{"id":21856,"date":"2026-10-20T12:21:35","date_gmt":"2026-10-20T10:21:35","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.weplayfpl.com\/news-articles\/2026\/10\/20\/gw8-brighton-defence-hold-de-cuyper-or-switch-to-vuskovic\/"},"modified":"2026-10-20T12:21:35","modified_gmt":"2026-10-20T10:21:35","slug":"gw8-brighton-defence-hold-de-cuyper-or-switch-to-vuskovic","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.weplayfpl.com\/news-articles\/2026\/10\/20\/gw8-brighton-defence-hold-de-cuyper-or-switch-to-vuskovic\/","title":{"rendered":"GW8 Brighton defence: hold De Cuyper or switch to Vu\u0161kovi\u0107?"},"content":{"rendered":"

Keep De Cuyper for GW8 unless selling him solves a wider problem in your squad. Liverpool away and Manchester City away make Brighton defenders awkward starters over the next two Gameweeks, but switching from De Cuyper to Vu\u0161kovi\u0107 would leave you facing the same opponents.<\/p>\n

For managers buying a defender, we would wait until nearer GW10 to reassess Brighton. Existing owners have a different decision: use a stronger bench option where you have one, preserve the transfer and judge the fixture run beyond those two away matches.<\/p>\n

Two difficult trips before the fixtures improve<\/h2>\n

Brighton visit Liverpool in GW8 and Manchester City in GW9. They then host Brentford in GW10 and visit Hull City in GW11. Both defenders could offer more appeal once that later window arrives, although favourable fixtures cannot guarantee clean sheets.<\/p>\n

Selling now and buying back for GW10 uses two transfers. That can make sense if the replacement improves your starting XI across several weeks, but it is an expensive way to avoid two fixtures when your bench can cover them.<\/p>\n

Before making the move, sketch your GW8 and GW9 lineups and the defender you would want in GW10. You can plan those future lineups in We Play FPL<\/a>, including the transfers you would need to get there. Judge the move by the starting XI it improves and the transfers it consumes.<\/p>\n

De Cuyper gives you the stronger attacking rate<\/h2>\n

At \u00a35.3m, De Cuyper has produced 0.40 expected goal involvements per 90 minutes, compared with Vu\u0161kovi\u0107’s 0.18. That makes De Cuyper the more appealing of the two if you want attacking involvement from your defender.<\/p>\n

He has averaged 82.9 minutes per match, with 1.54 expected goals conceded per 90 and 3.57 defensive contributions per 90. His attacking rate gives him a route to points when Brighton concede, but you still need to accept the defensive risk against Liverpool and City.<\/p>\n

We would hold him if the proposed sale is a straight swap to Vu\u0161kovi\u0107. If you must start De Cuyper this week, his attacking involvement gives you a reason to play him; it does not make him a clean-sheet favourite.<\/p>\n

Vu\u0161kovi\u0107 offers a different scoring route<\/h2>\n

Vu\u0161kovi\u0107 costs \u00a35.1m and has averaged 88.1 minutes per match. His 10.21 defensive contributions per 90 stand well above De Cuyper’s 3.57, giving managers a stronger defensive-contribution case to consider alongside the \u00a30.2m saving.<\/p>\n

His other rates are 0.18 expected goal involvements per 90 and 1.45 expected goals conceded per 90. The lower attacking figure matters if you are chasing a goal or assist. The defensive-contribution rate matters if you prefer that scoring route, but it is an average rather than a promise of points in any individual match.<\/p>\n

All these rates describe season-to-date performance, not projected returns. Both players are FPL defenders, and neither can escape Brighton’s immediate fixture risk.<\/p>\n

For a new purchase around GW10, Vu\u0161kovi\u0107 deserves consideration if the saving helps elsewhere and you value his defensive contributions. De Cuyper remains the attacking choice. Check their availability and recent selections again before buying.<\/p>\n

Make the transfer earn its place<\/h2>\n

Our GW8 call is to retain De Cuyper and avoid a sideways Brighton switch. Bench him if your alternative has a stronger fixture and a credible starting role. If your squad cannot field a defence you are comfortable with, assess a replacement from another club over the full period you intend to own him.<\/p>\n

Managers without a Brighton defender can wait through Liverpool and City, then compare De Cuyper’s attacking involvement with Vu\u0161kovi\u0107’s price and defensive contributions before GW10. You gain little by paying for the later fixture window before you need to.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Keep De Cuyper unless a sale solves a wider squad problem. Compare his attacking rate with Vu\u0161kovi\u0107’s defensive contributions, and reassess new Brighton purchases near GW10.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":21855,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1978,173,1977],"tags":[1988],"class_list":["post-21856","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-fixtures","category-fpl","category-player-analysis","tag-gameweek-8"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.weplayfpl.com\/news-articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/21856","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.weplayfpl.com\/news-articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.weplayfpl.com\/news-articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.weplayfpl.com\/news-articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.weplayfpl.com\/news-articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=21856"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.weplayfpl.com\/news-articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/21856\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.weplayfpl.com\/news-articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/21855"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.weplayfpl.com\/news-articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=21856"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.weplayfpl.com\/news-articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=21856"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.weplayfpl.com\/news-articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=21856"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}