Form vs Fixtures
Hello! With many on wildcard or considering players with double games coming up, this week’s visualization is dedicated to the FPL managers’ eternal struggle of Form vs Fixtures.
This post brings you FPL advice from this week’s free podcasts:
Topics Covered
🎙️ Team/Players Review
🍨 Double Talk
🃏 Wildcard talk
👑 Captaincy
🎙️ Team/Players Review
Below are some of the brief reviews of a handful of teams.
🦡 Fulham - 🍬 Everton
Remember the feeling when you were rooting for Leicester to win the title in 2016, or for Po to defeat Tai Lung in Kung fu Panda? That’s the exhilirating feeling one experiences when rooting for underdogs. And if you were missing that feeling, look no further than Fulham.
Fulham is 6 points from safety and seems very motivated to escape relegation, after losing just once in the last 5 games. Their defense has looked increasingly capable of handling whatever is thrown at them. If you have the room and looking for budget options, this is worth looking into.
Maja looked like the focal point that Fulham needed and is one to monitor for your third striker spot.
Everton looked really worne out. It’s challenging to get behind their assets because, as AC folks dubbed them, they are an “unpredictable good team”.
🏙️ Manchester City
Owning 3 City assets is old news, but which one to get has been the decision to take. If you are wildcarding, WGTA discussed targeting two defenders and one mid, as getting the likes of Sterling or KDB to double up on attack doesn’t seem worth it at this point.
Gundogan is the obvious choice in mid. Some managers are concerned about his time and performance with KDB’s imminent return, but both WGTA and FMLFPL discussed that you shouldn’t be too concerned right away. Monitor the situation, see if KDB’s return affects him, and only move him out if he is not performing anymore.
🔴 Liverpool
In case you are one of the unfortunate souls who kept faith in Liverpool defense or wasn’t able to move them out due to other fires, it’s about time my friend. Given their price tags, they are not justifying their spot in your team anymore.
However, if you still believe in them, it is worth noting that Trent has been playing really well recently and looks likely to start getting attacking returns soon. And Liverpool has some decent fixtures coming up. But you have to evaluate if the price is worth it, especially when you have the likes of Cresswell available, who has been an exceptional FPL asset so far.
🦊 Leicester Boyz
For Leicester, form vs fixtures is not really a debate coz they have both. They have been playing really well and have good fixtures coming up. Especially if you are wildcarding, you should have Leicester in your thoughts.
Maddo and Barnes are the primary picks, with FMLFPL leaning towards Barnes as he is always in the box, taking a lot of shots, and is the cheaper of the two.
🍨 Double Talk
First off, in case you are playing FPL for the first time, know that this is a freakin’ abnormal season with so many doubles/blanks. The planning is usually not this complicated.
And if you are a seasoned FPL player, just a reminder that this is a freakin’ abnormal season with so many doubles/blanks. The planning is usually not this complicated.
You can try all you want to crack the code, but you will likely still not perform as you would hope. So, as AC folks recommend, think a little short-term, play the fixtures in front of you, and try to have fun.
Now more specific advice for the double fixtures in the next week:
All pods are leaning towards getting two Leeds assets, and some even tripling-up on them.
Bamford and Raphinha are the standout picks, given their form and performances. If you are looking for a differential mid, you can consider Harrison. But know that he can sometimes play limited minutes, as witnessed in the last game.
Dallas is the standout pick in Leeds defense. Even though Leeds keep conceding often, he is still a defender playing #10, and the upside for his attacking returns is worth chasing.
For Southampton, Ings is the obvious choice. He has been playing well and the main Southampton asset to invest in.
AC folks are not too interested in their defense given how poor they have been recently and the high likeliness of them conceding against Chelsea and Leeds. While FMLFPL agree with that, they feel Vestergaard is worth consideration given that Southampton has the potential to get more double game weeks coming up.
As an outside shout, JWP is worth a shout if you want to double up on Southampton. But AC folks are not a big fan of this move.
🃏 Wildcard talk
Here are some tips and thoughts from the pods to help you, or confuse you, if you are on a wildcard this week.
As per AC folks, teams to target are: City, Spurs, Villa, and Leeds.
Don’t think too much about the GK spot and just get Martinez. No seriously, just get him!!
Tripple Villa is a decent shout too. Apart from Martinez, Targett and Grealish are worth looking at. Or a cheap Villa defense if you need the cash.
While getting both Kane and Son is enticing, and may pay off, you have to be wary of Spurs as a team. They don’t always score many goals and their potential matches in GW26 will be Burnley and Fulham, both of which have good defenses. If you are choosing one of the two, Kane is the standout pick.
Leicester is another team that should be in your plans. As mentioned earlier, they are playing well and have good fixtures.
The popular premiums for wildcarders are - Mo, Bruno, Kane, and Son. While you may want all of them, you would invariably find yourself 0.1 short. If you can get all of them without butchering your team, good for you but we are not friends anymore! But if you can’t, WGTA folks discussed who can you forgo:
One option is to let go of Mo. While he ticks along, he is super expensive and can help you reinforce other areas of the team.
The other, and more preferable, option is to let go of Son. His stats in the last 6 games have significantly declined as compared to the 6 prior to that and he is not countering as much as you would like him. While that can be attributed to Kane’s absence, he is probably the one you can leave out.
For reference, here are the work-in-progress WC teams from WGTA hosts when they poded:
Tom
Martinez, Sanchez
Dias, Stones, Rudiger, Vestergaard, Shaw
Son, Mo, Bruno, Gundo, Raphinha (with plan to move him to Jorginho in GW26)
Watkins, Bamford, Ings (with plan to move him to Kane in GW26)Nick
Martinez, McCarthy
Cancelo, Rudiger, Stones, Dallas, Vestergaard
Gundo, Grealish, Bruno, Son, Raphinha
Bamford, Ings, KaneAnothony (not on WC though)
Martinze, Sanchez
Cancelo, Dias, Rudiger, Dier
Rahinha, Mo, Barnes, Soucek, Bruno
Bruno, Ings, Kane
👑 Captaincy
It’s pretty much an even split between Ings and Bamford, with some giving a shout to Raphinha.
Case for Bamford: Gets a lot of chances and hard to see him not score in two games. And has good underlying stats to support him. But, Leeds goals get spread out among their players, so may not get as many goals and does poorly on bonus points.
Case for Ings: He is the focal point for Southampton, and should be on scoresheet for most of their goals. He is good on bonus points too. But, he has slightly tougher fixtures than Leeds.
Case for Raphinha: You are a hippie and like to pick solid differentials.
All pods agree that captaining a double gameweek player is the way to go. But in case you don’t fancy that, then the only option is Bruno.
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