Fantasy Football Fixture Analysis Gameweek 3
Welcome to Fantasy Football Fixture Analysis Gameweek 3. GW2 FPL 2018/19 may now forever more be remembered as Jamie Jackson Week. There’s a fair to middling chance that prior to about 4.25pm on Friday many (most) of you will never have even heard of Jamie Jackson before. Yeah sure enough, he’s got a hallowed ‘blue tick’ on his twitter page and he’s a ‘journalist’ for The Guardian but we aren’t talking Henry Winter or Neil Custis levels of notoriety here. I’ll freely admit I didn’t have a scooby who he was either. I do now though! He’s just about the most hated person on twitter within FPL circles as we speak. Even Ben Crellin blushed. Bobby Madley’s publicist was perhaps the only person to benefit from the whole debacle, in a Tony Blair style ‘good week to bury bad news’ style.
We digress (before we get sued!)… On to this weeks Fixtures article –
My much younger, less good looking and much smaller (than Rosco, who isn’t?!) predecessor AT (don’t worry he’s not dead!) spent last week telling you all about the bleeding obvious. Gems such as ‘Man City and Liverpool are good, Newcastle are bad’ fell from his expert fantasy hands onto the keyboard. And he was correct to do so. I’ll not be so lazy though, rest assured. Maybe…
To be fair to our young whipper snapper he gave you Man City who spanked Huddersfield, Everton who were also victorious, just, and Liverpool who limped home, in a grey fashion….
Unfortunately he also advised you avoid both Newcastle and Brighton like the plague. And both went and got (relatively) positive results. Which is quite fitting really given as the mantra ‘Bloody AT’ was almost trending on site after GW1! I’m not entirely sure why it was but it seems he may have spent pre-season systematically destroying peoples teams one by one like some demented FPL version of T-1000.
I’m sure it was just a quirk of the scheduling calendar that meant I could follow up next after his every fixtures article….
Favourable Fixtures
Manchester City – Wolves (A), Newcastle (H), Fulham (H) There was a benign early passage of play, way before City even opened the scoring, it involved Ederson and Stones playing it across their own goal line, virtually. If you love football you’ll have seen it and smiled wryly as I did. It was almost Pep eating himself, such was it’s audacity and daring. The whole thing took a matter of seconds, but probably encapsulated Pep’s whole philosophy, maybe to an n’th degree that even he didn’t daren’t envisage. But it also then ballooned a while later into Ederson himself making a pinpoint through ball, an 80 yard one, for Kun’s opener. Surely the best and most deliberate assist we’ve ever seen from a keeper?
Does it really matter who they play next? Probably not, they’re streets ahead of anyone. Your main difficulty is of course second guessing which players will actually play. Fortunately that’s not our job here on Fixtures, we just point you at the correct teams! I will however give you a steer as to my own thinking on this, as a bonus (!), I have Ederson and Kun currently and I’m fixing to add Mendy to those. I’m ignoring the mids for now as it’s clearly a mine field. Mendy thinks he’s a mid anyway, so that’s good enough for me.
Arsenal – West Ham (H), Cardiff (A), Newcastle (A)
Wenger out! Oh no, hang on… we went there, did that and he left. Eventually…. Emery out?! Not quite yet. Yeah ok the first two results haven’t quite been perfect but then again neither were the fixtures. The next ones will probably tell us far more as they’re all ‘winnable’ on paper. And it’s not just the next 3 either, Emery and co go all the way until GW11 now until they next meet one of the Big 6. They have a clear run now, as such. Make of it what you will but GW’s 3 to 10 will be definitive for them and also perhaps Emery himself.
West Ham at home is probably just the tonic they need right now as Pellegrini’s men have shipped 6 in 2 games and only scored 1 in response, and that was from the penalty spot. A couple of away trips follow but neither looks particularly daunting.
If you deliberately swerved the Gunners for their opening couple of games then that was probably wise but you can start to look at them as viable options from here on in. Certainly from an attacking point of view anyway. Personally I’d take a rain check on their defenders for now, until they all get their heads around this playing out from the back thing, or at least until Cech does finally stick one in his own net and is inevitably forced to pick up his walking stick and wander off into the distance like Grandpa from The Simpsons, muttering ‘bloody kids’ under his breath.
