Wildcard timing, the form of premium strikers and the fallout from the international break dominate this week’s discussions as the community eagerly anticipates the return of domestic action.
Our round-up also takes in the latest community articles, with our resident scribes full of advice on the best players to hand the captaincy to and where to find clean sheets in Gameweek 12.
Meanwhile, our Members’ Area statisticians have been busy gathering the latest data on teams with a strong run of fixtures over the coming weeks.
The Community Articles
The form and fixture data, analysed by YMA, strongly backs Harry Kane for the armband ahead of the Spurs striker’s trip to Arsenal. However, as the Career of Fame hall of fame top five, being tracked by Top Marx, found out in Gameweek 11 when he blanked at home to Crystal Palace, it can be costly to put too much faith in the Spurs talisman.
The crowd are also anticipating strong attacking returns from Spurs, but believe only one team is capable of keeping a clean sheet over the next set of fixtures, says Hutch_James.
Don’t forget, if you’ve got some analysis, scout reports or features brewing, be sure to visit our community section to submit your article.
The Hottest Topics
Among the key lessons learned from our analysis of the Hall of Fame top ten managers is that Wildcard timing is key, with those who used this chip early missing out on Manchester City’s upturn in form.
Dugout followed this up by inviting Fantasy managers to take part in his survey of their ranks and when they played their Wildcard. After sifting through around 100 responses, he has been able to reveal whether the wider community’s experience mirrored that of this elite group.
All of the Hall of Fame top ten have kept their Free Hit chip in their pocket, with a deployment around the second half of the season blank fixtures likely. But Rhinos wonders whether using them during a double Gameweek may prove more lucrative.
Key issues for those Wildcarding this week, according to Jacky Boy, include whether to seize the opportunity to triple up on the array of premium strikers who have strong fixtures on the horizon.
Among those under consideration is Manchester United marksman Romelu Lukaku, who has split the community between those who have been left unimpressed by his failure to find the net since Gameweek 7, and those who think he will return to form in style with Newcastle’s visit.
Manchester City’s strike duo of Gabriel Jesus and Sergio Aguero are also among the heavy-hitters under consideration. But when we asked for your views on the best Sky Blues cover it is their midfield where most of the interest lies.
Rotation is a key factor when deciding on which of Pep Guardiola’s troops to pick and, as FPL Freddo pointed out, this makes it difficult to captain their Argentine forward in particular. Hobolicious is also unsure whether Aguero is worth handing the armband to this season.
There has been less chat this week around Kane, with his team-mate Christian Eriksen instead attracting attention as his hat-trick against Ireland took Denmark to the World Cup in Russia next year. Jinswick wonders whether the 70,000+ FPL managers to ditch the midfielder may regret that move in light of his international exploits.
Another player to catch the eye on international duty is Liverpool’s Joe Gomez, who impressed in both England friendlies against Germany and Brazil. Wakey believes the defender could be a strong option for home games, particularly as he looks set to continue at right-back with Nathaniel Clyne sidelined for another three months after undergoing back surgery this week.
The Reds defender was handed his England debut, against Germany, after coming on for the injured Phil Jones, who will out for Manchester United at home to Newcastle this weekend, according to Jose Mourinho. Given the previous concerns surrounding the centre-back’s fitness, we asked his owners whether he is still worth keeping ahead of the busy Christmas schedule.
With Crystal Palace’s Ruben Loftus-Cheek also impressing for England, we also canvassed your views on how Fantasy managers can best use the ‘eye-test’ to assess Fantasy potential.
To view all our discussions please visit our Hot Topics page.
The Members’ Tables
They are lost has been looking at the likelihood of starts among Liverpool’s ranks, while clmcc1991 has been delving into a raft of attacking data for his latest table.
For those eyeing up Bournemouth players ahead of their kind run of games, my table looking at their most creative and attack-minded assets will prove useful.
If you’re a member and are yet to get to grips with the custom statistics tables, you can view this movie for an explanation of how they work. Also, remember to tag them so that people can find the tables with ease.
The Community Tournaments
Matchweek 6 of the Community Watch tournament gets underway this weekend, according to Speedyboyzzzz’s latest update from the organising committee.
For those with the energy and passable skills to take part in a real-life football contest, My Pretty Pony is looking to arrange a date and location for a community charity tournament he is organising.
If you are running a community tournament and would like the latest scores included in future Community Round-Ups, please email us a summary of the current leaders and a link to your league, spreadsheet or head-to-head competition, at jonty@fantasyfootballscout.co.uk.
