Kane or 'Nacho
Hello! The biggest dilemma facing managers this week is whether to captain Kane or Iheanacho. Many are considering not captaining Iheanacho due to the old wives’ tale which says, “Never captain in the early kick-off”.
This post brings you FPL advice from this week’s free podcasts:
Topics Covered
🎙️ Team/Players Talk
😖 Bruno Dilemma
🃏 Doubles and Chips
👑 Captaincy
🎙️ Team/Players Talk
Below are some of the brief reviews of a handful of teams.
🐝 Burnley
Taking nothing away from Burnley, it was more of Wolve’s poor performance that led to Burnley’s utter domination.
The biggest talking point was Wood’s hattrick. Both the pods discussed that Wood always has had good underlying stats and that he is playing well right now. Burnley have decent fixtures and it is worth punting on him.
AC folks also discussed how GW36 game against Leeds may be the right opportunity to target Woods.
🔴 Liverpool
This week was another reminder that Liverpool is a really good but dismally dysfunctioning team right now.
They had an xG of 2.8. Salah had 4 chances created, 3 shots, 3 big chances. Mane had 6 shots in the box. Jota had 5 shots in the box. But only a solo goal to show for all this. Epitome of “all fart, no poo.”
Mane and Firmino continued their poor form and not good picks.
While defense is still not inspiring, if you already have TAA, you should continue to keep him.
Jota continues to look like a good option for the end of season run. His occasional benching is worth his price and performance.
🐔 Tottenham Hotspurs
Spurs had a poor game against City in the Carabao cup final. With their last chance of trophy this season gone, they may not really have any motivation left to play.
However, we all know how Kane loves his goals and he golden boot. He continues to be a fine pick.
The Kane-Son connection seems to have dried up and you can pass on Son, even with the seemingly juicy upcoming fixtures.
🅰️ Arsenal
If you are invested in Arsenal’s defense, don’t be dishartened. Their defensive stats have been good and they were unlucky concede. Expect them to keep a few cleans in the coming games.
🔵 Chelsea
The Wire folks expressed their surprise at seeing Chelsea’s continued impressive defensive statistics. It’s not usual to see even the best of teams to post such solid defensive performances with such consistency. Continue to hold and look to buy Chelsea defense.
Timo has been doing Timo things i.e. miss the impossible-to-miss chances. Just in case you are holding on to him, it’s time to move on. Yes, he is a world class player but there is a thin line between hope and foolishness. Don’t cross it.
⚒️ West Ham United
You should not read too much into last two games. Wolves didn’t give West Ham much space to exploit and Chelsea’s defense is currently the best in the league.
The FPL community’s recent love, Lingard, has been dropping deep in the last couple of matches. His penalty area touches have significantly reduce too. Whether that is due to the high quality defenses West Ham recently faced or indication of the Lingard party coming to an end, only time will tell.
🦚 Leeds United
Leeds have had tough fixtures recently but have a decent run coming up. The Wire folks believe that this is the time to hop back on to the Leeds train.
Defensively, their numbers have significantly improved in recent games. Bielsa applauded their defensive performances in the press conference too. Dallas continues to be a decent buy and a good hold.
The attacking numbers for Leeds have gone down recently. That can be attributed to their tough fixtures and lack of Raphinha, their magician on the field. But with improving fixtures and Raph’s return form injury, we should expect better attacking performances from Leeds going forward.
🦊 Leicester City
Sun rises from the East. Iheanacho is a good pick. Get him.
Castagne is an amazing pick too. He has been playing almost like a striker recently and Leicester’s defense has been decent too. The only concern that the Wire folks discussed was that Pereira should be coming back which would push Castagne from right wing to left. And his performances from the left wing haven’t been as attacking as those from right. So his attacking potential may go down.
😖 Bruno Dilemma
The problem with putting someone on a pedestal is that they can only go down from there. And such is the case with Bruno, who has served the FPL community well, but now is being questioned whether he provides enough value.
AC folks discussed how he never really gets a match off and does look exhausted. However, both the pods agreed that he is still getting involved, getting his chances, and his underlying numbers have been improving. Hence both the pods recommend keeping him.
Further, he can be a good captaincy for the double game week 35.
If you are chasing rank and looking to differentiate, then yes, you can move him out.
🃏 Doubles and Chips
Aston Villa, Crystal Palace, Everton, and Southampton have an extra game yet to be played and likely to have a double game week in GW35.
You could target the likes of Sigurdsson or Richarlison for these games. And if you have Villa defense, consider holding them to target these fixutres.
Arsenal, Chelsea, Leicester, and Man United are likely to have one of their fixtures moved so will havedouble in GW35 and blanks in GW36.
You likely have many assets already from these teams. Be careful that these teams will blank in GW36, so don’t overload on them.
Unless you have your Free Hit still available. Given that you would already have many players from these teams, it seems better to free hit in GW36 instead of GW35.
👑 Captaincy
As mentioned in the beginning, Kane and Iheanacho are the standout picks.
While both the pods discussed that Iheanacho is a fine pick, all hosts are inclined towards picking Kane. This is the kind of fixture that suits him and he should likely be on the scoreline.
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