Inside The Mind Of An FPL Player Double Gameweek 34

Welcome to Inside The Mind Of An FPL Player Double Gameweek 34.

The first of two double game-weeks looms, and therefore so do numerous difficult decisions. Many will still have chips to burn, that they have sat on patiently for weeks such as these. Others will have nothing left, other than the odd free transfer to utilise. Either scenario creates its challenges, as we look at how best to balance our teams between the lure of a DGW and the sensibility of perhaps not chasing one.

We have decided to turn to the team and ask them to tell us how they intend to attack this one, be it with chips or simply some sort of reckless abandon. Here is what they said…

Swirly

Inside my mind?! That is brave, there’s a lot going on in there – some good, some not so good. As a result, this season has been a different mindset for me when it comes to FPL – one that, bar only a few instances, hasn’t got in my head as much as previous seasons. There have been times in the past where I’d let it affect my enjoyment of football. A typical example was the Villa win at Arsenal – Gabriel got zero and Saka, whom I’d brought in after the inspired decision to go without when he scored 10 points at Brighton, had just two points. My FPL players were hopeless but did I care? Did I footballs! The team I support had beaten Arsenal twice in one season and, thanks to Spurs’ 4-0 loss at Newcastle, we were back to fourth! So I must attribute part of my positivity in football to the fantastic Unai Emery, of course.

Going into GW34, I’m sitting 83,486th which I’m very happy with. My main goal, now FPL is so much more competitive than it used to be, is to finish in the top 100k, so fingers crossed that continues to be the case. I’ve still got a wildcard and bench boost to use, which will most likely be utilised in Gameweeks 35 and 37 respectively to try and get the most of the upcoming double gameweeks. My free hit chip was used in GW29, which worked out as earning me a whopping extra eight points. Great value.

With GW34 in mind, it’s also doubles that I am thinking about. As you’ll see from above, I have eight DGW players – except one of them is Kelleher who has lost his place after Alisson’s return. So that is one fire that needs putting out, as Areola is on my bench with a 75% chance of playing and, should he feature, a single gameweek game away at Crystal Palace. Before Villa visited, Arsenal had a near flawless defensive record and it is with this in mind that I will most likely bring in Raya. Especially when I see that Arsenal have the highest chance of keeping at least one clean sheet (62%, followed by Liverpool’s 54% and Crystal Palace’s 41%).

So that still leaves me with eight DGW players, but that will at least be eight who will actually play. My next quandary is whether to make that nine by changing Gordon – who I’d bring back the next gameweek, don’t worry – for Liverpool’s Luis Diaz. I’d be selling the Newcastle player for the price I originally bought him (£6.1m) and so wouldn’t lose any value ahead of bringing the player back in GW35. That would then put Cole ‘points magnet’ Palmer on my bench, which I’m not so bothered with as he’s playing once – and at a tough tie away at Arsenal too – but it’s whether I feel I can justify a -4 for a Liverpool mid and an Arsenal goalkeeper who both may not necessarily be in my side when the wildcard gets activated just the following week. Something to ponder, but not for too long; I’ll have zero left in the bank as things currently stand, so don’t want to price myself of the decision! And, no, I cant bring myself to bring in Eze instead.

Matt

“Just how big is Inittowinit?”

“Does GP go traditional when wearing his kilt?”

“Rosco is a beautiful man!”

Probably getting too much access into my bizarre inner workings and deepest thoughts here. You lot are probably sick of me at this stage. I feel like I’ve written about my woes a lot in recent weeks. This Inside the Minds article is my own personal and cheap therapy session. Thank you all for just listening and not judging…. except DMC, I think he judges me a little!

Since my rant last week (wow is it really only last week?), I went to Italy with my students, I brought them all back so I won’t be getting arrested for homicide anytime soon but I had a relatively successful GW33. Now there were some decisions that went against me so the FPL Gods are still toying with me a little bit but I will tell you about those in a minute. After that I promptly activated my Free Hit and I have been tinkering and toying with that. I’m feeling a strange serenity about FPL now. I still hate most aspects of my luck but I know we are close to the end now and a well-earned break before I’m sure I get sucked into Euro Fantasy!

