Both coming in at £8.0, Sigurdsson bettered Richarlison by 29 FPL points last season.
Combined, Sigurdsson provided 19 returns, whereas Richarlison provided 16 returns.
In terms of shooting output, Richarlison’s shot frequency of 1 every 32.9 minutes was better than Sigurdsson’s 1 every 36.3 minutes. However, both players were equally prolific at shooting inside the box, averaging just over 1 per game.
In contrast, Siggy was far better creatively, creating 1 chance every 41.6 minutes, while Richarlison only created a chance every 121 minutes.
Both players scored 13 goals last season.
But, Sigurdsson missed 10 big chances, while Richarlison missed 8 big chances.
Although Sigurdsson has the allure of set piece threat, no player missed more penalties than Sigurdsson’s 3 misses last season.
This is a concern, and after taking a successful penalty at the Copa America, Richarlison may potentially take this role off Siggy.
Considering the ceiling of these players, Siggy returned 6 double digit hauls last season, double the amount returned by Richarlison.
With this said though, Richarlison was more consistent, returning in 42% of games, compared to Siggy’s 39%.
Yet, Siggy consistently provided returns last season, never going more than 4 games without a goal or assist.
Conversely, Richarlison started the season on fire with 9 goals and 2 assists over the first 19 GWs, but he then went on to register only 4 goals and 1 assist in the final 19 GWs, going longer stretches without returns than Siggy.
But, we're not picking players for the full season. Richarlison's output has fallen off a cliff in the back half of the last two seasons, but his performances over the opening few months have been outstanding.
Last season, he netted 6 goals and provided 1 assist in the first 9 GWs. The season before last, the Brazilian scored 5 goals and provided 4 assists in his first 12 starts.
Overall, it’s very tough to separate Sigurdsson and Richarlison.
Yet, with a superior shot frequency and his history of starting seasons better than Sigurdsson, we'd opt for Richarlison.
