Here’s our fantasy premier league team tips GW16 article where the 2nd group of the FFGeek contributors show their teams for GW16. In this part there’s Rick Porter, Scott Taylor, Sergio Torija, Rob Cosgrove, Alex Ball and Andrew Whitfield
Fantasy premier league team tips GW16 – FFGeek contributor’s teams part 2
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. In the future it also wont cover early transfers. It’s just to give an idea of the trends for the week no more.
See the part 1 contributors teams article here as well
Scott Taylor
Scott finished with an overall rank of 1k last season and 12k in 17/18
GW15 points: 52 (FPL average 49) Total points 880 Gameweek rank 2,922k, Overall Rank: 79k, red arrow 26k, Team Value: £105.0m
So, my run of 6 green arrows in a row cane to an end with a small red one! Not too much damage done and still in the top 100k so all good.
Just 4 returning players (including Soyuncu coming off the bench for Martial) with 2 of those being double figures. I suspect the main reason for my red arrow was not owning Tammy and leaving the Rico points on the bench.
I’m still happy with my team. Apart from Martial’s injury (although OGS said he might play against MCI, not sure that changes my decision to take him out though) it’s more who I’d like to bring in rather than who I’d like to take out. Alli, Tammy Abraham and Grealish are high on my list. Ideally it would have been for Martial, Jimenez and Douglas Luiz but Grealish’s price increase last night scuppered that! I’m also keeping an eye on Mousset who could become Ings in which case Douglas Luiz would become Cantwell (alongside bringing Tammy Abraham and Alli in). That would use up all of my free transfers to GW18 and Liverpool’s blank meaning all 3 of my Liverpool players would be on the bench and I’d have to rely on my other 10 outfield players starting. I think I’m ok with that though. I know it’s a widely held view that going to 2 Liverpool players is the way to go from GW18 given their blank and 6 fixtures straight after (LEI away, WOL home, SHU home, TOT away, MUN home, WOL away) but apart from LEI away, I don’t think they’re too bad and they turn good again from GW25. Plus, given the GW18 fixtures I don’t really know who I’d bring in for one of my Liverpool defenders.
This week’s transfers will almost certainly be Martial to Dele Alli and probably Jimenez to Tammy Abraham (subject to any injury update on Tammy). That’s a bit harsh on Jimenez but I just feel a little exposed not having a Chelsea player and Tammy is the obvious one to me. So apart from those transfers, everything else will be the same as last week, same bench order, same captain (Vardy although I also considered Dele Alli, Tammy and Mane, went with Vardy’s form though) and same VC (Mane).
Enjoy the weekend.
Transfer summary: To be confirmed. Martial to Alli and Jimenez to Abraham (subject to Abraham’s fitness)
Andrew Whitfield
Andrew finished with an overall rank of 6k last season and 19k in 17/18
GW15 points: 57 (FPL average 49) Total points 869 Gameweek rank 2,159k, Overall Rank: 130k, red arrow 14k, Team Value: £103.2m
Well the gameweeks are coming thick and fast now !! A three day midweek GW15 threw up some big points for some. We had braces for Rashford, Origi and Jesus, Mane was on fire and top scored for the round, plus Vardy found the net for the seventh successive game, Tammy Abraham bounced back from injury with a goal to punish his many sellers, Ings now has four successive returns and even Pukki made it two in two !!
It turned out to be a rather bizarre gameweek too with Salah, Martial, Chilwell and Tomori all absent which meant that the three popular “bench fodder” players Rico, Dendocker and Kelly, who scored 26 between them, came flying off the bench for some and had a bearing on the gameweek !!
I had SIX returners, two in double figures, my captain scoring, my 57 points was above the average of 49, but not enough to prevent a small 14k red arrow. I actually had an 8k green arrow going into the last two games on Wednesday, and avoided an Aubameyang bullet too, but went from red to green once everyone’s bench points kicked me !! After three nice green arrows took me from 330k to 107k, the two red arrows that have followed have thankfully only been small ones, and have me back at 130k so not too much damage done, bearing in mind all the goals flying in from the likes of Rashford and Tammy Abraham and Ings !! So I survived the week and I am still in good shape. So much for two gameweeks when I had 9 and then 10 players at home !!
What went well ??
– Captain Vardy returned from the spot and has now scored in seven successive games !! I have given him the armband in his last four games and he has returned me 70 captain points which is huge !!
– A 95th minute goal is always sweet !! Thank you Mr Maddison for a 10 pointer. There seems to be a bit of unrest from Tielemans owners. I always wanted Maddison who I brought in for GW14. It would have felt like “settling” for Tielemans when I really wanted Maddison so glad I invested that bit more. He offers so much more being on corners and free kicks too.
– Soyuncu made it five clean sheets in six. When many of the top sides struggle for clean sheets, Leicester are the “go to “ team for shut outs. Soyuncu is certainly set and forget in the starting eleven. So 25 points from my Leicester triple up this week. All hail the Foxes !!
