Here’s another early article where 4 FFGeek Contributors show their Fantasy Premier League GW4 teams. There’s Yaniv Salomon, Rob Reid, Sergio Torija and Andrew Whitfield
Fantasy Premier League GW4 teams – 4 FFGeek Contributors teams part 2
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Introduction
This is part 2 of the FPL managers who contribute to the FFGeek site with good histories who show their teams each week. This will give people a feel for what other managers are doing. It’s a fairly informal thing with no obligation on anyone and these teams may change at anytime before the deadline without further notice. It won’t cover transfers in real time either. It’s just to give an idea of the trends for the week no more. The teams are shown as their “final-ish” teams so they could change. Where they have twitter accounts I have shown this and they may update them there or on our Slack Channel which is part of our subscription Patreon site but this is not guaranteed
Yaniv Salomon
Yaniv finished with an overall rank of 3k last season and 4k in 18/19 and 8k in 17/18
You can follow Yaniv on twitter here
GW3 points: 49 (FPL average 43) Total points: 206, Overall Rank: 98k, green arrow: 19k Team Value: £100.4m
Yaniv is also one of the 10 top managers I follow who have finished within the top 10k OR the last 3 seasons
Hi all , so second (small) green arrow just inside the top 100k due to the Liverpool trio, as I am still surviving against the template with Mane who looks to me much better than Salah. Calvert Lewin keeps banging it (last night another brace in the league cup).
I did an early transfer due to Son injury and brought in Harvey Barnes who just look fantastic from the start of the season. De Bruyne will get the armband,
Good luck all may your arrow be green
Transfer summary: Son out and Harvey Barnes in
Here’s the team with the transfer complete:
Sergio Torija
Sergio’s last 4 seasons were 2k, 596k, 17k and 21k
GW3 points: 43 (FPL average 43) Total points: 140, Overall Rank: 3,646k, green arrow: 117k Team Value: £100.1m
I did Martial to Jimenez early and still have 1 free transfer available.
I think it’s likely I will take Ben Davies out for Castagne, Justin or Boly
Transfer summary: Martial out Jimenez in. Other transfer to be confirmed
Here’s the team with the Martial out to Jimenez transfer completed.
Rob Reid
Rob’s last 5 seasons overall rank were 148k, 94k, 22k, 4k and 7k
You can follow Rob on twitter here
GW3 points: 42 -4 (FPL average 43) Total points: 168, Overall Rank: 1,494k, red arrow: 437k Team Value: £100.6m
GW3 review
I think it would be fair to say that the FPL Community’s view of GW3 on the whole was that we should all just pretend this one never happened and that certainly echoes true for my lot. A bit of a disaster really all in all on the face of it. Saturday wasn’t a total write-off, but there were some big negatives with Captain Werner managing to blank despite Chelsea scoring 3 goals being the worst of it. At least Southampton managed to hang on for a clean sheet for a welcome 12 points from Walker Peters and McCarthy. Sunday however was an unpleasant FPL experience for my lot – Dier cruelly losing a clean sheet with one of the weekend’s ridiculous handball calls, only 2 points from a stormer of a 7 goal game at The Ethiad and then to top it off a nil pois from Jimenez after the most unlucky of OGs. A 9 point swing on my -4 bringing Jimenez in for Adams, oh yeah and I had the assister for the OG (Soucek) in first spot on the bench.
So it’s been a bit of a random and uninspiring start to the season really. I’ve had 5 returning players in the last 2 weeks which on the face of it doesn’t sound too bad, but the problem with this is that none of them have been the Daddy 2-figure scores that boost you up the ranks. Instead, I’m stuck in FPL obscurity in the 1 millions though not to worry; OR isn’t a huge concern over the first 10 weeks and the game is very volatile at the moment. On the positive side, I’ve still got my WC in my pocket and another plus is that my team value is already looking quite healthy. Let’s see what GW4 has in store.
GW4 Team
1FT and 0.4m in the bank and my transfer plan this week after last week’s car crash is to do absolutely nothing! Main reason for this is that we’ve got an international window now before GW5 and I think 2 FTs would be really useful for this, but also because I actually quite like the look of my team this week.
There is a fly in the ointment though and it’s a small question mark over Timo Werner’s fitness so if there’s any news that he’s out in Frank’s Presser (wishful thinking?) then I’ll move him out, probably for Danny Ings. This move actually tempts me anyway with Saints opponents West Brom having such dire defensive stats, but I’m keen to give Werner another week or 2 as his fixtures are ok and he scored in the Carabao Cup last night – he was a streaky player in The Bundesliga but (a bit like Jamie Vardy) once he got onto a good run he would score goals for fun. Behind the sofa for the Saints game it may well be then!
