Here’s our FPL team tips GW4 article where the 3rd group of the FFGeek contributors show their teams for GW4. In this part there’s Chris Tucker, Rick Porter,Keith Spencer, Kev in Canada, Rob Reid, Matt Friskey and Stephen Troop. There’s also the latest contributors league shown. UPDATED for Prakhar Patel and Alex Skinner’s teams.
FPL team tips GW4 – FFGeek contributor’s teams part 3
This is part 3 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 and part 2 contributors article
Chris Tucker
Chris’s last 2 seasons overall rank were 17k and 1k
GW3 points: 62 (average 44) Total points 203 Gameweek rank 597k, Overall Rank: 56k, green arrow 136k, Team Value: £100.4m
A reasonable gameweek last week has secured a decent start to the season, and gave me the confidence to be aggressive with my transfers this week.
Perez had to go. No returns and set for another price drop. I mulled over switching to Mount or Lanzini, and both have their advantages. But there was one player that I really wanted (and have done for a while) above all others – KDB. A player in form, central to the most attacking team in the league, with an incredible set of upcoming fixtures, and with ownership among serious players increasing rapidly. I also desperately craved having two attacking players from City for the next month. However, I knew that I needed to generate significant funds from elsewhere to enable this transfer, and that it would involve taking my first hit of the season. Not ideal.
In the end, Martial’s injury gave me the excuse I needed. He may well be back after the international break, but it’s a risk I can live with; United haven’t been playing that well, their fixtures going forwards are so-so, and I can always bring him back in on my wildcard if necessary.
This meant I had to downgrade Martial to a 4.5 bench fodder, enabling the Perez to KDB transfer. Stephens got the nod in this regard.
Unfortunately this leaves me in the position of having to field one of my 4.5 or below players every week until I wildcard (Greenwood has the spot this week). But I am prepared to take this short-term risk, and the hit, for a premium player like KDB. I do believe in the importance of following gut instinct when playing the game and my gut instinct told me that I would feel a lot more comfortable owning KDB than not. Time will tell whether this was the right call or not.
Another benefit of this move is that it potentially delays my wildcard. I know I have been a strong advocate of using the wildcard over the first international break, but you have to be adaptable and I am currently quite happy with the core of my team. The rest can likely be managed through weekly tranfers. One to ponder.
Best of luck to everyone.
Transfer summary: Martial to Stephens and Perez to De Bruyne
Keith Spencer
Keith’s last 3 seasons overall ranks were 44k, 3k and an incredible 325th overall
GW3 points: 56 (average 44) Total points 198 Gameweek rank 1,303k, Overall Rank: 104k, green arrow 55k, Team Value: £100.2m
Transfer summary: Martial and Greenwood out. Pukki and Cantwell in
You can follow Keith on twitter here
Rick Porter
Rick last 3 seasons overall rank were 1k, 30k and 2k.
GW3 points: 49 on WC (average 44) Total points 179 Gameweek rank 2,250k, Overall Rank: 626k, red arrow 16k, Team Value: £101.1m
Safe to say, my Wildcard team didn’t perform as well as I’d hoped. I only got 5 points above the average, which is pretty weak when you consider I had my pick of the players.
That said, on paper, my team still looks solid. My average score was simply down to some good and bad luck ultimately balancing each other out.
Digne was unlucky not to get an assist considering the number of goals he teed up and – let’s face it – 9 times out of 10 Rashford scores that penalty. If it had been on target we’d be cheering an in-form player who had scored a very respectable 26 points over the first three weeks. Instead we’re seeing him shipped out.
On the flipside of that bad luck: popular captain choice Kane blanked, my dropping of the Liverpool defence didn’t punish me, and most the players I pulled into my squad with the Wildcard (Pukki, Martial, De Bruyne, Soyuncu and Cantwell) delivered – even if one of them was on the bench.
Clean sheets were near non-existent, so really it was my move from Salah to Mane that doomed me to mediocrity. I wouldn’t ever have captained him over Sterling, but saving that 1m still cost me 13 points. That makes a lot of difference this early in the season.
I suppose the decision I have to make now is whether I’m happy to continue without the key Liverpool assets. Salah’s goals last weekend highlighted how much difference that 1m makes. His ownership is so high that a haul really stings – and he wasn’t even a popular captain choice. Also, I have to admit, the Liverpool clean sheet loss was a huge relief. I’m not sure I want to worry about that every week. Though, with Robertson scoring just 6 points over the first three matches, loyalties are being tested and there’s already been a price drop. Once the double defence numbers have dwindled further it won’t be quite as worrying.
I’ll mull it over for another week, but right now I’m not taking a -4 to bring Salah back just for Mane to take his turn in scoring a brace against Burnley. Also, while a clean sheet is still a concern, Burnley do tend to score against Liverpool and I’d like to think that my defensive force of Digne, Laporte and Wan Bissaka are just as likely to deliver the goods considering the opponents.
