FPL best forward picks: Who is the perfect Haaland replacement?

Who should be your striking selection this week? We’ve looked at the numbers ahead of Gameweek 8. 

Using our new FPL rating system — Squawka Score — we are providing you with our top recommendations for selection heading into Gameweek 8.

What is Squawka Score? You can learn more about how we devised our fantasy football ranking system here.

Best FPL forwards
Top forward pick for Gameweek 8
Best cheap forwards for Gameweek 8
Best forwards with easy fixtures

Plenty of striking options available

Here are the top 10 Premier League forwards based on their FPL Squawka Score from the 2023 calendar year.

Who is the perfect Haaland replacement?

In our Differential Duel feature, we look for a player who scores well on our system but is not being selected by most FPL managers.

We will then pit that player against a comparable asset who is being widely selected and it’s on you to make the all-important final decision.

Ahead of Gameweek 8, we’ll take a look at if you could benefit from moving away from Erling Haaland (91.1%)

Haaland has always been a mainstay in the vast majority of FPL teams, but could this be the time to cash in and use your money elsewhere?

We think we may have identified a different striking option that could give you a big saving without compromising too much in quality.

Ollie Watkins (24.8%) had a fantastic weekend last time out, hitting a hat trick and Aston Villa have some more favourable fixtures coming up, something that could swing you towards bringing in the England striker.

A huge 6.1m saving is one the more obvious plus points but there are some underlying stats that also indicate that the gulf isn’t too large. Watkins have outscored Haaland, in terms of FPL points so far this season, and, whilst he hasn’t found the net more than the Norwegian, he’s created more and been more accurate in his passing.

Watkins might not score at the same rate but could his creativity match Haaland over the next few weeks.

Here’s how their per 90 stats from 2022/23 compare on our Comparison Matrix. 

Carlton Morris the man to turn to

We have run the numbers from 2023 through our Squawka Score super computer to find some budget forwards ahead of Gameweek 6.

Here are our recommendations.

The best 5.5 picks for 23/24 FPL

1. Joao Pedro, Brighton (71%)
2. Odsonne Edouard, Crystal Palace (62%)
3. Eddie Nketiah, Arsenal (42%)

The best 6.0 picks for 23/24 FPL

1. Carlton Morris, Luton (49%)
2. Evan Ferguson, Brighton (46%)
3. Yoane Wissa, Brentford (42%)

Watkins the key man this week

You more than likely have a pretty good idea of who you want leading your line this weekend, but we have one more factor for you to take into consideration.

Combining the numbers on the FPL’s official Fixture Difficulty Rating (FDR) with our Squawka Score system, we have determined below the best forwards to pick from each club with what is considered an ‘easy’ match this Gameweek.

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