Fantasy Voetball Gameweek 8: captain picks, best buys

Fantasy Voetball Gameweek 8 preview: best buys, differentials and who to sell

Fantasy Voetball Gameweek 8 is the first Eredivisie round after almost three weeks off, and the transfer you make before Friday's opener in Eindhoven buys into a run, not a weekend. PSV open the best three-round program in the game by a distance, Ajax and Twente follow with the most expected clean sheets, and AZ start with the week to get through rather than the week to buy for. Below: the programs worth owning, the best buys per position, the captain plan, the differentials and who to sell. Every number comes from our model, and the full table lives on the Fantasy Voetball player picks page.

Catch up on last round's calls in the Fantasy Voetball Gameweek 7 preview.

Gameweek 8 programs: whose next three rounds are worth owning

PSV's [H]HEE → [A]HAA → [H]FEY is the best run anyone has, at 8.75 expected goals over the three, more than two goals clear of the next team. Heerenveen at home is the biggest scoring fixture of the round (72% win probability, 3.09 expected goals) and the trip to ADO Den Haag in Gameweek 9 is kinder still (80%, 3.34, a 34% clean sheet chance). Feyenoord at home in Gameweek 10 is the game to plan around, not a reason to wait, and Willem II visit in Gameweek 11 at an 86% win probability. PSV also have the best attack in the league so far at 2.83 expected goals per game, so this is a program to fill all three PSV slots for, not one.

Ajax ([H]NEC → [A]GRO → [A]SPA) are second on attack over the window at 6.67 expected goals and carry the most expected clean sheets of anyone, 0.84 from three games. Twente's [A]SIT → [H]UTR → [A]AZ is right behind on both counts (6.31 and 0.83), but it front-loads the good weeks: 67% at Fortuna Sittard, 67% at home to Utrecht, then 29% at AZ. Twente have allowed the fewest expected goals in the league, 0.68 per game, so their two good weeks are worth buying into now. Feyenoord ([H]AZ → [A]TEL → [A]PSV) are close on attack at 6.25, but the PSV trip in Gameweek 10 is a real dip (24%).

Go Ahead Eagles are the quiet one: [H]SPA → [A]ZWO → [H]TEL is three playable fixtures in a row (57%, 46%, 42%) for 6.07 expected goals, and their players are cheap. NEC are the team to buy a week late: [A]AJX → [H]SIT → [H]GRO opens with the hardest away trip of the round (11% win probability), then turns into two home games at 61% and 60%. AZ are the team to be careful with. [A]FEY → [A]CAM → [H]TWE starts at Feyenoord with a 12% clean sheet chance, then Cambuur away in Gameweek 9 is one of the best fixtures of that round (74%, 35% clean sheet chance), which matters for the sell section below.

Win probability, expected goals and clean sheet are for Gameweek 8; the last two columns are totals for Gameweeks 8-10 (3-round CS is expected clean sheets out of three games). The table shows the top ten programs; all 18 Eredivisie clubs play once in each of the three rounds, so there are no blanks or doubles to plan around. The full calendar is on the Fantasy Voetball schedule, and the bookmaker numbers behind it are on the market probabilities page.

Best goalkeepers for Gameweek 8

Marc-Andre ter Stegen (5.6m, AJX) has the best three-round run of any keeper: [H]NEC → [A]GRO → [A]SPA, projecting 4.2 → 3.8 → 4.3 for 12.3 over the three. That line is flat, and that is the point: Ajax carry a 35% clean sheet chance against NEC, he is joint-top among keepers again in Gameweek 9, and he climbs back to 4.3 at Sparta. He is a pick you make once and stop thinking about, and he is in 25.0% of teams.

Ronald Koeman (4.7m, TEL) is the most-owned keeper in the game at 43.2%, and he shares the top of the position this week at 4.3 with ADO Den Haag visiting Telstar. Owners should keep him: [H]FEY → [A]GAE drop him to 3.2 in both, but he is back to 4.1 → 4.1 → 4.6 from Gameweek 11, so a keeper transfer out of him is not worth a free transfer. He is just not a buy at this point.