The team otherwise picks itself: Dier, Mitchell and Bissouma make up the bench. Captaincy is a tricky one this week – De Bruyne, Salah and Jimenez are all good shouts I reckon, but I’m going with De Bruyne. I think City will be keen to go out and prove a point and we all know the Belgian can go big on his day and if Leeds play as open as they did in GWs 1 & 2 then there should be chances aplenty.
Looking further forward, my GW5 plan will depend a bit on firstly if I pick up any red flags over the international window. It will then be a pre-plan towards freeing up some funds to move Taylor out for Robertson. Werner to one of the sub 7.5m strikers eg Mitrovic, Wilson or Wood is a possible option for this. Otherwise, I’m pretty happy with my front 7 though I’m keeping an eye on Rodriguez in case he looks like becoming one of these assisting the assister players moving forward.
Good luck this week folks.
Transfer summary: carrying over a free transfer unless Werner confirmed injured
Here’s the team with no transfers made:
Andrew Whitfield
Andrew finished with an overall rank of 132k last season and 6k in 18/19 and 19k in 17/18
Follow Andrew on twitter here
GW3 points: 46 -4 (FPL average 43) Total points: 164, Overall Rank: 1,780k, red arrow: 160k Team Value: £100.4m
-Well what a gameweek that was and one full of the unexpected !! Man City crash at home 5-2, Chelsea go 3-0 down at West Brom before salvaging a draw, Spurs lose a clean sheet and a win to a 97th minute pen, Man Utd win with a penalty awarded after the final whistle, Wolves crash 4-0 at West Ham, Vardy scores a hat trick in a very unlikely fixture, and the most transferred in player Son follows his 4 goal haul with a one pointer after hitting the post twice and then getting injured !! A quiet week then !!
Gameweek 3 review:
– I had five “returning players” for the third successive week, which is a reasonable benchmark, but with a captain blank, which is never good. One goal, one clean sheet and three assists. One double figure return. 46 points ( net 42 ) resulted in a small red arrow and an overall rank of 1.78M. Certainly not where I wanted to be after three weeks, but of course it’s very early and ranks are very close and volatile. Six points is incredibly about 500,000 places right now !! There are some very esteemed FPL managers in much worse positions at around 2-4M overall rank, with the bonanza of goals, glut of penalties, inconsistent and freak results all combining to create huge points swings and ranking differentials. I am hoping it settles down quickly and the more studious managers can start to re establish some control. But the way this season has started, don’t bank on it.
My GW3 talking points:
Bruno the saviour:
– Lets start with the positive. My week was rescued by a 12 point haul from Bruno Fernandes. Of course it was a very fortunate one with Man Utd failing to convince and Bruno converting a penalty in the 10th minute of added time, taking him from 4 points in the 99th minute to 12 in the 100th !! How can he pick up “full bonus” from being on “no bonus” before scoring a penalty ? I will take it. Fernandes is a mini differential. I like having at least some United attacking coverage and he is on pens, which is like gold right now. But with already holding De Bruyne and Salah, he also unbalances my team, so he is also my most likely “cash cow” for any squad changes, if I am to make the moves in my squad that I want to make. Let’s see how he gets on this week.
– Having switched from Son to Bruno in GW2, and been stung with Son’s four goals, it was tempting to reverse switch Bruno back to Son for a hit, but it didn’t feel right. Experience told me to stick and not to chase lost points. So I made the right call to stick with Bruno, especially with Son blanking and picking up an injury. That’s one call I got right. Nice one Bruno.
Vardy v Werner:
– The big pre season decision I had was Vardy or Werner. All my early drafts had Vardy, the golden boot holder, a reliable FPL performer, with great fixtures to match. What’s not to like. But the near 50% ownership of Werner represented a risk beyond my comfort zone. He came with a huge expectation and goal scoring pedigree. The extra 23 points from having Vardy over Werner would now have me around 500k. But of course, if I had gone with Vardy and it backfired with such ownership, I could have been looking at a 3-4M rank. So still the right call for the risk controlled way I play. Werner is obviously a concern and playing in a variety of positions and not hit the road running with just one assist in three games. When there are so many strikers on fire, he needs to up his points output quickly.