Chelsea – Newcastle (A), Bournemouth (H), Cardiff (H)
Would Sir like sauce on that? Sometimes the devil is in the detail. Or so it seems in football management. Seemingly, something as simple as reintroducing ketchup to the lunch service can reinvigorate an entire squadron of men these days. I’m being slightly facetious of course but ketchup is the new word for ‘fun’ in modern football management parlance. If the manager allows it he’s perceived as the relaxed type, if he doesn’t then he’s a disciplinarian. And so cyclical are these things that replacing the ‘no sauce’ Conte with the more ‘saucy’ Sarri was the logical step.
Whether it is indeed sauce, or simply the fresh approach from a manager known for his attacking style, the players certainly seem to have embraced it and they have 2 wins out of 2 under their belts now and 3 goals in each game. Even Morata has scored. Miracle sauce?
If you’re looking for cheap options who play for a top side then you could do worse than look at the likes of Luiz and Pedro right now. Alonso carries a more premium label but if the hype is to be believed then he’s more than likely going to score a lot more than most mids or even forwards who cost the same. You’d have to imagine that Hazard may just embrace playing in a free flowing Sarri side too.
Best of the rest
Crystal Palace – Watford (A), Southampton (H), Huddersfield (A)
This is just a heads up really that you have 6 weeks of Palace bliss, if you choose to accept it, and then 5 weeks of hell. Well ok, probably not hell, but it’s all relative. After the above 3 games Woy also leads his twoops into games against Newcastle, Bournemouth and Wolves. And then things get potentially more wocky, albeit gradually so, with Everton, Arsenal, Chelsea, Spurs and Man United being their next 5.
Richarlison – Bournemouth (A), Huddersfield (H), West Ham (H)
Fun fact, our young Brazilliant hero has never scored a professional goal without Marco Silva being tucked into his left sock and operating him by remote control. Ok, so that may not be strictly true but it doesn’t feel that far removed from the reality of his career in England thus far. Robot Rich has a decent run of games ahead of him. The ones noted above are punctuated by a trip to Arsenal but even after that he gets a go at Fulham, Leicester and Palace.
Unfavourable Fixtures
Cardiff – Huddersfield (A), Arsenal (H), Chelsea (A)
When you need a 97th minute penalty save to get a point in a 0-0 at home to Newcastle you probably know it’s going to be a long season. Huddersfield away next is the proverbial 40 pointer. Beyond that classic it’s Arsenal, Chelsea and Man City on the bounce and then Spurs and Liverpool in 2 of the following 4. Sell! Sell! Sell! Or rather, slap yourself hard in the face for buying in the first place.
Spurs – Man United (A), Watford (A), Liverpool (H)
Take a pic. It’s not often you find Spurs hidden down here. It’s more cautionary than anything though as we know they can perform in any given game, from an attacking perspective. I probably just wouldn’t bank on any of their defenders for a few weeks, that’s all really.
Thanks for reading Fantasy Football Fixture Analysis Gameweek 3. This article was written by Inittowinit
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Would it be silly to xfer salah to mane and firmino to aguero i know salah is picking up points but so far mane looks like liverpools star this season
I think that is a difficult question and it will divide opinions.
Both combinations, Salah/Firmino and Mane/Aguero, are more than capable of scoring the same amount of points.
I like the combination of Mane / Aguero a bit more because it gives you attacking cover for Liverpool and Man City. (especially with the current form of Mane, if there is such a thing after 2 game weeks)
Would I spend 2 free transfers on this? probably not.
“so far mane looks like liverpools star this season”
Based on what? Have you actually seen the games?
