The Continued Covid Chaos!
Hello. Downward social comparison is when people compare themselves to those who are less fortunate than them, which in some way makes them feel less sad about their own misfortunes. If you did poorly in the last game week, I hope you seek solace in the fact that yours truly could only field 8 players, which included Charlie Taylor who got injured in the eighth minute, Kilman who lost the clean sheet in the 93rd minute, and the perennial two-pointer Brewster. This resulted in the unsurmountable total of 25 points. If you had a similar game week, please send a note of empathy, for this author could use some words of compassion!
This post brings you FPL advice from this week’s free podcasts:
Unless you have been living under a rock or Bielsa’s bucket, you already know that the Burnley-ManU match has been moved to BGW18 and City-Villa to DGW19. All the pods were recorded prior to this announcement, so there is less emphasis on this aspect.
Topics Covered
🦠 Covid Talk
🎙️ Team/Players Talk
👑 Captaincy
🦠 Covid Talk
After all the speculation about a two-week pause to deal with Covid outbreaks in various teams, the Premier League has announced that they intend to continue the season as planned before. For FPL managers, this means that there is no hiding from the uncertainties and last-minute changes in the future. To mitigate potential future impacts, below are some recommendations from the pods.
Plan to make transfers as late as possible. It’s not worth the 0.1m you may gain by making early transfers.
Planning 5 game weeks in advance has always been futile, but now it’s just an absolute waste of your time and grey cells. It doesn’t mean you should ignore the blank and double game weeks, just don’t over-analyze.
Consider spreading your premiums around, instead of having them from the same team. As Son+Kane owners will tell you, a last-minute postponement can ruin your game week! However, it’s worth noting that there will always be times in the season when duos from a team are good picks. Right now, Mo+Mane is a good option, if you are fine with the risk of having multiple premiums from one team.
Hold ‘em knees and exercise the power of doing nothing, which the WGTA discussed a few weeks ago. If you can, roll your transfer to the next game week as it can come in handy in case of other postponements. Also, many people may be taking hits to manage this situation, and not taking hits may just be the underrated differential.
Do not captain against teams you know are affected by Covid right now, i.e. City, Fulham, SheffU at this point.
And do not, unless you are a masochist, have the vice-captain from the same team as your captain.
What do I do with my Chips, you ask?
Just like Pep’s roulette, nobody can predict which team gets impacted by Covid. So be flexible and ready to reconsider your original strategies.
With the fixture reschedule, ManU, City, Villa, and Burnley are the four teams that play in BGW18 and also have two games in the DGW19.
With this news, if you are able to field 7-8 players in BGW18, consider not using Free Hit. The chip will be immensely useful in the blanks and doubles around game week 26. If you still plan to use it, don’t trigger the Free Hit till the very last moment, in hopes of having as much news as possible.
If you are planning to use Bench Boost or Tripple Captain in DGW19, consider saving them. If matches get further postponed, it might lower the points potential. And if you really want to use them, consider TC over BB, as that reduces your risk.
If you don’t have any major problems in the squad, consider strengthening your bench. That can be the difference between a decent week and an absolute shit show.
🎙️ Team/Players Talk
Below are some of the brief reviews of a handful of teams.
🦁 Aston Villa
Despite their bad fixtures, Villa has continued to impress and bless us with points.
Martinez is an excellent value and is probably one of the best keepers in the game right now.
With 5 goals in the last 5 games, El Ghazi is in the form of his life. With the fixture reschedule, Villa now plays in the BGW18 and also has two games in the DGW19. This makes El Ghazi a very serious prospect.
However, he is competing with Grealish for a spot. And different pods were split on him. AC folks, while concede that he is one of the mids in the game, they think it’s acceptable to move him out as he is now more inclined to assist the assistor, than assist/score himself. Walsh from FMLFPL agrees with this assessment and adds that your ~7m funds are better invested in Robertson/TAA over Grealish.
Alon from FMLFPL, however, feels that holding on to Grealish isn’t a bad idea. He is the top 8th player in the game, is outperforming all other mids in this price range, and continues to have great underlying stats.
🦚 Leeds United
If you do not watch Leeds matches, I implore you to start doing that. This Leeds team is an absolute delight to watch and is reminiscent of Pep’s all-out attacking City of a few seasons ago.
Bamford is the no brainer pick from Leeds. And getting another midfielder is an interesting prospect.
Jack Harrison is a decent pick and has better stats than his other teammates under consideration - Rodrigo and Raphina.
Raphina looks much more dangerous though and you would anticipate him getting more chances. However, being a winger, he has been inconsistent FPL wise and sometimes may not be as involved as you would like him to be.
Rodrigo is the third consideration, who is playing a number 10 role. As AC folks point out, while this may be bad FPL wise for forwards, this Leeds team is so attacking that it doesn’t matter as much.
If you want to double up on Leeds attack, pick Bamford and either of Harrison/Raphina/Rodrigo based on your individual team situation.
In defense, Dallas is the obvious shout. He keeps getting points and is a decent pick for the DGW. However, you have to be okay with the fact that Leeds has an abysmal defensive record and his potential from clean sheets is really poor.
Alioski is not a good pick, and you will be better off picking Dallas over him for the extra 0.3m.
🍬 Everton
DCL is the only pick worth discussing from Everton. While Everton have been poor, he has still continued to tick along. He is now rested, and Hamez and Richarlison are returning, which improves his chances of scoring. If possible, hold on to him.
🦅 Crystal Palace
Zaha is the main point of discussion. His stats are good, is shooting more than usual, and plays centrally. He is a decent pick, but only for the patient managers. His inconsistent returns can be a bit frustrating, just like the TSLA stock from a year ago, you will do well only if you hold on to him for a while.
Mitchel seems to have returned to the defensive lineup, and may even replace PVA given PVA’s poor performances. He is the one to keep tabs on for cheap defense.
🅰️ Arsenal
Saka at 5m is a decent shout. He is involved with everything Arsenal does in the attack, and if Arsenal keep up their newfound form, he will be a good pick.
Martinelli is an under the radar shout from FMLFPL folks. He is a really good player, makes the right runs, gets his shots off quickly, and has a nose for goals. And he is only 4.9m.
Holding, at his cheap price tag, is a shout in the short term. But overall, Arsenal defense is a no-no at this point.
👑 Captaincy
Son/Kane are the standout picks as Spurs play a counter-attacking game which can mean a lot of goals against a very open Leeds team. If you have to pick between the two, Son would be the recommendation as his pace would better suit the game. Also, Kane was just blessed with a baby boy and he may just not play the next game.
The ever consistent Bruno against Villa is another shout.
And Vardy - rested in the last game and Lecisester clicking back again - is also a potential pick.
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