Fantasy Premier League Ramblings 2018/19
Sometimes I have thoughts and on occasion I am allowed to express them on here. Not sure where this article is headed, but let us just type away and see what comes of it.
There has been some mention of Keita on the site recently and he has started to appear on some of the teams managers have been posting. I have been particularly interested in him and have been trying to monitor the commentary on top of whatever I can watch of him. His previous numbers tend to reveal that 10 goals and 10 assists is not a huge ask for this season, assuming he gets between 2800-3000 minutes. In fact, an uptick on assists is very possible, since when we look at his previous assist tallies we are not looking at FPL assists, which are a bit different.
On paper, it feels like he could be a bonus point magnet, but it is hard work winning them bonus points with the kind of players he will have alongside him. So he can have many a standout game and fall short in bonus points because the front three combined for four goals. Plus, there is also yellow cards. Keita doesn’t mind picking one up which will also cut into his chances at bonus points. Despite those things though, he is still likely to get his fair share. He should make a key pass or two per game and on this team, it could be more. Plus if he carries on like he did in the Bundesliga he will be elite at completing dribbles which the BPS system loves. Add his capacity for recovering balls and if he does get about 10 and 10 on goals and assists, he should be near 20 bonus points for the season.
My biggest reservation about having Keita is not his price (that’s perfect) it is that he takes up a LFC spot and when there is a huge interest in having a defender of theirs and possibly Salah and Firmino, tough decisions have to be made. There feels like there is similar value and similarly priced players, where we wouldn’t have to take a coveted LFC player spot up with Keita. Ramsey and Mkhi, Pogba and Lingard, Groß and some a bit cheaper that could also pan out. So why tie up the spot when we could just go somewhere else for similar results?
I am asking you! Wait…you are waiting on me to answer that?
The thing is, do any of us know, I am sure we all have an opinion, but there is a lot of guesswork to this. Here is my guess, Keita will outperform just about everyone in his price bracket, which we will call the 6-8 million bracket. I do think Pogba will finally score well in FPL, but that’s a topic for a different day. So that means that if I set up my team right this minute, he be in. Who would I sacrifice? Probably my LFC defender, if I decide I want Firmino from the start. Yeah, Salah is definitely in, he is the most terrifying player since Suarez to watch play when you don’t own. Well that went a bit long, I wanted to write a paragraph on Keita and move on.
So instead of making some long winded opinions on other topics like I just did with Naby, let me offer some quick takes. Some of these will be familiar to people who frequent the board if you have seen any of my comments over the last couple of days.
– Zaha creates a lot of penalties for his team, second only to Sterling last season. Milivojevic is unlikely to replicate the goals from last season anyway, but if Zaha leaves there is no chance he will.
– City play the three newly promoted teams and the three promoted teams from last season right after Arsenal. So make sure you have some nice City coverage for GW’s 2-7 or it will likely lead to lots of misery.
– I did a set piece takers list HERE so don’t forget to check that out. Be aware though, don’t get too excited about who takes direct free kicks for a team. There was only 17 goals scored from said shots last season and two of those were scored by Coutinho. Having said that, every little bit helps and I still prefer whoever I own to be on them if possible.
– #DaveSaves I get it, set and forget. There is a lot of nice in not having to ever worry about that position, no transfers, no hits. I will say one thing, that might be considered negative. What is more likely, that he has another FPL season of 172 points or that he returns closer to what he averaged (136 by the way) the previous four seasons?
– I was going to make a point or two about Ralls from Cardiff, but that Cookie wrote an article on it, so just go check that out. HERE > Cookie loves Cardiff
– Besides Azpilicueta and maybe Alonso, there seems to be little to no interest in Chelsea on RMTs. However, I would advise to keep a closer eye on them. In particular if Hazard and Willian leave, there could be some real bargains in there. Pedro scored in their first game under Sarri in a 1-0 win and Fabregas was sitting higher then we have been accustomed to, in Cesc’s case he might get decent minutes even if the Belgian and Brazilian stay.
Thanks for reading Fantasy Premier League Ramblings 2018/19. This article was written by Mito21
PRE-SEASON FRIENDLIES
Usually we run an article and ask people to get involved and cover the friendlies with any info they can gather. And it’s usually fun but in all honesty it’s usually also a bit messy and difficult to refer back to. This season we have one link that you will need need for all such info, courtesy of Mito –
Here you will find all the pre-season info you could ever wish for in one place – line-ups, scorers, assists, match info, sarcastic comments….
