Here’s our fantasy premier league team tips GW8 article where the 2nd group of the FFGeek contributors show their teams for GW8. In this part there’s Andrew Whitfield, Mikael Danielsen, Stephen Troop, Keith Spencer, Rick Porter and Kris O.
Fantasy premier league team tips GW8 – 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
Rick Porter
Rick last 3 seasons overall rank were 1k, 30k and 2k.
GW7 points: 51 (average 51) Total points 409 Gameweek rank 3,461k, Overall Rank: 493k, red arrow 48k, Team Value: £102.7m
GW7
GW7 was average in many ways. I essentially ended up treading water with a small rank drop that I’m not really that concerned about. I’m not happy, of course, but it could have been far worse. The wrong captain choice (again) stung, but solid numbers from my midfield and defence helped even things out. Also I had a pleasant surprise from Ryan who I had written off for the week. Abraham and Pukki were a bit of a let down, but at those prices I can’t expect numbers every week.
Looking forward, yeah, I have bigger issues. De Bruyne is out for this week at least, Wan Bissaka is a doubt and Cantwell also has a niggle. With flagged Wickham dormant on my bench this leaves me in a difficult situation. The fixtures looked good for me this coming week (with the exception of Ryan who I’m hoping will prove me wrong again) and I was planning on rolling my transfer so I had flexibility going into the break. In theory a couple of them could start this weekend. Equally, they could all be absent meaning me fielding 10 players max unless I make a transfer.
Transfer
Pep seems sure that De Bruyne will be back after the break. He’s essential if fit and I’m not keen on paying 10m (probably 9.9m by that point) for a player I sold for 9.7m just the week before, so he’s staying put for now. Cantwell also stays as he’s great value, could still play, and it doesn’t sound that serious anyway.
Despite Wan Bissaka’s great fixture and him having a decent chance of overcoming his issue for the weekend, his ongoing back complaint combined with the lack of clean sheets to date means he has to be first on my drop list. He’d have got his marching orders before the Liverpool match in GW9 anyway. A switch to Tomori, who has excellent fixtures ahead, frees up enough money for me to change Wickham to King for GW9 when he faces Norwich. That’s if the break doesn’t throw up anything else I need to deal with. Sure, it’s not Wilson, but I see it as a hell of an upgrade.
That said, I still have very little give in my team for this week and that makes me nervous. If Cantwell doesn’t play then I have Soyuncu against Liverpool coming on, which is far from ideal, and any other surprises leaves me with nothing as backup. That in mind, it’s tempting to take my first -4 of the season to make the Wickham to King swap now… As it stands, that’s just a temptation and I’m willing to chance my luck. There will be plenty of hits taken this week due to all the injuries and it would be nice to benefit from that rather than being one of the crowd. I’ll make a last minute call on that once I’ve mulled it over some more.
Captain will be Sterling.
Transfer summary: Wan Bissaka OUT, Tomori IN
Andrew Whitfield
Andrew finished with an overall rank of 6k last season and 19k in 17/18
GW7 points: 52 on WC (average 51) Total points 423 Gameweek rank 2,982k, Overall Rank: 207k, red arrow 17k, Team Value: £101.3m
Geek note: Andrew’s commentary was written before De Bruyne was ruled out for the Gameweek and before Farke stated that Cantwell was a doubt
Very much ”an average week”. 52 points against the gameweek average of 51. Six returning players is always good, but none in double figures and significantly a captain blank.
A strange week in that all my 11 players played on Saturday !! It was looking healthy on Saturday evening with a good rise in rank from 191k to 123k. But then having all “played up”, my rank inevitably slipped back to 156k on Sunday and to 207k on Monday. So a small red arrow in the end. But that still leaves me in the top 3% of teams, so happy enough with that.
The week after wildcarding is so often a little underwhelming and so it proved. My five players I removed scored SIX MORE points than the five players I brought in !! Having said that, its not about one week, it’s all about fixtures ahead and creating a better balance to your team and I am happy that my resulting team is well set up for the coming weeks. My wildcard fixed a few issues which definitely needed fixing. My team is stronger as a result.
None of the leading seven captain candidates “burned it up” this week. De Bruyne 9, Kane 8, Sterling 7, Son 5, Aguero 4, Salah 3, Abraham 2.. so a pretty neutral captain week which cost 7 points at most. Auba chipped in with 9 points on Monday which didn’t help my rank.
What went well:
My double Liverpool clean sheet is becoming a bit of a differential now, as people jump off it and move funds into attack. A clean sheet at last but my two Liverpool full backs don’t need clean sheets every week when they produce attacking returns too. Trent has produced 26 points in the last four weeks and Robertson ( he scored in Europe midweek !! ) 25 after four successive returns. I am not concerned about fixtures as I consider Liverpool fixture proof after seven straight wins. I simply love watching Liverpool games by owning them both.
My two Villa players I brought in produced instant attacking returns. An assist from Guilbert and a goal from McGinn ( who also had a further goal disallowed too !! ). If Cantwell is going to score 2 points every time he plays away, I feel much happier now with McGinn as my 4th midfielder and Cantwell rotating with my defenders when he has a decent home game. McGinn is also an interesting differential with ownership below 10% and he now has back to back goals.
