fantasy premier league teams GW4 – some early thoughts on the FFGeek team

Fantasy Premier League, ffgeek teams

Here’s our fantasy premier league teams GW4 article where we give our early thoughts on the FFGeek team for GW4. We look back at gameweek 3 and give our thoughts on the gameweek ahead including potential transfers and captain choice.

fantasy premier league teams GW4 – some early thoughts on the FFGeek team

Firstly if you’re new to the site my last 3 seasons overall ranks are 36k, 17k and 21k

Geek note: If you join our Patreon site you will get access to an FFGeek contributor tracker team which combines the contributors individual FPL teams each week to show their favourite players, transfers and captains. It will always be completed on a Friday/Saturday in a normal gameweek. There will also be a spreadsheet of each managers teams, transfers and captains so you can drill down further.

You also get:

Joe’s interactive transfer planner and points projection tool

Weekly podcasts with myself and the contributors

FFGeek private leagues

Access to the FFGeek Slack channel for discussion with the contributors and members

$2 and $3 tiers per calendar month. No commitment beyond 1 month

Gameweek 3

GW3 points: 66 (FPL average 44) Total points 196, Gameweek rank 325k, Overall Rank: 131k, green arrow 450k, Team Value: £100.2m

Here’s the points:




fantasy premier league teams GW4

So a good week with a green arrow to 196 points and an overall rank of 131k.

6 returning players including 2 double figures against a benchmark of 4 and 1.  A 325k gameweek rank against an ideal of 1 million or above and a green arrow.  It was a tightish captain week between Kane and Sterling with Sterling winning that 1.

Not a great week for defences with only 3 clean sheets and those being from unlikely sources in Southampton, Newcastle and Aston Villa.

The week was helped by my  potential rank busters of Kane, De Bruyne and Man Utd defence and Rashford relatively failing.  I started the Sunday thinking how Kane and De Bruyne could unravel my whole good Saturday and they didn’t.  It was helped by a pretty marginal, at best, VAR call when Lascelles “fell” over and Kane went down.  However a last minute penalty against Burnley undid about 70k in rank to offset that.

I had a conversation with Joseph Crilley (well a Watts app conversation at least) on Sunday morning and he said the wise words of “you can’t have everyone”.  Having said that he does have De Bruyne and effectively has Kane as a  Spurs supporter.  However that is right and this season is one where there are so many premium players that you can’t own them all.  So you either kick every defensive ball live like I did v Newcastle or look at FPL as not just 1 gameweek but 38 and don’t get hung up on individual gameweeks.  Talking to Keith on our FFGeek weekly podcast he’s a guy who really doesn’t get hung up on weekly scores but looks at gameweeks over longer periods which is what you should do.  However it’s easier said than done and I’m certainly not 1 to push the point as I definitely can’t do it.

Transfer thoughts

Player classification

Those who have followed my team will know that I classify players in to 3 buckets

  1.  Template

Template is a word used often in FPL terms with different definitions depending on who’s using it.  For me, these are players owned by 7 of the 10 top FPL managers I follow or 70% of the top 10k OR.  I use the 10 top FPL managers as a proxy for what serious/obsessive managers are doing as they are ultimately who you hope to be battling against.  The top 10k is just a way of focusing on what is usually a couple of players who don’t overlap with those.  However, the top 10k at the moment is too volatile to look at so I’m leaving them for a few more gameweeks.  The tricky thing about this template definition is that you don’t know who these players are until the gameweek opens as transfers affect the classification.  For example Pukki wasn’t template last week but he definitely is template now.

2. Template replacement players

These are players you’ve got instead of a template player.  Last season I lost a lot of rank by not getting template players and relying on going head to head with template replacement players who pretty much failed me most weeks.  Luckily the blanks and doubles and some lucky differentials saved me

3.  Difference makers

Now I don’t use the term differentials as most people do as that’s an ownership % based term.  This refers to players who aren’t either of the above.  Depending on how strong the template is these will invariably be about 4 players.   They are the ones who will be there to improve your rank and the other 2 categories above  are there to minimise rank drops.  Now gameweek ranks are very volatile at the moment where rank really means nothing but after a while it becomes more relevant.

Here’s how my team is classified now.  You’ll see the template when I do my 10 top FPL managers article today.

PlayerClassification
PopeDifference maker
AlexArnoldTemplate
DigneTemplate
RobertsonTemplate
ZinchenkoTemplate
MartialTemplate
SigurdssonDifference maker
SterlingTemplate
SalahTemplate
IngsDifference maker
PukkiTemplate
DendonckerBench
GreenwoodBench
RicoBench
ButtonBench

Now I must stress that there are many ways to play FPL. This is just mine and how I’m comfortable playing.  All the FFGeek contributors play differently and are successful in different ways.

