Need some last minute advice and transfer tips ahead of gameweek 10? We’ve got you covered.
What to do with Son?
As a new owner of Son, I feel the pain. Ange suggested he wasn’t ready for the midweek game but is expected at the weekend. I think he starts but probably won’t get 90 minutes. He trained on Friday and Ange has said if he trains as well on Saturday then he’ll play on Sunday. I expect him to play which means he’s a hold, especially as he has Ipswich next week as well.
Image source: daily mail
Maddison and Solanke have not been as effective as I would expect. Solanke hasn’t been finding the net too regularly and is proving a bit expensive for his return. I still think he’s worth holding because of the Spurs fixture list but I would rate Chris Wood and Cunha higher than him right now, and they’re cheaper. That’s based on form for Wood and fixtures for Cunha.
On Maddison, he seems to be falling out of favour a bit given he’s getting much less than 90 minutes each game. A few weeks ago he looked like a decent player to bring in, again those Spurs fixtures are tempting, but returns and game time isn’t great. Unless you have no other transfers, then hold but I would be getting concerned. If you haven’t already Mbeumo is the obvious player at a similar price. I’d also prefer Bowen as well but fixtures are a bit mixed and West Ham haven’t looked great. If he’s benched this week, Maddison is a must sell – too expensive to keep for the lack of minutes.
Man United’s new manager bounce – who should we buy?
Firstly, Man United don’t yet have a new manager in place and it’s looking like Ruud Van Nistelrooy will be in charge at least for this week and maybe more.
On paper the 5-2 win against Leicester in midweek was impressive and suggests a bounce but the underlying stats weren’t much better than previous games, the difference is that the chances were finished.
Now you could argue that’s what matters most but I still view buying any Man United players as a punt. If I had to pick one, it would be Garnacho – he’s cheap and usually in and around the goals. I wouldn’t stretch to Fernandes because it’s just too much cash to tie up on such a risk.
Image source: sky
In a footballing sense, even if a new manager (appears to be Amorim) comes in, I wouldn’t expect United players become must buys any time soon. It’s going to take time to turn them around and the squad is really quite flawed – it’s not just players who aren’t doing it for a manager, they simply need a lot of work on the training pitch to get organised and tactically on track.
Is a bargain defence a better strategy?
A lot of teams seem to have some combination of Arsenal, City and Liverpool defenders in them. For obvious reasons; they’re the best teams so most likely to keep a clean sheet and also most likely to be on the front foot in games so defenders can get attacking returns. Gabriel, Trent and Gvardiol are popular picks, for example, but each are over £6m and Trent is £7m.
Image source: BBC Sport
It’s a lot of budget to put into defence and many feel that Trent in particular, hasn’t returned enough on that. However, the truth is that the 3 above, plus Van Dijk, are the top points scorer for defenders so far. Is the 40-45 points enough though?
In short, yes! If you look at the midfielders is that price range, there’s only a few which have scored the same or more (McNeil, Madueke, Smith-Rowe, Barnes, Iwobi and Kovacic). Everyone else in the list are either more expensive or A LOT more expensive.
And let’s break it down, McNeil is easily the cheapest in that list but I have doubts about his ability to keep scoring at that rate. Madueke is bolstered by that hat-trick but hasn’t really scored many points outside of that. The others are all decent bargain midfielders but their rate of return is as much as you can really expect, if not above expectations.
As for Trent and co, over the long run there should be more to come from them with the possibility of clean sheets and attacking returns bolstering their points hauls. Given the teams they are in and the quality of the defences they play for they’re worth the money.
The final thing to consider is that even if the premium defenders are a bit expensive, they’re still only mid to low range prices compared to midfielders and when putting a squad together, you can only select so many midfielders anyway.
When’s the best time for wildcard?
This is a tricky question because it depends what your team looks like. A useful exercise is to look at who you would have on a wildcard draft and then compare it to your current team – how far off are you?
In my view, you sit in 1 of 4 camps:
- You’ve already wildcarded (good for you, 1 less headache)
- You should be wildcarding this week – you’re team is a mess
- Game week 12 there’s a turn in fixtures so it’s a good time to re-focus your team
- Hold it and wing it until the time is right
For obvious reasons I won’t delve into the first one.
