Here’s an early article where 4 FFGeek Contributors show their FPL teams DGW26. There’s Rick Porter, Andrew Whitfield, Andrew Pratt and Costas Chari. Includes DGW and BGW strategy and discussion
FPL teams DGW26 – 4 FFGeek Contributors teams part 1
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Introduction
This is part 1 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. It won’t cover transfers in real time either. It’s just to give an idea of the trends for the week no more. The teams are shown as their “final-ish” teams so they could change. Where they have twitter accounts I have shown this and they may update them there or on our Slack Channel which is part of our subscription Patreon site but this is not guaranteed
Rick Porter
Rick’s last 4 seasons overall ranks were 29k, 1k, 30k and 2k.
GW25 Points: 71 on wildcard (FPL average 55) Total points: 1,677, Overall Rank: 10k, red arrow: 3k Team Value: £105.2m
Rick has used his Free Hit Chip, Triple Captain Chip and Wildcard
GW25 review
In the end I chose my Wildcard option for GW25. It became clear that not using it led to no Kane and no Bench Boost in GW26. Also, the Grealish injury meant it would have been a -8 just to get to 11 doublers, which will be what many managers will see as the bare minimum in GW26.
However, a lack of information before deadline meant I took some extra precautions with my Wildcard choices. I couldn’t rely on the Southampton or Fulham double in DGW26, so I removed McCarthy for the cheapest keeper I knew would have two matches, Pickford. I then switched Cancelo for Stones to make sure I had the enough money left in the bank to swap Ings for Kane.
GW25
Despite the Wildcard I still saw a smallish red arrow. Ultimately, which way my rank went came down to Dallas in the final match. 21% enjoyed his goal, clean sheet and max bonus while I was cheering on Ings. Though, to be honest, this Wildcard was never really about a huge score this week. It was about getting things in place for the future and, once I move in Kane for Ings, my team will be ready for a DGW26 Bench Boost with 13 doublers and two in-form Leeds assets. I’ll also have a solid 7 players for BGW29 in place, which should allow me to field a decent team when it rolls around with no/minimal hits.
Transfer
Due to a rise on Saturday night, I now only have the exact funds to switch Ings to Kane. I’ll wait as long as I can but at the first sign of another rise I’ll have to make the move. Thankfully, at the very least, I’ll get to see if he gets through the Wolfsberger match unscathed.
Captain
Kane will be a popular pick and has great fixtures, so i’ll be going for him. Bruno vice.
Transfer Summary: Ings out and Kane in
Here’s the team assuming the transfer is made
Andrew Pratt
Andrew finished with an overall rank of 313k last 8k in 18/19 and 1k in 17/18
GW24 points: 82 -4 (FPL average 55) Total points: 1,649, Overall Rank: 28k, green arrow: 1k Team Value: £106.8m
Andrew has used none of his chips but is considering the Bench Boost Chip this week
Gameweek 25 review
GW25 finished with Dallas, Bamford and Raphinha saving my gameweek with a small green arrow. Not playing the bench boost turned out to be the correct choice since Cavani did not feature. Calvert-Lewin out for Ings and his GW25 double was a move which backfired. Cancelo missed another big chance and collected a yellow card after I started him over Dias. I finally got a goalkeeper choice right with Pope over Martinez. Harvey Barnes looked very good and will be towards the top of many watchlists since Leicester has decent fixtures in the near term. Spurs’ poor form will have many scratching their heads as they go into a gameweek with what should be an attractive Spurs double.
Gameweek 26
DGW26 features the biggest set of doubles in FPL history so managers will be clamouring to boost their ranks over this key gameweek. The few who played their wildcards in GW25 and correctly called the primary assets who will double in DGW26 (despite the uncertainty over the exact fixtures) will be well placed to capitalise with a bench boost this week. Like many though, I was not willing to take the chance on a GW25 wildcard without being sure of the DGW26 fixtures.
Going into DGW26, I’m currently 50/50 between these two options:
– Wildcard now to build a team optimized for DGW26 (without the bench boost) and the rest of the season. I could then free hit in BGW29 and bench boost in GW30, when there are many favourable fixtures. This would allow me to bring in the likes of Barnes, de Bruyne and Kane immediately. My gut feel is that it is just too early to rely on de Bruyne as he returns from injury and with City’s upcoming run of Champion’s League games. A Kane move also feels like it could backfire and I think it’s more likely Mourinho shuts up shop after they go up rather than going on to score several.
