Fantasy Football Tips Gameweek 9
Welcome to Fantasy Football Top 20 Analysis. Kun? No Can Do! “… Kathmandu?” Ok! That took it a bit too far.
But that’s just how funny I am. Really! Between having absolutely no sense of humour to trying to sound an iota as funny as those other legendary writers on this site, I just don’t know how to go about this. So bear with me guys. Be gentle with me (Yikes! Here I go again!).
So, after what seems to be years and decades of freeloading on FF247’s advice, news, wall-street-level stats, suggestions, rate-my-teams and ‘funny-as-other-people’s-pain’ humour; I decided to crunch some numbers and finally give back. If by giving back, it means that the very cool admins accept this (future) Pulitzer piece. The fact that FF247 sent me a free t-shirt, with their cool logo and everything, shipped it all the way to the backwaters of Thimphu, and the first thing I did when it got here was to rip open the package, shove my head through it and tear a gaping hole in the neck, and then misplaced it somewhere in my black hole of a closet which has also been niggling like Sturridge’s ankles in the back of my head till now.
O.K. So, what’s not funny? I’ll tell you what’s not funny. The fact that one, yes ONE single gentleman (or gentlewoman for that matter) of the top 20 players in the whole of premier fantasy league owns Aguero. With a name like redstar, that fantasy-leaguer must be off the bonkers on cheap Vodka. But hey! Who am I to judge? He (or she) is top 20 as of Gameweek 7. But Aguero? Remember that guy? The guy who scores hat-tricks for fun; who can single-handedly win league titles; the darling of fantasy leaguers (not Pep); the guy who’s most likely to be a Japanese comic book hero. The fact that our little hero tried to do a Prince (yes, the singer Prince) and remove some ribs sometime ago; or that Argentinean football in general, is in some kind of doomsday mode, must be why so few in the top 20 or any of the 5.2 or so million fantasy leaguers own him.
Forwards
Enough of Kun then. Who are the top 20 trying to fill his custom-designed cleats with in the forward positions? As of Gameweek 7 Lukaku, with his size 15s (ahem, no pun intended even though United fans keep reminding us of such), is the lead pretender-to-the-throne, with an enviable ownership of 17 of the 20 top fantasy-leaguers. His league-leading 7 goals and 50 points (second only to Kun) makes him the most owned by in the top 20 as well as nearly 60% of all fantasy leaguers. Kane, yes, the saviour of English football, is a very close second. He is owned by 16 of the top 20 players; has a league-second 6 goals with 45 points and is owned by nearly 39% of all fpl-ers. In addition to these two heavy-hitters, the top 20’s other four preferred strikers (in no particular order of race, gender, income or talent) are Morata (Chelsea), Firminio (Liverpool), Chicharito (West Ham) and Lacazette (Arsenal); each owned by 4, 3, 3, and 3 players respectively in the global top 20.
Midfielders
Unlike strikers, the top 20 do not have a clear preference for any single midfielder. Coutinho, that £200m little magician (for Liverpool fans only), who curls that right footer with more English and accuracy than Angelina Jolie with a Desert Eagle (… go watch Wanted) is somehow the most owned midfielder. 8 of the top 20 own him. How and why, I don’t know. Maybe Neymar has had a private word with those guys (or girls). If he has, I want to officially register my complaint vis-à-vis insider-information-trading and all that. But the little Brazilian (not that Brazilian, you idiots!) is a huge differential, since only 8.7% of all fantasy-leaguers own him. Maybe he is expected to explode with points at some point? (O.k. At this point, I just give up with my puns). He is followed closely in ownership by Mikhitarian (Manchester United), Silva (Manchester City) and Salah (Liverpool); each owned by 7, 7, and 6 of the top 20. An honorable mention for Kante (owned by 5 of the top 20 players) whose ‘quadruple lung’ is the only reason (in my opinion) why Chelsea sold Matic to United. WHY? HOW? Only the master of the dark arts Mourinho knows.
Defenders
Then there’s defence. Like strikers, our top 20 clearly prefer one or two players above all others. Tottenham’s Davies, who wasn’t on most fpl-ers radars (c’mon, be honest), is owned by 14 of the top 20. His fantasy-league-leading 49 points shows why he is so coveted. He is owned by nearly a quarter of all fantasy leaguers and in no way looks to be replaced by anyone, anytime soon; a ‘Rose by any other name’ or otherwise. The next best thing – defense-wise – is Arsenal’s Monreal, who is owned by 10 of the top 20. I think they’ve forgotten the 4-0 drubbing by Liverpool. But they have not lost a game since then, so maybe there is value in an Arsenal defence. Those in the top 20 who own Monreal perhaps know more than us, since again, he makes a very good differential. Not only is Monreal not even in the top 25 of the most selected defenders by fantasy players worldwide, he is also third behind Kolasinac and Bellerin at Arsenal, who have both scored fewer points and cost much more. Make of that as you may. Trippier (Tottenham), Bailly (Manchester United), Hegazi (West Brom) and Mbemba (Newcastle), owned by 6, 5, 5, and 5 of the top 20 players worldwide are the other preferred defenders.
