There seems to be an international break every other week this season! Just when we are getting into the swing of things again, we are rudely interrupted and must suffer two longs weeks without Fantasy Premier League.
If you are banking a transfer this week, you could go twenty-one days without adjusting your side. How is one supposed to remain patient and disciplined for three whole weeks with all those juicy transfers that could be made early? Hibernation is recommended.
Sterling vs Aguero
Raheem Sterling (£11.1m) lit up Gameweek 11 with two goals and two assists against Southampton, scoring a massive 21-point haul (the highest scoring player in a single Gameweek this season).
Amazingly, he’s still owned by just 7.9% of managers despite outscoring Sergio Aguero (£11.4m) this season, who is backed by 52.1%.
The question is which one do we put our faith in or do we try to accommodate both?
Aguero has been in my side since Gameweek 1 and I see no reason to sell him.
It was encouraging to see him complete 90 minutes against Southampton, the first time he’s done so since Gameweek 4.
Maybe the heel injury which has been troubling him has cleared up and we’ll see him get more minutes from now on.
He got a nice rest in midweek, but Gabriel Jesus (£10.1m) took the opportunity to remind Pep Guardiola what he can offer to this Man City side banging in a hat-trick.
We could see the Brazilian feature more prominently in the league after that performance which could eat into Aguero’s minutes.
Sterling is in the form of his life, he’s even scoring goals for England. He followed up his Gameweek 11 haul with a magnificent solo effort against Shakhtar Donetsk on Wednesday night and somehow won a penalty by kicking the ground and falling over.
It’s a bonus when one of your FPL players has the unique ability to win penalties without being touched by an opponent.
The worry with Sterling is the potential rotation. He’s already missed two league games this season while Aguero has started in all of them.
With the Manchester derby coming up this weekend, there is no rush to rip up our teams to fit the Englishman in. It’s worth noting that one of his rests came in the game after the last international break. It could happen again.
For me, it’s a wait-and-see on Sterling but I am weighing up the possibility of going for the Sterling/Aguero double up when I perform major surgery on my squad during the break. Mohamed Salah (£13.0m) could be sacrificed to unlock funds.
Time to invest in the Hammers?
Grady Diangana (£4.5m) and Felipe Anderson (£6.8m) are on my Watchlist and will be in my thoughts when it comes to transfers for Gameweek 13.
Diangana is an exciting prospect given his price and his performance against Burnley. He created five chances and should have been awarded a penalty.
With Andriy Yarmolenko (£6.8m) ruled out long-term, the 20-year-old could nail down a place in the starting XI if he continues to perform like he did last weekend. He’s one to keep an eye on.
West Ham have a nice run of fixtures right into January aside from Man City in Gameweek 13. Options such as Lukasz Fabianski (£4.5m) and Fabian Balbuena (£4.4m) offer great value as does the main man up top, Marko Arnautovic (£7.1m).
‘Most Wanted’
Benjamin Mendy (£6.4m), Matt Doherty (£4.9m) and Richarlison (£6.9m) are the top three names on my Watchlist.
All three could be coming in during the break when I take my first points hit/hits of the season to shake things up and hopefully get my season back on track.
Here’s hoping for a green arrow this weekend.
Good luck to all in Gameweek 12 and enjoy the break if you can.
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