In last weeks column, I said ‘it could be a case of unlucky for some in Gameweek 13’…
In more than 10 seasons playing Fantasy Premier League, Gameweek 13 of 2018/19 was by far and away my worst ever.
Just look at that Gameweek rank, that in itself is an achievement, one for my FPL scrapbook.
Total players: 5,892,923
My GW rank: 5,716,793
224k ↘️ 452k 🙊
The FPL gods are against me this season but I will keep fighting 💪🏽
— The General (@FPLGeneral) November 27, 2018
When you go into a Gameweek feeling confident of a good points haul, it rarely ends well. A Saturday morning captaincy switch from Mohamed Salah (£13.0m) to Sergio Aguero (£11.5m) and the following tweet sum up my Gameweek from hell.
I don’t believe it. Maddison red.
— The General (@FPLGeneral) November 24, 2018
2nd yellow for diving. I don’t use foul language on Twitter, this a severe test of that.
— The General (@FPLGeneral) November 24, 2018
The temptation to rip up your team after a poor Gameweek is always there. A cool head is required in situations like this. Despite a horrendous Gameweek 13, I intend to bank a transfer this week and give the troops a chance to fight back. Major surgery is on the cards for Gameweek 15 though.
Man City midfielders
Fantasy managers are scrambling to stock up on City midfielders this week ahead of their game against Bournemouth at the Etihad.
Raheem Sterling (£11.3m) is the top-scoring player in the game, Leroy Sane (£9.3m) has scored four goals and registered three assists in his last three starts, while David Silva (£8.7m) has found the back of the net in each of his last three league appearances.
All three are great options, but the worry is always #PepRoulette, especially after he fielded a full-strength line-up in the Champions League midweek. He could spring a few surprises at the weekend to upset FPL managers.
A Hazardous move?
Chelsea’s Eden Hazard (£11.1m) is the most transferred-out player this week with almost 200,000 sales (at the time of writing). Many are moving from the Belgian to a Man City asset. Shipping him before a home tie against Fulham could prove costly as it does present an opportunity for him and Chelsea to get back on track.
Time to invest in Spurs assets?
It’s well documented that Mauricio Pochettino’s side have a nice run of fixtures from Gameweek 15 onwards. FPL managers will be scouting their assets in the North London derby this weekend.
Harry Kane (£12.3m) will be the most popular acquisition next week and is likely to head the captaincy polls for Tottenham’s tie against the struggling Saints at Wembley.
Given Aguero’s poor away form and the increased risk of rotation as we enter the busy period, ‘Kun’ to Kane in Gameweek 15 makes sense. We know by now that the Englishman doesn’t do ‘rests’ which makes him an attractive option for the festive fixtures.
There are other options at Spurs to consider possibly even as alternatives to Kane if you can’t justify forking out £12.3m for him.
Christian Eriksen (£9.2m), Dele Alli (£8.9m) and Son Heung-min (£8.3m) were all excellent in the 3-1 win over Chelsea.
Son is likely to share game time with Lucas Moura (£7.1m) and Erik Lamela (£6.4m) which is enough to put me off him. Eriksen burned me at the start of the season scoring just 12 points in the opening four Gameweeks for which I’m not ready to forgive so Dele Alli is the one I’ve got my eye on.
Transfer plans
Bank this week, open heart surgery next week (two frees and a hit or two). I’m contemplating a major shake up of my premium assets. Triple City midfield (Sterling, Sane and D. Silva) is something I’ve looked at. Dele Alli is on my radar as well. Aguero is likely to become Kane while Hazard and Salah could both go.
Most of us have big decisions to make over the next few days. It’s make or break for some!
Good luck to all in Gameweek 14.
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