Goalkeepers
Finally, in terms of goalies, there is no debate really. De Gea, who single-handedly kept Manchester United’s season alive last year, the year before that, and … (O.k. enough) is the clear choice between the sticks for 15 of the top 20 fantasy leaguers. This year, he has kept 6 clean sheets (from 7 games!) scored 49 points so far, and is owned by a little over 37% of all fantasy leaguers. Personally, if there is one goalie who stands a chance at breaking the world record fee for a goalkeeper or better yet, become the first £100m goal-keeper, it’s this guy. We just have to wait and see who’s desperate enough to fork out that kind of Mayweather money – Real Madrid, Manchester City, PSG? Anyway, the next keeper no one will be forking out more than £10m for, but is selected by 6 of the top 20 players in fantasy league is Newcastle’s Eliott. Even though he does not even crack top 7 in terms of points scored, he is dirt-cheap at 4.1 million and therefore, owned by exactly a quarter of all fantasy league players. Like Hegazi, West Brom’s Foster gets an honourable mention for goalkeepers owned by 3 of our very own top 20.
So there you have it. If you’ve been left frustrated by your FPL team. If you do a -4 or -8 week in, week out. If you are the joke of your mini-league, mini-bar, your office and your missus, then pay heed to these 20 wise people. Do as they do and improve your standings – fantasy-league-wise and personal fantasy-wise. The winter is upon us. Use that Wild Card judiciously. Copy a team if you must. Unless these people use their WC too and change their teams drastically. Then you’re sh*t out of luck.
Thank you all for hearing me out. I sincerely hope your eyes and ears aren’t bleeding now. My fingers certainly are.
Thanks for reading Fantasy Football Top 20 Analysis
This article was written by PunkDragon.
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Gameweek Tracker GW8-11
Hi guys,
Grateful for views on the WC team. Pretty inauspicious start so need to pick things up. Zip in the bank.
Cheers!
Can you do Hart to Elliot, Aspil to Luiz and Ritchie to Fabregas. I like Fabregas if Kante is out. When he plays he tends to get points. I’m not a fan of Hart either
I like Smashs idea here.
Have you considered going without Lukaku at all? I only ask as I was playing with a potential WC last night and by losing him to Vardy I managed to then get 2 more Man City, Hazard and Courtois. Felt like a decent swap!
Cheers guys. What about this as a revised draft? Lose the Chelsea defence but feels more balanced in midfield.
Slightly! I don’t think you’re ever going to land on anything ideal in the mid with that forward line though, realistically. And that’s not to say don’t go with it either.
To Smash specifically this (as he’s in the fence camp with me as to when to do it) but more than happy for anyone else to chip in.
Current team and potential WC team below. What would you do?
Evening Init. How many FTs have you got? I don’t think there is much change there that you can’t do gradually.
1 on that top one.
Considering Salah / Laca to Hazard / Vardy if I don’t WC.
Or Lukaku / Salah to Hazard / Jesus.
Or many, many other combos in which Silva also features heavily!
I’d do Salah and Lacazette out first and then make another move or two the week after. You can make the WC team that way without using it.
Init
I still have my WC and I’m wondering when to use it.
Like the balance better in your new team I think. Losing Lukaku is calculated as you mention above but I just can’t see merit in it just now.
Lacazette to Vardy only and the Hazard move can’t happen I assume?
Yes it can. That’s my first option presented.
I see that now sorry. Shame to lose Salah.
How confident are you on Hazard this week?
His away stats are actually fairly abysmal! Then again he doesn’t get to play this Palace team every week!
I stuck him in today just to have a play around. I wasn’t convinced bringing him in this week was as obvious as it seems. Think we may be trying to forecast a ‘boom’ game which isn’t guaranteed.
I think Salah will consistently get us points and will be as high as a kite after the weekend. That’s the reason I couldn’t bring him out.
I’m not convinced Chelsea are going to thrash Palace. Just after the break Woy would have worked with a lot of those Palace players over international break as they would not be called up plus they will be super defensive
I’d hold off wild card for time being. Just not sure if changes are quite worth it. Ritchie and Yoshida have some nice fixtures but then I think there are better options. I think Sterling is a transfer waiting to happen. Hazard is just coming back still not playing 90 every week but could score big soon. Will Kante not being there affect Chelsea. Not sure new players will outscore old ones enough to merit the wild card
Hi Innit,looking at that midfield id be pressing the button mate.There are at least 7 players i would want shut of.From my point of view I wish I’d hung on a few more weeks as my team wasn’t in bad shape and Moratas injury has put a big spanner in the works ! I think I’d be giving that first draft of yours a tweak though ! Ritchie would deffo go as now Shelvey is back he has lost some set pieces which diminishes his appeal.
