Fantasy Premier League Question Time is back following the return of top flight football in Gameweek 9.
As ever, the FPL community is brimming with questions, which we have put to our latest panel of pundits.
Read on to find out what they think about the best way to cover Liverpool’s defence, whether it’s time to sell Marcos Alonso and how to build the most effective forward line.
Who’s on the panel this week?
FPL General – aka Mark McGettigan, who has three finishes inside the top 400 in the last four seasons and who has a huge following on Twitter. Mark has also appeared on the official FPL Show this season.
Who Got the Assist? – Tom and Nick run one of Twitter’s most active Fantasy accounts and run their very own blog, also producing an excellent regular podcast.
Holly Shand – aka FPL Holly, founder of the popular Fantasy Football Community Twitter account and website and another who has appeared on the official FPL Show in recent months.
Question 1 – General
Is Robertson the only Liverpool defender worth investing in? Should we avoid all others?
“The Liverpool defence is a bit of a minefield right now. Alexander-Arnold, Gomez and Lovren are competing for two places, not to forget Joel Matip as well.
“That’s enough for me to avoid these players in FPL.
“I’ve got Robertson as he’s the safe bet. Van Dijk looks secure as well if you are willing to fork out £5.9m for a centre-back who has zero attacking returns this season.
“If I was going for a Liverpool defensive double-up, it would be the Scottish Roberto Carlos and goalkeeper Alisson.”
Question 2 – Who Got the Assist?
With Alonso’s points drying up and Mendy proving again threatening, should we make the switch now? Or because Chelsea have easier fixtures comparing to City in the next three should we wait after GW 12 to make the change?
“I can see why a lot of people are eyeing the price of Alonso and thinking he could function as a cash cow.
“As we got a hint of with his headed goal this week, you’ve now also got his team mate Rudiger second for goal attempts, just three behind the Spaniard.
“To his credit, Alonso is still getting in the right positions to register attacking returns.
“But the crucial element for me is his ownership. Nearly 50% of managers have him in their squads.
“Chelsea have Burnley Crystal Palace and Everton before the next international break, which on paper is better than what City have.
“Anything in those winnable games and it’s a bona fide rank killer. Other managers may be braver, but I’m not selling until injury forces my hand.”
Question 3 – Holly
Is it too risky to go with three cheaper strikers with none of the big strikers in good form (aside from Aguero) or should team structure still take priority?
“Aguero, Aubameyang and Lacazette are leading the way for premium strikers, and I expect that trend to continue.
“For this reason, I’d say you need at least one expensive striker or maybe even two, with Aguero and Lacazette the pick of the options.
“Bournemouth have provided great value in the cheap striker slot, but as their schedule stiffens, a move for Arnautovic might be wise.
“Mitrovic, Jimenez and Ings are all lacking consistency right now.”
Question 4 – General
While I’m looking to protect my overall rank somewhat. I’m also looking for a differential or two. Who does the panel see making a difference, away from the norm over the next three Gameweeks?
“I’ve had a look at my Watchlist and picked out three differentials who I think could score well over the next three Gameweeks.
“Ben Chilwell (0.8% ownership) impressed me on Monday night against Arsenal. He picked up his first assist of the season, bombing forward from left back for Leicester. He faces West Ham (h), Cardiff (a) and Burnley (h) next.
“Newcastle need to turn things around quickly after a very poor start to the season. Their fixtures are great between now and Boxing Day (they don’t face any of the ‘Big Six’ until then) which could see an upturn in form. Kenedy (1.2% ownership) is the one I’m interested in.
“Jamie Vardy (4.9%) was very quiet against Arsenal, possibly due to illness. Interest in him will be low after two blanks but I can see him back amongst the goals over the next three Gameweeks.”
Question 5 – Holly
Do you view the Wolves defeat as a reality check or an anomaly against a Watford side with a point to prove? How should that affect our utilisation of our Wolves defensive assets over the tricky run of fixtures in the coming Gameweeks?
“Those managers who jumped on the Wolves defence have been fortunate so far, as defensive stability coincided with great fixtures.
“According to expected goals conceded, Wolves are third best in the league, behind Liverpool and Manchester City.
“We must remember that they are a promoted team though.
“Their defence still contains value options, with Rui Patricio a set and forget keeper option, who should do well for save points over the difficult period.
“Doherty is still a great third or fourth defender and Bennett a great bench filler with his 4.2m price.
“It might be time to abandon a starting double or triple up, but still worth carrying one or two in your squad long-term.
“It’s these players that can enable us to afford the popular premium options of Mendy, Robertson and Alonso.”
Become a Member and access our data
Memberships for the 2018/19 campaign are now available for the price of just £15.
Join now to get the following:
- Plot your transfer strategies using the fully interactive Season Ticker.
- Get projections for every Premier League player provided by the Rate My Team statistical model.
- Use Rate My Team throughout the season to guide your selections and transfers.
- Get access to over 130+ exclusive members articles over the season.
- Analyse our OPTA-powered statistic tables specifically tailored for Fantasy Football Managers.
- Use our exclusive tool to build custom stats tables from over 100 OPTA player and team stats.
- View heatmaps and expected goals data for every player.
- Use our powerful comparison tool to analyse players head-to-head.
