Playing the DGWs with a Wildcard in GW33

So while Cookie and his chums are in a state of panic myself and my cohort just sit back relax and ‘pass the kouchie’. I mean I hadn’t given my wildcard a moment’s thought until Init suggested I write this article. Ok I said, I love a good waffle! Before I give you my thoughts as to what my wildcard team will look like I suppose I should briefly explain why I’ve chosen to activate my wildcard in GW33. When the double game-weeks were announced last week I had five players (Hennessy, Cathcart, Payet, Ozil & Aguero) who were set to have a double in GW34. With Kompany injured that number was just four. I should point out that ahead of GW31 I had two FT’s which left me with five FT’s ahead of GW34 which would have left me with 9/10 doublers without taking a hit. A few hits would have gotten me well into double figures. All that sounds ok but the wildcard will give me the freedom to get whoever I want. By taking the decision to wildcard in GW33 it allows me to make a number of short-term transfers, last week I brought Williams in for Kompany and was rewarded with 8pts. By not taking any hits ahead of GW34 I should gain a further advantage on those without a wildcard as they take hits to increase their doublers. By playing my wildcard in GW33 I will obviously be activating my BB in GW34.

This merry bunch have actually served me quite well over recent weeks at the end of GW25 I was ranked just outside the top 1m, since then I’ve moved just inside the top 300k. It’s still quite pathetic compared to my performances over recent seasons but I’m happy as I’m moving in the right direction and still hold out some hope of finished inside the top 100k! I’ve also made up some ground in the two mini-leagues which mean the most to me and I’m hoping that by wildcarding in GW33, activating BB in GW34 and finally activating TC in GW37 that I might still win one of them at least.

[divider_1px]

Obviously one of the distinct advantages that the wildcard gives me is the ability to field 15 doublers in GW34. Will I do that? Probably, but I’ll make a decision on that much closer to the deadline. The form of a number of non-doublers has thrown something of a spanner in the works. With four clean sheets in his last five games means it will be difficult for me to sell Kasper Schmeichel. The form of his colleague Christian Fuchs is difficult to ignore. Another non-doubler who I could very well hold onto is Riyad Mahrez who with an ownership of over 68% has the potential to really hurt me. With five goals and an assist in his last three games it will be close to impossible for me to drop Harry Kane. Clearly when making these decisions I can’t simply focus on GW34 as if I sell them I’ll be without them in GW33 and in all honesty I’ll probably have to forgo them for the remainder of the season.
So the key at this stage is for me to get as close to 15 doublers, possibly even the full 15, for GW34 while at the same time taking the GW35 blanks into account and also DGW37.
Before I decide on who will be lucky enough to feature in my wildcard I’ll take a look at which teams feature in the respective doubles and which teams blank in GW35.

• At the time of writing Liverpool are the only team who will feature in both doubles and play in GW35. Therefore despite their inconsistency I must surely consider having three of them in my wildcard? Oh dear lord! Now I fully expect Dortmund to knock Liverpool out of Europe but, and it’s a massive but, if they do beat Dortmund they will be into the semis and with their top 4 aspirations all both over they will certainly prioritise Europe meaning rotation in the league. Despite this I feel as though three is the way to go.

• Everton currently feature in each of the doubles but blank in GW35. This could however change if their game against Palace is rearranged for midweek of GW35. If this happens their players become nearly as interesting as Liverpool’s. The fly in the ointment here is their FA Cup semi-final on the weekend of GW35 and this will surely result in some rotation in their 2nd game of GW34.

• West Ham, Manchester United & Watford all feature in both doubles but unfortunately they blank in GW35. As I will want to field a full XI in GW35 I will have limit my exposure to these three teams when selecting my wildcard squad.

• Crystal Palace currently have a double in GW34, a blank in GW35 and a single in GW37. This however is likely to change once their game with Everton is rearranged. Which game-week it end ends up in will determine how attractive their options are.

• Arsenal, Manchester City, West Brom & Newcastle all have a double in GW34, play in GW35 but just have a single in GW37. I will certainly consider players from all four of these teams for my wildcard and will then possibly look to ship them out for doublers in GW37.

• Chelsea & Sunderland have a double in GW37 and feature in GW35 but only have a single in GW34. As a result I’m unlikely to consider their players for my wildcard but will consider drafting them in ahead of DGW37.