– A 15 pointer from Mane who looked unplayable. It could easily have been a lot more too. Its hard to build a case for Salah against him right now. Mane leads 109-75 this season, is even further ahead over the calendar year and is 41% owned compared to 21% Salah. A potential rank destroyer if you are not on Mane in this form.
– I stuck with Mason Mount when many jumped ship and he returned with a goal. The popular switch by many to Zaha didn’t bear immediate fruit. Mount was very much on “last man saloon” status after four blanks and might still leave my team soon but patience was rewarded. My midfield four of De Bruyne, Mane, Maddison and Mount represent the most most owned mids amongst the top 10k managers. Three of them returned this week for 31 points, and KDB scores in the previous two. It’s a solid four.
What didn’t go as well:
Dare I mention the Liverpool defensive double up again ? After only two clean sheets and conceding just one goal TWELVE times, this week they actually let in TWO for the first time. It’s only the attacking points of Robertson and Trent that justify the double up on that basis. The full backs are actually matching the points of the strikers at the same price point, so still represent value – if only the clean sheets would arrive too. Did you know that if all games had finished after 75 mins, Liverpool would have SIX clean sheets and would be ripping it up for points ( just saying !!
– All those bench points falling into people’s laps didn’t help. Then again, if the likes of Salah and Martial has played, they could have landed big points too.
– A blank from Jimenez in a home match v West Ham. He can be forgiven after six returns in seven games. I jumped from Tammy to Jiminez after the Abraham injury, so I have a decision to make now with Tammy back !!
– Wow.. Lord Lundstrum has only 8 points from four games !! Has the bubble burst ??
So what next:
I have one free transfer and 0.6M in the bank.
Given that I am sticking with the Liverpool defensive double up, certainly for Bournemouth and Watford before their blank in GW18, and that Lundstram and Soyuncu are set and forgets in my starting eleven, that leaves me with a 442. I am happy with De Bruyne, Mane, Maddison and Mount ( possibly ), and Vardy is on fire, that’s leaves me with a team I am pretty happy with. But I am considering some possible moves.
Possible changes:
– A possible switch back from Jimenez to Abraham. The upgrade currently costs me 0.3M. Abraham leads 95-75 this season and is 33% owned compared to 22% for Jimenez so its an attractive switch. Tammy also has better short term fixtures, including Bournemouth at home next week. It’s a tough call doing the reverse move after doing Tammy to Jimenez only two games back.
– Mount came through his “trial” this week but still represents a possible rotation threat, as do all Chelsea mids including Pulisic. Also on trial this week for his place were Martial who seems to have once again proved himself injury prone, Zaha who didn’t cover himself in glory but has great fixtures, and Grealish ( but I have McGinn ). One move I am warming to is Mount to David Silva, which would involve a downgrade of McGinn, but the Villa man is an overpriced 2nd sub in my team and not an effective use of funds, so a switch of McGinn to Cantwell and then Mount to D Silva works. D Silva has FIVE double figure hauls, has the same points as Sterling for 4M less, and would give me double city coverage in the top scoring team in the league and him plus De Bruyne would give me a hedge against Sterling too !! It’s a double move and I don’t fancy a hit this week, so it’s possibly one for next week if Mount happens to lose his place. I held D Silva for a spell recently and I would love him back. In a largely template team, he is a great differential at just 8% ownership.
One thing at the back of my mind is that if I do a double move next week, that only gives me ONE free transfer in the vital GW18 where two is definitely desirable to navigate the blank for my triple Liverpool players who don’t play !! I really want two transfers up my sleeve then.
I might possibly come off Robertson when the GW18 Liverpool blank arrives, and switch from 442 to 433 with Vardy, Tammy and Jimenez together.
So this week, if I don’t want to take a hit, and I want Tammy back, and I want two transfers in GW18, it’s leading me to get the Jiménez back to Abraham move done.
Captain this week:
It’s another tough call between Mane and Vardy. After Salah and Firmino were rested v Everton, it’s a possibility that Mane could get a rest this week, with Champions league points needed on Tuesday. Then again he is on fire. Vardy is so consistent though and has scored in his last seven. Unless the polls swing with Mane, I will be keeping the armband on Vardy for the fifth game in a row. Who would have predicted that a few weeks ago !!!
Line up:
Sticking with the same starting eleven with Mousset at first sub. After ten players at home last week, I now have ten playing away, which is far from ideal !!
Transfer summary:
I will be checking the press conference for Tammy news as he left the field early with another knock on Wednesday. If all seems ok, then it will be Jimenez to Abraham.
Screen shot below is pre transfers..
Good luck for GW16 !!!
Transfer summary: Jimenez out Abraham in (Subject to his fitness)
Rick Porter
Rick last 3 seasons overall rank were 1k, 30k and 2k.
GW15 points: 69 (FPL average 49) Total points 850 Gameweek rank 582k, Overall Rank: 268k, green arrow 116k, Team Value: £104.2m
On any other week I’d have been cursing the heavens on hearing the news of Martial’s absence. Even more so when my first bench option, Tomori, also failed to start and sat on the sidelines for the entire match instead. This wasn’t any normal week, though… this was a week when Rico somehow managed to bag himself a clean sheet and max bonus despite Bournemouth losing 1-0. I was more than happy to see him come into the team to bolster my existing points.