The value pick is Vasilios Barkas (4.9m, UTR): [H]WII → [A]TWE → [H]ZWO, projecting 4.3 → 2.7 → 4.0 for 11.0, the second-best three-round total among keepers. Twente away is the dip; Willem II and Zwolle at home either side carry clean sheet chances of 35% and 31%. The cheap, steady differential is Kjetil Haug (4.5m, GAE) on [H]SPA → [A]ZWO → [H]TEL at 3.7 → 3.5 → 3.6, owned by 3.7%. His line barely moves for six rounds, and 10.8 over three is only 0.2 behind Barkas for 0.4m less.

Best defenders for Gameweek 8

Mauro Junior (7.0m, PSV) leads every defender over the next three at 13.8, on [H]HEE → [A]HAA → [H]FEY at 4.9 → 4.9 → 4.0, and he is already in 34.4% of teams. Sergino Dest (6.9m, PSV) is the more attacking route into the same defence on the same [H]HEE → [A]HAA → [H]FEY: he out-projects Mauro Junior this week, 5.1 to 4.9, with 0.16 expected goals and 0.21 expected assists, and he finishes the three on 13.1. Both climb back to 5.3 when Willem II visit in Gameweek 11, so either is a hold well beyond this run.

Bart van Rooij (6.5m, TWE) is the third-best defender over the window at 5.0 → 4.6 → 2.9 (12.5) on [A]SIT → [H]UTR → [A]AZ, and he sits behind the league's tightest defence. The AZ trip in Gameweek 10 is where his line falls, so he is a two-week buy that you can keep if Twente's later run (5.2 at home to Willem II in Gameweek 13) suits you.

The value play is Utrecht. Arthur Zagre (4.9m, UTR) projects 5.4 → 1.8 → 4.7 over [H]WII → [A]TWE → [H]ZWO, and he is the top-projected defender of the round with the best points per million of any defender at 1.10. Twente away is a genuine dip, not a blip. Either side of it, Willem II and Zwolle are expected to score only 1.05 and 1.19 goals against Utrecht.

Here the round and the run nearly tie, and the flatter line is the safer one. Dean James (5.5m, GAE) projects 4.4 → 3.8 → 3.6 on [H]SPA → [A]ZWO → [H]TEL for 11.8, almost exactly Zagre's 11.9 with no bad week in it, and he is owned by 4.6%. If you are making one defender transfer and holding him, James is the steadier pick; if you are happy to bench in Gameweek 9, Zagre is cheaper and scores more this week.

Jeff Hardeveld (5.4m, TEL) projects 5.2 this week, second among defenders, but [H]HAA → [H]FEY → [A]GAE then drops him to 2.3 against Feyenoord, and he finishes on 11.4 over the three. He is a one-round pick that his 17.0% of owners can hold through this week. The budget alternative from the same team is Abdelnor Soualhia (4.5m, TEL), joint-second on points per million among defenders at 0.96, with 88 projected minutes, on the same [H]HAA → [H]FEY → [A]GAE (4.3 → 1.7 → 3.3). Treat him as a cheap fifth defender rather than a starter in Gameweek 9.

Best midfielders for Gameweek 8

Guus Til (11.8m, PSV) is the best player in the game over the next three: [H]HEE → [A]HAA → [H]FEY at 7.0 → 6.8 → 5.4, for 19.2. He is the top projected points-scorer of the round, with 0.60 expected goals, and his season backs it: 4 goals from 3.21 expected goals in seven games, 0.66 expected goal involvements per 90. Only 8.4% of managers own him, so he is both the premium buy and a differential.

Who is the second PSV midfielder? Ruben van Bommel (9.4m, PSV) is the popular one at 29.3% and the best value: 6.0 → 5.9 → 4.4 for 16.3 on the same program. Sven Mijnans (10.7m, PSV) is the differential version at 3.3% ownership, on [H]HEE → [A]HAA → [H]FEY at 6.2 → 5.7 → 4.3 for 16.2, and his underlying numbers are the best in the PSV midfield: 4 goals from 3.07 expected goals and 1.07 expected goal involvements per 90. The catch is that those came in only 283 minutes; the model has him at 78 minutes this week, so check the Fantasy Voetball predicted lineups before you commit. Ivan Perisic (10.0m, PSV) is on penalties and projects 6.0 this week, but his line falls to 4.6 → 3.7 for 14.3, so van Bommel gives 2.0 more over the three for 0.6m less.

