While Premier League form is the main interest of Fantasy Premier League managers, cup form can hint at players who may be going under the radar.
By considering how players are faring in competitions such as the Champions League and the League Cup then, a manager may spot a player whose form could be sufficient to warrant a starting berth in the PL.
Identifying that player a week before anyone else could be the difference between first and second in your mini-league – so who is turning heads away from the division?
Marcus Rashford tops the charts for hypothetical FPL points earned from attacking contributions in cup games, with four Champions League goals and one League Cup goal.
From his midfield position, that’s 25 points the Englishman would have amassed from just 149 minutes of play.
Rashford has notched two goals and two assists in five PL games, but his cup performances suggest he could provide consistency through the season.
On top of that his Threat scores according to the FPL’s own metric are the eighth best of 237 midfielders, suggesting he is good value for his goals so far.
Kai Havertz is another player who has earned plenty of PL minutes, but has secured his most encouraging returns in the cups with three goals in the League Cup and an assist in the Champions League.
Like Rashford, the Chelsea man has far from flopped in the league, but his numbers in the cups suggest there is more to come from the signing, with Burnley, Sheffield United and Newcastle up next.
Analysing cup form can also hint at players who aren’t getting Premier League minutes right now, but could be on the verge of playing themselves into the starting XI.
Two West Ham players who will be hoping to do just that are Andriy Yarmolenko and Sebastien Haller.
Between them the pair have notched six goals and four assists in the League Cup so far, having been limited in their PL game time.
While Yarmolenko currently sits behind a number of his midfield colleagues in the queue, Haller is currently the only fit striker on the Hammers’ roster according to the FPL – is his chance around the corner?
Last but not least, Manchester City’s 20-year-old new boy Ferran Torres has registered one FPL assist already – combined with his cup form, he could be closer to a starting spot given City’s faltering form in the league.
With three goals and one assist in the cups, at £6.9m and 0.8% ownership, the Spaniard would be a steal if he managed to carry that form into the Premier League.