FPL FIXTURE TRACKER
(It’s scrollable btw, just swipe left or right)
FIXTURE TRACKER LINK
It’s been a busy summer already with Arsenal, Everton, West Ham and Chelsea appointing new managers, Manchester City adding to their already dominant squad, Man Utd continuing to splash the cash and Liverpool trying to protect Karius by beefing up their midfield. Spurs may even have a new home soon.
And FPL wise, this is the place to discuss strategy, learn about the promoted teams and their players while in the days and weeks to come we’ll have plenty of articles, interviews, player analysis, Bore Offs, Tips, etc, etc.
So be sure to get involved in the discussions, the RMTs and the banter as we look forward to another season of Fantasy fun!
The League Codes for FF247 for the 2018/19 season are as follows –
What up guys!
Good stuff there Mito. At one point Keita was in my squad at the expense of Firmino, but couldn’t find a good striker so opted for Firmino.
My squad’s slowly evolving from the first draft. I kinda like this team but it could change with so many rumours of players moving. e.g. Kasper to Chelsea etc etc etc. Excited about Richarlison’s prospects at Everton too!
Looks very close to my team so I like it
Thanks Smash, you’ll be lining up 3-5-2 as well? Is it gonna be a short term move?
Its either gonna be 3-5-2 or 4-4-2 for me this season I guess.
Yeah I’m fairly sure I’ll go 3-5-2. Seems to be loads of potential midfielders. Third striker options are not great in my view
Smash – how much are you planning on spending on the 3rd FWD if you’re going 3-5-2?
As cheap as it gets so Kamara which is not ideal so relying on two defenders as bench cover
Surf14 looks a bit like mine (I’ve got PEA instead of Aguero which allows me a slightly better midfield) so I like it. Regarding Andone, see Mito21’s comment to my RMT (no. 17.2 on this list).
Richarlison got 3.3 points per match last year. On that basis someone like Kenedy sounds a better option. But maybe Richarlison is going to be significantly better this year?
I usually go 343, but this team looks pretty good. I guess you are just weighting up if Jota & Rich are better options than say Arnie or Zaha
Morning all
Can’t decide on a formation. It’s hard to leave 343.
This is what I have so far as a 352 and maybe 442.
I know I have a lot of Everton but their first fixtures are good and I can always swap out Tosun for Zaha/Arnie etc when fixtures warrant it.
Taking a punt on Shaw for the first couple of weeks and see if he can keep his spot.
The mids may change depending on what goes on at Chelsea.
Thoughts?
Hatter
A lot to like in that. I like your reasoning as well that you can drop an Everton lad if need be. Just don’t kneejerk if they lose the first one. Wolves could be tough but stick with it.
You are in shtook if City, Liverpool and Everton post poor results in the same week but I fancy you’ll be fine most weeks.
Cheers GP.
Yeah I’ve got one eye on WC in the break when players come back. So if I do get in shtook I can always remedy the situation then.
i like it, i will probably also go with either 3-5-2 or 4-42
Morning all, just posting to see if a new grav works.
Spot on, cheers Rosco.
Lol I like it!
You ready to start GW1? If so, I’ll get rid of Salah and save 3mil! 😉
That price is ridiculous.
Football has gone nuts.
My 2nd draft and i’ve ended up with triple man city and liverpool. I’ve been looking lacazette / morata instead of firmino but, nah. Aubameyang instead of Aguero? It’s just those first 2 games and I really like mendy and robertsons potential.
You sure on Lamela mate?
Not really. He’s in there for now with son going to the Asian cup. I’m also looking at one of the chelsea guys fabregas / barkley/ pedro and if I find 0.5 he could be mihkataryan. Just got to see how more pre season games pan out.
Speculation that Wolves are on the verge of selling Barry Douglas……
To Leeds? Sheesh, Wolves must think he has his level. Bit like Tom Ince…
hearing Leeds, Derby and WBA all interested…..
Nice article Mito. Greetings all
Keep as is
Ederson
Bailly Shaw Coleman Tomkins
Salah Mahrez Keita Richalison
Aguero Firmino
Boruc Kamara Stephens Peltier
or do Bailly + Keita -> Robertson + Mkhi(?)
Very similar to my team except I’m trying to squeeze in Auba instead of Firmino. The balance is appealing to me though. I think 3 Pool attackers might be overkill, at least to start the season with, so I vote for Robbo and Mkhi.
Cheers