De Bruyne a nice 9 points with two more assists ( an assist machine !! ) and Sterling ( he scored in Europe midweek !! ) punished his sellers with a goal too. The inevitable Pep rotation of these two ( and Aguero ) just comes with the territory. You just have to accept that as a given. An injury to De Bruyne is a worry and needs to be monitored this week. The fact that the international break follows GW8 is a bonus, giving plenty of recovery time. I see De Bruyne as essential and I am not keen to burn two transfers to sell and buy back if the potential loss is one game.
I now feel I have a lot more flexibility in my squad to put out a better 11 each week, instead of having a static bench. I have moved Dendoncker on and now have 9 nailed starters and then can switch in any 2 from 5 according to fixtures and put out a strong team every week, and play either 352, 343, 442, 433, or even 532.. Lundstram, Guilbert, Cantwell, McGinn and Greenwood can all play a part and I can rotate them for the best fixtures now.
So happy enough with 2 goals, 3 assists and 2 clean sheets , which kept the scoreboard ticking.
What didn’t go as well :
As part of my wildcard, I sold Josh King who produced 12 points . I had watched him at Southampton the week before when he was unlucky and had a goal disallowed by a toe nail offside and a penalty shout turned down and I knew he had good short term fixtures. But I was very concerned about the big ranking risk of not owning Abraham ( he scored in Europe midweek !! ) who is owned by 37% rather than King at 8%. My successful strategy has always been to manage risk effectively. Abraham has incredible fixtures so I am still happy with the call I made, despite the short term loss on the transfer. You can’t ignore those Chelsea fixtures. Abraham was very unlucky not to return himself and I fancy him to outscore King over the favourable upcoming run of games and I now have the ranking risk covered too.
My wildcard didn’t produce instant returns. Pope lost out to Ryan too, Zinchenko played so Otamendi wasn’t needed. But based on Burnley fixtures and Mendy being back in town, I am happy with what I have now and nothing is niggling away.
A blank for captain Salah . No plans to move him on at all. There is a good case to be made for preferring Aubameyang to outscore Salah over the next few games, at his price point, which I strongly considered, with fixtures turning tougher for Liverpool and Aubameyang having lovely fixtures, but I still think Liverpool are pretty fixture proof. Aubameyang is a great shout though. Arguably Salah will do better against bigger teams who don’t park the bus. He could easily grab a big haul v Leicester next. Remember Salah ( he scored twice in Europe midweek !! ) has scored 259 and 303 points in the last two seasons and scored 54 goals !! Significantly for me, Salah has 40% ownership and the risk is just too high with my strategy and style of play. I have learned that “Salah bites” those that dare to take him on. Worth noting that in Salah’s three home fixtures, he has scored 12, 15 and 9 .. you have been warned..
2 points each for Tammy and Pukki !! Norwich have scored one goal in four away games but EIGHT in three home games. Pukki has scored 6 points in his last three away games and 40 points in his last three home games !!!!! I am staying on the Pukki train with Villa at home next. Pukki is a top sell this week but is this really the time to sell ( ?? )with the home fixture and the Canaries prolific goal scoring at home.. the Pukki train is still on the tracks for me.
What next:
Well after wildcarding last week, it’s very simple this week. Hoping for no significant injuries mid week and then if all is ok, roll my one free transfer, to give me two and maximum flexibility during the International break that follows.
The De Bruyne injury might become clearer before the weekend. There is an international break after this weekend so unless the injury is deemed significant, I will use my bench to cover him if it’s just one game. If news emerges of a more significant injury, the likes of Son , D Silva or Mahrez are options. Or I quite like using De Bruyne as a route to get Aubameyang and have him plus Salah and Sterling. I might even consider losing Robertson in that scenario to get Aubameyang in a three premium team.
I am “very template” just now. I own 7/8 players with ownership above or close to 30%. I feel that manages ranking risks well. I own around 8 of the 10 most owned players. I am exposed to Mount, Aguero and Auba but being very template driven, my position is pretty well protected. Just need to find those lower ownership cheaper differentials. I have McGinn and Otamendi under 10%. I still think my double up on Liverpool defence is now a differential. I still think staying close to the main template players, with 2/3 good cheaper or mid price differentials is the best way to a top 1% finish. Remember that differentials are differentials for a reason. The top 10 points scorers is dominated by well owned players, not differentials. Don’t try and be too different.
Tough choice between Lundstram or Cantwell this week. I will put the blade in, but if De Bruyne misses out, Cantwell at home would drop in anyway. Cantwell has 23 points in his last three home games but Lundstram gets the nod. At time of writing, there are twitter stories of a possible Cantwell injury, which would be tricky if KDB is out too. that would stretch my bench. I am unlikely to make a transfer anyway. I want those two in the International break.
I will probably be captaining Sterling at home to Wolves. He was introduced from the bench midweek ( to devastating effect ) so looks sure to start on Sunday. If he does, there must be a decent chance of a nice haul. Doubts around KDB means it’s safer to have Salah as vice.