• Norwich have a double in GW37 but just a single in GW34 and blank in GW35. Therefore I certainly will not consider them for my wildcard.

• The remaining teams (Leicester, Spurs, Southampton, Stoke, Bournemouth, Swansea & Villa) have no blanks but conversely they have no doubles either. As I’ve said above I might consider holding onto the likes of Schmeichel, Mahrez & Kane.

So that’s the teams. Now let’s take a quick at the players I’ll be considering ahead of choosing my wildcard.

[divider_1px]

Goalkeepers

[three_fourth padding=”0 20px 0 0″]

[/three_fourth]Liverpool’s Simon Mignolet has to come into the reckoning. Yes I know he’s rubbish and that the Liverpool defence in general isn’t the greatest but five games in the three key game-weeks makes him very tempting. The games aren’t the worst either, a trip to Bournemouth in GW34 followed by the visit of near neighbours Everton who will surely have one eye on their semi-final the following weekend. GW37 sees the visit of Chelsea and a Watford team who have scored just five times in their last eight games. Should I pick the Belgian I might need to play him in game-weeks 33, 35 & 36 as well and in these game-weeks Liverpool face Stoke (h), Newcastle (h) & Swansea (a). All in all these are not the worst figures in the world and surely even Liverpool might pick a few clean sheets? As we’ve seen in recent weeks there has been an element of rotation at the back for Liverpool, so Mignolet might be the safest pick. Although I’m not sure safe is an adjective I’d use to describe Mignolet.

With home fixtures against Villa and Palace in DGW34 David de Gea must also come into the reckoning. Between them Villa & Palace have mustered just 13 goals in their last eight games and I can’t see things improving for them any time soon. United haven’t been great this season but they’ve been relatively solid at the back conceding just 27 goals in 30 games. DGW37 isn’t quite as kind as they travel to face Norwich & West Ham, and they certainly haven’t been as solid on their travels conceding 20 goals in 16 games. However DGW34 might just prove too tempting to ignore.

Arsenal are undoubtedly a better team defensively when Petr Cech is in the side. Currently side-lined with a calf injury the Czech stopper should return after the current international break. With home fixtures against Palace & West Brom in DGW34 Cech will be difficult to ignore. While they don’t have a double in GW37 they do have a couple of nice fixtures in game-weeks 35&36. Unfortunately they do face West Ham in GW33.

Looking at current form and the fixtures in GW34 I’ll be somewhat surprised if at least one of the above three keepers do not end up in my wildcard. It’s unlikely I’ll be in a position to afford two of them and in that case I will need to look at some cheaper options with West Brom’s Ben Foster likely to be considered as will Everton’s Joel Robles. Obviously if I choose de Gea I will need to ensure my 2nd keeper plays in GW35.

[divider_1px]

Defenders

I sold Hector Bellerin ahead of GW29 in order to bring in Vincent Kompany. Arsenal had failed to keep a clean sheet in their previous three game while the Spaniard had failed to pick up any attacking returns since GW9. In the subsequent two games he has picked up three assists, a clean sheet and six bonus points. Suffice to say that he’s likely to be the first defender included in my wildcard. Given their fixtures in and around DGW34 I’ll certainly have an Arsenal defender and I also feel that doubling up is an option although if I decided to go down that route I may not be able to afford Bellerin & Cech so I might get Gabriel instead.

[three_fourth padding=”0 20px 0 0″]

[/three_fourth]The Liverpool defence! As I’ve alluded to above when discussing Mignolet you really do need to consider every option from Liverpool. The way I see their defence you have six options to choose from Clyne, Moreno, Lovren, Skrtel, Sakho & Flanagan, although you could probably throw Kolo Toure into the mix as well. In recent weeks Sakho & Lovren have become the first choice centre halves so it was perhaps somewhat surprising to see Skrtel come on for Lovren at half-time against Southampton. That worked out well! Clyne is the only natural right back but as we’ve seen of late Clyne has played left back with Flanagan on the right. Moreno has been first choice left back for the bulk of the season but has started just one of the last three and is currently injured. So which of them will I consider? With Mamadou Sakho having started 11 of the last 12 games he is probably the best bet while Jon Flanagan is an interesting possibility as he is not in the Europa League squad. I have seen some talk of doubling up on the Liverpool defence but this is not something I’m likely to do.

