Paul
It’s time for our usual rummage around the Gameweek data this afternoon, in our first members’ article of the week.
We assess Sergio Aguero and Alexis Sanchez’ home and away displays after both bagged a brace last time out, while a pair of Southampton assets also come under analysis. We also check in on Swansea’ City’s playmaker and a cut-price Liverpool alternative to Philippe Coutinho, with the Brazilian now set for over a month on the sidelines.
Sanchez a decent captain shout for this week? I have Kane too but I'm not sure I trust him yet
He's a decent shout, but you should stick it on Kane.
This. Kane to feature in this article next week 😉
"Harry Kane racks up the biggest number of missed penalties in Premier League history"
I wonder what that current figure is, out of interest?
Only two, I'm afraid.
Kane 100 %
Yes, I'm captaining him. He's better away from home and West Ham will play their full XI tonight
If I had Kane, probably would go with him. Considering I am not bringing Kane in this week, sticking it on Sanchez 🙂
Kane's a no brainer this week. Interesting form guide here talking about why. Origi could be a great shout too if you're willing to take a risk for a few weeks... http://fandueltips.co.uk/form-guide-suggests-gw14-forwards
Have both Kane and Sanchez. Currently leaning towards Sanchez...
Not 100% convinced by Kane yet, as I don't think he has any form - only points.
Kane will get score three, trust me!
When Lamela is fit, do you think he will start? It seems like spurs have missed him
100%. Badly missing his pace. Covers good ground for Spurs in moving the ball up the field, dragging defenders about and forcing mistakes.
most nailed on Swansea defender?
Naughton.
dont bother
fernandez
It's a trap...
Clyne to Valencia in a few weeks...
GW16?
Thinking of Lovren to Valencia
Yes - 16 or 17, likely.
Had a look at their fixtures look amazing. Bailly & Smalling will also be back soon.
I'm trying to figure out their best back four -- CS have dried up since Bailly, Shaw, Blind have been out.
CS have dried up but DDG has made just two saves the last 4 gws yet they only have one cs and conceded 3 goals so the defence is doing their part, utd have just been a bit unlucky imo.
As we all know at this stage the defence is not the back four for Jose it is the whole team and I can see signs they are being drilled into a tight defensive unit.
shhh
After the West Brom game? United are bad at set pieces this season.
Thanks!
cresswell another option
Nice fixtures, am looking at Payet as well.
Who to play
A) Siggy (tott away)
B) Allen (burn home)
b
siggy for me
I'm playing Walker and Allen. Benching Siggy. Strong case for Allen at home to Burnley, because it seems he will be back playing no 10 again. Spurs will likely have Toby back, + Rose.
Still Siggy for me against former club and on all set pieces.
A
If you had to choose one to have on your team?
A) Sanchez
B) Costa (Have Hazard & will get Alonso)
Appreciate your thoughts!
A
A
have both!
A since you already have Haz
A
Will have both next week
Which one will you miss out on then Kane, Aguero or Hazard?
The article graphic is a subliminal msg to promote Aguero as a safe option 😛
I meant Enner Valencia...
Pick
Alonso Peiters McAuley
Hazard Firmino Kdb Siggy Sanchez
Kane @ Defoe
Heaton Anichibe Nyom Freind
I would play bench boost but doubts over Firmino and Freind
Still crying from last GW changing my captain from Sanchez to Firmino last min
Firm should be fine, Friend is out for a couple of weeks if I remember correctly.
great team, teams look much better when you dont have 2 permium strikers.... kane and defoe should be good enough with that class midfield, defense is great, maybe cedric going forward would improve and great rotating keepers! hold BB until DGW
Good team.
Wouldn't play BB even if all are declared fit.
I would consider playing Nyom over Alonso. Price shouldn't matter and WBA much better chance of a cleanie..
looking deeper at the stats - Emre Can really does look a wonderful 5th mid option enabler right now
Shhhh
But yes xD
Go on......
If Hull make the EFL Cup final then one match of their DGW would be Burnley H. Where's Dame N'Doye when you need him
We've got Snodgrass and Robertson 😀
Clear the table for Diieeumercii Mbokanii
Would you rather have:
A) Lovren, Sanchez, Costa, Kane
B) Alonso, Walcott, Costa, Aguero
Do you definitely want Costa? I'd try and get both Kane & Aguero
Costa is a far better option then both of them
I disagree but each to his own.
b
need to see rest of your team but i would lean towards B
B definitely
B, but its close.
Alonso wins easily, Alexis wins, Kane and Kun are close imo
Christ almighty. Costa to go up to 10.7m. Dang it, He ain't coming into my team for lesser than 11m it looks like.
