It's all about the blank
Hello there! Changing your logo is all the rage right now, take General Motors and CIA for instance. Following their footsteps, The FPL Digest is proud to reveal its new logo. By the way, is it just me, or does it look like an orange piggy peaking from the envelope? Regardless, this is who we are now!
This post brings you FPL advice from this week’s free podcasts:
In this highly disrupted season, circumstances are changing more frequently than the spike protein on Covid virus. These pods were recorded prior to the news about the outbreak in the Aston Villa team. It’s still uncertain if Spurs-Villa will go ahead as scheduled (in which case Villa will play their youth team), and if Spurs-Fulham will replace it if it gets postponed. So continue to monitor the news till the deadline. Ben Crellin’s twitter account is a good place to get reliable info for this.
Also, given that there is less than 24 hours of time between GW 18 and 19, you will probably get the next digest after GW19.
Topics Covered
🎙️ Team/Players Talk
👟 GW18 Players to Target, Avoid, Consider
🥗 Potpourri of Topics
👑 Captaincy
🎙️ Team/Players Talk
Below are some of the brief reviews of a handful of teams.
🔴 Liverpool
Liverpool played quite poorly in their last match. With Henderson in the defense, there was a lot of space between the defenders which can easily be exploited. If he continues to play in the defense, then this could be a real dent in TAA/Robertson’s prospects.
Salah looked like a mere shadow of his usual self. He wasn’t as involved as you generally expect him to be. And his three back-to-back blanks are a bit concerning. Having said that, this happens every year where he goes in a bit of a slump and then comes back roaring. Discount him at your own peril.
🏙️ Manchester City
While a 1-3 scoreline in favor of City looks encouraging, both FMLFPL and The Wire believe that it was Chelsea’s poor display that made City look so good. Chelsea tried to press and play an open game, which didn’t work and City were able to exploit the space left by Chelsea players.
Further, KDB played in a false 9 position which, going by history, Pep does only occasionally against big teams. So we can’t expect that to happen often i.e. can’t expect City to get back to scoring a buttload of goals every game.
However, with City playing in both, blank and double weeks, and having good fixtures, picking KDB over someone like a Salah for the short term is a perfectly viable strategy. Just be mindful if you have value tied in Salah, as you will need to spend some extra 0.1s to get him back.
Both the pods also believe that City’s defense is the long term play with them. Their defense is the best in the league and you should not be discouraged by the last-minute fluke goal they conceded against Chelsea. All of Cancelo, Stones, and Dias are great picks with Cancelo offering a much higher attacking potential of the lot. However, he may get rotated during this fixture pileup.
But, and there is always a but, if you are on Free Hit for GW18, The Wire discussed going with two City attackers instead of two defenders. After all, FPL is more fun with the thrill of chasing the potential upside every once in a while.
👹 Manchester United
For all the fun poked at ManU and OGS early on, they are sat pretty as joint top with a game in hand. In the last 4 game weeks, they have been top for goals, shots on target, and minutes per chance. They play in both blank and double, and have good fixtures after that too. If this doesn’t entice you, then what will?
Bruno is of course the standout pick. And a ManU attack double-up is worth considering with Rashford being the other pick.
It’s worth noting that since the introduction of Pogba, while ManU attack has become better, Bruno’s stats have taken a hit. It remains to be seen if this trend will impact his points potential or not. Keep an eye out.
In defense, AWB and Maguire are decent picks.
🅰️ Arsenal
In recent weeks, Arsenal’s transformation has been like that of Metapod to Butterfree. If you didn’t get that, it’s a Pokemon reference, and it’s sad you don’t know that.
Their stats have been surprisingly good and they have a pretty good GW18 fixture. If you are on a free hit, you should strongly consider Arsenal.
Saka is the standout budget pick. His underlying stats are amazing, he is playing pretty far forward and passes the eye test with flying colors.
Smith Rowe is another excellent budget pick and has been playing really well. However, if you have to pick one between him and Saka, all pods agree that Saka is worth the higher price.
While Martinelli looks to be a good player and is quite cheap price, he competes with Aubameyang for minutes and will be rotated. So it’s better to stay away from him.
Arsenal’s defense is a bit suspect. However, you can bring in Holding for his cheap price and Tierney for his attacking potential if you would like to.
One differential pick that the pods discussed, especially if you are on a Free Hit, is Lacazette. He is playing pretty well and the team has started clicking, which makes him worth considering.
👟 GW18 Players to Target, Avoid, Consider
This section is more relevant to those of you who are on a Free Hit. But there are also pointers on long term play with these players, in case you are not planning to free hit.
🎯 Players to Target
City assets are the obvious shouts. KDB is a must-own for GW18 as well as in the long term. He is shooting more than Sterling, creating more chances, and part of every City attack.