Transfer thoughts

So  after this week I think Sigurdsson is the obvious target or Ings.  If Martial’s injury rules him out he could be another transfer target but the Sigurdsson stuff would also apply to Martial.  Here’s my thinking of potential options at least at the moment.  These are alternatives to just rolling the transfer so I can do 2 for free.

Sigurdsson to Felipe Anderson

Prior to GW3 Sigurdsson, although blanking had put up pretty good underlying stats and volumes.  He had also played 172 minutes in the first 2.  However Villa GW3 was a different story.  He did have 1 shot and 2 key passes but they were both extremely low probability events with none being inside the box.  What’s more he was subbed after 65 minutes. Everton seemed obsessed with playing through the fullbacks Digne and Coleman and the 2 CMs in Gomes or Schneiderlin seemed unable to get the ball to either to the CF or Sigurdsson and continually played sideways. Given how Iwobi and Kean improved the team it’s not inconceivable that Sigurdsson could lose his place.

Here’s his fixtures:

GW4 WOL (H)
GW5 BOU (A)
GW6 SHU (H)
GW7 MCI (H)

So for Sigurdsson 1 of the options for me is either Felipe Anderson who has the following next 3 fixtures:

GW4 NOR (H)
GW5 AVL (A)
GW6 MUN (H)

He played well vs Watford.  You can see from my last weeks player rankings that his overall season of PPM 4.3 isn’t a disaster by any stretch.  His consistency return rate of a goal or assist every 33% of matches isn’t good though.  His underlying stats weren’t great last season either and his shot and key pass volumes per 90 were both under 2 per match which is a no no for me.  However Norwich and Villa could be gambles worth considering.

Sigurdsson to David Silva

As usual with Pep’s players if someone could say they would play 90 minutes every game they would be a different consideration than they actually are.  If David Silva played 90 minutes every game he would be a £9m player but that just isn’t the case.  His underlying stats per 90 are very good.  The problem is that I couldn’t say with any certainty that he would  start vs Brighton in GW4.  If I was forced to bet on whether he would start itwould be a coin toss.

However, in underlying stats terms per 90 there’s not that much difference between Silva and De Bruyne.  It’s just minutes and De Bruyne’s ability outside the box tends to see him over perform.  You’ll always bank on De Bruyne to start though subject to normal Pepness.

The next 3 fixtures are incredible;

GW4 BHA (H)
GW5 NOR (A)
GW6 WAT (H)
GW7 EVE (A)
GW8 WOL (H)

Sigurdsson and Ings to Haller and Mason Mount -4 points

Subject to injury for Mount.  Wow an early transfer last week and now considering a 4 point deduction for a pro active transfer rather than my normal aversion of potential captain disaster circumstances.  It would mean 3 players new to the PL but Haller is certainly a preferable alternative to Anderson.  Mount has started well and Sheffield Utd next but then Wolves and Liverpool.

Sigurdsson to De Bruyne and either Robertson or Digne or Martial if injured out -4 points

I like the idea of De Bruyne but it really is a buster on the team.  Digne, I could live without but Wolves Bournemouth and Sheffield next have 2 good clean sheet prospects.  I still believe in the Liverpool defence and Burnley and Newcastle next is worth holding out for.

Alot to ponder with all the options having drawbacks.

Captain thoughts

No poll out yet but likely to be Sterling.

The lineup pre transfers

Here it is:




fantasy premier league teams GW4

Hope you had a successful gameweek

Geek note: If you join our Patreon site you will get access to an FPL contributor tracker team which combines the contributors individual teams each week to show their favourite players, transfers and captains. It will always be completed on a Friday/Saturday in a normal gameweek. There will also be a spreadsheet of each managers teams, transfers and captains so you can drill down further.

You also get:

Joe’s interactive transfer planner and points projection tool

Weekly podcasts with myself and the contributors

FFGeek private leagues

Access to the FFGeek Slack channel for discussion with the contributors and members

$2 and $3 tiers per calendar month. No commitment beyond 1 month

FFGeek league code codes:

fantasy premier league:  fnqq66

Sky Sports fantasy football:  fantasyfootball.skysports.com/leagues/join with PIN 8426114

Telegraph fantasy football:  passcode 8693.  PIN code 8000919.  The telegraph have also offered a prize of £100 to the winner.

Sun Dream Team:

Classic League PIN:  SGDKX9Y3

H2H PIN:  SGFU3CR9

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