Here’s our FPL wildcard team GW14 article where I pretend I’m using my wildcard. This is to give you transfer suggestions for the GW14 with more longevity than just 1 gameweek alone.
FPL wildcard team GW14 – the FFGeek imaginary wildcard
Introduction
Note this article was written before Fridays managers press conferences
The idea of this article is to bring together the other articles of the gameweek.
The article is brief as there’s loads of information on individual players in the rankings articles:
There’s also:
You can also see who the 10 top FPL managers I follow each week have in their team. You can also see which players have the best fixtures in our fixture ease article
There’s also who I’m thinking of in my article early FFGeek team thoughts
There’s also the contributors teams for GW14 part 1 and contributors teams part 2
Then there’s who the FFGeek readers are transferring in and out as well as our captain poll
The FFGeek imaginary wildcard team
Here’s the team. It’s TV is £103.9
Structure
The most likely lineup will be 3-4-3 or occasionally 4-3-3 or 4-4-2 although it’s hard to see any of the midfield being benched.
Goalkeepers
I’ve generally wanted to stick to cheap goalkeepers with a £4.0m back up whether they play or not. The alternative of a premium I don’t believe provides value for money and the opportunity cost to spend money else where is also to big. This imaginary wildcard is no exception.
So I’ve returned to Burnley’s Pope who’s seen a recent improvement in their defence plus a good schedule over the next 6 games. His save % isn’t what it could be but he has got some form of bonus 4 of the 5 clean sheets he’s received. He’s also 2nd in the bonus points system for goalkeepers.
There are no starting £4.0m goalkeepers. Button remains the best chance of a £4.0m GK taking a playing spot in the event of an injury to the number 1 goalkeeper
Defence
The next 4 fixtures are made for a double up on the Liverpool defence with both Alexander Arnold and Robertson in. The suspension and injury of their defensive midfielder Fabinho though is certainly not helpful. However the attacking stats of each player provide a good hedge if the clean sheets don’t arrive.
It’s worth noting that the 3 midfielders with the most points in the Liverpool full backs price price range are Tielemans, Mount and Perez. They all have the same amount of attacking returns as Robertson and only 1 more than Alexander Arnold. None have more FPL points than Robertson. Also, Liverpool have not conceded more than 1 goal in a game to date. The potential for 12 or 15 pointers over the next 4 is huge.
I’ve ranked the Leicester defence as the best in my recent rankings article and I’m still going for the value of Soyuncu. If you’ve got £0.8m sloshing around though Chilwell is a great attacking alternative
Lundstram is a central midfielder classified as a defender in FPL. However he is far more than a yellow card magnet defensive midfielder often high up the pitch and excellent on the counter attack. He already has 3 goals and 2 assists to his name.
Chelsea have a great run coming up. Tomori offers a cheap option which can be benched if necessary without too much wastage. Unfortunately there’s little in the way of attacking potential so the ceiling could be a lot higher but he’s great value in a defence way better than their goals against column.
Midfield
I’ve gone for Mane with Liverpools excellent next 4 fixtures. All things being equal, including fitness, I’ve often said that I prefer Salah’s shooting volume and penalty duties when Milner is off the pitch. Salah has also been under performing his xG significantly which is something he has no history of. Expect a correction. Mane is significantly over performing his. Something he is repeating from last year but prior to that his ability to do so was patchy. Which of these you choose is down to your views on Salah’s injury and whether you have the stomach for a game of FPL chicken against the masses who hold Mane.
Man City’s fixtures are not great coming up and their form has been patchy very recently. However can you afford to completely ignore a team that has scored 9 more goals than any other team and has 12 more expected goals than any other team. De Bruyne gives you the ability to get a share of that through his creativity. It’s easy to forget that he’s already got 10 assists. What’s more Man City’s pressing system means that they effectively play a front 5 when in possession so although he’s classified as a central midfielder he’s advanced as a striker when it matters
The 3-3 draw with Sheffield United wasn’t Martial’s finest game that’s for sure but when you cost £7.8m and play as the centre forward for a side that at least aspires to a top 6 place minimum then he’s great value. Add a good fixture run in as well plus an excellent entry point home to Villa.
5 goals and 3 assists in 7 starts plus 3 pretty short minuted sub appearances is a phenomenal start to the premier league for Pulisic. It’s been no fluke either as his underlying stats are excellent. The only negative is the unknown in the Premier League to giev you an indication as to whether this is a realistic level. However given the fixtures and Chelsea’s attacking mindset and the great price that’s alot of mitigation of the risk.
The choice of a cheap benchwarmer is a tricky one. Dendoncker is playing in a back 3, Hayden was awful vs Villa and Stephens is a not so recovering yellow card addict with 4 already. So I’ve gone for Guendouzi who’s not much better but feels like he has a little more chance of returning. He’s playing all 13 matches getting to 90 minutes in 11 of them.
Forwards
Vardy should need no justification given his 12 goals and 4 assists plus his points per match of 8 as well as a kind schedule. However, he has scored nearly twice the amount of his expected goals and his shooting volumes are nothing to write home about so if regression means anything then there will be a shuddering correction at some stage. Still, only a thrill seeker extraordinaire who doesn’t know the meaning of the word fear would leave the Vardy party at this stage.
I’ve gone for my old mucker Danny Ings as the cheap striker mainly due to the upcoming few fixtures and because his returns are decent as well as his underlying stats. He seems to have lost the penalty situation although Ward Prowse has done his best v Arsenal to give it back with a poor missed one.
Lastly I’ve included Tammy Abraham who’s form, backed up by underlying stats has been incredible. He was injured in the Champions League game v Valencia though. I’ve written this on Thursday night so before any press conference which may or may not see some relevant information as to whether he’s fit. Should he be declared unfit I would go with Wolves Jimenez as an alternative
GW18
The fixture of West Ham v Liverpool has been postponed. So Liverpool players will need to be sold or benched for that game. The situation is complicated by the fact that Leicester are away to Man City and Chelsea are away to Spurs which is not helpful as these are invariably well represented in our teams. Maybe a reason not to get Tomori in.
Wolves have the plum fixture away to Norwich which is why you might want to get £7.3m fwd Jimenez in or go big in defence with £6.0m Doherty. Villa home to Southampton is also a good fixture as is Man Utd away to Watford.
Fixture Ease schedules
Just so you can easily check out a players fixtures if you’re trying to make a transfer decision using this article
A fixture ease schedule for attacking players
Here’s a graphic where the teams are ranked by the ease of the defences they face over the next 6 gameweeks.
A fixture ease schedule for defensive players
Here’s a graphic where the teams are ranked by the ease of the attacking teams they face over the next 6 gameweeks.
More content
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Other posts
Analysing 10 top FPL managers teams
Early thoughts on the FFGeek team
FFGeek contributors show their teams for GW14 part 1
GW14 defender and GK player rankings
GW14 midfielder player rankings
FFGeek Captain and transfer polls
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