FPL
The £4.0m Defender Who Outscored Every Striker on the Pitch
13 September 2026
A £4.0m left-back just outscored every striker on the pitch. Davis hauled 14, Emersonn wasn't far behind on 12, and the two of them set each other up twice in a five-goal shootout at Selhurst Park. This is the differential dream, printed in real time. In this guide: the goal-assist ping-pong, the red card that changed nothing about who deserved it, and whether Ipswich's front three are worth a move before Everton at home.
- Davis: 14 points at £4.0m, from a goal and two assists. Daylight robbery at that price.
- Emersonn: 12 points, Player of the Match, before going off injured after 62 minutes.
- Palace played from the 34th minute with ten men after Disasi saw red.
- Kamada quietly banked two assists from midfield and nobody's talking about it.
- Next: Ipswich host Everton, Palace travel to Leeds. Neither back line comes out of this looking good.
Davis and Emersonn set each other up. Twice.
Khalaili opened it for Palace in the 14th minute off a Kamada pass. Nine minutes later, Davis found Emersonn to level it. Two minutes before half-time, Emersonn returned the favour and Davis headed home Ipswich's second. A left-back and a striker combining for both goals isn't something you can plan a squad around, but it's exactly the kind of chemistry that turns a bargain-bin defender into a 14-point week.
Strand Larsen pulled one back for Palace in the 75th, Kamada assisting again, before Flemming came off the bench for 27 minutes and nicked the winner in stoppage time. Five goals, four scorers, and a Palace back line down to ten men for the last hour. Chaos, but the good kind if you had Ipswich shares.
Ipswich Town's starting XI: expected points v actual points
| Player | xPts | Points | +/- |
|---|---|---|---|
| Scherpen, top three expected points pick | 3.24 | 1 | -2.2 |
| O'Shea | 2.94 | 1 | -1.9 |
| Diop | 2.85 | 1 | -1.8 |
| Greaves | 2.66 | 1 | -1.7 |
| Davis | 2.93 | 14 | +11.1 |
| Palacios | 1.45 | 4 | +2.6 |
| Enciso, top three expected points pick | 3.10 | 2 | -1.1 |
| Lukić | 2.75 | 1 | -1.7 |
| Fatawu | 3.08 | 1 | -2.1 |
| Emersonn, top three expected points pick | 3.46 | 12 | +8.5 |
Top three xPts picks, including ties. xPts = expected points; +/- = actual minus expected. Green: 1.5+ above. Red: 1.5+ below. Otherwise neutral.
Crystal Palace's starting XI: expected points v actual points
| Player | xPts | Points | +/- |
|---|---|---|---|
| Benitez | 0 | 2 | +2 |
| Richards, top three expected points pick | 4.00 | 2 | -2 |
| Ahanor | 0 | 3 | +3 |
| Disasi | 1.48 | -3 | -4.5 |
| Mitchell, top three expected points pick | 4.16 | 1 | -3.2 |
| Wharton | 3.42 | 2 | -1.4 |
| Timber | 1.08 | 4 | +2.9 |
| Kamada | 3.40 | 8 | +4.6 |
| Yeremy | 3.50 | 1 | -2.5 |
| Khalaili, top three expected points pick | 3.99 | 7 | +3 |
| Strand Larsen | 2.81 | 8 | +5.2 |
Top three xPts picks, including ties. xPts = expected points; +/- = actual minus expected. Green: 1.5+ above. Red: 1.5+ below. Otherwise neutral.
Kamada's eight points came purely from setting up others: two assists, zero goals, and he still out-hauled Strand Larsen's headline goal. Fatawu and Lukić watched the fireworks from the pitch without lighting any themselves, both stuck on one. Five-goal games rarely spread the love evenly, and this one is the textbook case.
Ipswich scored three away from home with less of the ball
Ipswich were ahead on xG before the red card even changed the shape of the game. Three big chances to Palace's one, and they finished at a rate the underlying numbers fully back. This wasn't a red-card gift. Ipswich were already the better side when Disasi walked in the 34th minute.
3.67 xG on target tells you where this one was actually won
Ipswich's shots on target were worth 3.67 expected goals against Palace's 0.51. That gap, more than the red card, is the real story of a 3-2 away win. Palace's defence conceded this freely even with an extra man; that's a mark against starting their back line blind next time, whatever the fixture list says.
Emersonn's fitness is now the only question that matters
Emersonn limped off after 62 minutes, straight after banking his goal and assist. That's the one cloud over an otherwise outstanding week: 3.46 expected points delivered as 12, but a Wednesday-to-Saturday turnaround with a subbed-off forward needs a fitness update before you trust him at Everton.
Davis, meanwhile, played the full ninety and looks the safer hold of Ipswich's two headline men. A cheap, attacking full-back who's just shown he can produce a five-goal thriller's worth of end product stays on the watchlist even after this regresses toward earth.
Everton and Leeds: the GW5 direction for both sides
| Player | Price | Expected points | Opponent |
|---|---|---|---|
| Khalaili | £5.0m | 3.19 | Leeds (A) |
| Emersonn | £5.5m | 3.36 | Everton (H) |
| Kamada | £5.0m | 2.92 | Leeds (A) |
| Davis | £4.0m | 2.85 | Everton (H) |
| Strand Larsen | £6.0m | 2.36 | Leeds (A) |
None of these numbers come close to what either side just delivered, and that's the point: five goals in one match doesn't reset a baseline. Kamada is the Palace pick if you need a midfielder despite the sending-off, with Leeds away the fairer test of whether the creativity travels. For Ipswich, wait on the Emersonn fitness news before pencilling him in for Everton.
Box-office FPL content, rough week for both defences. Read the numbers again before starting either back line blind next time; the underlying picture, not the scoreline, should be driving your team sheet.