The best mid-price buy is Sondre Ørjasæter (6.9m, TWE). [A]SIT → [H]UTR → [A]AZ projects 6.0 → 6.2 → 4.2 (16.4), the third-best three-round total of any player in the game, and the run keeps going: 5.1 and 5.1 in Gameweeks 11 and 12, then 5.9 against Willem II. Weighted across the next six rounds he ranks fourth among all players, behind only Til, Weghorst and Hadj Moussa. Julian Brandt (9.7m, AJX), in 27.8% of teams, out-projects him this week, 6.3 to 6.0, but Brandt falls to 5.0 at Groningen and 4.4 at Sparta and finishes the three on 15.7. That is the round and the run disagreeing, and the run wins: Sondre Ørjasæter costs 2.8m less. His 73 projected minutes are the one thing to watch.

Anis Hadj Moussa (11.0m, FEY) is the premium alternative to Til, on [H]AZ → [A]TEL → [A]PSV at 5.7 → 6.6 → 4.0 (16.3). He has 5 goals in six games and 0.71 expected goal involvements per 90, and Feyenoord's run turns again after PSV: Fortuna Sittard at home in Gameweek 11 lifts him back to 6.6. Gjivai Zechiel (8.7m, FEY), in 54.3% of teams, is a comfortable hold on the same program at 5.3 → 5.3 → 2.9, with 5 goals and 4 assists already.

The Go Ahead Eagles pick is Mathis Suray (6.9m, GAE), on penalties and on [H]SPA → [A]ZWO → [H]TEL at 5.6 → 5.0 → 4.4 (15.0). That is three decent fixtures rather than one great one, the most durable kind of buy, and at 7.4% ownership it is also a differential. The sell-again point is Gameweek 11, when [A]CAM → [A]EXC drop him to 4.1 and 3.7.

For a budget midfielder, Rafik el Arguioui (4.7m, CAM) has the best points per million in the position this week at 0.91, on [A]ZWO → [H]AZ → [A]WII at 4.3 → 3.0 → 4.2 (11.5), with 4 goals this season and 85 projected minutes. Irakli Yegoian (6.2m, EXC) is the step up: [H]GRO → [A]HEE → [A]SIT at 4.9 → 4.1 → 4.4 (13.4), with 5 assists from 2.15 expected assists this season and 84 projected minutes. The differential is Ángel Alarcon (7.3m, UTR): [H]WII → [A]TWE → [H]ZWO at 5.4 → 2.8 → 5.4 (13.6), owned by 2.4%, and his 1.87 expected goals this season have not turned into a goal yet. His 65 projected minutes make him a bench-risk pick, so he suits a squad that can absorb the Twente week.

One to plan for: Jacob Trenskow (8.5m, HEE) projects only 3.6 at PSV but 6.0 at home to Excelsior in Gameweek 9 and 5.2 at ADO Den Haag after it, so he is a buy for next week, not this one. NEC's Tjaronn Chery and Dusan Tadic follow the same pattern: 2.8 and 2.7 at Ajax, then 4.9-5.4 in the two home games.

Best forwards for Gameweek 8

Wout Weghorst (8.5m, TWE) is the best forward this week and over the next three: [A]SIT → [H]UTR → [A]AZ at 6.6 → 6.7 → 4.1, for 17.4. His 0.77 expected goals in Gameweek 8 are the most of any player in the game, and his season matches it: 4.79 expected goals in seven games, 0.83 expected goal involvements per 90. The AZ trip in Gameweek 10 is the weak one; the first two weeks are why you buy now, and he is still only in 19.5% of teams.