– Sticking with the two moves (i.e. another hit) I’ve done already this week:
o Out went Ings (complete loss of faith even though he has a double in GW27) to Calvert-Lewin (good form and possible GW28 double)
o Out went Cavani (pity because he really could shine and Martial does not belong in United’s first team) for Richarlison (punt, with possible GW28 double)
This takes my number of doublers this week to 12, with only my Leeds triplets having the single gameweek, against Villa. It’s not the best 15 in the world and I’d change out my Burnley defenders for say Everton or Leicester defenders if I could – but it’s likely I’ll bench boost this team in DGW26 if there aren’t injuries midweek. I don’t see me getting the 20 points I’d like from the bench boost but it’ll be good to play the chip so I can move away from having to carry a playing a bench. Whether the bench boost happens in DGW26 or GW30, I would probably free hit in BGW29 and WC in GW31.
Here’s the bench-boost ready team. Captain and vice this week is undecided but will be between Fernandes, Calvert-Lewin and Gundogan.
Transfer summary: Ings out and Calvert Lewin in. Cavani out and Richarlison in
Here’s the team with the above transfers completed and bench boost activated.
Andrew Whitfield
Andrew finished with an overall rank of 132k last season and 6k in 18/19 and 19k in 17/18
GW25 Points: 80 on wildcard (FPL average 55) Total points: 1,634, Overall Rank: 46k, green arrow: 6k Team Value: £105.6m
Andrew has used his Free Hit Chip, Triple Captain Chip and Wildcard
Follow Andrew on twitter here
– Well a long five day gameweek, which started and ended with Leeds United. Those tripling up on Leeds players including the Bamford captaincy bandwagon for their double gameweek were really made to sweat before it all came good in the second half on Tuesday night.
– A slow burner of a gameweek that started with a leaked injury to Grealish, the much anticipated GW26 fixtures landing one minute after the GW25 deadline, points generally hard to come by, and things finally exploded on the final game. Oh and Bruno outscored Bamford from one game less in the big captaincy battle !!
My GW25 score and rank:
– 80 points in the end, which seemed very unlikely going into the final game when my only three “returners “ were a Man City defender, a non captained Bruno, and a keeper clean sheet. But goals for Bamford, Raphina and Dallas completely rescued my week and what would have been a very underwhelming wildcard.
– That’s now 17 green arrows in the last 19 weeks, which is very pleasing, up this week from 52k to 46k. It looked like being red until that late Leeds triple delivered. So a strong place to be as we head into the biggest double gameweek of the season.
My GW25 talking points:
– 45 points from my three Leeds players so over half my weekly score. The decision to captain Bamford over Bruno only cost 4 points. I was always going to captain a player with two games and captain Bamford over Ings based on fixtures. The decision to bring in Raphina for Soucek on wildcard worked well. Raphina could easily have had at least double, even triple his 12 points. Two very impressive and outstanding games means he is now going to cause me more benching dilemnas than Mr Soucek did !! And Dallas is just the gift that keeps on giving. I was planning on selling him this week !!
– I steered away from my usual double up on my two Man City defenders who duly produced a double clean sheet. I split the risk this week, with Dallas doubling, and playing new signing Luke Shaw, who had an outstanding fixture and Shaw duly gave a man of the match performance but somehow his team mates couldn’t finish the numerous chances he created. His stats are through the roof in recent weeks. That’s another dilemma now as I have to choose 3/5 from Cancelo, Stones, Shaw, Dallas and Rudiger !!!!
– I signed Areola on wildcard as a 2nd keeper with an upcoming bench boost in mind. I chose to play him over Martinez which worked well. And chose to sign him over McCarthy who he outscored from one game less, and Areola now has two games in the double too as Fulham double and Southampton don’t. Areola will be benched most weeks but a great back up option and good for the double gameweek.
