Here’s site visitor Steve B with his article on what lessons have been learnt in fantasy premier league so far this season as we are now just over it’s halfway point
fantasy premier league – lessons learned so far this season
Source: Mohamed Salah via Facebook
As the Fantasy Premier League enters its most hectic time of the year, it has also reached its halfway point. Fantasy managers now have a wealth of information at their fingertips to help them push their rank up, defeat mini-league rivals, and charge towards the finish line in the latter stages of the campaign.
Each and every fantasy season is different, and the best managers have to adapt to the changes as they see fit. And with the new Free Hit chip, some may be pondering an early New Year wildcard to get the edge on their opponents. But in order to do that effectively, they need to take into account everything that has happened up to this point. Here are the key lessons we have learned so far.
Silva and De Bruyne are City’s Surest Source of Points
The main theme of this season for fantasy managers has been how to get the most out of Pep Guardiola’s fearsome Manchester City attack. At first, managers were weary after being burnt by the Catalan’s heavy rotation policy in the past. It was clear early on that there would be a lot of chopping and changing again this season, but with City notching up goals at an excessive rate, signing at least one of their attackers was imperative. When watching football, it’s hard to look past City storming to this season’s title, and Guardiola’s furious force are odds-on at around 1/25 to claim the prize.
Although Sergio Aguero has been a fantasy legend ever since joining City in 2011, it has been hard to justify his inclusion in fantasy squads this time out. Guardiola has generally been opting to rotate the Argentine with Gabriel Jesus, which has resulted in Aguero missing out on five matches’ worth of points. If the 29-year-old was nailed on to start he would be a shoo-in for most managers but, as it stands, players have been forced to overlook the sharpshooter for his midfield counterparts.
There was a time when Leroy Sane and Raheem Sterling seemed to be the surest source of points for managers, as the two wingers have been prolific in front of goal in the early stages of the campaign. With fifteen goals between them after gameweek 14, having one or the other seemed like the best option for fantasy managers. But now, at the halfway point, it is becoming clearer that David Silva and Kevin De Bruyne are the most reliable options in the rotation-threatened squad. The Belgian has started every match and the Spaniard has come on as a late substitute once. Just being on the pitch as much as possible for City is beneficial for some players, but these two also ooze world-class quality. They are also both on track for their highest ever points tallies in Fantasy Premier League.
Silva seems to be the better option for fantasy managers due to the fact that he’s £2 million cheaper than his teammate at the time of writing. But it wouldn’t be surprising to see De Bruyne top the points charts for City by the end of the campaign. Shrewd managers do need to keep an eye on Guardiola’s team sheets, though, and make sure they have the right players at the right time.
Salah is Writing Himself into the History Books
Liverpool’s record summer signing Mohamed Salah is charging his way towards becoming a fantasy legend in his breakthrough Premier League season. At the halfway point, the Egyptian has racked up 13 goals and 4 assists, and if he can carry on this exceptional form he will doubtlessly top the scoring charts and claim the Golden Boot. That’s not bad for a player who gets five points per goal in comparison to a striker’s four. More importantly from a fantasy manager’s perspective, the 25-year-old could be about to outshine the last member of fantasy royalty from Anfield, Luis Suarez.
No fantasy player classed as a midfielder has ended the season as the top flight’s highest scorer since Cristiano Ronaldo plundered the goals for Manchester United in the 2007-08 season. The Portuguese racked up 31 goals and produced six assists for a total of 241 points in that campaign. With 127 points to his name prior to Gameweek 18, Salah is on course to smash that, which would give him one of the highest overall scores in fantasy history.
With 56.9 percent ownership, there is no doubt that Salah is essential. The question for some managers is whether they should double him up with another Reds midfielder such as Philippe Coutinho or Sadio Mane in order to get maximum points from Jürgen Klopp’s aggressive attacking force. However, most are content to just have the number 11 in their sides and balance their teams with attackers from other clubs.
Those who have failed to draft in Salah have probably found that they have fallen way behind their rivals. The goal-getter started the season priced at £9 million, but getting him in now would cost a whopping £1 million more than that.
The Ideal Formation is 3-5-2
Because of the vast array of talent which has presented itself in midfield, it is hard to look past a 3-5-2 formation this season. Managers are finding that getting in one or two heavy hitters such as Harry Kane and Alvaro Morata up front and then benching a cheaper third option like Dominic Calvert-Lewin at £5 million is proving fruitful. Another preference is to pair the Tottenham Hotspur number 10 with a cheaper second striker who is producing points, and Wayne Rooney and Jamie Vardy have been useful in this regard. Doing that would free up yet more funds to bring in some of the free-scoring players from the centre of the park.
The need for a 3-5-2 formation is highlighted by the fact that the four highest scorers in the league prior to gameweek 18 are all midfielders. Kane comes in fifth with 96, but then two more midfielders- Riyad Mahrez and Christian Eriksen- take up the next two slots on 92 points apiece. With Eden Hazard beginning to recapture his form after being eased back into the frame following his injury, some fantasy managers may even begin to consider operating with two mid-priced forwards to free up more funds to splash out on midfield players. And the case for captaining Salah each week rather than a prolific striker makes this option all the more appealing.
For many years, the preferred formation among fantasy managers was always 3-4-3, but going for a power five in midfield could certainly be a way to get the edge on mini-league rivals in the coming weeks and months.
Team Value is Extremely Important
Many fantasy managers will look back fondly on Leicester City’s title-winning season of 2015-16, when there was a vast number of overperforming assets available on the cheap. Mahrez could be bought initially for £6 million, and his price never rose higher than £7.2 million. This was incredibly cheap for a player who bagged 17 goals and 11 assists in the campaign, resulting in him being named the PFA Player of the Year. The price tag made it easy for every manager to get the player in. It would have been much harder to jump on the Mahrez bandwagon if he had been above £9 million, though. And this was the price assigned to the Foxes playmaker in the following season.
While a couple of players such as Watford’s Richarlison and Pascal Gross of Brighton & Hove Albion have both been fairly reliable sources of points for their initial price tags of £6 million and £5.5 million respectively, they haven’t produced anything near Mahrez’s output. In fact, at the halfway point, they had eight goals between them, which is under half of Mahrez’s total. Indeed, this season, fantasy managers have been forced to try and fit players of a higher price into their line-ups. The £8 and 8.5 million outlays for Manchester City’s Sterling and Sane have proved to be the shrewdest buys so far in terms of bang for your buck. The wingers had racked up 185 points between them before gameweek 18.
But now with big hitters such as Hazard and Alexis Sanchez staking their claims for inclusion in fantasy managers’ squads, having a high overall team value is more important than ever. This way, it makes it easy to jump on the more expensive players when they start to become essential. There is a lot to be said for getting the right player in at the right time, and budget flexibility allows for that.
The key to catching up with rivals and improving overall rank in the second half of the season is to take this information and let it shape the way you set your team up going forward. An early wildcard could be a good option if you’re chasing the points, and if you choose to do this, then the new Free Hit chip will doubtlessly come in useful later on.
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