Well done guys. Give yourself a pat on the back.
You survived the international break. Now let’s not ever speak of that again.
GW3 did not go too well for me. It was the kind of
week where your captain plays at home against a newly promoted side, doesn’t do
too well and is taken off at half time. With 8 players from my starting 11
contributing with 3 points or less, you get the picture. My team was wildly in
need of a re-shuffle, and I’ve activated the wildcard. But let’s put my woes
aside and take a look at GW4.
Who’s in:
Liverpool will look to continue their brilliant
start to the season, with their next 6 fixtures reading Swansea (A), Southampton (H), Sunderland (A), Palace (H), Newcastle (A)
and West Brom (H). Sturridge (9.2m) owners will be delighted with his
performances so far (3 in 3) and although there’s a slight injury scare, he’s
certainly BUY for me. Coutinho (9m) has
been a disappointment so far, but I’d urge you to hold on to him. The fixtures
have never been easier and with Moses (6.2m) coming in, Countinho could feature
more prominently in the centre. At the back, it looks really rosy for
Liverpool. You don’t spend £15m on a defender only to bench him. With
Toure (5m) conveniently injured (sell if you already haven’t), this should push
Sakho (5.5m) straight into the limelight. They could also switch to a 3 at the
back system, something they tested out last year, pushing Enrique further up
the wing. Both are possibilities, and both should include Sakho firmly in Liverpool’s
plans. If you still have any lingering doubts, I’d point you to Mignolet (5.7m)
as the easiest way into Liverpool’s defence. On the back of a goalkeeping
bandwagon, his price has steadily increased. Also the player with the highest
score so far in FPL. Get in.
When Cristiano Ronaldo moans about his
main supplier of chances and goals being sold, you just have to think that
Arsenal may have pulled off the coup of the summer. Mesut Ozil’s (10m) arrival
has had every Arsenal fan drooling (Ozgasm was the term coined by #14) and
rightly so. I’ll just point you to his nickname at Madrid – the “assist king”.
With 69 assists over 3 seasons, 26 of them coming in the last, he can safely
take his place among the best playmakers in the world right now. Arsenal’s next
6 fixtures of Sunderland (A), Stoke (H), Swansea (A), West Brom (A), Norwich
(H) and Palace (A) can’t get any easier, so I’ll leave the rest up to you.
However I’ll also point out that the current FPL bonus
system doesn’t favour those making the assists. Personally I would still go for
Giroud or (and) Walcott. But Ozil will massively improve Arsenal’s attacking
prospects and considering Arsenal’s next few fixtures that can only be a good
thing. Koscielny’s (5.4m) opening weekend horror has resulted in a price drop
and I’d look to take advantage of that, considering there’s a slight rotation
risk for Gibbs and Sagna (Both attractively priced at 5.5m).
A toothless performance at Anfield followed by their
transfer shenanigans has seen Man United take some heavy fire from fans and
journalists alike but their luck, on the field at least, maybe about to turn.
They play Palace (H), Man City (A), West Brom (H),
Sunderland (A), Southampton (H) and Stoke (H) in their next 6. De Gea (6m) is
fairly rotation proof, but considering his price, I’d avoid him. As
for their defenders, they’re either too expensive or aren’t assured of a place
in the main 11. There are far better options. Rooney’s (10.5m) return to form
might have made it a difficult choice for owners of RVP (14m) to choose between
the two, especially considering the price difference, but Phil Jones has
ensured that he remains out until GW5. So if you can spare the cash, go for
RVP. Their midfield makes for sad reading, with none of them in form or assured
of a place in the main team. Stay away.
Spurs meant just one thing to FPL
managers last season. Gareth Bale. But his departure has bought in around 6 new
faces and while AVB will be delighted at the numerous options he has, it’s a
bit of a pain for us FPL managers. Wait and watch. If you’re the gambling
types, now would be the time to go for Eriksen (8m) or Lamela (9m). But while
we wait for them to gel, one man will be the focal point of it all. Soldado
(9.7m) has scored 2 from 2 and considering both have been from the penalty
spot, we haven’t seen the best of him yet. Their next few fixtures go Norwich
(H), Cardiff (A), Chelsea (H), West Ham (H), Villa (A) and Hull (H). Apart from
the Chelsea game, they should be winning the rest. .
If you don’t have Dawson (5m) yet, buy him. He’s cheaper than Vertonghen (7m)
and Walker (6m) though these two seem to have bettered him when it comes to the
bonus system. Worth the extra 1 or 2m? Your call.
Fulham play West Brom (H), Chelsea (A),
Cardiff (H) and Stoke (H) over the next 4 weeks. It looks really promising and
they should definitely improve on their current standing in the league table (1
place above the relegation zone. That too on GD). Hold on to Bent (6.5m) or Berbatov
(7.4m) if you have them.
Who’s out:
West Brom are bottom of the table and
their next 6 fixtures looks like this - Fulham (A), Sunderland (H), Man United
(A), Arsenal (H), Stoke (A) and Liverpool (A). Run away. Sessegnon (6.8m) could
be a great buy if he can replicate some of his past form that made him a FPL
darling.
