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            <p>Fantasy Football Hub's resident captaincy expert <a href="https://twitter.com/ChrisTanFPL">Chris Tan</a> takes a close look at the Gameweek 8 fixtures to give Fantasy Premier League (FPL) managers an edge over their mini-league rivals.</p>
<p>This in-depth look at the matches ahead, complete with a handy shortlist of players to target, is available exclusively to Hub members.</p>
<p>Chris's verdict on the best <a href="https://www.fantasyfootballhub.co.uk/the-best-fpl-captain">Gameweek 8 captaincy options</a> and punts will be available later this week.</p>
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<h2>Chris Tan's fixture analysis: Gameweek 8</h2>
<p>Welcome back from International break! Gameweek 7 is a distant memory but let's recap on our successes.</p>
<p>We called that <strong>Brennan Johnson (£6.4m)</strong><strong> </strong>would have a good match-up and the analysis was enough to convince me to hit him into my own team.</p>
<p>We highlighted that <strong>Bukayo Saka (£10.1m)</strong> and <strong>Kai Havertz (£8.2m)</strong><strong> </strong>could exploit Southampton's positional weaknesses and I'm annoyed I didn't give Saka the captain's armband.</p>
<p>Lastly, we identified both <strong>Bryan Mbeumo (£7.4m)</strong> and <strong>Matheus Cunha (£6.5m)</strong> were likely to return.</p>
<p>Read on if you'd like to maximise your chances of doing well this week.</p>
<h2><strong>FPL Gameweek 8: Fixtures</strong></h2>
<div id="attachment_67585" style="width: 600px" class="wp-caption aligncenter"><img aria-describedby="caption-attachment-67585" class="size-full wp-image-67585" src="https://cms.fantasyfootballhub.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/FPL-Gameweek-8-Fixture-Analysis-fixtures.png" alt="" width="590" height="931" /></p>
<p id="caption-attachment-67585" class="wp-caption-text">FPL Gameweek 8 fixtures</p>
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<h2><strong>FPL Gameweek 8: Clean sheet and goalscoring odds</strong></h2>
<p>City, Arsenal and Spurs look the best bets for goals this week. Please note, these were captured last week.</p>
<div id="attachment_67590" style="width: 1610px" class="wp-caption aligncenter"><img aria-describedby="caption-attachment-67590" class="size-full wp-image-67590" src="https://cms.fantasyfootballhub.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/FPL-Gameweek-8-Fixture-Analysis-team-odds.jpg" alt="" width="1600" height="1300" /></p>
<p id="caption-attachment-67590" class="wp-caption-text">FPL Gameweek 8 team odds</p>
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<h2><strong>Team attacking stats sorted by total expected goals (xG)</strong></h2>
<p>The Spurs attack is thriving now they’ve nailed down which players fit the system best. The top four are flying, with Liverpool on a bit of a decline.</p>
<div id="attachment_67588" style="width: 1203px" class="wp-caption aligncenter"><img aria-describedby="caption-attachment-67588" class="size-full wp-image-67588" src="https://cms.fantasyfootballhub.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/FPL-Gameweek-8-Fixture-Analysis-team-attacking-stats-sorted-by-xG.png" alt="" width="1193" height="1030" /></p>
<p id="caption-attachment-67588" class="wp-caption-text">Team attacking stats (sorted by xG)</p>
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<h2><strong>Team defensive stats sorted by total expected goals conceded (xGC)</strong></h2>
<p>The promoted sides remain the ones to target, alongside Brentford, Manchester United and Wolves.</p>
<p>The bottom three have strong defensive stats.</p>
<div id="attachment_67589" style="width: 2048px" class="wp-caption aligncenter"><img aria-describedby="caption-attachment-67589" class="size-full wp-image-67589" src="https://cms.fantasyfootballhub.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/FPL-Gameweek-8-Fixture-Analysis-team-defensive-stats-sorted-by-xGC.png" alt="" width="2038" height="1025" /></p>
<p id="caption-attachment-67589" class="wp-caption-text">Team defensive stats (sorted by xGC)</p>
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<h2><strong>Individual player stats sorted by expected points (xPts)</strong></h2>
<p><strong>Erling Haaland (£15.4m)</strong> is still dominant and clearly the talisman for Manchester City.</p>
<div id="attachment_67586" style="width: 2043px" class="wp-caption aligncenter"><img aria-describedby="caption-attachment-67586" class="size-full wp-image-67586" src="https://cms.fantasyfootballhub.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/FPL-Gameweek-8-Fixture-Analysis-individual-player-stats-sorted-by-xPts.png" alt="" width="2033" height="1030" /></p>
<p id="caption-attachment-67586" class="wp-caption-text">Individual player stats (sorted by xPts)</p>
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<h2><strong>FPL Gameweek 8 fixtures analysed</strong></h2>
<h3>Spurs v West Ham</h3>
<p>Spurs had it all sewn up against Brighton, taking a 0-2 lead and cruising into the international break.</p>
<p>Then, they did a Spurs. They conceded a goal due to a mistake then completely lost their heads.</p>
<p>What was worrying as a <strong>Dominic Solanke (£7.6m)</strong> owner was the total lack of service to him in the second half.</p>
<p>West Ham had a dream start against Ipswich but they quickly equalised and it looked like it could be another disappointing result to pile the pressure on Julen Lopetegui.</p>
<p>But the Hammers came back strong and dominated, resulting in a convincing victory. Are they back?</p>
<p>Games between the London rivals tend to be quite close. Last season, West Ham beat Spurs 1-2 away and it was 1-1 at home. <strong>Brennan Johnson (£6.4m)</strong> scored in the draw.</p>
<div id="attachment_67577" style="width: 907px" class="wp-caption aligncenter"><img aria-describedby="caption-attachment-67577" class="size-full wp-image-67577" src="https://cms.fantasyfootballhub.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/Johnson-stats-2.jpg" alt="Brennan Johnson's stats" width="897" height="731" /></p>
<p id="caption-attachment-67577" class="wp-caption-text">Brennan Johnson's stats</p>
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<p><strong>Additional factors to consider</strong></p>
<p>Spurs have the best attacking stats in the league and create a lot of big chances. They’re slightly under their xG, which indicates there could be more to come.</p>
<p>West Ham’s defensive stats aren’t terrible but their average xGC and goals conceded suggest they’re likely to concede 1.58/1.50 goals per game respectively. They allow a high volume of shots in the box, which are generally higher xG chances.</p>
<p>They’ve tightened up in terms of defending set-pieces and crosses recently and their main weakness appears to be shots conceded from wide areas.</p>
<p>Johnson is averaging the most shots in the box for Spurs, followed by Solanke, and he will also benefit from the opposition weakness on their flanks.</p>
<p>Goal involvement is quite spread for Spurs but you would expect the above two to be involved in some of the returns.</p>
<p><strong>Outcome</strong></p>
<p>The stats suggest Spurs will score as their attack is very strong and the Hammers have poor defensive stats. I’m not convinced Spurs will shut them out though and feel a 2-1 scoreline could be on the cards. The odds agree.</p>
<div id="attachment_67650" style="width: 907px" class="wp-caption aligncenter"><img aria-describedby="caption-attachment-67650" class="size-full wp-image-67650" src="https://cms.fantasyfootballhub.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/Solanke-stats-5.jpg" alt="Dominic Solanke" width="897" height="731" /></p>
<p id="caption-attachment-67650" class="wp-caption-text">Dominic Solanke</p>
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<p>&nbsp;</p>
<h3>Fulham v Aston Villa</h3>
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