I have Hazard and Pedro in my team. Should I stick or transfer Hazard for Sig or Payet?
Hazard will be untouchable post this week.
+1
Did Lukaku to Ibra last week which worked out well
Have already done:
Cout to Siggy and
KDB to Sanchez
Do I now make it -8 by going
A. Ibra to Kane for -8
Or.
B. Hold
Hold. At least thats what im doing
i would hold and do it for free next week
Thanks guys.
Zouma to get gametime any time soon? or do you think Conte will take the "if it ain't broke don't fix it" approach?
Eased in by rotation.
Cahill is the most exposed defender right? He has been playing well. I'm in the not broken, don't need fixing boat
After last nights scoutcast thought I would look into whether having Walcott can effectively 'cover' Sanchez:
These are Sanchez's returns and then Walcott's
GW1: 2 - 5
GW2: 3 - 3
GW3: 16 - 5
GW4: 1 - 2
GW5: 10 - 13
GW6: 14 - 8
GW7: 3 - 6
GW8: 5 - 13
GW9: 3 - 3
GW10: 13 - 0 (walcott did not play)
GW11: 2 - 2
GW12: 1 - 2
GW13: 14 - 9
Analysis:
* Sanchez is clearly the better option but that is obvious, its whether Walcott can cover him for the 3.4 price difference.
* Both have had games where the other has outscored them, with sanchez scoring big more often
* Interestingly, Walcott has picked up points in EVERY game sanchez has apart from Sunderland as he did not feature. This strongly suggests that he is in-fact adequate cover- this is key.
VERDICT- Based on returns, Walcott appears to be great cover for Sanchez as he has picked up points in EVERY game that Sanchez has when he has played and he has even outscored him several times. Yes Sanchez has more points but Is the 3.4m saving worth it? Based on this evidence it appears to be. Walcott will be my Coutinho replacement.
Walcott could get dropped at any time though whereas Sanchez will be played even if he has only one hamstring.
Nice little summary of the points though, thanks.
December squad rotation aside, I do not think "Walcott could get dropped at any time." This season has shown no evidence of that.
No evidence this season but last season he was nailed for a period when results were good, he got a minor injury and couldn't get back in the team then even though results weren't great.
If Wenger decides to change it up to accommodate Ramsey or Giroud for example and results go ok then Walcott would struggle to get back in based on past history. Wenger doesn't like to change his starting 11 once it's settled so until he spuds put he is safe enough but over he's out it could be for a long time.
Walcott played terribly last season when he came back though. That's why he couldn't get in to the team. This year he's been much better even besides the amount of goals he's scoring. Your post can apply to any player, if they play badly they're not going to be nailed but you won't want them in the team anyway so it doesn't really matter.
"Your comment can apply to any player" well not really that's the point.
Walcott was in a team in great form, got injured, came back but couldn't get back in the team as Wenger preferred rambo there. It was nothing to do with how theo was playing and the point is Wenger now has rambo AND Giroud as well as lucas and possibly Welbeck at some stage to change the system if he so desires. Sanchez has almost zero chance of being dropped with his only negative being his role changing possibly.
I disagree with you there.
He is a rotation risk as much as owners like to pretend he's not. Remember last season anyone?
With European football and when you have the likes of Ramsey and Ox and soon (perhaps) Welbeck even to return start of Feb.
But for as long as he keeps performing it's his place to lose.
I think with Sanchez you also get the capatincy option. I wouldnt feel comfortable captaining Walcott.
That is a key factor yes, but I'm sure many of here have Kane who is a great captaincy option in his next 3 home games. Kane/Hazard captain rotation looks strong
This is the important bit, however I'm not sure I would be captaining him anytime soon?
Thanks for above, 'nailedonness' of Wally would be my concern.
Why worry about 'nailedonness' when you have the points output?
Past and future are two different things.
Looking at past scores doesn't necessarily correlate with future returns.
Absolutely. But the same could also be said of minutes and underlying stats, though? Sure you need to be creating to have a chance of converting into points, but I'll take 1 SiTB per match if it leads to a goal.
I'm a Sanchez owner, by the way. But when I look at my captaincy options, I won't be putting the armband on Alexis in the next 6. I am thinking that Sanchez > Walcott will be a good enabler for Payet.
Personally I am between Sanchez and Kane this week, so not sure I agree with you on Sanchez captaincy, but that is just me.