– Plenty of hard luck stories this week with Shaw setting up a stream of missed chances, Cancelo missing a sitter at Arsenal, Son almost scoring a fluke goal in the last minute, and despite those welcome Leeds points, Dallas could have had two extra assists, Raphina missed a one on one set up by Dallas, and captain Bamford missing a great chance set up by Raphina !!
So what next:
– Well I wildcarded last week to set my team up with plenty of doubles this week, for what is the biggest double gameweek of the season with 14 teams playing twice.
– I currently have 12 “doublers” and three Leeds players. My aim is to bench boost this week, taking out one of my Leeds players, to boost with 13 doublers to get 28 games out of my players this week !! I have already played triple captain and I want to bench boost this week as it could be the best opportunity.
Bench boost thoughts:
– One advantage of bench boosting in a double gameweek, even with 2 or 3 single game players, is the security of my squad at least playing once, thereby keeping my bench firmly on the bench instead of flying away in auto subs, which is always likely to happen in a normal single gameweek. It only takes a Pep triple whammy of rotation and the bench scores a big fat zero. It’s far far safer this week.
– The bench boost can be a bit of a burden and in some ways it’s just best to get it out the way. It restricts other moves. I could have picked up 25-30 points on a couple of recent normal weeks. So it’s inevitable I will get less than half that when I hit the bench boost chip. Even with a doubling keeper and three singles, if the bench stay put, five blanks can get 10 points. One return can bump it to 15+. Leeds could easily blank against villa. Then again, Bamford , Raphina and Dallas scored 29 points v Southampton so I am tempted to just roll the dice and keep all three.
Blank GW29 planning:
– Looming on the horizon is blank GW29, when only four games take place. It’s going to be tough to put a team out. Fortunately both Spurs and Villa double in GW26 and play in GW29. So with those two teams, plus Leeds, I can currently field 7 players in GW29. I think 9 players will be enough in a potentially low scoring week, if owning the potential biggest threats. After all, to field a full 11 involves selling the likes of Bruno, Salah and the Man City triple up, only to have to buy them back at a much higher cost !! 9 is definitely enough in GW29. So I only need to find two more.
Potential transfers this week:
– I had deliberately set funds aside on my wildcard to move Danny Ings to Harry Kane. It was a disappointing double gameweek for Ings ( I sold Antonio ) that didn’t work out at all, so it’s an easy switch now to Kane, who I always wanted for this double gameweek. He looked very dangerous v Westham when he could have scored four. So Ings to Kane I am set on.
– The two players I probably fear most on form and fixtures for the double are Calvert Lewin and Harvey Barnes. I could look at switching Son to Barnes as I already have Kane for Spurs cover, and then switch Bamford to Calvert Lewin. But I am not attracted to a -8, despite the appeal. I could just do Son to Barnes, given Spurs awful run which has seen them beat just Leeds, Sheff Utd and West Brom in their last 13 games. But I am very much a “risk based” and “template” player. Losing Son and potentially Bamford does not sit well with me, on such high ownership levels. I also significantly need Son and Bamford for blank GW29 so to sell them for two players who don’t play in GW29 is a non starter.
– My biggest decision this week is to whether or not to run with three Leeds single game players on my bench boost, or switch out Dallas to Targett or Konsa of Villa, who also play in GW29 but double in GW26 and Leeds don’t. It means I still keep 7 players for GW29 and get 13 doublers. But it’s far from ideal that my two Leeds attackers in GW26 would then face a double Villa defence, and my two Spurs attackers would likewise face a double villa defence in GW29 too !! I was set on Dallas to Konsa this week for a -4. It’s effectively only a -2 with villas extra game. But after how Dallas performed this week, do I want to lose him for a -4 when I want him back again before GW29. I might just keep Dallas and run with 12 doubles instead of 13.
– My realistic route to 9 players in GW29 would be Shaw and Rudiger to a Brighton defender and maybe Coufal. I want to keep three City, Bruno and Salah so it’s the only way to get to 9. That’s a decision for later if I want 9 in GW29.
My current squad:
– I have accumulated a very strong squad which is bound to create benching dilemmas but it’s better than having a terrible bench who don’t play. Isn’t it ??
– I have two solid keepers in Martinez and Areola. I like to play three at the back which means fitting in 3/5 from Cancelo, Stones, Shaw, Rudiger and Dallas !!