The Team
As I said, my team actually looks okay going into GW4. My only two concerns are Ryan and the Martial injury.
I have no choice but to let Ryan try to stop the Man City goals from flying in. It’s how I chose to play when I considered my keeper strategy at the start, so I have to ride it out and hope he makes some saves around the goals. My captain will be Sterling, so hopefully it’ll be him and De Bruyne doing the damage.
Martial is a bit trickier. With my Wildcard gone I wanted to save my transfer this week so I had maximum flexibility going into the break, but with him now 100% ruled out for GW4 (and an unconvincing ‘hopefully’ for GW5) I felt I should make a change. My bench feels a bit light to knowingly go into the weekend a man down and there were a number of appealing options at lower price points that would allow me to drag Salah back in for GW5 should I take another beating from the 42% this week.
Ceballos was my original target but I have a few niggling concerns about his minutes and, after his poor performance against Liverpool, I just didn’t fancy it.
As the press conference confirmed his fitness, a switch to Mount seemed a better choice. This has left me with 1.6m in the bank, which gives me financial flexibility even if I don’t have the extra transfer in my back pocket.
transfer summary: Martial out Mount in
Rob Reid
Rob’s last 5 seasons overall rank were 148k, 94k, 22k, 4k and 7k
GW3 points: 60 (average 44) Total points 214 Gameweek rank 815k, Overall Rank: 12k, green arrow 18k, Team Value: £100.5m
3rd week in then and plenty more surprises. City and Liverpool both won as expected, but we certainly weren’t expecting United and Spurs to lose to Palace and Newcastle. Villa’s home victory against Everton (and accompanying clean sheet) came a bit out of the blue as well. From an FPL perspective, results were a very limited number of clean sheets from unexpected sources as well as some notable premium blanks.
For Chaos Theory, it turned out to be another decent week. Despite my keeper and defence only providing me with a paltry 6 points between them, 5 of my 6 attacking players returned with only Wood blanking again. In a reverse of last week’s situation, I once again left a defensive return on the bench, but the 5 points from Guilbert were completely unpredicted seeing as 1) he hadn’t even made the squad in the previous 2 weeks and 2) Villa’s defence had looked far from watertight in those games.
What you need in these lower scoring weeks is your core players to fire and thankfully I was lucky enough to have the correct ones this week. This won’t happen every week – next week it could be Mane, Kane and Aubameyang picking up the hauls rather than Salah, Sterling and Pukki but for now I’ll be grateful for my fortune. So another gameweek rank inside 1 million and I’m very much in unknown territory at this stage of the season with an overall rank of 12k! Everything seems to have gone pretty well so far…which is usually when the ground falls out from underneath your feet!
GW4 Team
Despite my good start, I still have a number of issues with my squad. Guilbert starting did kind of self-resolve one from last week, though whether there is continuity in that remains to be seen. Locadia is now a permanent non-starter having been loaned to Hoffenheim and I seem to have an out-of-form striker as Wood blanked again with Barnes once more taking the plaudits against Wolves. Ryan also has a nasty fixture this week against City, as does Lundstram against Chelsea. To add to this, the midweek team news is that Martial is injured as well. Yep, I’m expecting some pain this week and likely my first red arrow of the season!
So my first option is to sit tight and bank my transfer over the international window and hope that Martial will be fit after this (I’ll see if there’s any further news on the timescale in the Presser this afternoon on this one.) I would play Dendoncker in midfield, leaving me a very limited bench of only Lundstram away to Chelsea. This would though leave me in a nice position of having 2 free transfers after the international break.
Option 2 is to use my transfer this week and sell Martial – possible replacements would be Mount (again subject to fitness), Harry Wilson or one of the West Ham boys (Anderson or Lanzini most likely.) There is a more aggressive option with this where I put a -4 on top and bring Haller in for Wood, or I go for a cheaper midfield option like McGinn and swap Haller in for Locadia. The Pressers will be key on this and I’ll be awaiting news of Martial and Mount’s injury situations fairly closely but at present I’m leaning towards Martial and Wood to Mount and Haller. I’m also of the mindset that if I pick up a number of injuries of the international window, I still have my Wildcard available to bail me out.
So otherwise, my team kind of picks itself – 4-4-2 with Lundstram in the first bench spot, though I’ll move Dendoncker into this should I sell Martial. Sterling gets the armband again this week – KDB and Salah both options here as well, but I think Sterling will be heavily favoured in the polls so I’m sticking with him.
All the best for GW4 folks!
Post note: In the end the transfers were Martial and Wood out. Mount and Haller in for a -4 point deduction
You can follow Rob on twitter here
Kev in Canada
Kev finished in 6k last season and 195k in 18/19
GW3 points: 69-4 (average 44) Total points 192 Gameweek rank 185k, Overall Rank: 212k, green arrow 580k, Team Value: £100.7m
GW3 Recap
☆ Keeper
Filthy filthy filthy Harry Wilson free kick. I would gladly pay points to watch that in real time again (maybe not). Great goal. I’ll take 6 saves as a consolation for the yellow, as nobody generally gives Ederson any save points credit.