I am too much of a chicken **** to try my luck with Payet, but good luck
Provisionally I look at it like this:
14 - Kane
15 - Hazard/Aguero
16 - Kane
17 - Kane
18 - Hazard/Aguero
19 - Hazard
Payet definitely has the underlying stats and with Caroll back, it could start finally meaning something.
Payet is a set-piece master, no one better than him in this league, but something's wrong with West Ham this season.
Sanchez has Stoke, Palace, West Brom, Bournemouth, Swansea and Bournemouth in the next 10, if he performs like he did at the weekend I'm sure you'll fling the armband his way in one or two of those games if Kane and Aguero don't perform in the next few.
Haha of course you could have a point although point output is usually a lot more fickle than other stats.
It Theo could promise a 100% conversion rate, he would be in my team as well 😉
I think we got our wires crossed last night. I was trying to argue that there were potentially better options around walcott's price, not that he wasn't an option to "replace" Sanchez.
That being said - Check walcott's stats in recent weeks, they're on the slide. Sanchez not nearly as affected by Cazorla loss from what I can see
The stats are worrying but I am looking at it in terms of seeing whether I can go without Sanchez, the fpl points say I can but the stats do tell a different story
Just because you go without Sanchez doesn't mean you have to have Walcott. #SayNoToCover 🙂
Adopting that hast tag haha! Or maybe: #AndySaysNoToCover?
+1
Thank you for an interesting post.
My concern with Sanchez is that I still think he is much more inclined to be rotated than Sanchez. Furthermore Sanchez is more capable of creating something on his own in the games where Arsenal struggle.The stats (and the eye test) of Theo the last game wasn't convincing either.
Hmm... alright, but if Sanchez ended up rotated, wouldn't you think he would be replaced by Sanchez?
Yeah Sanchez could probably be replaced by Theo, but I am not as worried with Sanchez rotation as everyone else.
He may get rested one game or 2x 30 minutes over the coming month, but I thin every player is at risk for that kind of rotation.
When thinking of whether to have Sanchez should also take into account the great connection he has established with Sanchez, which could bring him more assist in future if he's to feature more often.
Double sanchez! Interesting theory
If he starts, I won't be surprised to see him better Alexis.
Fortunately for me I do not have this dilemna, as I have them both. 🙂
I also remember during the time that I owned both, that Walcott stats were actually better than Sanchez.
"were" is the key word here 🙂
Members should check GW 1-8 and 9-14 and compare Walcott and Sanchez.
Cazorla and bellerin will be back soon, walcott should improve then
You'd quite comfortably captain Sanchez, not sure you'd have the same faith in Walcott which is why I find the coverage argument sketchy as you have to take that into consideration.
There will be weeks where Arsenal are free flowing with nice fixtures and the go to guy will he Sanchez, that's what you pay for.
Coverage only works for defensive returns and rotation, imo.
In attack, coverage is a myth unless you double up and purchase shares in a team in rampant form like Liverpool recently or Arsenal earlier in the season. Especially when a talisman like Cazorla or now Coutinho is injured, the prospective players need to be looked at as individuals, not as automatic beneficiaries of an attacking juggernaut.
I agree for the most part but I do think there is some merit in getting an attacking player from an attacking team to cover their fixture for captaincy. You might not have kun for Hull at home but you captain kdb for that juicy fixture knowing kun is likely to outscore kdb but knowing kdb is likely to outscore anyone else in your team for that gw.
Can Walcott cover Sanchez? No
But is Walcott a decent option at his price range? Yes
Sorry but I think this whole discussion is stupid. I compare Sanchez to other players at his price tag and Walcott to players at his respective price tag.
I kind of agree, but not always that easy. An example could be whether you would rather have two 7,5 mids or one 10m + 5m.
Well yes but then you're not just comparing the 10mil and one of the 7.5m players. It's how you can use the savings. I think captain options have to be a priority myself, especially this season where there is no standout option to captain more than 50% of the time.
True, but I think how you spend the saving is always part of the discussion.
Very few people would for example argue that Walcott is a better pick than Sanchez in his own right.
you can cover walcott with capoue, only 5.0 and 1 point less so far
You can more than cover sanchez with Capou and Allen and have money left over
No, no you can't.
A) Hazard + Mane (have Firminio)
B) Sanchez + Siggy -4
hazard + walcott for me
This!
B out of those.
Preferably Hazard + Sanchez + Siggy (lose Firm)...
A- if long term
Terrible news coming in from Columbia about the Brazilian side Chapecoense
I am sure all our thoughts and prayers are with them and there family's at this time
+1
Cried for the first time in a long time last night when reading the details
start giroud(whu) or sigurdsson(tot)????
