Negotiating DGW25 and Blank GW26 Part 1

A big(ish) DGW? All aboard! Choo, choo, etc…

This one comes with a big caveat though; it is followed by BGW26. B being for Blank, not Bad, although either could be equally applied.

Either way, it makes both very difficult to negotiate:

• Do you go all in on 25 and maximise its potential points?
• Do you do so knowing that you will simply leave a mess to contend with in 26?
• Do you find a fine balance instead?

There is no right answer here (well, there will be, but we can’t reveal what that was until GW27!). All we can do is plan the best that we can, and of course then hope for the best. In the meantime we thought it may be helpful to ask a bunch of our team how exactly they are going to approach it all.

In fact, they were so keen to share their thoughts we have split this into two, just so that you don’t fall asleep mid-read. In no particular order, here is Part 1.

Inittowint – 2 FT’s & £1.5m ITB

DGW25
As you can see, I currently have 5 DGW players for GW25. 6 if you count Kelleher, but unless Alisson has caught this 100 day cough thing (aka Covid v.29) then it’s 5.

As for BGW26 I currently have 4 players who would not feature in that, albeit only really 3 who are relevant – Jota, Palmer and Colwill. So as we speak I could field XI. Which is where the conundrum comes in!

Assuming Hwang is back for Wolves by then I already have a benching headache for GW25, and that’s before even considering buying anyone!

What I may do is just buy Toney for Watkins this week, just to bolster the DGW numbers, without compromising myself for 26. Ideally I would want another Liverpool player but I’m not convinced that Darwin plays both. Although I’m not massively happy in selling Watkins with his next few games looking so good.

BGW256
As for 26 that would still leave me with XI and I would then probably just buy Watkins back!

Floydeth – 1FT & 5m ITB

So, I guess you can class my plan as ‘going all in for 25’

The main reasons for FH hitting this week:
1 – House move next week, and it’s taking over
2 – No Pool cover
3 – Trying to avoid taking unnecessary hits this season.

As mentioned above, one of the biggest reasons to FH for me this week is that I have zero Liverpool cover, and if I bring any in, I won’t be able to field a full team in BGW26 without a hit.

My transfer this past week also had 29 in mind as I swapped Groß to D Luiz. (Luckily they both cancelled each other out with a goal and 3 bonus points each).

So, to attack DGW25 I’m planning to FH. Gaining seven extra doublers on top of Haaland and KdB, who I already owned.

Before FH team

With GW29 in mind: Using my free transfers and one hit, I should be able to field ten players in 29. And dead-end my team before activating my wildcard in GW30 (hopefully, I will have unpacked and settled in my new house!)

While it isn’t great booking in transfers and having such a rigid plan, which will no doubt change with injuries or suspensions, I wanted to ensure I had something in place before the moving madness takes over…

Plus/bonus… I actually had fun figuring out how it could all fit together up until GW29 – which has been lacking for me in FPL of late.

Loud Atlas 1 FT & 1m ITB

For DGW25, I have five doublers, but I’m benching one: Mr Kaboré. Luton’s double is a trap, I say! Like a lot of people, I’ll be using my Triple Captain chip with Haaland this week, and I’ll be keeping my fingers crossed that he’ll get through City’s Champions League game on the 13th Feb unscathed. If my trio of City boys survive, I’ll have two FTs for BGW26.

For BGW26, my plan is to use my two FTs to move out Kaboré and Gusto (and possibly Palmer for a -4) to get some players in from Manchester Utd and elsewhere. I might only have nine or ten players for BGW26, but I’m not too worried about having a full starting XI – it’s only for one week and there are more DGWs on the horizon to make up for it.

Matt X – 1FT & 0.1 ITB

With 0.1 and 1ft in the bank I thought I was decently set up for this DGW25. I had 7 doublers, 4 single game players with nice fixtures and 2 bench players I wouldn’t mind coming on if called upon.

Nothing has massively changed but the potential loss of Trent will hurt. He had massive points scoring potential against the DGW25 opposition. Now I’m seriously thinking of selling him. I was going to get rid of him after this GW anyway just because he takes up so much budget and I’m thinking I might just bring that move forward.

The smart move would probably be just bench Trent and play Botman but no one has ever accused me of being smart! Why hold onto a player I don’t want anyway past this week? The only argument I can think of for keeping Trent this week is I don’t really know who I want to replace him with yet, so leaving him on the bench for Botman will give me another week to assess and see what player might be a better replacement.

Senesi is my front runner and has been for weeks when I’ve looked ahead. Seeing him score is nice but I’d much rather he hadn’t as people might look at him too. The next 2 fixtures are Newcastle and City before an awesome run of games. Should I risk him? Who knows. I haven’t fully decided what my transfer plan will be yet as you can probably tell.