– Vardy has actually had only six shots so far, resulting in five goals, but four of them penalties. He has looked far from impressive apart from his penalty prowess. Rodgers advised this week that Vardy is playing with an ongoing injury which could explain a lot. Vardy owners have been a bit lucky with those four penalties. But Vardy has West Ham and Villa both at home next. He must be feeling confident, if fit. Werner has two nice home fixtures too, against Palace and Southampton, so I am inclined to give him these two home games at least. That’s if he is fit after his midweek “cramp scare”. Werner ownership is now right down below 30% which shows how his doubters are increasing. I don’t think I would go up in value to Vardy, but plenty of options to come down to, including Jimenez, Ings and Calvert Lewin, who has now displaced Werner as the most owned striker !!
Captain KDB:
– My armband on KDB was disappointing. He was a pre planned switch in for Aubameyang for GW3. Pity he was so impressive in GW2 and then in GW3 he was a shadow of the De Bruyne that tormented Wolves. But all the top five captain choices underwhelmed too. KDB will certainly be in my side for some time and he is a captain contender again this weekend at Leeds. It was a horror show from City v Leicester, so I am hoping for a reaction. Surely City will be firing and ready at Leeds in a game that promises goals. They warmed up nicely in midweek too.
Liverpool options:
– Salah and Trent Alexander Arnold are my two Liverpool players. Both returned “assists” but it was Robertson and Mané who scored the resulting goals. Salah was out shone by Mané. But we know you just don’t hop between them. Look at the Salah hat trick one week and then the Mane double the week after. It’s more worrying that Robertson seems to be now taking more than half the free kicks and corners and is looking a great player to own. I wouldn’t swap Alexander Arnold for Robertson. But It’s definitely viable to pair them up together. They are effectively two 7M midfielders with the added bonus of clean sheets. More performances like these from Robertson and the double up will be a real magnet.
Wolves:
– One transfer that didn’t go in my favour this week was Saint Maximin to Podence for a 4 point hit !! The difference between a green arrow and a red. Rumours of a Podence injury proved correct. So with one point from first sub, that was a small annoyance taking a hit for a non starter. But Saint-Maximin was a transfer out I wanted to make any way and now that’s done. Podence is also in now, already in place too for Fulham at home, and even if he doesn’t make it, there is a two week international break to recover. And based on Wolves defeat at West Ham, he might be badly needed. Back to back defeats for Wolves, and that 4-0 at West Ham was a shocker, but delicious fixtures ahead now. I would love to add Jimenez to my Wolves collection of Saiss and Podence and triple up for these fixtures.
So what next:
– I won’t be rushing to wildcard. I am happy enough with my core team. The wildcarders in GW2 and GW3 have so far generally not stolen any points advantage, with some crazy inconsistent results, though I do think they have been unlucky. I see a lot of wildcard teams that I like the look of. They are great looking teams on paper so might reap rewards very quickly. I plan to hold the wildcard as long as I can, or until I feel I need it. With the added Covid disruption risks, I want to keep it in my back pocket.
Possible moves:
Werner to Jimenez ?
– I am tempted with the Wolves v Fulham fixture, and Jimenez, given that Fulham have conceded ten goals so far and are looking very fragile in defence. Palace by comparison have only conceded once. Werner to Jimenez is a popular move. It makes a lot of sense. It’s a good looking move with Wolves upcoming fixture run. The injury scare from Werner in the EFL cup will only have fuelled this switch. Jimenez also has pens and we don’t know if Werner does. Its a tempting move ahead of Fulham coming to Molyneaux. Werner has two good home fixtures too. Rather than make the Werner to Jimenez switch, I would ideally prefer having them BOTH, though that would mean a hit. So Werner to Jimenez is definitely an option.
Roll the transfer ?
– One factor in my mind that might prevent me making the Werner to Jimenez switch is my determination to carry two transfers into the international break. So I will be keeping a very close eye on the Chelsea press conferences. If there are any doubts about Werner starting the match, he will be Jimenez. But I am attracted to having two free transfers for the international break, which could be huge if Covid and injuries strike. So much can happen in two weeks, with Covid and the transfer window still being open. Two free transfers could be priceless. So that’s my dilemma. Hold for two free transfers in the break ?
How’s my defence looking ?
– My defence I am happy enough with. McCarthy followed his Spurs mauling with a welcome clean sheet. Lamptey is one player I would love to own, he could come in once Justin inevitably loses his Leicester place to the returning Ricardo Perreira. Martinez is possibly looking a better option than McCarthy in goal, which is where wildcarders are heading to. The double up on Trent and Robertson certainly appeals. But for now, I am happy with my current defence containing sides with traditionally good defensive records. Saiss, Taylor, Justin and Trent Alexander Arnold have all had attacking returns too, as has bench player Mitchell. A defender transfer is not priority.