Siggy.
Purely because Giroud may not even get 2 points.
Siggy, nailed, vs old team, on free kicks....
I dumped Giroud for Sanchez... wenger fancies sanchez up front... Giroud is an impact sub this year IMO ...... he even played the ox on the wing to leave him on the bench the last game.
Siggy.
Playing against his former side.
Look at his output against big teams this season: goals against Everton, Arsenal and Chelsea + assists against both Manchester clubs...
Giroud a big doubt - not even playing when 100% fit and Sanchez in top form.
Boring question so apologies in advance, play double Stoke defence this week or spread the risk, pick one:
1. Grant/ Pieters
2. Pickford / Pieters
3. Grant / Holebas (fitness permitting)
grant holebas,holebas should be fit in time
Always find spreading the risk is better, double up very rarely pays off. Also all prem teams are capable of scoring these days.
1 or 2. Holebas not a good pick this week.
Personally I don't mind doubling up. I always analyze each option separately, as I think that is the most logical this to do.
Aguero Costa Austin
Leave it as it is or bring in Kane ?
Leave it imo
Stick.
same front 3 as me, I'd leave for now
Is Origi nailed while Cout is out?
Unlikely
with sturridge and lallana fit soon,he will be benched
No, Origi nailed is an oxymoron regardless of the circumstances.
Not sure you quite grasp the concept of an oxymoron but I get your point.
Contradiction in terms chief - Origi nailed/fun run - what more can I say?
Cheers
no
I don't think nobody knows not even Kloop we will just have to wait and see how this develops
I'd expect Sturridge and Lallana to keep him out once they're back
Captain Sanchez, Ibra or Austin?
Sanchez out of they 3 but if you have Aguero then capt him
I know a fit aguero at home is usually gold but Chelsea have been incredibly tight since they changed formation and it's not luck either, as they're not giving chances away.
Coutinho and Lukaku price was to fall last night right?Why not fall yet?
Both did fall. Try refrshing your browser
my browser is fine.Coutinho was in 8.6 and Lukaku 9.7 and they supposed to fall but they have the same price
http://www.fiso.co.uk/crackthecode.php
Lukaku now 9.6
Coutinho now 8.5
thanks
theres a limit in 1 week how much they can fall... will fall more next week
Reposting 🙂 - bottomed out on the previous article
The 2017 midfield template (hopefully), based purely on fixtures:
I realized I've been having a bout of short-termism recently, leading to taking pointless hits and cramming the popular picks in without a lot of thought to the underlying fixtures.
Like any engineer worth his salt, I’m trying to see the team I need from GW 25-38 and see if I can backtrack to a suitable team in the present which allows me to get there:
As per the fixtures, the following teams are going to be hard to ignore in the above time period:
- Chelsea
- Tottenham
- Swansea
- Arsenal and Liverpool have slightly tough ones in between, but are the other 2 choices
With this in mind, the midfield should ideally look like this at the end:
- Hazard: A potential triple-up at that stage isn’t a bad idea either: Any 3 of Hazard + Pedro + Alonso + Costa)
- Son: Ideally with Kane up front
- Siggy
- Walcott: I’m choosing him over Sanchez because I’m assuming Arsenal will go further in the CL this time, and Sanchez is more likely to be focused on CL – which means tired legs on weekends
- Coutinho: No double-up in my opinion (This is a personal choice, but can be Mane or Firmino – or even Lallana)
In the medium term (GW 15 – 25), I think it makes sense to have the following:
- Antonio/Payet: Ridiculously easy fixtures, even for West Ham
- Sanchez/Walcott
- Siggy
- Hazard
- The non-injured Liv mid
I would seriously consider replacing one of the Liv double-up with Antonio at the moment – their fixtures get a bit rough in 4 GWs
For me, I guess I have 4 of the 5 I need at the end – so I think I’m going to go take a punt on West Ham given their fixtures
I would love to know what people think their final midfield should look like, along with their current and how they’re planning to make the moves to get there. Ofcourse, depends on your strikers as well (no Son if you have Kane, for example) – but that would make it impossible to fit within one post 🙂
You lost me when you said you're thinking about the team you want from GW25-38. Don't over think it, they're are far too many permutations in this game. Coutinho this week, Leicester's switch from an offensive unit to defensive unit midway last year, Aguero injuries over the past few seasons at any time, Bale clearing out with ample GWs a few years back. The list goes on. Some tips that week serve you well -
1) Loosely plan your team around the next 3-4 game weeks, with a view to covering/rotating defence and your captaincy options. RMT is an amazing tool for this and so much more. Fixture proof your squad over this timeframe.