Given their outstanding defensive performances, at least one City defender should be another priority. Cancelo is the best pick due to his attacking potential, but based on your budget, you can go with either of Cancelo/Dias/Stones.
As mentioned earlier, in the long term, a double City defense is the better choice and you should get a third defender. However, if you are on a free hit, then going with Sterling for one week is a gamble worth taking.
Just in case you are not tired of hearing this, Bruno is the first ManU pick in your team. Given ManU’s recent performances, a triple-up on ManU assets should be strongly considered.
Rashford, with xG of 4.44 away vs 1.21 home, is a good pick with the next three away matches.
ManU defense, while not winning any awards, is worth considering for one week. Burnley doesn’t have good attacking pedigree and presents a good opportunity for a clean sheet. Both, The Wire and AC, agree that Wan Bisaka is a good pick in defense. And while AC is not in favor of Shaw, The Wire feels he can be a good one-week punt as he is creating many chances and is also on some set pieces.
Arsenal, with their recent turnaround, is the next team to target for next week. As mentioned earlier, Saka, Smith Rowe, and Lacazette are the shouts.
Both, The Wire and AC, agree that while Villa defense is in good form, you should expect Spurs to score. If you are deciding between Kane and Son, you should pick Son.
🛑 Players to Avoid
With the news of Covid outbreak in Villa team, avoid bringing in any of the Villa players.
Keep monitoring the status of Spurs game to evaluate if Son/Kane should be brought in or not. As of this writing, it seems we will learn more about this tomorrow.
Avoid getting Burnely defense as ManU is likely to score in the game.
While ManU attack is a good place to shop, stay clear of Martial. He can very well rotate with Cavani and hasn’t been in great form.
With the emergence of Saka, Smith Rowe, and Lacazatte, it doesn’t make sense to get Aubameyang. However, The Wire did point out that if you are on a Free Hit and would like to go for a differential, he can be the man to pick. We all know the quality that Aubameyang possesses, he scored in the FA cup, and has the advantage of being the designated penalty taker. He can turn out to be a good pick…. or he may not. Think about it.
💭 Players to Consider
With City, ManU, Arsenal players set to feature heavily in all Free Hit games, the remaining spots in your team is where you could have some differentials as compared to other managers.
Both, The Wire and AC, are not too confident in the Newcastle attack. Plus, SheffU, while being arguably the worst team in the league, does have a tendency to sit back and frustrate the teams. So Wilson is not an auto-pick and should be weighed against other players in your team.
While the Newcastle attack doesn’t inspire confidence, their defense is worth seriously considering. Darlow is a decent pick for the GK spot as you would back Newcastle to keep a clean in their game. Also, Yedlin and Fernandez are the shouts for defensive spots.
All pods agree that Everton’s recent decline in performances warrants a close evaluation of DCL. While he continues to look good and involved in all of Everton’s attacks, the team hasn’t been functioning. However, if both Richarlison and Hamez play, then they are capable of breaking down Wolves defense. In summary, dropping DCL is not criminal and can be considered in your plans.
As alluded to above, Wolves defense doesn’t look to be as solid as you would expect them to be. However, if you do fancy Wolve’s defense, Saiss is the only player you should target, with Kilman being a potential bench fodder.
Ruben Neves, after taking the penalty in the last game, is an interesting prospect and could be a good bench player for GW18.
Zaha played well against Leicester and seems to be rearing to go. He can be a good differential option to consider if you are shopping in that price bracket, especially with Grealish not being an option anymore due to the Covid outbreak.
🥗 Potpourri of Topics
Below are a bunch of varied topics that the pods discussed centered around using your Chips.
To FH or not
There seems to be a consensus across all pods that if you can field at least 7-8 quality players, with the likes of KDB, Bruno, City Defenders in your team, then you should avoid using your Free Hit.
Balanced FH squad
The Wire recommends going for 3 City, 3 ManU, and 3 Arsenal players, and the rest of the spots being enablers from other teams. AC recommends looking at teams like Leeds and WHU for those enablers and advises waiting till the very end to make transfers so as to avoid getting caught out by last-minute Covid news.
Should I Wildcard?
There are murmurs of managers considering to use their shiny new wildcard to set up the team for bench boosting in GW19. While it’s an acceptable strategy, it’s not recommended as your plans can easily be disrupted due to Covid. And wildcard will surely come in handy later in the season with all the ongoing uncertainty and plethora of fixtures waiting to be rescheduled.
👑 Captaincy
KDB is the standout pick among all pods.
The ever consistent Bruno is the next pick if you don’t have KDB or a City attacker.
As a differential pick, both FMLFPL and FFTitan gave a shout to Lacazette.
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