What to do about Che Adams and Mitrovic ?
– Che Adams has been frustrating and unlucky with just one assist, but has a great fixture in West Brom at home so is a definite hold for this game. He has been certainly knocking on the door, but he is not clinical. Bad luck or bad finishing ? He could be a sell after this weekend. Mitrovic I think will get goals as absolutely everything goes though him. Fulham just get the ball wide and bomb crosses on to his head all game. Even against Villa he could have had three. And he is on pens. I would like to at least upgrade Adams soon, possibly also upgrade Mitrovic too. I do feel a bit light in attack.
The form strikers I don’t have !!
– There are some great options up front with the unstoppable Calvert-Lewin, the deadly finishing of Danny Ings and the appeal of Jimenez with great fixtures. Not owning those three, plus Vardy, when I have Werner, Mitrovic and Adams instead, goes a long way to explaining why I am sitting further back than I would like to be. So finding the cash from somewhere to upgrade my strikers is very much in my thoughts. I am mindful of the damage that can be done by in form strikers. They are killing me right now.
My Bruno dilemma:
– Bruno Fernandes seems to be central to which direction I want to turn right now. He is the obvious route to raising the cash I need. The three premium midfield approach is a great differential and it looks very tasty if Fernandes is going to produce the points every week, and I do like having a piece of that four pronged United attack, but it’s restricting me getting Robertson or getting three form strikers.
– I will have another good look at Bruno this weekend. If he puts a 15 pointer in v Spurs, he might be a difficult sell. If not, I could consider switching Bruno to say James Rodriguez, which would then allow me to upgrade Adams to Jimenez, or if I get Jimenez this week, switching Adams to Calvert-Lewin. Or selling Bruno would give me funds to upgrade a 4.5M defender up to Robertson. So it appears that Bruno Fernandes really is my big conundrum and the key to unlocking my planned and desired moves.
Transfer summary:
– I have some serious thinking still to do. Whether to make the Werner to Jimenez switch, or whether I value more having two free transfers over the international break. That’s my big call this week. At the moment I am holding the transfer. But that could change.
My “template”
– This season, I am using two measures for my template of key players I want to own. Firstly, I am following 20 top FPL managers with outstanding track records. Secondly, I am tracking my fellow contributors who also have excellent consistent records. If a player has more than 50% ownership in either case, I want those players in my team.
– Currently that’s McCarthy, Alexander Arnold, Justin, Salah, De Bruyne, Werner and Mitrovic. They are my core “shield” players who also provide some rank protection. I currently own them all.
– My four remaining “differentials” are typically low ownership players with good fixtures who can really move me forward if they return points. This week, my four differentials all have good fixtures. I have Saiss ( 11% owned ) and Podence ( 5% ) who have Fulham at home, I have Adams ( 2% ) who has West Brom at home, and Fernandes ( 20% ) who has Spurs at home. They all represent low ownership “sword” potential who can all result in good rank gains.
Team line up:
– I am happy with how I line up this weekend. Podence can stay in the line up in case he recovers, as he has Fulham at home. If he doesn’t recover, Charlie Taylor of Burnley is good cover at first sub.
– I have De Bruyne at Leeds, Salah at Villa, Fernandes at home to Spurs, Werner has Palace at home, Adams has West Brom at home, so plenty of potential goals and some good Captain options too. But as is the case this season, there are some definite “sofa hiding” games such as Calvert-Lewin v Brighton, Jimenez v Fulham and Ings v West Brom !! I think I need a couple of those strikers in quickly to improve my heart rate.
Captain:
– I am actually tempted by Bruno Fernandes at home to Spurs. I don’t think I trust Werner with the armband currently. Salah seems much better at home than away and Villa are much improved defensively. If I owned Ings v West Brom, or Jimenez v Fulham, I would be tempted to captain them. I am likely to settle for Bruno being a differential just by owning him, and put the armband instead on De Bruyne in what I think could be a goal fest at Elland Road. Not an easy choice.
– Good luck everyone. And remember, it’s very early days. Keep the faith, stick to your plan, don’t panic or make rash moves. The most important quality you can have as a FPL manager is PATIENCE….
Transfer summary: to be confirmed
Here’s the team with no transfer made as yet:
Other posts
Analysing the teams of 10 top FPL managers
Early thoughts on the FFGeek teams
FFGeek Contributors GW4 teams part 1
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