The Tyne – Wear derby should be an
interesting one this year. While Newcastle’s transfer dealings or, well, the
lack of it, has drawn heavy criticism from their fans, Sunderland have
completely overhauled their squad over the summer. It’s a risk and Di Canio
will be hoping that they come out of their next few fixtures (Arsenal (H), West
Brom (A), Liverpool (H), Man United (H), Swansea (A) and Newcastle (H)) not too
far from the rest of the pack.
Manchester City had a great run of
fixtures to start the season with, but it had to end sometime. Constant
rotation and a fixture list that reads Stoke (A), Man United (H), Villa (A),
Everton (H), West Ham (A) and Chelsea (A) makes Man City a potential banana
skin for FPL managers. Dzeko (7.8m) was woeful against Hull and his place in
the team looks nothing close to assured as his replacement Negredo (9.3m) played
excellently and got onto the score sheet in the process. If you have Dzeko,
sell. It’s a toss-up between Negredo and Aguero (11.1m) and with Negredo
playing higher up and costing lesser, I’d choose him over Aguero. Silva (9.4m)
is yet to shake off an injury and will return to a tough run of fixtures. I’m
inclined to sell. Definitely not the time to bring him in. 2 goals from 2
brilliant free-kicks has resulted in people flocking to add Y.Toure (8.8m) to
their teams. Much as I’m a great fan of the guy, that is no reason to add a
player to your fantasy team and the goals will soon dry up. He will continue to
play really deep alongside Fernandinho and although they do take turns to go
forward, it’s nowhere near enough to justify putting them in your teams.
Ignore.
Norwich’s next 6 fixtures are quite
testing. Spurs (A), Villa (H), Stoke (A), Chelsea (H), Arsenal (A) and Cardiff
(H). Taking into consideration their patchy and wildly inconsistent form, drop
Snodgrass (6.4m) if you have him.
The Best of the Rest:
Everton’s Coleman (5.4m) and Barkley (5m) have led
the early season bandwagons and deservedly so. They’ve been excellent. But, Gibson
(4.8m) is to return soon and deadline day saw them add Barry (5.3m) and McCarthy
(5.5m) to their roster. Although they’re never going to play a part in our
fantasy teams, it might result in Barkley being dropped. If not, Coleman and
Barkley are a very cheap and useful pair to populate your bench. Buy. Mirallas’
(7.4m) good performances haven’t been matched by appropriate returns in 3 games
against relatively easy opposition. The next 2 fixtures (Chelsea (H), West
Ham (A)) are difficult and if I were you, I’d sell. Lukaku (7.4m) is a
fantastic addition to Everton’s squad and although he’s ineligible for the next
game, expect him to lead the line at Goodison soon after.
Lambert (7.6m) has started this season with a fairly
quiet game where he scored, a game in which he did everything but score, and
then completely vanished in the next. The purchase of Osvaldo (8m) seems to
have reduced his role as the focal point of Southampton’s attacks. While it isn’t
concrete yet, I’d monitor the situation. They face West Ham at home next, so I
wouldn’t sell him yet. Ward-Prowse (4.5m) has held his place and considering he’s
in charge of set-pieces, it’s a buy for me.
Chelsea have a mixed bag of fixtures coming up which
reads Everton (A), Fulham (H), Tottenham (A), Norwich (A), Cardiff (H), Man
City (H). Add to that the risk of rotation and you have a huge headache. I’m
thinking Jose will go with Eto’o (9m) over Ba (7.9m) and Torres (8.6m), but I
think we’ll get a clearer picture over the next two weeks. Hazard (9.3m) has
notched up some impressive shooting and passing stats and him along with Lampard
(8.1m), should be free from rotation but don’t hold me to my word. Ivanovic
(6.5m) has always been a FPL favourite but is more likely to be rotated for
Azpilicueta (5.6m) than A.Cole (6.5m) on the other wing.
As far as cheap players from promoted teams go, have
a look at Hull’s Chester (4m). Hull have a decent run of fixtures coming up and
Chester, along with Brady (5.1m), who’s in charge of set pieces and penalties,
could be useful additions.
The new bonus system also seems to favour central
defenders over their wide playing counterparts with points for clearances and
tackles won, which they’ll clearly dominate over the full backs. It also seems to be best suited for players that play for clubs who like
to play possession football. Arsenal,
Swansea, Southampton and Liverpool should do well. More on that in the coming
weeks.
Each season, the FPL administrators get the position
of one or two players wrong. Spotting such players early could make or break
your season. Michu (9m) was listed as a midfielder last season and spent the
entire season delighting FPL managers by playing upfront. Although why that
listing has continued this season is anyone’s guess. One of the players wrongly
listed this season is Danny Rose (5m). Listed as a midfielder, he plays
primarily in defence. Although he could net the odd assist or goal over the
season, it’s definitely not worth playing him in midfield. Another wrongly
listed player is Stoke’s Wilson (4.5m). Listed as a defender, Hughes has had
him playing as the deepest of their midfield 3. While he may not set the league
alight like Michu did, his prospects of scoring or assisting are definitely
better as a midfielder. At his price, he could be a very useful addition to
your team.
So, until next time, best of luck!
#18
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