2) Hits are a great thing if used wisely. Look at whether the points hit will pay off over that same 3-4 week period. Defenders attend usually good for this, but over the years, for example, Baines, Bellerin, Ivan and Fuchs have been exceptions at times. In 2015 I finished 175th overall with 69 transfers.
3) RMT, members stats tables and the big numbers are an incredible source of information to get you to the right answer. To stick, flick or throw the kitchen sink. Less about punting and more about picking the right player for your team in that moment.
4) you can't have all the best players all of the time. As much as I would like Kane this weekend, I haven't been able to make it work for me. But on stats and firm and fixtures combined, I'll be going into this weekend with ample firepower across the fixtures.
Which brings me to...
5) You shouldn't chase last week's returns on account of form alone. Siggy is case in point this week. Has a great GW15 in store and top class last week, but in between is a mediocre fixture. Sure, if you had him you hold and play, no brained. But if you didn't, those points have gone to those who already had him. If you didn't take the transfer last week, you're better off not following the sheep this week as you're stil behind those who did in the week prior. Key to moving up in rank is being a step ahead. Eriksen for me, and who knows, maybe Siggy next week. A few weeks ago it was Hazard and the 'hold out until GW15' crowd look right.
.
Haha, fair enough. There are variables ofcourse, but just keeping an eye on good fixture runs might be useful in my opinion.
But i get it, too academic and inaccurate given how things can change 🙂
I do use RMT, but it's always nice to get a feel of what people are thinking - over and above just stats
Sorry for the rant. Some good questions and for what it's worth I'll throw in my two bob:
- likely to have a few doubles from 25-38, so your "weekly" team should be manipulated at that point to mitigate missing players and provide you with double firepower when needed. For now, who knows what that will look like.
- having an eye on how and when fixtures turn is great and one of the best parts about this game is the ability to slipstream in and out of players/teams at the right time. Eg. Getting rid of Lukaku a fortnight ago ago comes to mind and shouldn't have brought anyone hesitation. Downing was the same 2 years ago.
- re the fixtures and players, settling for second best is not a great approach UNLESS it means you don't elsewhere. So with Sanchez, he's an essential for mine, but it means elsewhere I sacrifice. With Aguero and Hazard knocking down the door, it doesn't leave much cash open to others. What does having Walcott bring you to other positions? If you're confident you don't have a captaincy option in him or somewhere better than Sanchez as such an option, then might need a rethink.
- So where do we save money?
Right now, Liverpool is a source of both risk and potentially cheap returns on the back of Cout's injury. Time will tell (and this weekend will go quite far) whether Can, Lallana, Firmino or Origi firm in our thinking.
Austin is a lock for the next 4-5 gameweeks. Price + Stats + Goalscoring Form + Fixtures make him a must due to his "enabling" effect.
Kun/Kane might be negligible, but can you have both (with Austin)? That's a matter for balance with the other positions and depends on how far to go to setup your defence and 4th mid. Should Can and Moses up the ante in one weekend, for example, I can see this quickly emerging as a 4th & 5th midfielder approach. At this point, having Walcott will seem like the poor man's Sanchez. As there's no one else I want at City, Kun steals it for me here at the moment and I have to settle for a Spurs midfielder (for now). Danny Rose (if you're on the lookout for a defender) would be great for the next 4.
At the back, I personally feel I've let myself go with Alonso and Clyne and regret not going with Lovren. Alonso's numbers make him a lock (bit like Alderweireld last year) and ably supported by MacAuley (best acquisition this year) and my new recruit, Cedric Soares (will play him every week for the next 5.
West Ham likely to make it interesting and the Antonio angle is firmer in my mind over Payet (who's goalshooting nous is amiss this year).
Siggy would be offloaded GW16 which could help you bring in a Kane/Costa, for example.
very good advice, thanks
victor moses & alonso will make different vs man city
Front 3 s please
Costa kane Austin here.
Pickford................................................. (Heaton)
Nyom Brunt Walker............................. .(Alonso Amat)
Hazard Mata Siggy Sanchez (C)......... (Sims)
Aguero Austin Defoe
any news on heaton?
Andy Carroll 6.1 anyone?
I am 0.1 short of wally + diomande > chadli + Carroll (will rotate these + build TV)
That a bad idea?
andy carroll?? what?
My thoughts exactly
I would avoid Chadli and Carroll. I did consider. Get Anichebe and a far getter pick than Chadli IMO. I can get Siggy/Ali/Erik/Cout (when fit) etc + Anichebe which I prefer, personally.