I am sure he based “star player” on the below
MIDFIELDERS TS Total score
Mané 26
Salah 17
Yeah, which is very incorrect… This would only suggest that Mane has been Liverpool’s star during the first two games (although I don’t agree even with that). It’s just wrong to predict that Mane will be Liverpool’s star this season based on two fixtures… And he clearly didn’t watch yesterday’s game, it was all Salah, had a lot more shots, had a few great chances, was a lot more dangerous than Mane, and then in the last minute Mane comes and scores a goal, very lucky, Salah was so close to scoring a goal during the first 93 minutes… So based on yesterday’s game alone, I’d say Salah will be Liverpool’s star player this season! Given it’s Salah, Liverpool’s star player last season, there’s no logic whatsoever to suggest that anyone other than Salah will be Liverpool’s star this season (at least not in this moment!)!
Deep breath…
1 – 2 – 3 – 4 – 5 – 6 – 7 – 8 – …….
Thanks Leprechaun, You just brought me back to earth.
I was about to write an entire essay about predictions and such but now I have taken a few deep breaths I will just leave things as they are.
It is mostly a very friendly site. Differences of opinion are very welcome (imho) but respect goes a long way.
Let’s have fun with the game.
Not quite sure if you were referring to me or not, but I didn’t mean to be disrespectful! Just wanted to help by chipping in with my opinion! If you heard my voice it would have been sweet as honey
I don’t think that’s a good idea – I wouldn’t touch Salah for the rest of the season – find another way to get Mane. It’d be a great tandem! But that’s just my opinion, as I have 3 Liverpuddlians (am not a supporter, but just love watching them play, as I do with City) in my team.
181 points so a good start. Nothing ITB and 2 FT, thinking Shaw, Eriksen to Alonso and Milkhi – good plan?
Congrats on the great start and yes that is a good plan
Very good plan!
I think I’d rather leave your Arsenal coverage as it is and get Hazard in for Eriksen and downgrade Shaw to free up the cash
Yo guys how’s everyone’
Won’t mention the nasty Aguero rumour that lost me 20 pts (net 11 after capt Salah) !!
Question is about the brilliant My Rules league that Zorro (I think it was him) has set up, would like to see a mini article or score roundup / chat on the league especially the meanings behind the squad name & players picked,, ive got most of the obvious ones but theres a couple of obscure ones I want to know about.
Cheers.
England’s 3 Lions
Plz rmt
Good luck with that then. You best mail him.
Which teams do you not know the rules for?
Panchos.
Hey zorro thx for the reply.
So not sure on..
Red Flag
Zeds Afro Jazz
Colriles Alphebet
Afro Jazz = African born, Alphabet is the surnames all start with a different letter of the Alphabet. RedFlag = no idea, I’ll check the whole league tomorrow and delete any not following the rules. It’s 1am chez moi. cheers mate.
Not enough of us for an article right now. Next season, I’ll do an article in the close season, do H2H etc. Look out for a Cup before Christmas this year, top 16 qualify.
Ok Zorro
Thx again
How many games does ObiWan miss as FPL says suspended until September 1st? For Vardy it says suspended until September 15th. I thought a straight red for a foul was 3 games.
3 games for dangerous play or violent conduct.
1 game for 2 bookings or a professional foul.
Cheers.So that was a professional foul then.
There is a good chance Im wrong but I think it might be down to the type of foul that earned the red card. One game ban for a professional foul (wan) and three for violent conduct (presumably Vardy, but I didn’t see the incident so can’t be sure)
Vardy’s charge is ‘serious foul play’, or dangerous if you like: violent conduct is for throwing a punch etc.
1 FT, 0 ITB what do you suggest?
Nothing.
I am sure most people would be happy if they could swap their team with yours.
Save your free transfer for any eventualities.
Just put Peltier first on the bench, or maybe even sub with PvA, (but that’s just a maybe) and you are good to go…
Team looks great. I might be tempted to take out Bellerin on account of him having a poor start to the season, but with the Arsenal fixtures I’m not sure it’s worth it.
I am actally happy hoe Bellerin played in last to matches. I am bit worried about Kepa. Should I swap him for Ederson.
Leave as is and save the transfer
As the ELO song goes, “Hold on tight to your dreams…” Oh hell – that brands me as an old coot, doesn’t it???
Oops, let’s be more serious!
Or as Grannie used to tell me, “Leave it alone, or you’ll go blind”.
How clairvoyant Granny was about FPL managers & their longing to change everything around week after week!