Now something you have likely noticed though is I have activated my TC chip and put it on Haaland. This is more out of fear so I’m going to be one of the sheeple this DGW. Majority of those that still own their TC chip and haven’t used it already will likely be putting it on that monster for these upcoming games. It will hopefully pay off but it could really be a season killer for those who take the gamble against.

As for BGW26, I currently have 8 players so I can get to 10 players without taking any hits. Trent will either go in 25 or 26 and I will likely do Darwin to Solanke in 26 even though the latter plays Man City. I might take a hit to get rid of Palmer or Colwill and bring me up to 11 players, just because I can.

Gear – 1FT & 1.5m ITB

It’s fair to say compared to the others here, my team is looking very light on doublers for DGW25. I had a lot of Chelsea and Spurs players to deal with leading up to BGW26, and this has lead to me needing to get players in that have a fixture in BGW26. This week I took the risk of selling Palmer over Gordon for Jota. Thankfully Howe is a lying so and so, and I now have another player in 26.

This week I’ll bring in another City player rather than someone from Liverpool, this is purely due to city having a match next week. At this point, I am likely to switch Gusto to a City defender. I’ll have 5.6 mil to play with, so all options are open to me.

Once set, I’ll have 4 players with a double. Not ideal, but not a disaster. I’m not concerned that I don’t have any Luton or Brentford players as their fixtures aren’t great.
Ideally I’d have more Liverpool coverage, but I’ll just have to ride this one out.

TC is activated on the Robot.

BGW26 sees me with 3 players with blank fixtures and Matty Cash. One will go just in case Cash (as is likely) doesn’t start.

Moving forward from GW26, I’ll look to bring in some GW28 doublers, then FH BGW29. The plan is then to build towards DGW34, WC GW36 and BB DGW37

Smash – 1FT & 0.8m ITB

This is very boring but I plan on saving my transfer. Im fairly well set for GW25. I have the three main players from City in Haaland, KDB and Foden, I have Darwin from Liverpool and probably the best asset from Luton in Doughty which makes 5 DGW players. I’m missing Jota which is the big concern and probably the only big player I’m missing. I don’t feel I can get Jota as I have form players in Richarlison and Saka who both have good fixtures and play in GW26. Unless I buy a defender for Gusto or Konsa I see myself saving the transfer as I’m light in GW26. TC is active on Haaland, which will be the case for the majority of FPL managers I expect.

Plans for GW26
Currently I only have 7 fit players for GW26 and I don’t intend on using my FH hence why I need to save the transfer from GW25. I then plan on using those transfers to bring me up to ten players taking a -4 and going with that. Darwin will almost certainly go for Solanke as he has a double in GW28. Gusto will go and then either Palmer or likely Konsa will also depart. Konsa unlikely to be back but can reassess then. I won’t make the extra transfer for the sake of it just to get 11.

Stone Frog – 1FT & £0.0m ITB (WC, FH, TC all in hand)

DGW25
With six doublers in place, the plan was to roll this week and have 2FT for GW26, where I currently only have eight. However, a potential injury to TAA and seeing the fixtures for Gusto and Taylor (if fit) may see me make a move if we get bad news. It’s tricky to pick a good defender to bring in with the upcoming blank and Bournemouth who have an upcoming DGW with a fixture almost as bad as it gets in GW26, it would require a bit of thought. There is a cheeky possibility of KDB and TAA to Salah and Stones (20/21 DGW hero), but I doubt I go that route. So, a boring bank the transfer is probably the outcome.

I will likely play the TC chip on Haaland this week. One must remember the curse of the ‘ane’s’ (Sane 18/19, Mane 19/20) with the early triple captain, but hopefully one letter away is far enough! To be fair holding the TC too late sometimes is no better. I remember the site team running out of options one year and going for Andy Carroll (15/16) and let’s not forget those who went for Shane Duffy (18/19).

BGW26
With the blank for Chelsea, Liverpool, Luton and Spurs I currently have only eight! Banking in GW25, gives me 2FT and the plan is to sell Jota, TAA and potentially one other (-4) to give 10/11. It’s decision time as there is the possibility to start to build for BGW29 or play natural and plan to FH29. Currently only Aston Villa, Brentford, Burnley, Fulham, Spurs and West Ham have a confirmed GW29, with Luton and Forest or Man Utd and Sheffield Utd joining them. With only 4 (may be 5) from those teams and another DGW in 28 to plan for, I will most likely FH29 and don’t need to take this into account for BGW26. At the moment I’m looking at benching Doughty, Palmer and Richarlison and moving on Jota, TAA and probably Gusto (-4). Potential teams to target for transfers in include Arsenal, Bournemouth and Wolves, with the aim to leave plenty in the bank for bringing in Salah and possibly Son in the coming weeks.

Thanks for reading Negotiating DGW25 and Blank GW26 Part 1.

Follow @FantasyFooty247

FPL FIXTURE TRACKER

VOTE ON THIS WEEK’S CAPTAIN POLL GAMEWEEK 25

Both leagues will be shut to new entrants as of 01/01/24.