My decision to keep hold of Abraham and Mount while others abandoned them in droves paid off and, despite Abraham picking up another knock, I’m sure they’ll do me proud over the next few weeks. Mount still needs monitoring, but at least he’s given me a reason to keep the faith.
Unfortunately I have to lose Martial. I still think that with his particular combination of position, team and price he’s a steal, but he tends to recover slow when injured – I’d expect him back later rather than sooner.
Gameweek 18
I already know that GW18 will see my bench consist of Mane, Alexander-Arnold and Soyuncu, so I need to make sure I’m happy with the others that will be forced onto the pitch when it comes around.
Rico against Burnley is fine, but Connolly isn’t a player I’m happy relying on and, due to his benching this week, I can’t be confident that Tomori will start either. I’ll be using my 2 free transfers this week to solve one of those issues while removing Martial.
The benching of Tomori could well be a one week rest, so I’m happy to see what GW16 holds for him – though he’ll be on my bench this week anyway. That means I’ll be looking at dropping Connolly.
Transfers
Ings seems a sensible replacement for Connolly. He’s now scored 4 in 4 and has three good fixtures coming up (including Aston Villa in GW18). I owned him at the start of the season but got frustrated with the 65 minute subs. Also, his benching in GW2 meant I was unsure of his starting place. He didn’t survive my early wildcard for these reasons. Times have changed though and, in his current form, I can’t see him not starting unless injured.
To free up the money for Ings I’ll need to replace Martial with somebody that costs no more than 6.2m. That puts Perez, Grealish and Ward-Prowse in my sights. Perez is out as he faces Man City in GW18 and there’s not really any need to double up on Southampton players. That means Grealish is first choice. He’s looked strong the last few weeks and the fixtures are bright and breezy after Leicester this week.
These moves also leave me with 0.3m in the bank. After a few weeks of being maxed out it’ll be nice to have some flexibility so I’m not forced into early transfers.
Captain
Both Vardy and Mane seem solid options. Though, after Salah and Firmino were rested midweek, I have a niggling concern that it might be Mane’s turn so I’ll be going for Vardy as captain with Mane as vice.
Transfer Summary
Martial OUT, Grealish IN
Connolly OUT, Ings IN
Sergio Torija
Sergio’s last 3 seasons were 596k, 17k and 21k
GW15 points: 42 (FPL average 49) Total points 833 Gameweek rank 4,689k, Overall Rank: 464k, red arrow 191k, Team Value: £103.2m
A very bad week for my team, not only for the low scoring of 42 points (200K red arrow) but also because I didn’t even field a full 11, with 4 of my players missing, many of them being a worry moving forwards. My double move two weeks ago bringing in Chilwell and Salah over Pereira and Mane, has gone horribly wrong. And this week could have been worse should it not have been for Dendoncker 11 points coming from the last bench spot. Mount goal was my only satisfaction this week.
With this blurry looking team and with the Wildcard still available, I’ve thought about using it. However given the Liverpool blank in a couple GWs, I’m going to hold for that. And either use the wildcard in GW18 or GW19, need to sit down with pen and paper (or excel worksheet) and work out what seems best.
So given how things are looking and with 2 free transfers at hand, I’ve got to use them. Given Martial injury record, he was the first name out without a doubt. Alli coming in his place. Then I’m going to hope Chilwell recovers, and Salah plays, my second transfer is to finally remove Leno. I couldn’t wait for this day to come, it was a 50-50 call between Ryan and Guaita, I’ve gone for the latter for the higher clean sheet potential.
Most of my players have away fixtures this week, and captaincy seems again concentrated on Vardy. I’m going to try my luck once more and I will captain Salah. He rested on midweek, so he should start, and play 90, and score a brace at least please.
Good luck for GW16 Geekers!
Transfer summary: Martial out Alli in. Leno out Guaita in
Rob Cosgrove
Rob’s last 3 seasons overall rank were 45k, 40k and 23k
GW15 points: 62 (FPL average 49) Total points 821 Gameweek rank 1,400k, Overall Rank: 649k, green arrow 78k, Team Value: £101.9m
1 transfer: Pulisic out for Alli
Captain: Vardy
Alex Ball
Alex’s last 5 seasons overall rank were 523k, 17k, 10k, 28k and 3k
GW15 points: 57 (FPL average 49) Total points 787 Gameweek rank 2,159k, Overall Rank: 1,370k, green arrow 58k, Team Value: £103.8m
A mediocre week and a small green arrow. A week where a lot of strikers returned which hurt after my Jesus differential came in the night before. Team looks pretty good for the week and I think 2 transfers next week will be really helpful to reevaluate. Captain could go one of 3 ways but with my poor rank I’m going for a punt on Son.
Good luck all.
transfer summary: carrying over a free transfer
Follow Alex on twitter here
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