In GW33, I had the 2 FTs and was unsure what to do. I had Kiwior on my WC who you might remember was on my naughty list so he was an obvious one to sell, the team I wanted to target was City vs Luton so which defender would I go with… Gvardiol was one I liked, Dias was there for security, Stones for being pushed up a little or Rico Lewis for a differential that is very attacking. The one I went with was Rico Lewis, all was looking good with City 3-0 up, a clean sheet and then suddenly, Luton scored, Gvardiol got a goal and assist for a 12-point haul whereas Rico dropped to a 2 pointer. Annoying but was better than no show Kiwior!

The other move was one which hurt me more. I sold Watkins as I wasn’t sure if Villa would do well against Arsenal defence but Watkins continued his excellent season with a nice goal! The player I was very close to bringing in was Isak who grabbed 2 goals and also a 12-point haul but I wanted to spread the coverage and attack Burnley so ended up punting on Joao Pedro. He did nothing and ended up on 2 points. That was a boo-boo but like I say I am serene and don’t care.

Now moving on to what I am thinking this week for the Free Hit. I can do what I want and not care about what happens. It is all about punts, one-week feelings so it is made for me!

I have a solid core of picks which are likely going to be in every FH draft.

Gabriel, Ait-Nouri, Salah, Saka, Eze, Solanke.

After this I will try and do somethings different. Double Arsenal defence will be popular but maybe more Saliba so I am thinking of White and combining with Trent. He will be back but the issue will be on one hand the minutes and on the other Liverpool have been poor defensively as of late. Currently it is a back three of White, Trent and Gabriel with RAN and Mykolenko on the bench. Someone I am toying with though is Mitchell or Munoz from Palace but I currently have 3 Palace already.

My midfield have Salah, Saka and Eze as locks. The other two spots are tinkered with every other day. Diaz and Jota could get a spot but minutes is a worry, Olise might be there but is he going to be fully fit? Brereton Diaz is playing OOP and plays the two of the worst defences in the league. You could even go double Arsenal midfield but I am pretty set on the back two.

Up top I am kind of set on Solanke and Cunha. Cunha is on my bench as I don’t know about him against my double Arsenal defence and my 3rd forward is currently Mateta but it all depends on which three Palace I go with. I want to take a few different routes and 3rd forward, 5th mid and 3rd defender is where I can see the differences.

Join back next week to see how this all inevitably blows up in my face!

Jamie Mc

1 Free Transfer & unknown money ITB

I really am a sucker for a double game week player…. but more of that later.

Before I explain my plans for game week 34 and for the rest of the season then it is perhaps best to explain my decision making since my last article contribution in blank game week 29.

Blank Game Week 29
I only had four players for the mega blank game week 29; well three players as Turner was a no show.
No laughing at the back but I only scored a paltry eight points.
The average points for the game week was twelve; a lowest ever average in the history of the game.
On looking over a whole host of leagues then those managers who used their free hit certainly didn’t gain as many points on me as perhaps they and I would have expected.
Overall Ranking of 775,168.
GOOD DECISION

Game Week 30
I transferred in Muniz for Solanke.
Game week points 56 which was nine points above the game week average.
Muniz scored six points with Solanke scoring seven points. Captain Son scored 20 points with Palmer scoring 15 points. Bowen laughed at me with his ten points nicely tucked away on the subs bench.
Overall Ranking of 789,586
SPLIT DECISION

Game Week 31
I transferred in Salah for Son and placed the triple captain armband on him.
Game week points of 72 which was twenty-six points above the game week average.
Both Foden and Palmer scored hat tricks for twenty points each.
Triple captain Salah laughed at me with three points as he was substituted on 59 minutes.
Overall Ranking of 660,576.
SPLIT DECISION

Game Week 32
I transferred in Toney for the apparently injured Watkins.
Game week points of 61 which was five points above the game week average.
A few clean sheets / assists / goals spread the contribution across the starting eleven.
Ollie Watkins laughed at me with thirteen points compared to Toney’s nine-minute one point cameo.
Overall Ranking of 668,825
BAD DECISION

Game Week 33
I transferred in Luis Diaz for the injured Bowen.
Game week points of 58 which was bang on the game week average.
Captain Haaland scored twenty points with Palmer scoring 26 points. I would suspect that most active managers will have both these players.
My other nine players laughed at me with twelve points in total.
Overall Ranking of 823,098
BAD DECISION

Game Week 34
“I will take the pain now in exchange for 11 double game week players in game week 34” is what I said in blank game week 29.

