It’s a Scoutcast special of FPL Question Time this week as three very familiar names share their insights into the “trending” discussion points ahead of Gameweek 5.
As ever we were inundated with requests for our panel, so we’ve taken three of the most popular subjects and asked our trio of Fantasy doyens questions around those recurring themes.
Eden Hazard‘s name repeatedly cropped up, as did Pedro‘s – so both of these Chelsea midfielders are covered in the posers to our panel below.
Henrikh Mkhitaryan‘s one-minute cameo in Gameweek 4 was the source of much frustration for his Fantasy owners and the basis for several of our site users’ questions about mid-price replacements for the Arsenal man.
With the UEFA Champions League looming on the horizon, we’ve also pondered whether premium defender rotation should start to enter our thinking.
Unfortunately, we can only ask our panel a handful of questions each week but we very much appreciate all the requests and encourage you to keep your queries coming in throughout the season.
Anyone who regularly tunes in to our weekly Scoutcast will need little introduction to this week’s panel, but for the uninitiated, they are:
- Andy – the creator of the excellent YouTube channel Let’s Talk FPL, who has six top 25k finishes (two inside the top 10,000) to his name in eight seasons of playing FPL.
- Az – another well-known name on Twitter and beyond, who cracked the top 1k in 2017/18 (finishing with an enviable overall rank of 817) after previously having recorded two finishes inside the top 5,000.
- Joe – the host of our Scoutcast – plus many other weekly videos – and who sits 79th in our Career Hall of Fame, having recorded seven top 10,000 finishes in ten seasons of playing FPL (including an “OR” of 840 in 2013/14).
Question One – Andy
Q. How essential is Eden Hazard given the upcoming stretch of fixtures/rotation for Champions League-involved premium midfielders? Is it worth a hit to get him in now?
Andy: “Essential is a term that gets thrown around a lot in FPL circles but often doesn’t deserve to be used.
“I think that’s the case with Eden Hazard. Does he look like a good option? Absolutely. Is he essential at £10.7m with so many other options to fit in? I’d argue not.
“Take David Silva for example. The Spaniard has played a very similar amount of minutes to Hazard, created three more chances, had two more shots in the box and the same amount of penalty area touches. All that for £2.2m less.
“We could see some rotation in the Champions League but I think this is often something we overthink as FPL managers. At most you’re probably likely to see the first XI players rested for one game, but not two or three in a short space of time.
“There’s no guarantee that Hazard himself won’t play in the Europa League and could see his minutes reduced in the Premier League. We will have to see how Maurizio Sarri views the Europa League versus concentrating on the Premier League itself.
“There’s no doubting that with penalties in his locker, an attack-minded manager to set him free, and his general footballing talent that he’ll score points and will do well over the coming fixtures. To answer the question though, I don’t see him as essential just yet and I’m not convinced he’s worth the hit in most cases.”
Question Two – Joe
Q. Is there a case for switching to budget, reliable defensive options who play week-in, week-out now that rotation of the premium defenders looms on the horizon? Or would you rather stick with the premiums and navigate the rough waters of rotation?
Joe: “With compass in hand I’m ready to navigate the choppy seas of rotation with this season’s three premium defensive sensations at my side, Liverpool’s Andrew Robertson, Chelsea’s Marcos Alonso and Benjamin Mendy of Manchester City.
“Why would I ditch one of a trio that so far this season have returned points in all four of their fixtures, accumulating an eye-popping 108 points between them? For less than £7.0m each that represents a return on investment that Fantasy Premier League managers dream of.
“Of the three it is perhaps Robertson who is most at risk as the Reds face a daunting September run that takes in Spurs, Southampton and Chelsea in the League, the Blues again in the League Cup and Paris Saint-Germain in the Champions League. The Saints game or the Chelsea cup game look the most likely times for him to miss out.
“But I’m willing to wager that if dropped for Champions League or Europa League action that all of this trio are likely to earn a full rest. So for me, the question is not, should we jettison good players because they may miss the odd game, but should we make sure we have a strong bench to cope?
“I have three playable bench assets ready for the coming threat of rotation. In fact, I almost welcome it as I gaze at the 16 points from Willy Boly over the last two weeks firmly nailed to my bench.”
Question Three – Az
Q. Who is the best Henrikh Mkhitaryan replacement? I’m looking at Pedro for his amazing stats and how direct he is, but Willian is making this move really tough.
Az: “It wouldn’t be possible to talk about sub-£7.0m options without mentioning Pedro. He has three goals in four games, plays for an unbeaten Chelsea side and has Cardiff and West Ham in the next two games. You’re right that he’s very direct and his stats are pretty decent for his price – the trouble is, will he play enough to be involved in enough goals?
“A lack of certainty of starts is the exact reason you are looking to shift Mkhitaryan after all, so you are potentially using a transfer to give yourself the same headache. The difference is, however, that while Mkhitaryan’s stock seems to be on the wane with the incredible performance of Lacazette, Pedro’s brief, goalscoring cameo against Bournemouth surely suggests that he will get the start against the Bluebirds.
“I actually think, despite some reservations about Pedro’s game-time, the lack of real options in the sub-£7.0m bracket make him one of the ideal replacements – particularly if you are keeping your wildcard to use in the next few weeks when the fixtures toughen up for Chelsea and you’d be looking to move him on anyway.
“It would be typical of Willian though if he ruins Pedro’s FPL appeal by coming on for him – or starting in his place again – especially as I am considering making the switch; as if the Brazilian needed any more reasons to prove what a broken cog he is in the FPL wheel.
“I say that Pedro is ‘one’ of the ideal replacements for Mkhitaryan because I also think people are still overlooking James Maddison. His ownership remains at 3.2%, and yes, I am a bit of Maddison fan-boy, but for me, he is the type of player that FPL is all about. Incredibly involved in the attacking phases and at set-piece situations, he is looking more and more like the talisman of Leicester that I hope he’d be when I started the season with him.
“His next four fixtures – Bournemouth (a), Huddersfield (h), Newcastle (a), Everton (h) – to me, could not be better. I am as sure as you can be in FPL that in one of those games, he is going to get a double-digit score and the bandwagon will be in full force.
“He’s been pretty ‘lucky’ in terms of returns so far, with a deflected goal and a very fortunate assist, but he passes the eye test whenever I watch Leicester play and looks like he is really settling into the Premier League. I’m expecting big things from him in the coming weeks.”
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