The Premier League may have paused but the Sorare Academy continued last weekend with 4,523 managers competing for prizes.
Manager Pumaflores topped the table in a relatively low-scoring week with 422 points:
This week our Bundesliga expert @FBLThinker is back to discuss how to manage the problems of team rotation as fixture congestion really begins to bite.
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Managing the minutes
With all the major teams in Europe playing midweek in the Champions League, Europa League or Conference League, and then having matches after only two to three days of rest on the weekend, there is a high chance that the playing time of top players will be managed. While some may start and be subbed off early, others might make an appearance from the bench.
Teams to focus on
Below is the playing time of some of the top Sorare Academy scorers in recent matches:
PSG
In their last Ligue 1 match against Brest:
- Messi and Hakimi – 90 mins
- Mbappé – 78 mins
- Neymar – 77 mins
- Verratti – 62 mins
PSG travel to Israel to play their UCL fixture on Wednesday and then play their next fixture away at Lyon on Sunday. A short turnaround time between matches along with a tricky fixture against a strong Lyon team makes the PSG assets less appealing.
Still, if we were to consider taking into account the minutes played, Neymar and Mbappé are the safest choices. Rotation is expected at right back for Hakimi and in midfield for Verratti, with the high squad depth PSG that possess.
Bayern Munich
In Bayern’s 2-2 draw against Stuttgart last weekend:
- Kimmich, Upamecano and Davies – 90 mins
- Müller – 69 mins
- Mané – 19 mins
- Pavard – 0 mins
Bayern played their UCL fixture at home on Tuesday against Barcelona then play the league fixture away to Augsburg on Saturday. With some of the main players rested last weekend and playing at home midweek, this gives them an edge for more expected minutes.
They have a good fixture against Augsburg and the players to consider are Kimmich, who always plays 90 mins, Pavard who was rested, Mané and Müller.
Inter Milan
Inter played Torino last week weekend:
- Lautaro Martinez, Škriniar and Barella – 90 mins
- Calhanoglu – 77 mins
- Dumfries – 68 mins
Inter played their UCL fixture away to Plzen and will play their league match on Sunday away at Udinese. They do benefit from an extra day of rest so the chance of most of the first team playing against Udinese is high. However, Udinese are in good form and will prove to be a tough opponent for Inter.
The players to pick from the match are Lautaro Martinez, who is their main striker with Lukaku out injured, Barella who runs their midfield, and Škriniar who plays as the central defender. With their constant rotation of wing-backs, minutes for Dumfries remain a doubt.
Barcelona
Barcelona played their league match on the weekend at Cadiz and rested most of their key players:
- Lewandowski, Dembélé and Pedri – 33 mins
- Kounde – 0 mins
They played a tough midweek fixture against Bayern in Munich on Wednesday and will play their league match against Elche at home on Saturday.
Elche are a team struggling in the league conceding eight goals in their last two matches, making this a favourable fixture for Bayern attackers. Lewandowski is on fire this season scoring six times, while Dembélé has two goals so far.
And teams to avoid…
- Real Madrid may have an easier midweek UCL fixture against Leipzig but play their arch-rivals Atletico at the weekend. The Madrid derbies are usually tight games with not much high-scoring potential.
- AC Milan play Dinamo Zagreb at home in their midweek UCL fixture and play Napoli at home in the league fixture at the weekend. Napoli are a team in form and are sitting at the top of the Serie A table. Milan also have to do without Raphael Leao’s main goal threat as he is suspended for the match.
- Man City play Dortmund at home in their midweek UCL fixture and then play Wolves away in their weekend match.
Final thoughts
Look back on the midweek matches to see which players are playing more minutes and use this to inform your final picks. Keep your eye out for injury news too.
If there is a like-for-like replacement for a player in a big team avoid those players as it implies a higher risk of rotation.
Below is my selection for the week:
Best of luck for the week ahead – I hope these tips help you! Don’t forget to set your team before Friday’s 11am deadline for a chance to win a prize.
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