THE FREE HIT CHIP IS ACTIVE
Play the odds would always suggest that a double game week player should always score better than a single game week player.
You will see that I have stacked up triple Liverpool, triple Arsenal, double Wolves, and double Palace although the team is not finalised.
I know that Manchester United are at home to Sheffield United.
I know that Aston Villa are at home to Bournemouth.
I know that I have no City cover.
Goodness, I know that I currently have £4.8m ITB.
The captain’s armband is on Salah.
Time will tell if this is a Good or Bad decision.

Game Weeks 35 – 38
I will be wildcarding in game week 35 to take advantage of the Chelsea v Spurs double game week.
I will be bench boosting in game week 37 to take advantage of the Spurs v City, Brighton v Chelsea & Manchester United v Newcastle United double game week.

Good luck for the game week.

Kop

Some of you may remember a time, in the distant past, when yours truly contributed regularly around these parts. You may also remember that I liked a moan from time to time. While I rarely, if ever, contribute these days, I still like a moan.

This season has been a story of mediocrity, at best. I hit a season high of 46 odd thousand back in GW21, but have since fallen down the rankings and currently sit at 123,493. I’ve made some poor decisions over the course of the season, mainly due to a lack of research. I won’t bore you with the details.

As I’ve just mentioned, I do very little research these days, I typically log in on a Saturday morning and make whatever transfers need making. Due to this lack of planning I decided to keep my FH for a DGW and DGW34 is that GW.

Where to begin…

It’s not exactly a DGW to get excited by! Anyone on a FH is going to have treble Arsenal & Liverpool. Unfortunately, both are stuttering at the wrong time.

Two of my 3 Arsenal are locked in. They are Gabriel and Saka. I then face a dilemma, do I double up at the back or in midfield? Given their defensive solidity, I suspect I will double up at the back. William Saliba is probably the obvious choice, but I may go for Ben White due to his extra attacking threat and lower ownership. Kai Havertz is tempting, but there are midfield options elsewhere whereas very few of the teams that double are decent defensively.

Liverpool. I could easily make a case to pick none of them, but we’ll all have 3 of them! Which 3? Salah is a lock. Not because of his form, but because he’s Salah. His form, like all of those around him, has been poor since his return from injury. However, we all know what he’s capable of and everyone on a FH will own him. After Salah, it’s a lottery. Statistically, over the course of the season, they have the 2nd best defence in the league. Unfortunately, they only have one clean sheet from their last six league games. Despite this, I fully expect to have a Pool defender and this will most likely be van Dijk due to him being the safest bet to start both games. Tonight’s game against Atalanta will go a long way towards determining who my 3rd Liverpool asset is. Currently, I’m leaning towards Diogo Jota as he’s undoubtedly the most clinical finisher at the club and he represents a fantastic differential. Will he start both games? No, I don’t think he will but 120 minutes over the two games could be enough.

So, that’s 3 Arsenal and 3 Liverpool.

With home games against West Ham and Newcastle, I will have Crystal Palace’s Eze in midfield. A case could be made for Palace forward Mateta who, like Eze, has scored 7 goals this season. However, I’m going with Eze due to the fact that he’s on all set pieces.

I would be surprised if Dom Solanke is not in my team come 13:30 on Saturday afternoon. His form has dipped somewhat over the recent past but he has still managed 3 in his last 5 games. He has a total of 17 for the season and he’s probably the best forward with a double.

I’m now up to a total of 8 players…

In goals? I might as well pick Guglielmo Vicario, as he’s just as likely to score as many points as those keepers with a double whom I can pick from! I’ve currently got Henderson due to two home games, but I’m not expecting much.

So, that’s 9 players and as I’ll be starting 3 at the back I need to choose another midfielder and forward. In previous seasons, I would have gone all in with 11 doublers and I might yet go down that route once again. However, with Ollie Watkins having rediscovered his eye for goal I’m tempted to go with the Villa forward as they battle for 4th spot. With 5 goals in his last 5 games, Bruno Fernandes has weaselled his way into my team. I fully expect United to be sh*t, as usual, but it’s a home game against the worst team in the league.

This, therefore, leaves me with the above team. I don’t expect my bench will be needed as barring some late news the above XI will all feature at least once. With a cup game at the weekend there is, of course, a chance that Bruno picks up an injury, but that’s a chance I’m willing to take.

Plans after DGW34? I’ll be wildcarding in GW35!

Thanks for reading Inside The Mind Of An FPL Player Double Gameweek 34. This article was written by Swirly, Matt X, Jamie Mc and Kop.

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