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 –
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The prize pool for this one will be confirmed in due course.
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Our Regulars League* for 2018/19 is now open and has a cash prize pool of £300 paid directly to the winners from the FF247 management team. The first 5 places are paid out in a tiered system.
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Great article cheers, never even considered keita before but will think about it now for sure. Thoughts on team? Not convinced on Everton defence , but there seems plenty of options at 5.5 so will decide before the first gsmeweek.
Forward line looks weak
@Sauceman, Looks like you have a solid 9 and will have to figure out how to play it for the other 2 spots. Unfortunately, I don’t think Kamara, Quaner or Neves offers a lot attacking wise. Quaner and Kamara might not even start, but if Fulham don’t buy anyone and Quaner does, then maybe not so bad. If Costa looks to be starting at Wolves, I rather have him, if not Ralls from Cardiff. Them two feel like better options if they get close to similar minutes to Neves.
I guess my thought with having two weak forwards next to Auba was to counter that with a very strong midfield, Neves and Cedric being rotational. Reckon it’s better to downgrade midfield and bring in Firminio(Erikson most likely)? Any thoughts on Mahrez being a rotational risk once man city’s full squad returns?
I suspect Mahrez will be rotated, I mean you almost have to considering all their attacking talent. I think you need one of your 3 attacking players to provide you a bit more than 1-2 points a week. The 1-2 points should be a bench guy that comes in, in case of emergency, but shouldn’t be relied on, but that’s my opinion. Maybe your other players are strong enough to give away a spot. I would hate to lose Eriksen, but he does seem like the most obvious downgrade, unless you want to drop Ederson or Coleman or both to something a bit cheaper.
In that regard is Sane a rotational risk? Id hate to lose Erikson as well but you could look at it as a like for like swap with Firminio, same price and with more starting options in midfield at 5.0 and under. Erikson would provide Tottenham cover however. Any thoughts on Jimenez(wolves)or Calvert lewin as being that #2 forward to provide more than just 1-2 points a week as you mentioned?
Sauceman,
Jiminez might not start but could be worthwhile if he does. Bobby Reid (Car) is also the same price and should be nailed on.
Re Mahrez/Sane – any Man City player you pick is subject to rotation so best advice is to pick one and stick with for a few weeks through the inevitable rests.
I will have KDB as my long-term City mid, he is the only one nailed for 90% of the games imo! And he’s only 1m to 0.5m more expensive than Mahrez/Sane… Plus I just have a gut feeling he will do very well, was the third highest scorer among midfielders in FPL last season and I feel he’ll do better this season, he could really start showing his skills now…
Cheers lads
Hey guys, how’s it going?? In the car with my brother heading to Metlife Stadium to see the Liverpool v City match tonight. Looking forward to seeing our new signings and hopefully Mo getting some minutes as well!
It’ll be a late kickoff for you guys in the UK but I’ll post some pics from the match. Hope everyone is well and your teams are starting to come together, thank you for the article Mito!
I hope you get a good game, will Sturridge play?
Hey sz, good to see you on the boards. I’d say that’s pretty certain, he’s been one of the best players during pre-season. If he can stay healthy he’ll be a great option this year for Klopp.
I also hope 17 year old Curtis Jones gets some more match time tonight, really love seeing these young guys get a chance to step up and play in the first team. He looks a real talent.
Best of luck at the game!! That’s a long drive for you isn’t it?
Thanks, Mito! About 5.5 hours if all goes well. Seen them play at Fenway a couple times, Yankee Stadium once and now Metlife. Always a bit of a drive but happy for the chance to see them in the States. Hope one day to watch a match at Anfield but this’ll have to do for now!
Safe travels Red! And fingers crossed for no injuries for your Reds
Thank you, colriles! Pretty sure City haven’t signed Sergio Ramos so hopefully we can get through the match without anyone getting elbowed or body slammed.
Afternoon all
So I’ve been reading a lot on here today and think 352 might be the way to go for value.
This is where I’m at now, Lamela should start the campaign and I’ll swap him out if Pedro/Fab etc look more likely to nail down a spot if Lamela doesn’t.
Shaw should start too and I hope he can make the position his this season.
If all the above fails …. WC international break will surely follow…
Thoughts?
@MH, looks really nice, I be a bit hesitant about having double Everton attack from the off, but they do have real nice fixtures.
Yeah at Tosun’s or Rich’s price they can easily swap to Zaha/Arnie or Fab/Pedro (if any of them look to nail a spot)
I think Pedro is going to nail a spot on the bench. So that’s solved. 😉
Well that’s just Fab!
I’m contemplating getting Shaw as well, how many GWs you think he’ll start before Young gets back though? It’s a transfer waiting to happen, no?
Probably mate but Jose talks Shaw from time to time and Young ironically is getting old.
*Talks Shaw up*
Haha, indeed 🙂 Yeah, perhaps Shaw could be a decent punt from the get-go… 5.0m is not a bad price either, not the end of the world to bench (well, auto-sub) him if Young suddenly has a go I guess…
Ok guys time to get serious RMT give it to me Im fairly settled on this lot but it if you can spot anything that needs addressing give me some feed back be brutal if you must.
Not much to be brutal about, looks solid to me! 🙂
How do you see Richarlison 6.5m vs Mikhitaryan 7m though?
I thk both will do well Zeb & can’t squeeze an extra .5m from somewhere
If you’re planning on playing 343 then Sloth might need addressing. Other than that everything looks solid
Yes Mad how are we mate you threw me with that grav.
Sloth an early gamble was thinking King but will he get many more points than Slo that means I can play either 4-4-2 or 4-5-2 or even 3-4-3 to being with
Gonna jump in on the RMT train today
Thoughts?
looks good except maybe for Pedros gametime if Hazard and Willan stays
Not bad at all that Colriles.
Yeah watch Pedro. You could have Richarlison as a replacement should you need him.
Cheers fellas. Yeah had Richarlson in the last draft.
Where your team GP you usually throw up a couple of surprises
Me?
I’m a good boy Silvers.
Not good enough GP get your team up mate 😉
Hi Lads.. commented a few times a couple of years back. Been keeping up to date with the write ups though.. good work.
One question.. Firmino.. will he be back and ready to start come GW1?
Cheers
Ok.. two things..
Lemela or Fab?
Lamela excites me this season. But yeh deffo watch out for when Son comes back from Asia Cup!
Hi Stu, welcome back! Firmino should be back and ready for GW1 with Brazil going out early but also because of his limited minutes regardless.
Just monitor the other 2. Both will probably start initially but then may well both become rotation risks at some point.
Yup. I agree with all above.
I’ve gone for a few that will need to be changed out after the first few weeks but that’s planned for.
Shaw should start the season.. but will keep am eye on others around the 5mill if he isn’t consistent.
Aguero and Sane will most likely be changed for Dr Bruyne and someone else come the time he’s back.. unless they are in irreplaceable form.. good fixtures after GW1
Looks solid enough to me that Stu. When you say ‘planning for’ – you mean an early ish WC perhaps? I know a few are planning on it and I’m thinking about too despite not usually doing so.
Yeah I’m not worried about an early WC this season with the players coming in late from world cup. Rather have a solid enough start then change it if needed with the WC when others are back.