– I have Bruno, Salah, Son, Gundogan . So if I play three strikers, where does that leave the exciting Raphina. And if I play 352, who do I leave out from Bamford, Watkins and Kane !!
– It’s probably my strongest squad I can remember. Just how do I keep them all happy. In many ways, it’s a great problem to have.
My GW26 team:
– Captain will be Kane when I bring him in. He is pretty assured to get 2 x 90 minutes, he is on penalties, Burnley and Fulham have both improved defensively. But Kane will get chances. He is my captain.
– I will be transferring in Kane for Ings. My only other decision is whether to move Dallas to a villa defender to have an extra double gameweek player.
Here is my squad after I move Kane in.
Good luck everyone !!!!
transfer summary: Ings out and Kane in
Here’s the team assuming the transfer is made and Bench Boost activated
Costas Chari
Costas’s last 4 seasons overall ranks were 17k, 84k, 29k and 27k
GW25 Points: 82 (FPL average 55) Total points: 1,570, Overall Rank: 233k, green arrow: 45k Team Value: £104.6m
Costas has used his Triple Captain Chip
Follow Costas on twitter here
GW25
A nice 45k green arrow this gameweek. Covered half of the red arrow of last week. A great result if you take into account my double Spurs premiums blanked. luckily the Charlie Taylor and Maguire pair I started and benched Stones Cancelo got exact the same points. Green arrow was due to my differentials Sterling and Lookman (finally) scoring.
DGW26
Plan was to just change Steer to a 4.5m keeper and play my Bench Boost without any hits. The Grealish injury is making me act. Its not even considered a hit as I am transferring out one player who wont play and getting a player that plays 2 games. So worst case scenario (bearing benching and injury) I only have to gain. Its Harvey Barnes in.
Double gameweek team consists of 13 DGW players and 2 single gameweek players in Dallas and Bamford who have a good home fixture so I am playing my BENCH BOOST. The team covers most popular picks in Bruno Fernandes, a Burnley defender, Villa defender, 2 city Defenders and a midfielder (hopefully Sterling outscores Gundogan again) and the popular Spurs duo. My rank risks are Salah and Calvert Lewin. Captain will be Kane. I think he will be highly owned and has great fixtures. My first option would be Sterling if I’d known he would start both games and I cant captain Bruno with the Chelsea fixture. I keep saying this year that should just leave the armband on Bruno regardless fixtures and I never do… lets see how this works
Future transfers to BGW29
My plan is to get blank Gameweek 29 players from now on and then WILDCARD on gameweek 30. I still have my FREE HIT and current plan is to use it in gameweek 33 where Spurs and City blank. If a better opportunity is in the cards I will reconsider.
So as it stands I have 7 GW29 players- Kane, Son, Decordova-Reid, Lookman, Dallas, Bamford and Martinez.
GW27 transfer is Maguire to Reguilon
GW28 transfer is- Taylor to Dunk
GW29 transfer is Sterling to Aubameyang
The plan if Grealish was fit was to get another player on my free transfer and have 11 blank gw29 players without a hit!!! BUT since I wont have any player playing a hit is actually worth 2 points as the player I will bring in will play and TROSSARD (for barnes) at home to Newcastle might be worth that 2 point hit.
I hate planning this year. Every time I’ve have done it blew in my face due to injuries or Covid outbreaks. But its a hell of plan getting through another blank GWk without using the free hit and with a full playing team, having had my BB with 13 dgw players without using the wildcard.
I am left a little behind this year (sitting at 233k currently) but with the current plan and of course a little bit of luck I can make a good comeback by GW30 where I play my wildcard….. and with a good wildcard and use of a FREE HIT in my armory, who knows?
Good luck everyone!!!!
Transfer Summary: Grealish out and Harvey Barnes in
Here’s the team with the transfer made and Bench Boost activated:
FFGeek Contributors League
The highlighted FFGeek contributors combined team finished with an overall rank of 52k last season is going ok in 3rd place with total points of 1,667 and an overall rank of 14k. You can follow that team, including live transfers, on our subscription Patreon site.
You can also follow Joe’s transfer planner team which finished with an overall rank of 32k last season currently in 20th place with total points of 1,525 and an overall rank of, 509k.
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