Given United’s two home fixtures in GW34 it seems quite prudent to ensure I have some Manc defensive coverage. As they don’t feature in GW35 I’ve ruled out the possibility of doubling up so for arguments sake let’s assume I don’t get de Gea, who do I get? I’ll be looking at Smalling, Darmian & Rojo. Having started all but three league games this Chris Smalling would certainly appear to be the safest bet, unfortunately at £6.5m he’s the most expensive by over £1.0m. In terms of minutes played Darmian & Rojo are in 2nd & 3rd for defenders behind Smalling but by a considerable distance. None of the three offer much of an attacking threat but Smalling has picked up twelve bonus points to Darmian’s nine and Rojo’s six. At this moment in time I’m certainly leaning towards Smalling.

The chances are I’ll want five defenders who play twice in GW34, so who else am I likely to consider? Everton have been a shambles at the back all season but someone like Funes Mori is worth some consideration as he’s found the back of the net on three occasions to date. To use an old cliché it’s been a season of two halves for Palace, brilliant before Christmas terrible since. They sit bottom of the current form table and have conceded 16 times in their last eight games. Their fixtures in GW34 are terrible but having scored five times this season Scott Dann might yet make the cut. Someone like Aaron Cresswell always offers an attacking threat and cannot be ignored.

Most of the defenders I’ve already mentioned are rather expensive so I will need to look at some cheaper options if I’m to balance the books. I’ve had Watford’s Craig Cathcart for some time now and I might just hold onto him although with the Hornets not featuring in GW35 that might not be an option. Given the fact that West Brom will play in GW35 I’m likely to look at one of their defenders with Jonas Olsson the most likely candidate. Given his attacking instincts Newcastle’s Daryl Janmaat will also be considered, assuming he’s fit of course.

[divider_1px]

Midfielders

[three_fourth padding=”0 20px 0 0″]

[/three_fourth]I will unquestionably have a Liverpool midfielder in my squad and given their recent form I might even consider doubling up. The way I see it there are four decent options in Firmino, Coutinho, Lallana & Milner. In terms of goals scored Liverpool sit atop of the current form table scoring 20 in their last eight games with the aforementioned players accounting for 12 of them. Firmino is certainly the standout candidate having scored five and picking up four assists in that period, he is however the most expensive of the four and also the most popular. Coutinho only has a goal and three assists in this period but he only featured in three of those games and as we’ve seen in the past he’s undeniably Liverpool’s best player. Both Milner & Lallana each have three goals & three assists in this period and both represent excellent differentials. As of now Firmino will certainly feature in my wildcard and the other three will be considered should I choose to double up.

With two homes games against Palace and West Brom the chances of an Arsenal midfielder featuring in my wildcard are quite high. For me there is only two options and they’re the obvious ones, Mesut Ozil and Alexis Sanchez. Given his consistency over the course of the season and his extremely high ownership Ozil is certainly the safe bet, however he hasn’t registered any returns over the past three game-weeks. Conversely Sanchez has been a disappointment this season but has shown glimmers of his capabilities in recent weeks with a goal and an assist in his last three games. In his poor form means he must now be considered a differential and it’s this fact that could see me pick the Chilean, although as with every decision this choice might be dictated by price.

West Ham having a blank in GW35 is a serious pain in the hole! Given the current form of Dimitri Payet and Michail Antonio there would have been an excellent case to be made for doubling up on the pair had it not been for the blank. Given their current form there is every chance one of them will find a way into my wildcard. Antonio is an excellent differential however the fact that he has recently been deployed at right back is somewhat concerning, although in fairness to him this hasn’t stopped him scoring. Payet is clearly the Hammers chief playmaker and it is difficult to keep him out of the game particularly as a result of his abilities with the dead ball. Right now I’m favouring Payet but if I need to free up cash I will turn my attentions to Antonio.

A couple of other mid-priced midfielders who are likely to be considered are Everton’s Aaron Lennon and Newcastle’s Georginio Wijnaldum. In recent weeks Lennon has shown the type of consistency which has always been lacking from his game scoring four and picking up an assist in his last six games. Whether Lennon makes the final cut is likely to depend on whether I get any other Toffees as I’m unlikely to want more than one given their GW35 blank. The arrival of Rafa on Tyneside has seen Wijnaldum play deeper but this didn’t stop him picking up an assist & maximum bonus points against Sunderland. With two home games in GW34 the Dutch international can’t be ignored because as we’ve seen over the course of the season he saves his best for SJP.

