Here’s our fantasy premier league team tips GW18 article where the 2nd group of the FFGeek contributors show their teams for GW18. In this part there’s Kris O, Rick Porter, Andrew Whitfield, Stephen Troop and Alex Ball
Fantasy premier league team tips GW18 – FFGeek contributor’s teams part 2
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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
Kris O
Kris’s last 3 seasons overall rank were 44k, 46k and 23k
GW17 points: 70 -4 (FPL average 56) Total points 1,011 Gameweek rank 1,283k, Overall Rank: 69k, green arrow 8k, Team Value: £105.6m
A green arrow after a minus 4 is always pleasing so no complaints from me!
Gw18
I moved Robertson to Rico early to avoid price rise – I decided if I’m taking a minus 4 then I want some value for it (still kicking myself for missing that on Tomori to Kelly last week). I plan to replace Maddison with either Son or Alli. I’m swayed towards Alli as it leaves me some cash. I’ll decide once we’ve had press conferences Friday. Captain will be Alli or Son. Good luck all.
Transfer summary; Robertson out Rico in. Also Maddison to Son or Alli to be confirmed
Andrew Whitfield
Andrew finished with an overall rank of 6k last season and 19k in 17/18
GW17 points: 68 (FPL average 56) Total points 990 Gameweek rank 1,467k, Overall Rank: 157k, green arrow 35k, Team Value: £103.9m
I went into GW17 in optimistic mood, with TEN of my players on home games and some great one sided looking fixtures for my attacking players. It looked like a perfect opportunity for some big points, although it didn’t quite work out that way.
In the end, I did score 68 points, which brought me a very welcome 35k green arrow, up from 192k to 157k. But that only tells half the tale in what was a bizarrely fluctuating weekend.
Saturday optimism :
The fixtures had conspired to hand me ten games on Saturday, then only one in the five games that followed from Saturday tea time, so I knew that by 5pm Saturday, I had to be in great shape and then hang on. Optimism was high. I had Mane at home to a Watford side that had lost 5-0, 5-0 and 6-1 on their last three Anfield visits, I had in form Vardy and Maddison at home to Norwich and I had Abraham and Mount at home to an injury hit Bournemouth side who had lost their last five games. So three perfect fixtures for my attackers. I was at my beloved Oakwell, eagerly awaiting a goal fest update on WhatsApp , only for Mane, Vardy, Maddison, Abraham and Mount to record zero goals and just two assists between them !! Incredibly disappointing in such prime fixtures, especially from Chelsea. It was hard to envisage a green arrow after five of my attackers failed to find the net on Saturday.
I did suffer some bad luck. Mane had a great header ruled out as he had half a hip offside, and a Maddison corner was headed in by captain Vardy, only to get changed to a keeper own goal. Definitely not my afternoon !!
I did however still manage five Saturday returns out of ten ( despite zero goals ) from Trent and Pope clean sheets, Mane and Vardy assists and of course an 11 pointer from Lord Lundstrum. But at that point with ten players down, zero goals, and so many games and popular players to go for many people, whilst I was “green”, a final green arrow for the gameweek looked as unlikely as the 5-3 win that I witnessed at Oakwell for Barnsley !!!
Dodging the Sunday bullets:
So Sunday morning I popped down to the local second hand furniture store and bought myself a huge sofa with a few holes in it, so I could nervously peek at the games and hide behind. My “ask” was a big one and an unlikely one – blanks please for Rashford, Martial, Jimenez, Kane, Son, Alli and Aubamayang – and guess what – they all failed to score a goal and didn’t get a bonus point between them !! That’s what I call the “great escape”. Incredible really and seven huge bullets dodged.
So it wasn’t just MY attackers that mis fired on Saturday. Over the weekend, of the 20 most owned strikers, only Pukki and Greenwood found the net !!
To put the seal on a super Sunday escape, my only Sunday player, Kevin De Bruyne brought me 19 points !!! A lot of people had jumped off De Bruyne, but in his more advanced role, he looked unplayable. Kev from Canada did warn in last weeks podcast not to rip up your carefully constructed teams and proven FPL players for the latest “shiny little toys”. The return to form of De Bruyne, Salah and Sterling acts as a big warning to us all.
So what next ??
Well I have 0.3M in the bank and two free transfers.
Firstly, it’s the much talked about GW18, where Liverpool players are away having fun in Qatar. So the first big decision is whether to bench or sell your Liverpool players !! For me, I have three. I didn’t want to bench all three and run with a bare 11 to avoid the risk of only fielding 9–10 players, with rotation rife. So I am selling one and benching two to give me the security of 12 players. I don’t want to sell them all and then burn transfers on getting them back. So I am happy to take the short term pain of a weaker team this weekend and retain and bench my “essential” Liverpool assets.
Some managers have planned carefully for GW18 by reducing their Liverpool and Leicester exposure, which puts them in great shape this week. But does it then leave them light of players after this weekend, from the top two teams in the league and needing transfers to get them back in. I went in with my eyes wide open and made a conscious decision to carry triple Liverpool and triple Leicester into this week. I didn’t want to compromise my points leading up to this week and I feel justified that my Liverpool and Leicester triple ups have brought me 117 points in the last three weeks. It means I go into GW18 a little light, but I am not phased by a trip to the Etihad for my Leicester trio. In fact I think it’s the perfect fixture for the counter attacking Leicester style, with Maddison slide rule passes into Vardy, with Otamendi on his backside.
What needs fixing:
I have three “issues to fix” and two players I really want in my team, which combine well together, so that means I am going for only my third hit of the season to fix my team, as part of a “mini wildcard” – three changes for a -4.
– I am finally coming off the double Liverpool defence. I have held Alexander Arnold and Robertson all season. Unlucky is not the word !! – One goal, late goal, messy goal, wonder goal, you name it. It’s been so so close but no cigar. Now they are finally keeping clean sheets, the full backs are being rotated !! So with Liverpool having a blank week, followed by Leicester, and then with Man Utd and Spurs on the horizon, now is the time to let go. Besides, the near 3M saving on some great budget options can be put to great use in buying my target attackers . So out goes Robertson this week.
– Chelsea are becoming inconsistent and unreliable, and Lampard has openly stated his plans to rotate his midfield. I can’t trust them to start, especially Mount to start at Tottenham. He was benched in a similar fixture at Man City. So out goes Mount this week.
– I have McGinn on my bench most weeks and it’s an ineffective use of money that can instead be put into my starting eleven. McGinn has also lost his attacking appeal as Grealish has become the creative driving force. So whilst it’s not an ideal time to sell, McGinn has blanked six games in a row and is going too as I need the funds from his sale to fund my two buys.
Who comes in :
– In comes Kelly to take advantage of attractive Palace fixtures. One goal conceded in four games and great fixtures ahead, gives promise that he can deliver good points for a 2.7M saving on Robertson. I am also looking to start Kelly most weeks in a 442 to gain an advantage on the many who will bench him most weeks.
– In comes Son as I feel I need a piece of the Spurs cake, with Alli, Kane and Son becoming well owned and dangerous. In the same way that I really wanted Maddison over Tielemans, I really want Son over Alli. He is a player I just love to own !! So Son is in for Mount and it’s a deal I am very happy with.
– The above two deals leave me 0.6M short. I could go for Alli instead of Son and avoid a hit but I just want Son. So I am using McGinn as my source of cash. I am just short of getting Traore as I write this which would have been nice. I toyed with Cantwell but in the end I am going with the cheaper Dendoncker. One advantage of doing so is it gives me more cash and I can potentially upgrade Mousett to Maupay next week or go Pope to Guaita. It gives me options.
Captain:
This is a wide open week. No Liverpool players available, Man City play Leicester, Spurs play Chelsea. If I owned Rashford or Jimenez, I would probably captain them. It’s a chance to go with a differential captain, without the risks, with no clear poll favourite. My short list is Son at home to Chelsea, De Bruyne at home to Leicester, and I have a sneaky fancy for Vardy to keep up his scoring streak. I will be keeping an eye on the polls but currently on De Bruyne.
My line up :
Two Liverpool players benched. My candidates for my only sub spot are Mousett, Guilbert or Dendoncker, who will all usually sit on my bench once my Liverpool pair return, but two of them will have to step up to the plate this week. Not the most attractive starting eleven this week and it’s damage limitation, especially with the points hit, but I now have a team that I am happy with that is ready to rumble immediately next week.
Going forward, I will be playing a 442 with Alexander Arnold, Lundstram, Kelly and Söyüncü, a tasty midfield of Mane, De Bruyne, Son and Maddison, with Tammy Abraham and Vardy up top.
Transfer summary
Three changes for a -4
Robertson to Kelly
Mount to Son
McGinn to Dendoncker
Good luck everyone !!!
Rick Porter
Rick last 3 seasons overall rank were 1k, 30k and 2k.
GW17 points: 66 (FPL average 56) Total points 980 Gameweek rank 1,870k, Overall Rank: 224k, green arrow 31k, Team Value: £105.3m
Another green arrow nudges me closer still to my top 100k target. There’s a long way to go yet, though, as the gains are getting more difficult. It wasn’t too far back that getting 10 points above the average would be enough to launch you upward by by a considerable amount – this week it was just 30k and I consider myself lucky for that. To be fair, if you’re going to captain an in-form player with a kind fixture along with the majority of his 50% ownership then you can’t really expect to leap up the rankings – captaining Vardy was far from a bold move but at this stage of the season I’d prefer to protect myself against the masses rather than take the bigger risks.
Gameweek 17
Dig through the complexities and, at its core, GW17 was about two players – Salah and De Bruyne. If you had both you were laughing, one or the other and you had a decent enough week and, unfortunately, owning neither will likely have seen you struggle. If you’re in the latter category then it’s worth remembering that the damage done in a week like this can be easily turned around in another when things go your way. After all, it’s only one week, two players and some bad luck. Things won’t always land butter-side down.
Gameweek 18
Stop what you’re doing, close your eyes… now take a deep breath in through your nose. You smell that? That’s the subtle aroma of Free Hit chips being activated. I expect there to be a fair number of optimised teams this week as some of the less aware managers notice that their multiple Liverpool assets aren’t playing this week and their benches simply aren’t up to the task.
Fortunately, thanks to a little bit of prep, I can field a decent team without using any transfers but I’m nervous about Mount. We’ve had a warning about midfield rotation at Chelsea already and Mount’s middling performance could well see him on the sidelines. My only playing bencher is Soyuncu who’s away against a revved up Man City who need the win, so he’s the very definition of last resort as far as I’m concerned. Hopefully he won’t be required.
Transfer
I will admit that I’m tempted to swap Mane to Sterling for a week so I can bench Mount. However, if I sell him now I’ll be 0.1m short of bringing him back in again. Same goes for Salah. That makes it a no go at present but I won’t lose selling value if Mane drops in price again before deadline – if that happens I’ll have a proper think about it.
For now, assuming there are no surprises, I’ll be rolling my transfer.
Captain
There’s no clear captain choice for me and I imagine it’ll be quite split this week. I think I’ll take a chance on Son at home to Chelsea. De Bruyne vice.
Transfer summary: carrying over a free transfer.
Stephen Troop
Stephen’s last 3 seasons overall rank were 43k, 52k and 64k
GW17 points: 58 (FPL average 56) Total points 969 Gameweek rank 3,171k, Overall Rank: 315k, red arrow 35k, Team Value: £103.8m
A pretty bad week for me where I dropped around 35k places. Not a complete disaster on reflection, but certainly not ideal from my mini leagues point of view.
At the back, Pope got a clean sheet and Lundstrum managed 11 points which was decent. In midfield, Sterling finally got a double digit return and Mane returned an assist. Up front Jiminez got an assist and keeps consistently returning. Vardy got an assist as well although I was hoping for more from him as captain vs Norwich at home.
The big turning points were Robertson being benched and coming on for a single point, losing ground on those with TAA. A lack of KDB as a result of owning Sterling was a further loss. Mcginn blanked again and Abraham also failed to return.
Going into GW18 and Liverpool have a blank gameweek and I have 2 FT in preparation. So the decision becomes whether to bench their assets or transfer out with the aim of bringing them back in. For me, my bench is pretty uninspiring and Liverpool play Leicester away in GW19 and so it feels a good opportunity to get rid of Mane and get rid of Williams. Likelihood is that I bring in De Bruyne and a United defender (good 2 fixtures so I can bench Soyuncu for his 2 tough games). In 2 weeks I’ll then have a choice between Salah and Mane for Sterling and some cash to spend to upgrade McGinn to Grealish etc (unless Sterling can perform over the next 2).
Captain is tough this week and I am undecided. Jiminez has the best fixture but his underlying stats for me don’t give me huge confidence of a decent score. It’ll probably go to De Bruyne/Sterling but with City’s defensive troubles I haven’t ruled out Vardy either.
I will be afraid of Rashford, as I think he will be the popular choice for those who have him.
Good luck all
transfer summary: To be confirmed
You can follow Stephen on twitter here
Alex Ball
Alex’s last 5 seasons overall rank were 523k, 17k, 10k, 28k and 3k
GW17 points: 56 (FPL average 56) Total points 887 Gameweek rank 3,630k, Overall Rank: 1,797k, red arrow 63k, Team Value: £104.5m
Another poor week and I think its fair to say the season is pretty much over with regards to any sort of a decent rank. Thats ok, its made me realise I want to reduce the amount I am involved with the game right now so I have moved away from interacting on social media about fantasy football which has been great.
Moves made early this week; Mane and Alexander Arnold to De Bruyne and Kelly for a -4. This leaves 4.9 mil ITB to turn Pulisic into Salah next week. Capo could be one of five; Rashford, Alli, Son, Jimmy, KDB. That call will come down to the wire.
Good luck all.
Transfer summary: Mane and Alexander Arnold to De Bruyne and Martin Kelly
You can follow Alex on twitter here
The FFGeek contributors League
The highlighted FFGeek contributors combined team is going well in 3rd place and with 1,010 points and an overall rank of 70k. You can follow that team, including live transfers, on our subscription Patreon site.
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Other posts
Early thoughts on the FFGeek team
FFGeek GW18 captain and transfers poll
FFGeek contributors show their GW18 teams part 1
GW18 defender and GK player rankings
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