Brentford Will Struggle Without Yoane Wissa: Who Will Start Against Spurs?
“Wissa is not good news. It looks like an injury that will be a couple of months. It’s very frustrating. It will leave a hole but I will find a solution and other players will step up”.Thomas Frank On Yoane Wissa Following The Loss To Manchester City
Following Brentford’s promotion to the Premier League back in the 2021/2022 Premier League season, there arguably have been few players more important to Thomas Frank’s side than Yoane Wissa. With over 100 appearances, the Congolese international has been a huge part of the Bees success in the Premier League; in fact, according to statistics gathered by the official Premier League site, the club is set to struggle massively without the striker in the side.
When you compare the matches Brentford have played with Wissa in the side, compared to the matches without, the writing is on the wall. Not only does Thomas Frank’s side have a significantly less successful win rate without the Congolese forward in the side, but they also struggle all over the park, with fewer shots and goals for, and more goals and shots against them without him in the side.
And with Ivan Toney off to Saudi Arabia, Brentford will struggle to find anyone who can fill the gap that Yoane Wissa leaves in that Number 9 position, but fear not, Brentford fans and FPL fans alike, there are options at the club who, while not being able to fill his boots, will prove that they can cover that role adequately.
Kevin Schade- A Golden Opportunity
Despite being Brentford’s record signing before last season, it wouldn’t shock us to hear that you haven’t heard of Kevin Schade. With the German midfielder failing to hit the ground running in his first season at the club, his second season only got worse, being sidelined for the majority of the season with an abductor injury.
However, at just the age of 22, there’s still plenty of time for Schade to find the form that made Brentford sign him for over 20 million pounds a few years ago. Despite playing primarily as an attacking midfielder on the right-hand side, which you can see courtesy of Sofascore, the German midfielder has all the physical characteristics to fill in as a centre forward in Wissa’s absence.
Standing at 6’1. Schade was one of the most physically dominant players in the Bundesliga the season before he linked up with Thomas Frank’s side, ranking in the upper 99th percentile for aerial duels won, and in fact, when in possession, the German midfielder was a significant threat when it came to his dribbling ability, ranking in the upper 80th percentile for take-on attempted and carries into the final third, but this isn’t what makes him such a dangerous player, especially with Spurs coming up as the side’s next match.
His real biggest asset, is his pace, despite his physical build, the German midfielder possesses an unnatural speed, clocking in at 36.37km/h, even higher than Mickey Van De Ven, Schade could be a significant threat to Spurs, who deploys the highest defensive line in the Premier League. Kevin Schade is Tottenham’s worst nightmare, as pacey as Mickey Van De Ven, meaning he can exploit that high line, and be dominant in the air, to exploit Spurs’s abysmal set pieces.
As a £5.4M pound option, despite the chance that he may play as a centre-forward against Ange Postecoglu’s side, the German is listed as a midfielder in the fantasy database, and an extremely cheap one at that.
Schade has already had one attacking return this season, with an assist against Southampton, and with Tottenham looming on the horizon, he could be set for an even bigger one.
Keane-Lewis-Potter – The Wizard
Without Wissa around, instead of playing two centre forwards as he usually would, Thomas Frank may instead choose to utilize a 4-3-3 system, however, with Rico Henry also out injured, they could also be forced to play Keane Lewis Potter as a wingback, in a 5-3-2 system with Kevin Schade up front, but this may not be as bad as it sounds. While the English winger only boasts a semi-average crossing rate, as a fullback, he’ll be expected to play a higher volume of crosses, and with Kevin Schade in the side, this could potentially be a huge opportunity for an attacking return.
At just £5.0m, the chances of a Lewis Potter return are significantly less than the odds of a Kevin Schade return, with low xG and xA, and at just 0.1% ownership, the English winger would be a massive punt for any owner at the current moment, but if you’re potentially looking to take a huge leap of faith, don’t rule out the wizard.
Fabio Carvalho – The Scouse Outcast
Speaking of Brentford’s big money moves, signing Fabio Carvahlo for under £25m during the summer could be seen as a massive coup for Thomas Frank and Brentford, with the youngster coming off a huge season in the Championship with Hull City, a lot of Liverpool fans were probably shocked that Arne Slot didn’t want him.
Playing Primarily as a central attacking midfielder for Thomas Frank, the Portuguese youngster has had to fight for his place in the first team, and he might finally have earned it. With Lewis Potter potentially shifting to fill in for injuries, there could be a spot up for grabs for Carvalho against Tottenham at the weekend, even if it is out of position as a winger, and there’s a reason for that.
With Carvalho making his second start as a Brentford player in the EFL Cup last night, the Portuguese attacker ran the show, grabbing himself a goal, and 2 assists, a 13 point-attacking return doesn’t sound terrible for managers looking for a replacement for Wissa in Thomas Frank’s team, however, looking even further back, Carvalho’s chance of an attacking return looks even higher.
Last season, in the Championship, the Portuguese winger was easily the Tiger’s best attacker, with the third most goal involvements across the season despite only joining in January, boasting a significantly high rate of goals per 90 and shots on target per 90, Carvalho was also a creative spark, with some of the best passing statistics in the division, playing primarily in a central role, based on his time at Hull, Carvalho could even play as a centre forward to replace Wissa as well, although it’s more likely he remains on the wing.
And at just £4.8 million, the Portuguese youngster is also a huge potential risk for managers who are looking to close the gap to others in their league, and, with the game against Spurs being his potential first start for Brentford, it’s less of a risk than you might think.
The Stalwart- Bryan Mbuemo
This one doesn’t really need any introduction and isn’t much of a replacement for Wissa, and therefore this isn’t much help for our Brentford fans, however, for our FPL readers, Mbeumo is probably the most realistic switch if you want guaranteed returns if you have the budget for him, with a 26 point return across 3 games already, Cameroon forward may be going slightly under the radar due to his poor recent fixtures, with games against Manchester City and Liverpool, however, with fixtures against one of the most defensively vulnerable sides in the Premier League coming up, it might be time for him to remind us what he’s capable of.
Writer’s Pick
While all of these options may satisfy certain needs, and all are good options depending on the level of risk you want to take, it’s difficult to look past Kevin Schade when it comes to the Tottenham game, with the German midfielder going completely under the radar, he could be set for a bigger haul than you realize if he starts, due to being the perfect weapon to deploy against a side like Tottenham, but as we mentioned, any of these picks have potential, and it’s up to you how risky you want to be.
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