Here’s our GW21 fantasy football tips article where Andrew Ferguson reviews his GW20 teams in FPL, TFF, Sky and Sun and outlines his plans for GW21. Andrew finished top 1k in TFF, Sky and FPL plus 15k in Sun in 17/18. He also discusses the possibility of an early 2nd wildcard for GW22.
GW21 fantasy football tips – Andrew Ferguson reviews his GW20 teams in FPL, TFF, Sky and Sun plus outlines his plans for GW21
Fantasy Premier League
Weekly score: 49 Overall rank: 23,025
Well what a rubbish Christmas period with 5 straight red arrows. Somehow I still have a decent overall rank but I feel very fortunate indeed as my team is in a bit of a mess. On reflection there are two inter-related factors which have caused this slide which are taking out Hazard and Salah around GW16 coupled with breaking my own rule around team structure by not having a cheap bench; this was due to the fact I brought in Kane and Aubameyang for the rotating captaincies which hasn’t paid off. My team has turned incredibly ‘meh’ with no flexibility to make key transfers such as bringing in Salah or Pogba. I also haven’t followed my planned transfers in this very article which would have led to me bringing back Hazard and bringing in Digne for their hauls… lots to learn.
Anyway, my performance this week was 49 points whilst not dreadful is again well behind the top 10k curve which is what I aim to mirror or beat. Only Rashford really performed well aside from the 22 points on my bench (!) but going forward I am relatively happy with my GW21 team on paper with 8/9 players playing at home although no Aubameyang does concern me. There is then a break whilst the FA Cup plays out which leads to me a big decision… do I play an early second wildcard?
My concern is I am at least 2 or 3 moves behind the template which is shifting seemingly daily. Last season I kept the second wildcard to use alongside the other chips and it didn’t really pay off. In prior seasons I had mixed fortunes with it but I feel now might be the right time to use it this season. I don’t have players like Salah, Pogba, TAA or any City players which is only going to hurt me over the next few gameweeks. My biggest fear is chasing these points which would require multiple hits then the template moving on and I am behind again whilst spending my hard earned points. There is no point having a wildcard in hand if I have to make up 100-150 points in 4-5 gameweeks.
Looking at the fixtures from GW22 onwards the teams that have a good set of fixtures until GW30 are (the ones in bold are the players I currently own):
* Chelsea (mixed) – Luiz, Hazard
* Crystal Palace – Guita, Wan-Bissaka, Solanke?
* Everton – Digne, Richarlison
* Liverpool – Robertson, TAA, Salah
* Man City (mixed) – Sane, Silva, Sterling, Aguero
* Man United – Pogba, Martial, Rashford (if he can nail a starting place)
* Southampton – Ings
* Tottenham – Kane, Eriksen
* Watford – Holebas, Pererya
* Wolves – Doherty, Jiminez
Finding a balance with all the premiums is difficult but I need to try and get a cheap bench back to maximise my future transfer opportunities. Ideally I don’t want more than 17m on my bench which would mean a 4m keeper, 1 x 4m and 1 x 4.5m defender and 1 x 4.5m mid/striker; if Solanke goes to Palace at 4.7m this could be a key part of the wildcard.
I’m not 100% guaranteed to wildcard yet but unless something happens like Salah or Pogba get injured in the next week or so I am pretty much set. If I do wildcard it will be pretty immediately tomorrow/Wednesday to catch the price rises for the following gameweek. I will post all on my Twitter account.
Telegraph Fantasy Football
Weekly score: 114 Overall rank: 1,132 Transfers left: 21
I had a good run over Xmas reaching the heights of the top 1k before a slight fall back yesterday. My team is in good shape generally and I have a decent amount of transfers remaining for a second half of the season assault. I brought in Digne for Doherty for Everton’s good run and seens as they are likely to get further in the FA Cup as Wolves have Liverpool.
My weakness is generally getting to this point then going transfer crazy in January chasing FA Cup points and 3-1s etc but I am going to try and curb it this year so I go into the final stretch after the February internationals with about 12-15 transfers left to really take advantage of the multiple 3-1s, 4-1s and 6-2s etc which become apparent during the latter part of the season. Last season I got to around 200 rank in March with about 5-6 transfers left only to miss out on lots of transfer opportunities later on and fell back to 500 rank. I am determined not to let that happen this season.
I plan to take out Kane after the Tranmere game (which I doubt he will play in) as other teams have a good 3 game stretch before Spurs have another good game against Fulham on 20th January. This will give me time to assess whether Kane is the best Spurs option to have going forward or whether to go for someone else. We get to see the City line-up against Rotherham on the Sunday so if Aguero starts that one he may be the natural replacement for at least a couple of weeks.
Sky Sports fantasy football
Weekly score: 70 Overall rank: 94 Transfers left: 17
I have had a great Xmas in this format with my captains hitting in the main which has helped me climb into the top 100 for the first time in a couple of years at this stage and with a good amount of transfers left. I brought in Pogba yesterday for Sterling and was so close to captaining him but bottled it and went with Hazard which has frustratingly cost me a place in the top 50. Hitting successive Salah/Aubameyang/Kane/Anderson hauls has been great and has set me up nicely for the New Year. My premium keeper and defenders (Laporte aside) continue to deliver with the midfield talismans continuing to shine for their teams. There are six games left until the overhaul so the focus is solely on those and daily captaincy during that time.
Transfers and captaincy
I am scared of Aubameyang against Fulham this week but have Kane so will captain him on Tuesday (I’ll be going to that Cardiff-Spurs game). I will then captain Hazard on the Wednesday before switching Kane to Salah to cap on the Thursday game to leave me with 16 transfers for the season which is reasonable. I will likely rotate the strikers throughout January and February to maximise the captains till the overhaul; if I can I would like Salah and Kane up top but it is tough with current 4-5-1 formation. I will be likely be leaving Vinagre in although Cardiff do have a nice run coming up so may switch to Paterson unless Cardiff sign a striker as rumoured. Ings at 7.7m also looks a snip for the final 4 games prior to the overhaul which could help the budget. If I can get to the overhaul in the top 100/150 with 10-12 transfers left I will be very pleased.
Sun Dream Team (Team 1)
Weekly score: 19 Overall rank: 218,369 Transfers left: 0/month
The nightmare continues… every time I make some ground up if falls away again mainly in the shape of Salah. Luiz had a decent week for me and Kane had another goal but quiet other than that.
Transfers
I’ll be leaving the team alone until after the FA Cup games as I expect rotation. I’ll be taking out Lacazette for sure and getting in Pogba; these are definite swaps. I am rapidly losing interest but will continue to provide brief Sun updates.
Sun Dream Team (Team 2)
Weekly score: 26 Overall rank: 15,277 Transfers left: 0/month
Jiminez continues to be good value but the City defence again keeps costing me. What a time for the wheels to come off at City.
Transfers
Again I’ll be looking to get in Pogba but will confirm transfers after the FA Cup games.
I will confirm all my transfers on Twitter (My Twitter handle is Fergi222, give me a follow!) by the respective deadlines so keep an eye out
Good luck everyone for GW21!
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