☆ Defenders
Holebas. As bad as this guy seems he is second in corners (Madison, Holebas, KDB is the order) and faces Newcastle next. Oh… and he is second in crosses (TAA, Holebas, Madison is the order).
The rest of my D are widely owned and disappointed us all forcing an FPLCommunity ‘big at the back’ rethink all week…
☆ Midfielders
Salah/Sterling are still my favourite premiums in a two premium side. I captained Sterling as did most of us. Dilva rewarded my patience and single handedly gave me a nice green arrow. I think Dilva will start 80% of matches and play in 90% of matches (if fit). That is worth the 2.3M difference to KDB IMO for my third MCI asset, as they are both very attacking. Cantwell is on my bench popping his collar and making me money, as I got him at 4.5M.
☆ Forwards
Pukki like we all do. Ings is going to be the name of my next pet if he keeps this unexpected production up. He is returning like a blue chip dividend mutual fund right now. Greenwood has been getting minutes which is holding his price value for now. It could be his time now if Martial stays down.
Upcoming GW4
☆ Musical Chairs
2.8m in the bank but my team has decent fixtures so it may be worth holding. Holebas has to go next week, so I would like 2 transfers available for that. I still have thoughts of multiple potential moves though, one being Martial to Mane with a downgrade of Ings to fodder. Probably not. Maybe Martial to Maddison, Mount, Pepe. Not 100% yet. I would like to say I will roll with Martial but I have a locked in double price rise I would probably lose over three weeks if I do. Also, if Greenwood replaces him and returns, I could see that causing Martial to be rested longer or at least cause a FPL commotion in the short term, leading me to get him at 7.5m again when I WC. I forsee one price drop for sure and maybe two. Ultimately, I am undecided on the transfer but I will tweet if I dont roll it.. @kjfpl
☆ Captain
Sterling still on form.
☆ Substitute decisions
Leaving Martial in for Greenwood to replace. Cantwell makes his debut, as Dunk is demoted while he faces a team of Marvel Super Heroes. Rico slots between them.
Good luck.
Transfer summary :TBC
You can follow Kev on twitter here
Matt Friskey
Matt finished 152nd overall last season – amazing!
GW3 points: 56 (average 44) Total points 177 Gameweek rank 1,303k, Overall Rank: 733k, green arrow 458k, Team Value: £100.1m
I took Jota out for Abraham early in the week to avoid a price drop and catch a price rise.
Not been a great start but hoping for a good week with 7 players at home and triple Liverpool away to Burnley.
Likely to wildcard over the international break.
Good luck to everyone!
transfer summary: Jota out Abraham in
You can follow Matt on twitter here
Stephen Troop
Stephen’s last 3 seasons overall rank were 43k, 52k and 64k
GW3 points: 54 (average 44) Total points 184 Gameweek rank 1,583k, Overall Rank: 430k, green arrow 150k, Team Value: £100.2m
Pukki came in earlier in the week. Hate doing the early transfer but needed to act on the further price rises. I’ll likely tale a 4 point hit to replace Martial (after just getting him in). Mount is the most likely target.
Transfer summary : TBC
You can follow Stephen on twitter here
Prakhar Patel
Prakhar finished with a rank of 17k last season and an incredible 17th overall in 17/18
GW3 points: 47 (average 44) Total points 185 Gameweek rank 2,712k, Overall Rank: 395k, red arrow 148k, Team Value: £100.2m
Transfer summary:Martial and king out for mount and Haller for a -4.
Good luck everyone and may your arrows be green!
You can follow Prakhar on twitter here
Alex Skinner
Alex’s last 3 seasons were 1k, 302k and an incredible 824th overall
GW3 points: 63 -8 (average 44) Total points 185 Gameweek rank 552k, Overall Rank: 413k, green arrow 168k, Team Value: £100.1m
Transfer In: Cantwell
Transfer Out: Dendoncker
Can really see Cantwell being the best value midfielder in a team that only plays one way -Attack! Went early to avoid price rises this week but now left with a bench of 2 no shows and dunk who will be lucky to pick up a point.
Not wanting to take a points hit I have put my faith in Greenwood and hoping that Sheffield United can shut out Chelsea and make way for Lundstram to get in the points. He may even get a goal potentially against what looks a back line in progress.
I will monitor martial and Kwp injuries over the international break however hoping they will come through quickly and be in action for GW 5.
KWP has great upcoming fixtures and if he can keep his place will be great value both with the potential of clean sheets and assists.
Martial is the main striker for Man Utd and so playing in midfield would be a no brainier to keep so long as his injury is short term.
sterling captain this week.
Good luck all!
FFGeek Contributors League
Other posts
The FFGeek contributors show their teams for GW4 part 1
GW3 review from an underlying stats perspective
Analysing the teams of 10 top FPL managers
Early thoughts on the FFGeek team
See our GW4 bandwagons and sinking ships article
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