Beach
Hello! This week’s visualization is inspired by a quote that teaches us to be happy with what we have.
“I once cried because I had no shoes to play soccer. But one day, I met a man who had no feet.” - Zinedine Zidane
This post brings you FPL advice from this week’s free podcasts:
Topics Covered
🌴 Teams on Beach
🎯 Teams to Target
😖 City/Pool Dilemma
🃏 Wildcard
🌴 Teams on Beach
While the thought of bathing in the sun and sipping on a Pina Colada on a beach may sound enticing, that is not what you would want your FPL assets to be thinking about.
As the season comes to an end, there are teams that are in the middle of the table and don’t have much left to play for. Such teams have historically slacked off and shown to not be great FPL assets. WGTA folks discussed such teams for the season run-in.
Teams from Aston Villa (who are 9th in the table) to Wolves (14th in the table) are at risk of being “on the beach”. This includes Villa, Arsenal, Leeds, Crystal Palace, Southampton, and Wolves.
Even Sheffield United, who are firmly sat at the bottom of the table, seem to be on the beach as they are pretty much decided to be relegated. And their performances reflect this too.
One could argue that Everton should be included in this list. However, they are chasing Liverpool, their local rivals, and the bragging rights to finish over them may be enough of a motivation for the players.
Overall, while you should try and avoid players from these teams, it doesn’t mean that you should completely ignore them. The likes of Raphinha still look to be decent picks as Leeds is still an open team and he is a class player.
🎯 Teams to Target
On the other side of the spectrum are the teams that have something to play for. This includes teams that are battling for Champions League / Europa League spots, or engaged in relegation battles. Assets from these teams have historically done well at the tail end of the season.
Chelsea have tantalizing fixtures in the next four. Their drubbing last week, reminiscent of Hulk beating Loki, is likely an outlier. Their defense looked better midweek against Porto and should be on your radar.
Leicester is another team to target. They have good fixtures, no European commitment right now which means minimal rotation, and are motivated to finish top four. While they played ultra defensively against City, but what else are you going to do against the best team of the League? Iheanacho and maybe even Maddison are players to consider.
While Leeds fall in the ‘on beach’ category, it’s in their DNA to play an open and attacking style. And with his individual brilliance, Raphinha is another player you should consider for your team.
If you have any doubts about Lingard, a double stamp of approval from FMLFPL and WGTA should be enough to sway you into getting him in.
😖 City/Pool Dilemma
Pep has talked so much about rotating his squad to keep his players fresh, that at this point, it’s not even worth guessing who is going to play when.
With frequent rotation, WGTA believes it is perfectly justifiable to move out City defenders. Dias is likely to play most games, but definitely not all. FMLFPL discussed that there is a case to be made for Stones too, who gets you 6 points when he plays and doesn’t come on when he doesn’t, so your bench player can cover for him.
Once the talk of the town, Gundogan may have lost his appeal at this point. Given the rotation risk, lack of penalty duties, and emergency of other cheap mids means that moving Gundo is a legit option.
Liverpool has amazing fixtures but less than amazing form. However, FMLFPL folks believe that tripling up on Liverpool is a good shout thanks to their fixtures and motivation to finish top four.
Jota has picked up from where he left before his injury. He looks like scoring every time he plays and is a good pick. While his minutes may be limited, for his price, he seems to be worth it.
In defense, TAA is looking much better and has been improving last few games. Robbo is worth your consideration too. Finally, Phillips is a sneaky shout too who, at 4.0, looks set to play till the end of the season.
🃏 Wildcard
Alon from FMLFPL and Anthony from WGTA are on wildcard. Below are their teams as of their pod recording.
Alon:
Undecided on GK
TAA, Dias, Azpi, 2 undecided defenders
Jota, Mo, 3 undecided mids
Kane, 2 undecided forwardsNot sure on Bruno based on recent performances and Pogba back, whose presence in the team limits Bruno’s points potential
Skeptical of West Ham assets, with Rice out
Not keen on Son who hasn’t played well in a long time. Spurs’ double game week in 32 is the only reason he is worth considering.
Anthony:
Mendy
Dallas, Rudiger, Shaw, TAA, 5th def TBD
Mo, Bruno, Gundo/Lingard, Jota, Raphinha
Iheanacho, Kane, 3rd striker TBDPicking Mendy over Emmi seems a bit risky given Emmi’s performances and his high effective ownership.
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