A midfield bargain of Mahrez proportions. A ruthlessly efficient Merseyside machine and waiting with Wildcard, at the mercy of the fixture schedule. Here’s our usual three-point conclusion to the Gameweek.
The Player
For his 250,000 Fantasy Premier League owners, Josh King was the saviour of Gameweek 28.
Brought in by over 140,00 new managers ahead of the reduced fixture programme, even those keen investors would not have predicted his impact – an 18-point haul delivered by a stunning hat-trick, only the second produced by a midfielder this season.
With spot-kick duties cited as a key factor behind his appeal ahead of the weekend, King also had the audacity to drag a first half penalty wide. With that goal, and perhaps a second spot-kick to follow, King could have feasibly set the record haul for the season.
With that in mind, it surely seems folly to overlook his claims for a place in our squads.
While he has understandably enjoyed a hike in price, he can still be acquired for a budget friendly 5.6, with his form warranting a tag far more significant.
Since being established in the Cherries starting XI following injury to Calum Wilson, King has produced eight of their ten goals.
His 21 attempts since Gameweek 22 not only rank top among Eddie Howe’s charges, only Swansea City’s Gylfi Sigurdsson boasts more efforts among midfielders, while King’s 18 efforts from inside the box is five more than his nearest midfield rival – Liverpool’s Roberto Firmino.
In a nutshell, King has outperformed every other FPL midfielder, regardless of price, since earning regular starts.
Bournemouth’s fixture list provides the key caveat. Following the Gameweek 29 home fixture with Swansea, King will face ties with Southampton, Chelsea, Liverpool and Spurs – admittedly an evil run of opponents.
But Howe’s men are not a defensive side – unlike rivals Middlesbrough, they cannot seek to grind out points by earning draws or narrow wins. The Cherries will need to attack to have any chance of returning precious points and, having recently scored at Old Trafford, King has shown that he can produce in the fiercest of arenas.
The masses have caught on – over 88,000 have so far acquired King for the Swans clash. Given the evidence, it’s difficult to build a case against following suit.
The Team
Saturday’s routine 3-0 win over West Brom demonstrated that Ronald Koeman’s Everton are now established as an organised collective, capable of shutting down opponents and unlocking them with the guile of Ross Barkley and the sheer power and finishing ability of Romelu Lukaku.
The Gameweek 18 Merseyside derby defeat appears to have provided the catalyst.
Since that setback, Koeman’s outfit have scored more goals than any other Premier League side (26) and are also peerless in teams of clean sheets, with seven gained from 11 matches.
This boom period has brought their key Fantasy assets into sharp focus.
Seamus Coleman has simply excelled in the Toffees defence, relishing his opportunities as a wing-back but also providing an attacking thrust from a traditional full-back role.
That has translated to four assists and a goal, with his 12 chances created since Gameweek 18 bettered only by one other defender – ironically team-mate Leighton Baines.
With seven assists and two goals, Barkley has also been prominent.
His 27 chances created is second only to creators supreme Christian Eriksen of Spurs, and Swansea City’s Gylfi Sigurdsson since Gameweek 18.
Equally, Barkley has also fired in 27 attempts at goal; ranking him seventh during this period among midfielders, his minutes per attempt statistic is stronger than Spurs’ Dele Alli and Merseyside rival Sadio Mane.
But Lukaku remains the key figure – a fearsome spearhead, seemingly capable of breaching any defence.
Only Harry Kane can better his goal tally of ten since the Liverpool defeat, while Lukaku has registered more shots in the box than even Kane over this spell. The Belgian ranks second for chances created, trailing only to Manchester United’s Zlatan Ibrahimovic in this respect.
Undoubtedly, Everton have enjoyed an overwhelmingly positive spell, with their key assets in each position exploiting that form and transforming it into rich returns.
Still with favourable home matches to come, while Everton are without the allure of a double Gameweek, owners of Coleman, Barkley and Lukaku will surely be clinging on for several more weeks.
The hope is that Lukaku’s snub of Everton’s improved contract terms will not disturb the momentum that Koeman has achieved. Saturday’s visit of Hull City will tell us more, with Lukaku and Coleman likely to be heavily backed for further returns.
The Talking Point
Having suffered the disappointment of Manchester City’s twin fixtures, we now wait in anticipation for the double Gameweek announcements.
So many of our decisions now hinge on the timing and make-up of these fixtures, from our current transfer strategy, to our chip tactics with the second Wildcard, Triple Captain and Bench Boost.
While we can obsess on the short-term explosivity of the latter two chips, the Wildcard is the vital component.
Discussed at length in this recent Hot Topic, this response from RuthNZ captured the essence of the argument.
The Bench Boost paired with a double Gameweek scenario is a powerful blunt instrument and, when used in tandem with a Wildcard, can be all the more powerful.
While we can prepare for a Bench Boosted Gameweek 37 without it, we’ve seen only recently with the demise of Matt Phillips and Junior Stanislas, just how bankable assets can decline and slip from view.
It’s widely accepted that the Wildcard in Gameweek 36, followed by the Bench Boost chip soon after, will be the default preferred strategy.
But as RuthNZ rightly states, the valued impact of the Wildcard should ideally span well beyond a set-up for a 15-man double Gameweek.
As discussed in last night’s ScoutCast, for those carrying injuries, lack of form or a spate of inactive assets, the Wildcard should certainly be considered as a solution well before Gameweek 36.
When we are clear on the landscape of fixtures, we can perhaps plot the optimum timeframe but even now, those suffering ailing squads should not hold back on the basis that the Wildcard is essential for Gameweek 36.
Arguably, we already know enough – we are certain to look to buy in assured assets such as Alexis Sanchez, Zlatan Ibrahimovic, Antonio Valencia and perhaps Manolo Gabbiadini. These are likely protagonists of any double Gameweek to come, and their acquisition can be planned in advance of knowing the exact make-up of the fixture schedule.
Of course, form and the possibility of injury remains a risk, but the pay-off from deploying an earlier Wildcard and riding the benefit could counter those concerns.
While we often try to devise and perfect strategies that fit all outcomes and scenarios, this is a season that has largely been without established templates for long periods.
We all have different needs and requirements; we all have problems in our squads of varying urgency and severity. There is no perfect tactic that fits all, and that certainly extends to the double Gameweek and chip strategies.