Should I need to pick up a cheap 5th midfielder my options are somewhat limited. United’s Jesse Lingard is probably the best option. The youngster has featured in each of the last 10 league games for United scoring three & picking up an assist in those games, and is available for just £4.3m. Another option albeit an extremely risky option would be Arsenal’s Alex Iwobi who made his first ever league start for the Gunners against Everton last time out scoring the 2nd in the 2-0 win.

There are obviously far more options aside from the ones I’ve listed above, but these are the players who are currently at the forefront of my thoughts. There are clearly plenty of players to choose from, unfortunately I will only be in a position to pick four of them should I choose to hold onto Riyad Mahrez.

[divider_1px]

Forwards

Dare I go into the double game-week without Sergio Aguero? A Sergio Aguero who has scored 16 times in 23 appearances this season. It seems crazy to even consider it. But consider this, only four of his 26 goals have come outside of the Etihad and in GW34 City travel to face a Chelsea side who have had a significant improvement under Guus and a Newcastle side who are fighting for their survival. There’s also City’s own form to consider, just two wins from their last eight games scoring just nine times in that period. I’m not sure about you but I’m talking myself out of Sergio! However, it’s worth remembering that Aguero can destroy any team on his day while City are now in a major battle for 4th spot and these two fixtures will be key to them securing it.

Daniel Sturridge has the ability to make any game-week let alone a double game-week very enjoyable for any manager who owns him. Unfortunately Daniel Sturridge is made of glass. He has not played 90 minutes in the league since back in GW8 and with Liverpool set to play Dortmund over two legs ahead of GW34 there is no way I can see Sturridge starting both games in the double. It’s such a shame as were he to start both games I’d confidently predict him to score a minimum of two goals!

So far I’ve ruled out Sturridge and Aguero is currently a 50/50 pick so I suppose I’d best pick someone. With Everton set to double up in game-weeks 34 & 37 and are still to have their game with Palace rearranged I reckon it makes sense to have at least one Toffee in my squad and in all likelihood that man will be Romelu Lukaku. Now I admit there is every chance that Lukaku will start the derby on the bench what with the semi-final being just a few days later but that a chance I might have to take. The Belgian has scored 18 goals this season which is 35% of Everton’s goal tally, so when Everton score there is an excellent chance it will be Romelu.

[three_fourth padding=”0 20px 0 0″]

[/three_fourth]Now assuming I hang onto Harry Kane and pick Lukaku but not Aguero to whom do I turn to fill that 3rd spot? I could of course hold onto Jamie Vardy but I’m pretty sure I want a minimum of 13 doublers and with Kane & Mahrez already included that rules out Vardy. But who else is there? Well with three goals in his last five games Danny Welbeck would appear flavour of the month down at The Emirates. The Goonies must still believe they can win the league so Wenger will field what he believes to be his strongest team in every game and with Olivier Giroud without a goal since GW21 Welbeck is certainly in pole position. With United’s fixtures for the double so enticing Marcus Rashford deserves some consideration but my issue with him or should I say United is that they just don’t score enough goals. If Newcastle are to stand any chance of avoiding the drop come May they will need to score a few goals over the remaining game-weeks and the man to do that might just be Aleksandar Mitrovic. As Rafa said after the derby, “He has the potential. We have to help him with better deliveries and support, but he will score goals if we can do that.” Picking the Serb would be quite a gamble but as I’ve quite a lot of ground to make up in my mini-leagues I need to take a few gambles.

[divider_1px]

At this moment in time I’m reluctant to include a screenshot of what my wildcard might potentially look like as I really haven’t done enough research, maybe it’s time I pass the kouchie. Suffice to say it will include a large number of the players I’ve mentioned above. What I will also say is that it is my aim to have a minimum of 13 doublers for GW34. I will also have XI players for GW35 and a minimum of five doublers for GW37. Assuming everything goes to plan (it won’t!) I will save my FT in GW34 allowing me to make two transfers ahead of GW35 if needed. This would also give me four FT’s between the doubles.

If you’ve made it this far I’d like to wish you good luck with whatever strategy you might be adopting as we tackle the exciting few game-weeks of the season.

Cheers

[divider_1px]

THE FIXTURE TRACKER

[divider_1px]

Thanks for reading Playing the DGWs with a Wildcard in GW33. This article was written by Kop Warrior

Follow @KenLyons79