Zophar, who has finished in the top 10,000 eight times, hosts his usual weekly FPL Q&A session ahead of game week 6.

Topics include whether Ollie Watkins (£9.0m) is worth the extra money over mid-priced strikers, whether Luis Diaz (£7.9m) should be brought in as a replacement for Mohamed Salah (£12.8m), the risk Rico Lewis (£4.7m) poses and whether wildcard users should pre-book future transfers.

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Q: With Rodri (£6.4m) out for a while, is it worth going for the wildcard Rico Lewis?

(via shrikumbhar19)

A: There is a very limited sample size when Manchester City are without Rodri as the Spanish international has been such a key pillar in Pep Guardiola’s lineups. If you look at the first few weeks of this season, Mateo Kovacic (£5.5m) got more playing time and Lewis also moved from his full-back position to midfield.

The Croatian has been great when he has been called into action, but he is not the right player in midfield against teams like Wolverhampton Wanderers, who are likely to play deep.

Against the “easier” teams, I expect Lewis to be in the starting eleven – especially given the poor Kyle Walker (£5.3m) against Arsenal. However, there is always the risk of rotation in Guardiola’s back line, so having a good defensive alternative is important.

For example, Brentford’s cheap defenders can rotate well with one from Ipswich Town or Nottingham Forest. It’s a similar story with Ipswich and Everton. If you get one of them, I think Lewis is worth the money as he can hit back at both ends.

Q: Would you wildcard Ollie Watkins or opt for cheaper strikers like Dominic Calvert-Lewin (£6.0m), Chris Wood (£6.1m) and Jamie Vardy (£5.7m) to spread funds around the midfield?

(via NZ REDS)

A: That is a question I am also wrestling with. I think with the Joao Pedro (£5.6 million) injury and our general distrust of Danny WelbeckGiven the fitness of (£5.8m), there are currently only two cheap strikers you can invest in: Wood and Calvert-Lewin. The underlying numbers have been poor for Vardy.

Even though Everton’s attacking prowess has been poor, they are now getting many of their core players back and, coupled with news of a takeover, I think the club is on the verge of a bit of a revival. However, I am concerned about Calvert-Lewin’s fitness and finishing ability.

I think I would be happy with a budget striker and would prefer Calvert-Lewin because of his playing schedule. It is a close call though – Forest are riding a wave and Taiwo Awoniyi (£5.7m) doesn’t seem to be anywhere near displacing Wood.

When I look at the other strikers, I think Watkins is one step ahead of both of them. Nicholas Jackson (£7.7 million) and Dominic Solanke (£7.5 million). He was given the same ten big chances as Erling Haaland (£15.3m), with the immediate game against Ipswich offering great winning potential.

It’s a lot of money though. Haaland and Watkins alone are almost 25% of your budget and I have some concerns about how Aston Villa will cope with midweek Champions League games. In order I’d say Watkins, Solanke and then Jackson.

Q: Given these early successes, should we take Jackson seriously?

(about BECOMING WEAK INTO HEROES)

A: The Chelsea player is actually a good centre-forward in terms of his contributions to the team and his runs. His combination work was good even under Mauricio Pochettino, it was just the final decision-making that let him down. So far he has improved significantly and time will tell if his electrifying start is a lucky streak or a player simply getting better in his second Premier League season.

The Blues are second in goals scored but have significantly exceeded their expected goals (xG). It seems like their attack is working and creating chances, so Jackson always gets the nod.

The question comes back to the season and I think the fact that Christopher Nkunku (£6.1m) was on the bench despite coming on as a substitute to score the winning goal against Bournemouth says a lot about Enzo Maresca’s pecking order in attack.

Jackson can lose that place, but as we saw against West Ham, he was substituted in the 60th minute despite attempting a hat-trick. Maresca even mentioned after the midweek EFL Cup game that players like Nkunku deserved to be in the starting line-up.

That puts me off Jackson a little, but not enough to overlook him completely. Finding an in-form player is an essential part of FPL and I think yes, we should take him seriously.

Q: If I have a wildcard with two free transfers to transfer, is it advisable to book future transfers?

I want to start with Jackson and Antoine Semenyo (£5.6m) and then move on to Solanke and Emile Smith Rowe (£5.8m) by Gameweek 8. The match selection for Mohamed Salah and Joao Pedro was poor in Gameweeks 4 and 5.

(via SHULTAN)

A: Normally I would say if you don’t have any transfers coming up, don’t book more than one of them in the next two weeks. For example, I’ve seen teams with Jackson and Luis Diaz both looking to sell after Gameweek 7. That seems a bit risky if you don’t have any extra transfers in stock – something always comes up and then you’re suddenly behind and taking a loss.

Although you can afford that luxury with two of them. I also expect Jackson to score four more points than Solanke in these two game weeks.

Q: Can Diaz cover Salah for almost £5m less?

(via FPL VIRGIN)

A: As mentioned in previous articles, you cannot “cover” an elite FPL player like Salah or Cole Palmer (£10.6m). They have too many additional ways to score points, such as set pieces, penalties and – in Salah’s case at least – guaranteed playing time. So if we assume Diaz gets 70 minutes, over four games we’re talking 280 for him and 380 for Salah (including injury time).

Instead we ask, is Diaz a good FPL player worth £7.9m?

Based on last season, probably not. But this is a new coach and players often use such changes as an opportunity to improve their game and establish themselves.

I think this is the case under Arne Slot as Diaz has a lot more freedom to move inside and shoot, which suits his natural game.

However, this is a small sample and we know that Cody Gakpo (£7.2m) is coming. Once Diaz has a few misses, we’re likely to see the Dutch international on the left wing. At the moment, I think it’s a worthwhile gamble. Should it not work out, he’s an easy sell given the number of good options in this price bracket.

We discuss these and other questions in a two-hour episode of FPL Wire. You can read it here: