Here’s our fantasy premier league team tips GW23 article where the 2nd group of the FFGeek contributors show their teams for GW23. In this part there’s Ben Wooton, Sergio Torija, Kris O, Andrew Pratt, Stephen Troop and Andrew Whitfield
Fantasy premier league team tips GW23 – 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
Ben Wooton
Ben’s last 3 seasons overall rank were 61k, 26k and 31k.
GW22 points: 63 (FPL average 57) Total points 1,333 Gameweek rank 2,259k, Overall Rank: 11k, no rank movement, Team Value: £104.4m
Really puzzled over team this week.
Had two transfers , but in the end it’s Rico out for Holgate who I feel is still decent value with good fixtures. Would have preferred Sidbe or Digne but the key thing is to free up money and give me two transfers for week 24 with options open for any Liverpool option.
At the moment I think the plan is to get Firmino, Salah or Robertson. Maddison, Kelly and/or Tammy Abraham going.
Back to this week De Bruyne captain.
Mr Mane as vice , but any striker looks an option
Transfer summary: Rico out for Holgate
Sergio Torija
Sergio’s last 3 seasons were 596k, 17k and 21k
GW22 points: 79 (FPL average 57) Total points 1,311 Gameweek rank 413k, Overall Rank: 31k, green arrow 34k, Team Value: £102.9m
A great GW22 for my team with 79 points which brought me to almost top 30K. After Saturday I seemed to be heading for a big rank drop, but Sunday’s games went great and saw 4 players returning and the fifth was Aguero. So a total of 9 returns out of 11, with the Aguero explosion. Just a pity that due to gametime concerns I was not brave enough to captain him and went with the the safety of the poles with Vardy. Ain’t happen this week, so Aguero will be captain.
As for transfers, I am going to do a double Hammer’s move this week with my 2 frees: Randolph and Noble, and no, I don’t think I’ve gone mad yet. Goalkeepers have traditionally fared well in double gameweeks, so I was talking myself into Fabianski. He is injured now, and West Ham have signed Randolph (£4.5) as a replacement. So I will go with him, not only for double gameweek, but also I will play him this week home to Everton, so that I avoid to play Guaita away at City. Then I need to raise £0.5 for the move, and this comes from El Ghazi to Noble. El Ghazi scored a last minute pen against City and played number 9, but Villa are all out for a striker, so probably this won’t continue, and he had lost his place in the team before that. There are not many decent pickings at £5.0 or under (I already have Cantwell), so with the double gameweek coming and on penalty duties, I am happy to pay the extra half million for Noble versus the Dendoncker’s, Hayden’s or Stephen’s of the world.
Transfers to be done on Friday afternoon/evening in case a list minute injury is reported elsewhere in the team.
Next week it will be all about the double gameweek for Liverpool (and West Ham). For now I have Salah and Alexander Arnold. I will definitely be getting a third Liverpool player, still undecided on whom. With 1 transfer and no money in the bank, either I will do a direct Aguero/Vardy to Firmino, or take a minus -4 to raise money for someone else. To be decided after the weekend games. And I am not totally sold on triple captain chip, I kind of prefer to keep it for later in the season for an extra boost (maybe the Sane 1 point TC from last year is still too recent). But I might just go with the masses if it looks like everyone is going for TC.
This week Aguero Captain and De Bruyne vice. Fixtures are in general good. In defence I will play Sidibe and Cathcart and bench Evans and Kabasele. Odds for Leicester clean are better than Watford, but I would kick myself if Watford clean and my two guys are on the bench.
Good luck for GW23 Geekers and happy double gameweek planning!
Transfer summary: McGovern to Randolph and El Ghazi to Noble
Here’s the team prior to the transfers
Kris O
Kris’s last 3 seasons overall rank were 44k, 46k and 23k
GW22 points: 55 (FPL average 57) Total points 1,295 Gameweek rank 4,178k, Overall Rank: 61k, red arrow 13k, Team Value: £105.9m
All I’ll say about last week is that I’m surprised I only dropped by 13k!
I made an early move this week to switch Ings in for Calvert-Lewin. Not ideal to switch a player I purchased the week before but better to admit when you make a mistake and fix it!
Team selection straight forward.
Armband on Mane and vice Ings.
transfer summary: Calvert Lewin out Ings in
Andrew Whitfield
Andrew finished with an overall rank of 6k last season and 19k in 17/18
GW22 points: 55 (FPL average 57) Total points 1,267 Gameweek rank 3,981k, Overall Rank: 162k, red arrow 27k, Team Value: £104.0m
Well that was another entertaining gameweek !! VAR again causing last minute chaos, Aubamayang sent off, Aguero scoring a hat trick and Southampton avenging their 0-9 defeat by winning at Leicester !!!
GW22 review:
– 55 points was just below average and a tad disappointing. Why is it that just when the fixtures all look great and optimism is at its highest, the red arrows strike. Five “returners” and a “captain assist” is probably the bare minimum you need for a respectable gameweek and that would bring green arrows some weeks.
– Returns from Lundstram, Trent, Vardy and De Bruyne were all very standard points from highly owned “template” players, but the 12 Rashford points were very welcome and largely saved my week from a worse fate. My three attacking players with ownership below 30% are the ones that can move me forward, but Jimenez, Grealish and Maddison all drew a blank, disappointing with Wolves and Leicester having promising fixtures. Last week, two of my “semi differentials” returned, this week they all blanked. That’s often the difference between red and green.
– However, the red arrow was not too bad at 27k and I context it with the fact that it followed three successive green arrows before it. Green arrows of 50k, 37k and 21k had moved me from 243k to 135k, so I will take this week on the chin. It’s three steps forward and only one step back. I am 81k better off over four weeks.
– I expected a much worse ranking drop, especially with Aguero and Man City exploding, but being a player who sticks pretty close to the template, means that I protect my position by owning the “players who can do most damage” with their high ownership which means when the red arrows do arrive, they tend to be small ones, so to come out with only a 27k red arrow with plenty goals flying in shows that my defence mechanism worked well.
– My initial instinct for best captain was Rashford at home to Norwich and so it proved. But with Vardy holding such high captain popularity, and nearly 150% “effective ownership”, the risks of a significant drop in rank were just too high for my playing style. The gamblers who are more adventurous and are prepared to take the huge rises and huge falls in equal measure were the big winners this week.
– It would have been nice to get the 10 Dendoncker points from first sub, just like some had done with Cantwell the week before. I am not bitter ( !! ). Typical I had all 11 starters !! Those extra 10 bench points and the captain call are the difference between “bright green” and red. But that’s not bad luck. I chose not to play Dendoncker at home to Newcastle and instead went for Grealish v Man City.
So what next:
I have 0.3M in the bank and two free transfers as I plan towards GW24 where Liverpool and West Ham play twice. I am not interested in any Hammers for their double against Leicester and Liverpool, but I want triple Liverpool coverage, not just for GW24 but also for the great fixtures beyond it.
Planning for double GW24:
– There are lots of different thoughts and ideas as to which three Liverpool players work best and I think all the approaches have their merits. Double defence or double attack ?? Probably the “dream ticket” is both Salah and Mane paired with Trent – but it comes with a price and it undoubtedly means sacrifices. The 5M saving of Robertson over Salah means a much better balanced team without doubt. There are variations of course involving Firmino or Van Dijk or Gomez. Lots of ways to attack GW24.
– An injury this week to Mane, Salah, Trent, Robbo or Firmino, or indeed any Liverpool players would completely change the dimensions and plans of everyone. Some injuries might actually help. For example, no De Bruyne would make the jump to Salah and Mane easier. Don’t rule out injury twists yet.
– It may surprise those of you who read me regularly ( is that just my mum ? ) that I have changed course over the last 48 hours, having thought long and hard about it all week and taken on board lots of opinions of managers I respect. Initially I was firmly set on getting the two full backs for the attacking threat plus the clean sheets ( six in a row now !! ). But having assessed “the sacrifices” needed to get to Mane and Salah, I now want to be on the attacking double up, both Mane and Salah are going to be heavily captained ( and triple captained ) . A big haul of 3-4 goals over the two games for either of them could deliver a knockout blow for non owners. Their “points ceiling” is potentially a lot higher than the defenders. I want to enjoy the double gameweek with both of them on my side, instead of watching from behind the sofa.
– I am also highly likely to be playing the triple captain chip on Mane. There will be other ( possibly better ) double gameweeks but the likelihood is that the title race may be wrapped up early, increasing late season rotation. Kane and Aguero are the two I would trust most with my triple chip ( I tripled Aguero’s hat trick last season ), but Harry is crocked and who knows where City’s priorities will lie if they are out of the title race. Vardy may have a nice double week including Norwich if they reach the league cup final. Two away games is not ideal. There are risks of captains not playing twice. Whilst there are six days between the two games in GW24, there are then only THREE days to their GW25 match. Not inconceivable they could sit the second game of the double out, leaving only Wolves away in the double week. Worried ?? There may be better opportunities. Even a single home game might work better. But I am likely to grasp the nettle and try get some points on the board now rather than wait for the unknown, especially as I expect lots of triple captain chips in action.
How to deal with Danny Ings:
A certain Mr Ings has been annoying me week after week. Enough is enough. I think the only way I am going to possibly stop him scoring is to buy him and break him !! He also has very attractive fixtures too. He had NINE shots last game and has the stats to match his confidence. My preference would be to bring him in for Jimenez, who has three blanks and now tough fixtures, but whichever Liverpool triple route I take, I will need to lose Rashford instead of Jimenez to have the necessary funds. It’s not easy to sell a player who has just scored twice. But Ings has matched Rashford for points over the last 8 games and has the better fixtures – and provides a 2.4M saving. An injury to Rashford in the cup now makes it a lot easier to lose him.
So who is in and out:
– With the funds from my bank and the Rashford to Ings deal, I could do the 2.6M upgrade of Guilbert to Robertson for the defensive double up. That’s the simple route. It means my only sacrifice is Rashford to Ings, which may not necessarily be a sacrifice anyway. It does create benching issues with either Grealish, Lundstram or Soyuncu missing out which is not ideal. But it’s a simple “two transfer” move. Plus I get to keep Jimenez and Maddison.
– At first glance, it’s scary to lose Rashford, Jimenez and Maddison to get to Mane and Salah !!! But I am hoping Ings can match Rashford based on form and fixtures and that move would have been needed anyway for the Robertson route. Jimenez has tough upcoming games and three blanks and I can accept losing Maddison if it’s for Salah and it also means Grealish can start. In fact, Jimenez, Rashford and Maddison are all in the top five sells this week, so it must be a popular route to Mo.
– So after Rashford to Ings and Maddison to Salah, and my 0.3M bank, I need to raise 2M. I am going to take a punt on Maupay as third striker for Jimenez, as Brighton have very good fixtures. That still leaves me 0.4M short. It’s an easy downgrade of 5.1M Guaita to McCarthy and this also gives me 0.3M wriggle room to avoid price change pressures and gives me options going forward, which can improve my bench.
– This means I need FOUR changes over the next two weeks, instead of just two with the more straightforward defensive route. I have three FREE moves in this period, so a -4 hit will be needed either this week or next. So my question is – when to make them ??..I have brought Ings in for Rashford already as I can’t stand Ings banging the goals in anymore and he has Wolves at home compared to a possibly injured Rashford at Liverpool. I could leave the other three deals until next week to keep my options open.
– But Maupay has Aston Villa at home so it’s the perfect entry point . It seems wrong to wait a week and miss that fixture. It’s also the perfect exit point for Guaita playing at Man City, although he could pile up some good save points, even save a penalty. So I could wait or make the three switches this week if the hit is coming anyway either this week or next. Then the funds are there to bring in Salah next week.
Currently favouring bringing in Maupay this week as well as Ings to use my two free transfers, then next week bringing in McCarthy and Salah for the -4.
Captain:
– Captain this week will be De Bruyne. Vice Vardy.
Transfer summary:
– Rashford to Ings done already.
– This week or next will be Jimenez to Maupay and Guaita to McCarthy.. then Maddison to Salah next week.
Good luck everyone, both with this gameweek and your GW24 planning !!!!
Andrew Pratt
Andrew finished with an overall rank of 8k last season and 1k in 17/18
GW22 points: 61 (FPL average 57) Total points 1,215 Gameweek rank 2,687k, Overall Rank: 615k, green arrow 16k, Team Value: £103.9m
Thoughts on Gameweek 18 to 22
I was on holiday in Perth and Mauritius for a few weeks so these gameweeks were a blur. I only watched a few gameweek 22 games in this time which has been a nice break from FPL after the disappointment (read fury) of Son’s red card in gameweek 18. Aguero’s gameweek 22 haul was a welcome back kick in teeth after I’d stuck with him through some withering and pointed personal ridicule for most of the first half of the season. On reflection, this season has been very disappointing. After a good start it’s been downhill since gameweek 7 and what has cost me has been: my over-reliance on Man City and more recently Spurs (which is out of character for me), delayed bringing in of Vardy, Maddison, Alexander-Arnold and Ings, persisting with players like Mount, Tielemans and Mousset, and my ineffective early wildcard. On a positive note, my team does look in reasonable condition for the second half of the season and I’ll target a top 10k finish which would mean clawing back 120 points.
Thoughts on Gameweek 23 and beyond
In gameweek 24 we need to capitalise on Liverpool’s double gameweek by ideally having 3 of their assets. Since Liverpool will probably run away with the league this year, gameweek 24 might be an opportunity to use the triple captaincy chip against two reasonably accommodating opponents and while Liverpool is fully focused and their assets less likely to be rested, as may well be the case in the double gameweeks towards the end of the season.
I now have Salah and Alexander-Arnold. My third Liverpool player could easily stay in my team for some time as Liverpool has a sea of green fixtures from gameweek 24 so I won’t be looking at a short term punt. I’m thinking along the lines of Mane, Robertson or van Dijk. Firmino (inconsistent) and Gomez (could lose his place soon) don’t do it for me. I see the best 3 Liverpool assets as Salah, Mane and Alexander-Arnold so I’m inclined to go with Mane if I can fit him in without dismantling my team. If I’m left with a luxury transfer at the time, I’ll look at getting a West Ham asset but their fixtures aren’t great and it could easily be a trap with wasted transfers (one in and then one out shortly thereafter). Fabianski is now out so the best of the rest are probably Noble, Cresswell, Anderson and Haller – but none presents a compelling case.
Of my 2 free transfers I’ve used one on swapping out Jimenez (a tough run of fixtures looms) for Ings which goes against my strong preference for avoiding such injury prone players. I picture Danny Ings wincing at the pain in one, or more likely both, of his hamstrings at the precise moment I transferred him in. He’s no doubt stuffed now but you had a good run
Barring material injuries leading up to the deadline, I’ll carry over the 2nd free transfer as I have no urgency to bring in a 3rd Liverpool player against United, which could be a relatively tough game. I’d also like to keep my powder dry and make this important transfer as late as possible.
The armband is currently on de Bruyne (and vice is on Richarlison) but I withhold the right to make my customary change 30min before the deadline to someone who will score less points.
Gameweek 24 transfers will probably be one of:
– Default option: Maddison and Richarlison out for Mane and Fleck/Noble/Cantwell (I like Fleck but he has City in Gw24 whereas Noble plays twice)
– If Mane is injured or there are suggestions he’ll be rested: Soyuncu for van Dijk
– I’ll consider De Bruyne and Rico out for Mane and Williams (assuming Rico loses his place and Williams keeps his)
– I’ll consider De Bruyne and Soyuncu out for Mane and Holgate/Stephens (if Rico keeps his place and Leicester defence continues to look iffy)
Good luck, all.
Transfer summary: Jimenez out and Ings in
Stephen Troop
Stephen’s last 3 seasons overall rank were 43k, 52k and 64k
GW22 points: 51 (FPL average 57) Total points 1,241 Gameweek rank 5,112k, Overall Rank: 336k, red arrow 75k, Team Value: £103.3m
A pretty disastrous week, scoring 51 (6 below average) and dropping 75k places back into the sub 300k realm. It’s been a tough few gameweeks.
My transfers were Alli>Maddison for a 2 week punt and Aurier to Dunk, who I benched this week. Dunk saved money, has good fixtures and has had some attacking threat this season. Maddison was a disaster. I considered Richarlison, Sarr and Mahrez all of whom did better.
Vardy Captain got an assist, but had 0 shots at all which was worrying. He was by far the most popular pick so wasn’t too damaging. De Bruyne, Salah, Lundstrum, Robertson and Abraham all returning for me. What was most damaging was Rashford vs my Jimenez, and has been over the last few weeks, although he picked up an injury in the league cup games midweek.
For GW23, despite a bad score I’m going to roll the FT. This gives me 2 FT to prepare for the double gameweek, where I’ll likely be getting Mane for Maddison. I can currently do this by swapping Jimenez to Greenwood (with 0.0m in the bank). Jimenez is the best makeweight given his form, stats and upcoming fixtures. If prices stop this, then potentially a -4 and doing Rico to Williams could be the way. I haven’t 100% ruled out getting Alexander Arnold in instead.
Captain this week is on Salah currently, although De Bruyne is in my thoughts as well. I’m benching Lundstrum for Dunk, although with Aubameyang suspended then this becomes a tougher choice.
Good luck all
Transfer summary: Carrying over a free transfer
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