City v Wolves and Liverpool v Leicester are very promising fixtures, with a triple up on both. Salah and Pukki have returned 36 and 40 points at home so far. Beware. I have potentially 8 players at home which also looks promising too.. what could possibly go wrong ? If only FPL was that simple !!
I just need my players to score in the Premier league now, and match the five goals that didn’t count in Europe midweek !!!!!
transfer summary: TBC but likely to roll over transfer
Kris O
Kris’s last 3 seasons overall rank were 44k, 46k and 23k
GW7 points: 69 -4 (average 51) Total points 418 Gameweek rank 318k, Overall Rank: 300k, green arrow 313k, Team Value: £101.5m
Gw7 recap
A reasonable GW7, seven returning players and a green arrow. Though yet another incorrect captain choice!
Gw8 team
In terms of my team I’m broadly happy with my starting XI. My bench of Greenwood (minimal minutes); plus Femenia and Hanley who both now appear to be dropped doesn’t leave room for manoeuvre in my starting XI. In fact Femenia is now in contention for my worst buy ever have scored 1 point over five matches and losing 0.2m in value!
My initial plan had been to save my transfer, giving me two free transfers after the international break. The injury to de Bruyne and Matip takes away too many potential points this week, plus for both a risk like Martial they are out for longer. So looking like another 4 point hit!
Replacing De Bruyne
I have 0.6m itb so although I don’t like losing team value I can absorb the 0.2m loss from selling De Bruyne (reduced by any favourable price movements). The obvious swap is for a city player and Mahrez would be my choice, though with any city player there is a rotation risk. The alternative I’m considering is Son who has an attractive GW9 fixture to at home vs Watford which could justify hold for an extra week while I check on De Bruyne fitness. My question mark is the general Sp*rs crisis and the manager talking about rotation. On balance currently favouring Son.
Matip replacement
I will keep Matip but likely now replace the also injured Hanley for a four point hit rather than hope Femenia will play. Rico or Soyuncu the obvious, though neither have good gw8 fixtures.
Captain Aubameyang.
Transfer summary: to be decided. Likely 1. De Bruyne out for either Mahrez or Son and 2. Hanley for either Rico or Soyuncu
Mikael L Danielsen
Mikael’s last 3 seasons overall rank were 12k, 100k and 5k
GW7 points: 40 -4 (average 51) Total points 382 Gameweek rank 6,042k, Overall Rank: 1,632k, red arrow 758k, Team Value: £101.8m
De Bruyne is out this week, but perhaps back after the International Break, so he is on the bench for now.
I’ll need to upgrade my bench.
Right now I have Rico, Dendoncker and Dunk.
Transfer summary: Most likely will do Dunk to Tomori.
Sterling (C)
Cheers Mikael
Keith Spencer
Keith’s last 3 seasons overall ranks were 44k, 3k and an incredible 325th overall
GW7 points: 51 -4 (average 51) Total points 384 Gameweek rank 3,509k, Overall Rank: 1,526k, red arrow 242k, Team Value: £100.4m
Transfer summary: Zinchenko out Chambers in
You can follow Keith on twitter here
Stephen Troop
Stephen’s last 3 seasons overall rank were 43k, 52k and 64k
GW7 points: 64 on WC (average 51) Total points 396 Gameweek rank 660k, Overall Rank: 944k, green arrow 598k, Team Value: £100.9m
Geek note: No lineup from Stephen. Here’s his last week team
So following my wildcard I had an immediate 500k+ boost up the rankings. Much of this was down to existing players Vardy and captain Sterling but newcomers Son, De Bruyne and Soyuncu all had returns and my transfers out were Wan Bissaka, Salah and Lanzini who only amassed 3. Salah out was a risk I felt worth taking for the next few gameweeks. Abraham somehow missed 4 ‘big’ chances which could have meant a haul for both him and Mount but it wasn’t to be. I’m certainly happy to own both for the upcoming run of fixtures let’s just hope he can be a little more clinical.
I’m slightly concerned by Pukki’s form, particular away from home where he hasn’t scored since GW1 but with a home game against Villa this weekend, there’s no need to transfer out.
I have no transfer plans this weekend. With the news that De Bruyne could be back after the International break I’m happy to hold. 2 transfers over that break is always a handy thing to have as well and I don’t want to use 2 transfers taking him out and straight back in. My bench isn’t the best cover with Soyuncu 1st sub away at Liverpool but I’ll take that on the chin this week.
Captain for this week is on Sterling with the De Bruyne injury news. He was only a sub in the midweek champions league game where he scored. I did consider Pukki, but at the moment he is just my vice.
Transfer summary: Carrying over a free transfer
You can follow Stephen on twitter here
FFGeek Contributors League
You can see the FFGeek contributors tracker team is coming along nicely in 11th place in 279k overall rank. Joe’s transfer planner team is in 8th place in 223k OR. You can follow these teams including live transfers and lineups in our Patreon site
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Other posts
Andrew Whitfield on FPL patience
The bandwagons and sinking ships
Analysing the teams of 10 top FPL managers
Early thoughts on the FFGeek team
FFGeek contributors teams part 1
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