Victor Edvardsen (7.2m, GAE) is the mid-price pick on the Go Ahead Eagles program: [H]SPA → [A]ZWO → [H]TEL at 4.6 → 4.2 → 3.9 (12.7), with 3 goals from 2.62 expected goals and 80 projected minutes. The cheaper route into the same fixtures is Stefan Ingi Sigurdarson (5.9m, GAE) on [H]SPA → [A]ZWO → [H]TEL at 3.9 → 3.4 → 3.7 (11.0), the second-best points per million among forwards and 3 goals from 3.20 expected goals in 401 minutes. Pick two of Suray, James, Edvardsen and Sigurdarson at most if you also want Haug, because the three-per-club cap applies. Thom van Bergen (8.0m, GRO), in 36.2% of teams, is a hold rather than a buy at 4.7 → 4.4 → 3.5 on [A]EXC → [H]AJX → [A]NEC, and he is back to 5.0 in Gameweek 11.

One for next week: Milan Zonneveld (6.2m, SPA) projects only 3.2 at Go Ahead Eagles but 5.6 at home to Willem II in Gameweek 9, and he has 4.17 expected goals in 404 minutes this season. [H]AJX follows in Gameweek 10 at 3.2, so he is a one-round buy for Gameweek 9 and nothing more.

Gameweek 8 captain picks

Guus Til (11.8m, PSV) is the captain at 7.0 projected against Heerenveen, so 14.0 with the armband. He is also top again in Gameweek 9 at 6.8 at ADO Den Haag, which is the real argument for buying him: one purchase covers the armband for two weeks on [H]HEE → [A]HAA. Wout Weghorst (8.5m, TWE) is the close alternative at 6.6 → 6.7 on [A]SIT → [H]UTR, with the highest expected goals of the round, and he is the best captain outside PSV. Julian Brandt (6.3) and Sven Mijnans (6.2) are next.

Looking further ahead, Anis Hadj Moussa (6.6) is the third-best captain option in Gameweek 9, and Gameweek 10 is flatter: Mohammed Ihattaren (Fortuna Sittard's penalty taker) tops it at 5.6 at home to Excelsior, with Til and Ángel Alarcon next at 5.4. A squad with Til plus Weghorst has a strong armband in each of the next three rounds.

Who to sell before Gameweek 8

Mexx Meerdink (9.0m, AZ) is the main sale, and the form is not the reason: 5.27 expected goals this season is more than Weghorst's 4.79, and he takes AZ's penalties. His program is [A]FEY → [A]CAM → [H]TWE at 3.0 → 5.6 → 3.7 (12.3), and Cambuur away in Gameweek 9 is a genuinely good fixture. Why now: Feyenoord away is AZ's hardest game of the window (25% win probability), and it is exactly the week Weghorst's 6.6 lands. Weghorst is 0.5m cheaper and 5.1 better over the three, so the swap gains most if you make it this round rather than next. Meerdink is in 41.4% of teams, which also makes Weghorst a differential against most of them.

Ricardo Pepi (11.5m, PSV) is flagged unavailable with a return date of 17 October, the day of PSV's Gameweek 9 game. He projects 0 this week, then 3.5 → 3.4. Why now: PSV's best run starts on Friday without him, and Til costs only 0.3m more. Til gives you 19.2 over [H]HEE → [A]HAA → [H]FEY; Pepi gives you 6.9.

Toluwalase Arokodare (8.8m, AJX, 29.4% owned) is the one you can wait a round on. NEC at home is Ajax's best fixture of the window and he projects a respectable 5.0 there, with 0.52 expected goals. After it, [A]GRO → [A]SPA → [H]AZ → [A]TWE take him to 3.7 → 3.2 → 2.9 → 2.0, and his 63 projected minutes cap the upside. If you are making one forward transfer this week, Meerdink goes first; Arokodare is the sell for Gameweek 9, after he has played the NEC game.

Do not panic-sell AZ defenders into the Feyenoord game. Elijah Dijkstra (27.4% owned) projects 2.4 → 4.9 → 3.8, Mateo Chavez (31.8%) 2.1 → 4.2 → 3.1 and Wouter Goes (24.4%) 2.0 → 4.3 → 3.6 on [A]FEY → [A]CAM → [H]TWE. This week is the one bad week, Cambuur away is a 35% clean sheet chance, and a free transfer spent on a one-round dip is a free transfer not spent on Til or Weghorst.