I’ve got about 10 different drafts at the moment and I just can’t make my mind up !!
Thanks Brooky. And Smash. That’s the thing though, it’s still ‘ok’ and more so with minor tweaks and not so rough around the edges that a WC is a necessity. But those 6 changes alone all feel like they will score more than the removed ones over the course of the next few weeks.
Could just do Lacazette to Vardy Ince to Sterling ? Or Lukaku to Jesus Ince to Sterling ? and hang on a few more weeks ?
Much the same debate I’ve been having with myself. What was your start of season plan for the wildcard? Mine has been to try and hold it until GW13 when 10 GW’s in the space of 5 calendar weeks start, when I can make sure my entire squad is as nailed on as possible. My patience is being sorely tested though!
Yeah that’s where it’s really tough for me. The tweaks are costing us points. It’s just the uncertainty about Morata, Aguero, injuries that their not long term and the implications when their back. Plus Ritchie has some nice fixtures as does Yoshida but you won’t want them in a couple of weeks.
Brooky I’ve considered about 20 combos and all are perfectly viable. Chances are I’ll just pick one of those and save it I think.
Robbo I never have a set plan for it really. It’s more a case of when disaster strikes and it looks like a car crash without it. This would be a removal from that and actually be a proactive one.
Smash I’d keep those now if I did but yeah I’d want them gone soon and have them already now so keeping it back a bit aids that.
Init
I like your existing team but I can see your reasoning to maybe use your WC, it might be best to hold fire for another week and do a hit this week 😉
That’s almost certainly what will happen but appreciate the thoughts of everyone hence asking. Majority saying hold off so that’s probably what I’ll do.
I’m almost at the stage where I’m afraid to play my WC!!
Ha ha Kop.Just don’t play it during an international break ! 2 weeks is too long to tinker.Pass the aspirin !!
If I don’t play it next week it may wait a few more weeks. I’m away for a week and will be busy with work either side.
Which of these is best?
A. Bailly to Jones
B. Bailly to Otamendi
C. Bailly to Monreal
D. Bailly and Naughton to Jones and Monreal (2 fts)
A I’m keeping an eye on Holding for Arsenal defensive coverage. I like Otamendi but he’s on 3 bookings
Do you think Holding will come back into the fray?
Yeah Wenger is playing 3 at the back. So Monreal, Kos when he’s fit and prob Holding I’m guessing. Mustafi is out for a while
Oh I didn’t realise Mustafi was injured. Holding should come in then. Is he a better option than Naughton?
Yeah waiting to hear from Wenger about the injury. But I’m hoping he’s a cheap route into the Arsenal defence
Hmm cool. I might just do Bailly to Jones and see what Wenger says then swap Naughton to Holding!!
Which is better choice lads?
The first one for me with some changes to consider, Tadic ( he’s just not a good FPL asset) to either Richarlison/Choupa, Bertrand to either Yoshida or Cedric ( he doesn’t currently offer value IMO) and use the money saved on the sbove to turn Mbemba ( he’s a game time risk) to Ward! Oh and switch Foster to Fabianski who has better fixtures! Like the rest!
Sorry mason – ward not Mbemba!
Thx rosco
I prefer the 2nd team tbh
My bad thought this was a WC!!
Thoughts on this potential wc team ? All in on City attack for 2 weeks then..
Gw10 Sterling to Richarlson (Aguero might be back which could affect Sterling’s minutes and Watfords fixtures improve?)
Gw10/11 Hazard to Coutinho. (Liverpool have 2 tricky fixtures then great ones from Gw10 onwards)
Gw12 Will have enough money to do Vardy to Lukaku for when United’s fixtures change for the better.
Jesus can stay as a place holder for Morata.
Would be playing 4-3-3.
Don’t see why not mate. You’ve obviously thought it through in terms of future plans and fixtures too. Defence is a bit weak for my liking but other than killing a mid there’s not a lot you can do to change that.
Actually, in terms of fixtures it’s not all that bad is it? The defence.
Yeah Southamton and Leicesters next 4 are decent,Davies is Davies and Burnley have good fixtures and ward has some attacking threat.Cedric will become Jones in Gw 12 or I could just leave Jones in instead of Maguire ?
May as well ride the fixtures and do Maguire for now.
Like the wildcard team. The plans will all go to ruin though…
Ha ha yes they usually do.No point planning so far ahead !!
Can’t really argue against those reasons. They all make sense to me. Think I’d prefer Jones in there plus keeping an eye on Holding
Cheers Smash.Not Keen on Holding as surely Arsenals defence becomes weaker with so many players missing plus after the next 3 their fixtures weaken.
I really like it brooky! Seeing hazard in your team is making me jealous
Cheers Mitro.Its a bit of a gamble as we don’t know Hazards true form or fitness but he can easily become Countinho in a couple of weeks.
Brooky
I would have brought in hazard this week if it weren’t for Kane giving me nightmares!