Here’s our FPL gameweek 30 article where 6 FFGeek Contributors outline their strategy for the upcoming gameweek DGW30+ plus show their final ish teams. There’s Scott Taylor, Prakhar Patel, Kris O, Andrew Whitfield, Andrew Pratt and Rob Cosgrove
FPL gameweek 30 – 6 FFGeek Contributors with their GW30+ plans and teams
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Scott Taylor
Scott finished with an overall rank of 1k last season and 12k in 17/18
Total points 1,671, Overall Rank: 63k, Team Value: £104.4m
Scott has used his triple captain Chip
Loving FPL being back. I’ve been doing Fantasy Bundesliga which has been ok but FPL is superior imo!
So I’m Bench Boost this week. It’s been a close call between Bench Boost and Free Hit but even with my far from ideal bench on my Bench Boost, I think the extra games just tilt things in favour of the Bench Boost especially as with my Bench Boost team I can just do one or two transfers for GW31+ (e.g. a Spurs, Liverpool or Everton player for Mahrez and Aguero) and not have to use my Wildcard until GW33+ at the earliest (I’d be happy going into Man City v Liverpool in GW32+ with De Bruyne, Salah and Alexander Arnold). I also keep my Free Hit in hand for any tricky weeks later down the line.
The obvious omission in my team is Sterling but getting him in (which would be in place of Aubameyang) meant too many sacrifices elsewhere. That means I play the game of Pep roulette with Mahrez instead of Sterling.
Captain will be between KDB and Aguero (with the other being VC). Leaning towards KDB for captain at the moment.
Enjoy the game week everyone.
Summary; Unlimited transfers and Bench Boost
Prakhar Patel
You can find Prakhar on twitter here
Prakhar finished with a rank of 17k last season and an incredible 17th overall in 17/18
Total points 1,666, Overall Rank: 73k, Team Value: £100.8m
Prakhar has used none of his Chips
Hello everyone! Feels so good to back after such a long time to share my team so let’s get right into it.
So I didn’t do much with my team during the lockdown period with only two transfers made so the unlimited transfers have literally been a blessing. I have all my chips intact and as a lot of FPL managers with their second wildcard left, I am using my BB this week as well. The plan is not to immediately use the wildcard but to wait a couple of weeks to observe a bit and then maybe activate it.
The team I have set up right now has some players which are selected keeping the next few game weeks in mind like Jimenez, Lascelles, Saiss etc. I have decided to pick a fairly safe team with Sarr and Cantwell being the exceptions.
For the remaining chips,I’ll keep them until the very last when some of the teams will need to deliver results while the rest of them being on the beaches.
I thought about picking a differential captain but in the end decided to play it safe with De Bruyne. Aguero vice!
Summary; Unlimited transfers and Bench Boost
Kris O
Kris’s last 3 seasons overall rank were 44k, 46k and 23k
Total points 1,637, Overall Rank: 162k, Team Value: £104.1m
Kris has used his Triple Captain Chip
No guarantee it won’t change but this is my Bench Boost team with view to Free Hitting in GW31 and Wildcarding GW33
Aguero Captain De Bruyne Vice
Summary: Unlimited transfers and Bench Boost
Andrew Whitfield
Follow Andrew on Twitter here
Andrew finished with an overall rank of 6k last season and 19k in 17/18
Total points 1,620, Overall Rank: 241k, Team Value: £104.2m
Andrew has used his Triple Captain Chip and his 2nd Wildcard
Welcome back to FPL everyone !!!
– I went into a lot of detail in my latest article about my GW30+ strategy and why, due to me having already used my second wildcard, the free hit is the best option for me.
– It’s also a very straightforward easy option too as I have built a team during the three month shutdown, when free weekly transfers were allowed, that is very well set for GW31+ and beyond, which I love and can return to confidently next week, so my pure focus this week is putting together a “one week only” free hit team, to take maximum advantage of the double gameweek for four teams.
Here is my free hit team this week
– I am going with EIGHT double gameweek players and three single game players. Anyone bench boosting a squad of 15 players can squeeze in a few more budget “doublers” but my focus is on the best possible eleven players this week, which means including the best single game players too. I think there are eight great option doublers so i am happy with the mix.
– I am going “all in” on the Man City attack of Aguero, De Bruyne and Sterling, in the belief that they will get sufficient minutes on the pitch over the two games to do some serious damage. I would expect at least one start and one bench appearance from all three. A 70 minutes plus a 30 minutes might be enough. They are all explosive on their day and they have two great fixtures. Sterling could be the explosive surprise package that many leave out. Armband will be on Aguero. He is the man for the big occasion. He also bagged me a hat trick last season on my triple captain chip ( against Arsenal !! ) so that’s an open I hope !!
– The Sheffield Utd triple up on defence will be a nervous watch but I think it’s a decent bet for one clean sheet over the two games. I am actually treating it as “double defence plus Lundstram” as he might not see full minutes, but what he loses in clean sheet potential, he gains in attacking threat and i am sure he will feature in both games, even if it’s from the bench, which gives him every chance of a big haul.
– Grealish seems to be in virtually every team I see for the double gameweek. I was considering McGinn too but the double Villa attack v the blades triple defence doesn’t sit right. McGinn is also feeling his way back from a long term injury and his manager talked this week about managing his minutes carefully. So I am instead taking Mason Mount who should play in an attacking Chelsea team against the worst defence in the league.