Best Suikeroom team for Gameweek 8

Suikeroom is Fantasy Voetball's one-week chip, and our solver treats it as unlimited transfers without the usual price limit, with the three-per-club cap still in place. Built purely on Gameweek 8 projections, the best starting eleven is a 3-5-2:

• GK: Ronald Koeman (4.7m, TEL) - 4.3
• DEF: Arthur Zagre (4.9m, UTR) - 5.4
• DEF: Jeff Hardeveld (5.4m, TEL) - 5.2
• DEF: Bart van Rooij (6.5m, TWE) - 5.0
• MID: Guus Til (11.8m, PSV) - 7.0 (captain)
• MID: Julian Brandt (9.7m, AJX) - 6.3
• MID: Sven Mijnans (10.7m, PSV) - 6.2
• MID: Ivan Perisic (10.0m, PSV) - 6.0
• MID: Sondre Ørjasæter (6.9m, TWE) - 6.0
• FWD: Wout Weghorst (8.5m, TWE) - 6.6
• FWD: Toluwalase Arokodare (8.8m, AJX) - 5.0

That is 63.0 projected points from the eleven, 70.0 with Til as captain. PSV and Twente both fill their three slots, and Ruben van Bommel (also 6.0) is an equal swap for Perisic. Arokodare's place here is the point made above: NEC is a good fixture for him, and the case against him is the rounds after it. The exact optimum, with bench, is solved live on the Fantasy Voetball optimal teams page.

Gameweek 8 transfer summary

• Buy: Til for PSV's [H]HEE → [A]HAA → [H]FEY, Weghorst for Twente's front-loaded run, Sondre Ørjasæter as the long hold, Suray or James for Go Ahead Eagles' three playable fixtures, Zagre for Utrecht's two home games.
• Differentials: Mijnans, Ángel Alarcon, Haug, Suray, James.
• Sell: Meerdink for Weghorst, Pepi for Til. Arokodare after the NEC game.
• Hold: Koeman, Zechiel, van Bergen and AZ defenders through their one weak week.
• Wait a week: Trenskow, Zonneveld and the NEC attackers are Gameweek 9 buys.

Before the deadline, check the predicted lineups for late changes, and find every round's analysis in the Fantasy Voetball preview hub.

FAQ

Who should I captain in Fantasy Voetball Gameweek 8?

Guus Til is the top captain at 7.0 projected points against Heerenveen, 14.0 with the armband, and he tops Gameweek 9 too. Wout Weghorst (6.6) is the close alternative and the best captain outside PSV.

Which budget defenders are best for Fantasy Voetball Gameweek 8?

Arthur Zagre (4.9m, Utrecht) has the best points per million of any defender at 1.10 and 11.9 projected over Gameweeks 8-10. Dean James (5.5m, Go Ahead Eagles) matches that total with no bad week, and Abdelnor Soualhia (4.5m, Telstar) is the cheapest strong option.

Should I sell Mexx Meerdink before Gameweek 8?

Yes, for Wout Weghorst. Meerdink projects 3.0 at Feyenoord and 12.3 over the next three rounds; Weghorst is 0.5m cheaper and projects 6.6 this week and 17.4 over the same three.

Which team has the best fixtures from Fantasy Voetball Gameweek 8?

PSV: [H]HEE → [A]HAA → [H]FEY gives them 8.75 expected goals over three rounds, more than two clear of any other team. Ajax have the most expected clean sheets over the same window (0.84), with Twente right behind (0.83).

Best differentials for Fantasy Voetball Gameweek 8?

Sven Mijnans (10.7m, 3.3% owned) projects 16.2 over three rounds on PSV's run. Ángel Alarcon (2.4%), Mathis Suray (7.4%) and Kjetil Haug (3.7%) are the cheaper differentials, and Guus Til is a premium one at 8.4%.

This preview was written by TheFantasyTool AI.