Rob Reid (the FPL Vet) with his fantasy premier league November review

Fantasy Premier League

Here’s Rob Reid (the FPL Vet) with his fantasy premier league November review.  Rob covers a number of hot topics from the month as well as giving the player and donkey of the month awards.  He looks briefly at DGW22 and shows a high performing managers team from one of his mini leagues.   Rob finished with a rank of 22k last season 4,701 in 2015/16 and 7,810 in 2014/15

Rob Reid (the FPL Vet) with his fantasy premier league November review

 Hi everyone and welcome to the fourth of my monthly reviews for 2017-18 FPL season. Regular visitors to the site will remember that I ran this monthly series of articles last year and I’m pleased to report I’ll be doing the same this season. With me also doing weekly ‘Player Picks’ and showing my team along with some of my fellow contributors each week, I’ve slightly changed the format to this season’s review articles.I’ll still continue my series of observations reflecting on the previous month’s action and also looking forward to the next month. These observations are made on some basic stats analysis combined with some personal opinion derived from watching EPL action. I’ll be doing monthly awards again. Player of the Month and Donkey of the Month return but I won’t be doing One to Watch this season as it crosses over a little with my Player Picks article. Instead I’ll be doing a Team to Watch award – the EPL team who I think could provide some strong and possibly unexpected returns over the next month, with a look at their prospects and their players.



Finally, I’ll take a look at some of the high-performing teams from the mini-leagues I’m entered in this year. I’m delving into the realms of Social Media this month as I look at a high-performing team from one of the Twitter leagues I participate in.

November Review

November has thrown up a number or surprises and challenges for us FPL managers as we look forward to a crazy festive programme that sees us face 7 gameweeks in 25 days. Squad depth is sure to prove key as will be careful planning, not to mention a good helping of luck. While mini-leagues may not be won in the next month it’s fair to say that some will be lost if teams stumble through December. Let’s check back on November’s action and see if it can give us any clues for what’s to come.

Rotation Bingo (cont!)

Continuing the theme from last month, we’re still kept guessing by Pep and to some extent Poch with Conte and Klopp deciding to join the tinker party this month as well. Is it fair to say that the best tactic is to pick in-form assets, stick with them and be prepared to use your bench? With a crazy festive period coming up, this looks a smart strategy – especially when Xmas injuries and suspensions start to bite. Stay strong folks!

Spurs and Hammers at the double

It’s been announced this week that Spurs vs West Ham has been moved to GW22, leaving both teams with a blank GW21. Harry Kane will come in for a lot of scrutiny over the next few GWs in preparation as he is prime DGW captain material. His (and Spurs) form has been less than convincing of late. Will they improve in time for us to confidently captain (or Triple Captain) Sir Harold in GW22? Answers on a postcard please. With regards to other players, a Spurs triple up does look an appealing option on paper. West Ham however will need to pick up significantly for us to invest in them. Plan those transfers carefully folks.

Salah-La Land

It’s fair to say that the Egyptian is on absolute fire at the moment and with over 50% ownership he will be killing your overall ranking if you don’t own him. But why are we all so afraid to captain him (me included?) Something has to give at some point I guess, but I wouldn’t bet against his form continuing- especially with team mates Mane and Coutinho on song as well. The reds fixture list also looks appealing, thus even further strengthening the case for Salah and possibly even another investment.

Toffees for Christmas?

The return of Big Sam to EPL has brought Everton back on to our radars with some old FPL favourites at the forefront. Wayne Rooney posted notice with last weeks hat-trick though it’s with caution as he looks set to stay in a deeper role. Sigurdsson is another for the watchlist, we all know what he is capable of and he’s now returned in his last 4. It will also be interesting to see how they effect the form of young Calvert-Lewin who could be a nice budget 3rd striker if he carries on his weekend form.

Hazard Warning

Things are starting to bloom in the garden of Eden as Hazard looks to have found the scintillating form that has made him such a popular player in previous years. Conte is practically using him as a second striker, his heat map from the Newcastle game firmly backing this up. If you didn’t already know it, Chelsea are at the start of a crazy good fixture run. A Chelsea triple up of Hazard, Morata (the most consistent premium striker at present) and a defender/Courtois looks a good option for a steady run of returns.

Looking forward to Russia

A bit off topic, but I thought I’d say a quick word about the World Cup draw in view of the fact that many of us will be playing World Cup fantasy football over the summer. An initial view of mine is that England’s group looks really appealing for investing in English and Belgian defensive assets at the least, The Panama and Tunisia games look good clean sheet chances for both sides and I could certainly see Belgium v England ending 0-0. Let’s hope Kyle Walker doesn’t pick up a late season injury eh?

Player of the Month – Mo Salah (Liverpool £9.9m)

If you don’t own Salah then why?! 12 goals and 4 assists including 7 returns in his last 7 with massive ownership. Even when he was benched he only need 23 minutes to bag another 2 goals! It’s been a stunning first Liverpool season so far and there’s no sign of things stopping at the moment.

Donkey of the Month – Oumar Niasse (Everton £5.0)

Followers of this monthly article know how much I hate play-acting and the Niasse dive against Crystal Palace was shameful and deserves the Golden Carrot. It was also frustrating from an FPL perspective. His form had warranted consideration as a cheap striker. But his suspension has been coupled with Rooney and Calvert-Lewin finding form, meaning it’s going to be tough for him to regain his place in the starting line-up.

Team to Watch – Arsenal

Chelsea and Liverpool are the obvious picks I’ve already mentioned, so if you’re looking for a bit of a differential, how about Arsenal?

It’s been an odd season so far at The Emirates, but they’ve got a great month of fixtures ahead with Liverpool the only one of the top teams they face in December’s 6 remaining fixtures. It’s also worth noting that (along with Man Utd) The Gunners have the optimum recovery and travel schedule between matches which slightly lessens the effects of fatigue.

Sanchez is the obvious player with an amazing FPL history, but his price tag is somewhat prohibitive, especially if you’re carrying Hazard and premium striker. Ramsey is the best value attack player for me with 3 goals and 8 assists so far this season including returns in 6 of the last 7 at a very reasonable £7.2m. I’d also consider a defender £6.2m Kolasinac offers the most attacking threat, but I would also consider the less fashionable but gametime secure Monreal at £5.7m and Mustafi at an even better £5.4m (though the latter is an injury risk at present.)

Mini-league watch

I’ve picked a team from one of the Twitter Leagues I’m involved in this month. This is a high performing veteran manager, with a highest finish in the top 700 and a top 10k finish last year. He’s had a flying start to this season and has maintained his form to currently sit in the top 1500. It’s interesting to note how successful this manager has been with his points hits this season – he’s taken hits in 4 gameweeks and in 2 of those, his weekly rank has been inside in the top 30k. That’s the way to make significant games in the overall rankings and this manager has been inspired with his choices this season. I’ll be watching him closely!



fantasy premier league November review

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