– Aubameyang will be well owned and is dangerous to go without in a double gameweek but he is the only Arsenal player I want.
– Trent Alexander Arnold and Matt Doherty are my two other single game players, both very capable of double digit points from returns at both ends of the pitch. I don’t consider them as single game players anyway, as you get two players for the price of one – a possible clean sheet from players who are attacking wingers too. They can easily return double figure scores.
– A free hit means a thin bench as it’s not likely to be needed and the bench won’t be staying next week. I have a couple of budget Arsenal double gameweek players there just in case they are needed, as they will both see some guaranteed minutes over two games.
So sit back and enjoy six weeks of football thats going to be fun, frantic and hopefully full of points !!
Summary: Free Hit used.
Rob Cosgrove
Rob’s last 3 seasons overall rank were 45k, 40k and 23k
Total points 1,641, Overall Rank: 146k, Team Value: £104.3m
Rob has used none of his Chips
See below provisional squad!
So after a lot of tinkering the last few days I think I have my final team, however this is subject to change on Wednesday if any team news is confirmed.
I will be using the unlimited transfers and bench boost this week.
There are a few players that need no explanation as they are common in most teams I have seen so I will not go over them again. My ‘punt’ players who haven’t appeared in many teams I’ve seen are Reina, Mendy, Lundstram (to a degree), Martial, and Sheffield forward Billy Sharp. These are simply a gamble I am willing to take to possibly gain an edge.
Reina: plays twice and allows funds to be used elsewhere and also lets me have 2 attacking Sheffield Utd DF;
Mendy: was originally on Laporte or Otamendi but who knows what Pep will do. Even Mendy isn’t safe but Man City have the best chance of CS so want 1 defender. This could easily change;
Lundstram: praying he starts at least 1 game due to his out of position classification;
Martial: had the funds left over for him and I fancy Man Utd to get something vs Spurs who had a patchy home form before lockdown;
Billy Sharp: my ultimate ‘take a chance’ secret weapon. I love a gamble in FPL and feels good when I pull them off! Sharp showed a bit of form before the league suspension and the 5 player sub appeal helps his chances even if he doesn’t start. Also he scored in a friendly the other day and just signed a contract extension.
Captain is on De Bruyne so far but could switch to Aguero
Summary: Unlimited transfers and Bench Boost
Andrew Pratt
Andrew finished with an overall rank of 8k last season and 1k in 17/18
Total points 1,568, Overall Rank: 648k, Team Value: £103.0m
Andrew has used his Triple Captain Chip and his 2nd Wildcard
Thoughts on Project Restart
I played my second wildcard in GW29 and the Man City v Arsenal game which I loaded up for was moved out of GW29. Learning that everyone has unlimited free transfers now after I rebuilt my team immediately before the break to minimal effect and used the allotted transfers carefully during break to prepare my team for the run-in was disappointing. They say this ‘unlimited transfers’ decision keeps the casuals involved and that this is good for the game. The way that second wildcard holders are likely to benefit by the new run of games is galling given that my second wildcard was wasted. I feel for those managers in my situation but with a good OR as it feels a bit unfair.
Thoughts on GW30+
Here is my GW38 team which I felt was in reasonable shape for the run-in; strong on Wolves (easy fixtures and much to play for), Liverpool (at least until they win the league), City (for the delayed double), mostly nailed players (apart from Saka who at least has a double) given that there’ll be volatility for the rest of the season, and a strong bench for the bench boost chip,
Your GW30+ team composition will all come down to the strategy you plan to employ. With only the BB and FH chips available I’m considering:
1 Use Bench Boost
This was my initial thought: Use the unlimited free transfers to make a team with strong GW30+ players and also ready for the remainder of the season and try and quickly inject some points (and lost interest) into my flagging season. I fear there will be a lot of rotation and even absenteeism due to fitness concerns at the restart to the season so I’m not sold on this Bench Boost idea. Also, a few weeks’ post GW30+ game data may be very useful in informing a future bench boost team, although this approach ties up value in carrying a bench until one uses the chip. My GW30+ Bench Boost team would look at bit like:
2 Use Free Hit
If I used the Free Hit chip in GW30+ I’d be encouraged by my lockdown team which looks good to go into GW31+ (with one free transfer in hand) and beyond, so this is a tempting option. However, my gut feel is that the Free Hit might better be employed when more game data is available, and possibly in GW31+ to load up on players who I don’t think I’d necessarily hold for the season thereafter, including Leicester (v Brighton), Spurs (v West Ham) and Liverpool (v Palace, which might be Liverpool’s last fully competitive game this season). My GW30+ Free Hit team would look a bit like:
3 Going Chipless
This is the option I’m leaning towards now. Without a wild card, the challenge is to build a team with a core which will stay for the rest of the season but also be capable in GW30+. It will be very hard to keep pace in the short term with those using a chip in GW30+, and almost impossible with those with a second wild card intact, but the gamble might pay off if there is much rotation and absenteeism especially in GW30+. My GW30+ Chipless team would look a bit like:
If I go with this, I’d captain Aguero with vice de Bruyne.
Vote for Andrew P’s best option
Good luck to you all!
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