for West Ham United.

A part of the reason for his and West Ham's poor form has no doubt been their tough fixtures. They have played Manchester City, Brighton, Spurs and Chelsea in their first six.

The Hammers fixtures pick up considerably now starting with a game against Everton who have been poor also.

Bowen is bound to come good soon and his stats have been decent, with an xG of 0.67 and an xA of 0.41. He may also now be the first-choice penalty taker.

Our ranks him as the third highest predicted scoring midfielder (6.1 points) for Gameweek 8.

Leon Bailey (£4.7m) – Aston Villa

Fixture: Southampton (H)

Bailey has one goal and one assist this season, with an xG of 0.39 and an xA of 1.03 in only four starts.

He has played 90 minutes in the last two, playing as almost a forward, and with his goal against Manchester City last gameweek I think he will start again.

Aston Villa have a good fixture against Southampton in Gameweek 8. Saints have conceded 10 goals (17th) with an xGC of 8.7 (ninth).

The Villans haven't been the best going forward this season, only scoring five goals so far, but they do have a good opportunity to add to that tally.

Judging by his performances and average position maps in the last two games, Bailey looks the most likely to get attacking returns for Steven Gerrard's team.

He has been their best player and despite only starting four games, still has the second-highest expected goal involvement (xGI) in the Villa team, at 1.4.

According to our Points Prediction Tool he has a 53% chance to return anytime.

Hub Power Rankings

To conclude, I will rank these Gameweek 8 midfielders in accordance with our Power Rankings for Hub members.

Best FPL midfielders for Gameweek 8