If you’re really unhappy with your team, you’ve got lots of injuries or you’re just behind the curve and too many transfers away from correcting it then this is the week. You’ve got to have Mbeumo, you need a premium defender or 2 and you need Salah or Haaland. If this isn’t the case then you’ve got to be considering it.
My current strategy is to choose between game week 12 or to just simply hold it if it’s not necessary in 12. Chelsea in particular has good fixtures from 12 onwards as do Arsenal and Brighton. Man City and Liverpool have a bit of a mix and so the Haaland v Salah debate is there to be considered.
Ultimately, you’ve got to look ahead to see who you want in your team at least for the next 4-5 weeks after a wildcard. It’s no good hitting that button only to be wanting to make wholesale changes a couple of weeks later because your players have bad fixtures.
Is it time to sell Haaland?
Firstly, a quick word on Liverpool. Jota is out for a while which makes Nunez an option however I would be wary of Gakpo being preferred down the middle and Diaz coming into the left flank position.
The only constant is Salah and I’m increasingly thinking he’s the better option than a certain Erling Haaland. All that could change in a couple of weeks if Salah goes quiet and Haaland bangs a few in so be wary of chasing previous weeks points. Salah for Haaland seems to be trending and is a debate that’s picking up steam with every week that Salah outscores his rival.
Overall, there is no right answer. Even having a draft with both in isn’t perfect given you have to then miss out on other players like Palmer, Saka and Son. I would probably rate myself as 60:40 in favour of owning Salah right now but I have Haaland and am not selling him yet. That’s the real dilemma, do you sell one for the other?
Once again, all I can say is well done FPL on the pricing. You can’t have all the big names so there’s so much team variety, making this one of the most interesting and difficult FPL seasons ever.
Also on Liverpool, I’d like to say that Trent is still a great option, as discussed above. Yes the price is high but he’s basically a midfielder and his underlying stats are good and suggest he’ll be getting more attacking returns soon.
Liverpool have a mixed fixture list but they’ve navigated the season well so far so I’m wouldn’t expect a drop off.
Our transfer targets
In defence I prefer at least 1 more premium but with Gvardiol and Gabriel both flagged I’d favour Trent. Saying that both Gvardiol and Gabriel may still play, I just wouldn’t be buying them this week.
I usually like players like Porro but he’s not returned that well this year and his underlying attacking numbers are quite low recently. Spurs fixtures are good but I’m skeptical as to whether he’ll capitalise on them.
Lewis is a must have. For his in-game positioning he’s not got the assists or goals you would hope but he’s started 8/9 games and with City’s injuries looks to keep it for some time. The price makes him a must-have.
Rayan Aït-Nouri has 3 goals in 4 games, is £4.6m and great fixtures ahead. On 4 yellow cards but worth the risk of missing 1 upcoming game if he picks up his 5th.
Into Midfield if you don’t have Mbeumo then he is your priority transfer. The price, the consistency, the fixtures and on penalties…need I say more.
Of the premiums, Salah is pick of the bunch at home to Brighton with Saka away to Newcastle and Palmer away to Man United. It’s not to say they can’t do well but logic dictates that Salah has the better chance of a high score this week.
Palmer is probably the best long term pick with the fixtures from game week 12 very favourable.
McNeil gets a mention because of his price but I am expecting his returns to dry up sometime soon. Saying that, Everton fixtures remain good for a while so while that’s the case he remains a great addition.
Forwards
Cunha is my top target in attack. I’ve already mentioned but the fixtures are too good and he not only passes the eye test, his returns have been decent in the tougher games.
Image source: theguardian
Liam Delap is another one not to be overlooked. Yes Ipswich are likely to be fighting relegation all season but he’s already scored a few goals so is adapting well to the Premier League and the fixture list isn’t too bad.
Wellbeck remains one of the best points per million players in the game right now but I’d hold off bringing him in for 2 weeks. With Liverpool then Man City, you’re better off waiting to bring him in. After that, he’s right back up there among the best picks.
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