Ahead of MW6, we had five matchweeks of data to judge our teams on, and with the ability to make unlimited transfers to your team, it was lining up to be the highest-scoring matchweek of the season so far. However, that didn't come to pass, and the average MW6 score was lower than MW2 and MW5. There were unexpected results at both the Emirates and Villa Park, and some players didn't perform to expectations.
That leaves us in a strange place for MW7. Some teams are in better or worse form than expected, and although there are BWSL2 games this week, there were none last week, and we'll have none next.
To BWSL2 or not to BWSL2
That is the question.
BWSL2 had a blank week in MW6, but returns to fantasy in MW7, so the players become pickable again. However, there are a couple of important factors that we need to consider.
Firstly, this isn't a permanent return. MW8 is another blank week for BWSL2 teams, so if you are bringing a player in this week, you need to take them out next week or put up with the fact that it's a guaranteed 0 points for them in MW8. Looking further ahead, BWSL2 returns again in MW9 and MW10 before another blank week in MW11 to end Leg 2.
Secondly, the fixtures are crucial to look at if you're bringing in any BWSL2 players. There are four unbeaten teams in the league, and they're all playing each other on Sunday. League leaders, Newcastle United, have been best to back so far this season, but they're away to a Forest side that, as well as being unbeaten, kept their first clean sheet of the league season last time out at home to Burnley and had a 0-0 draw against Sheffield United in the Subway Players Cup last weekend.
Choices at Chelsea
Very few fantasy teams will be without any Chelsea players, and for good reason. With Palace, Charlton and Everton as their next three fixtures, Chelsea arguably have the best run in the next few matchweeks. They're top of the form table (last five matches), and with eight players scoring an average of at least 5 points per match, there's plenty of options.
Unfortunately, there lies the headache: which players are the best options?
Ellie Carpenter is the most obvious option. Her 63 points are more than any other player in the game. A £7.0m price tag makes her the second most expensive defender, but 39% of teams still think she's worth it.
Lauren James has the most points per match in the Chelsea squad (10.75), but she hasn't appeared in every game, so there is some risk to her pick.
Lucy Bronze and Keira Walsh are both £5.5m and have both played in all six of Chelsea's BWSL matches, with a total of 47 and 46 points respectively, the 6th and 7th most in the league.
Hannah Hampton is the most selected Chelsea player at 57%. She's very rotation-resistant in the league, and four clean sheets have contributed to 31 points, 5.2 per match.
Kadeisha Buchanan, Alyssa Thompson and Melvine Malard are all averaging at least 5 points per match, so they are all viable options too.
The good news is that if you want three Chelsea players in your team, then you're probably onto a winner. As for which Chelsea players, that's the conundrum.
Is it Spurs o'clock?
Speak to anyone who follows the BWSL about Spurs, and they'll probably have good things to say. Results have dramatically improved since Martin Ho came in, players like Gaupset and Holdt are quality operators, and summer signings like Pelova and Hanson are exciting additions to the squad.
After a good start to the season, Spurs have lost their last two and conceded six goals in both, which is against the run of form they had been showing.
Spurs have a nice run of fixtures soon. Matchweeks 8, 9 and 10 see them face Birmingham City, Brighton and Everton; three fixtures they'll be expecting to win.
MW7 is the one where fantasy managers may want to take a bit of risk. Spurs are hosting North London rivals, Arsenal, who are on a bad run of form of their own. If you believe Spurs are the favourites for the derby, then you can consider it four matches in a row where Spurs would be favourites, and therefore putting some Lilywhites in your team could reap rewards.
Avoid Arsenal? Or get the Gunners in?
We just spoke about the Gunners, but let's take a look in more detail at whether they're a good team to back. Spoiler: it's a question of fixtures and form.
Their upcoming fixtures are among the best in the game, with Villa and Liverpool after the derby. In contrast to the last section, if you think Arsenal are favourites, then back them this week, and you've got three decent fixtures on the trot.
Now for their form. For the first time ever, Arsenal have gone five league matches without a win. Three of those were against Man Utd, Chelsea, Man City; but after facing those three and two of the promoted sides at home, the Gunners will have wanted more than three points from the five matches.
Forward Thinking
Your squad has three sports for forwards. 68% of teams have Bunny Shaw in one of those, but who to pick for the other two spots is a difficult decision at the moment.
BWSL2 has a lot of strong options. Martha Thomas is in red-hot form and averaging 8.4 points per match. Other BWSL players like Lucy Quinn, Amber Hughes and Lotta Lindström are also in good form. However, with no BWSL2 fixtures in MW8, it's a difficult pick to justify.
In BWSL, Alessia Russo would usually be an obvious pick, but the Lioness has only scored 22 points so far (3.67 average) and is not justifying a £11.5m price tag.
Elsewhere in BWSL, Vivien Endemann was a great pick in Leg 1. But after picking up a minor injury and missing the international break, she only played 25 minutes in MW6.
Kiko Seiki and Vivianne Asseyi have scored 31 points each so far this season, but do have high price tags at £7.0m and £8.0m respectively. However, both do have relatively favourable fixtures; they face each other this weekend and also have a nice MW8 matchup.
