Our top team of Pro Pundits and Hall of Famers write about all things Fantasy Premier League (FPL) throughout the season.
Only Premium Members are able to read every single one of these pieces, so sign up today to get full access not just to the editorial content but all of the other benefits, from hundreds of Opta stats to a transfer planner.
Here, seven-time top 10k finisher Zophar answers some of the week’s most-asked FPL questions and reveals his own transfer plans.
Q: What do Brighton and Hove Albion triple midfield owners do with no easy Alexis Mac Allister (£5.5m) move?
(via @FplShakes)
A: I think if you are looking to go outside of Brighton for your Solly March (£5.3m) replacement, the place to look is Arsenal. Both Gabriel Martinelli (£6.7m) and Martin Odegaard (£6.7m) are great picks for the remaining Gameweeks.
If budget does not allow it, Crystal Palace have a great fixture run, with options around the same price in Eberechi Eze (£5.5m) and Michael Olise (£5.3m). I also fancy Everton’s Abdoulaye Doucoure (£5.3m) because of the advanced positions he is taking up – the immediate fixture against Manchester City is perhaps off-putting but I still think he will do well over the final three Gameweeks.
Q: Alexander Isak (£7.0m) versus Callum Wilson (£7.1m) without sitting on the fence?
(via @mbison22)
A: We did an extended segment on this dilemma during this week’s FPL Wire, where Lateriser and I were joined by Pras, looking at all possible scenarios – Isak starting, Wilson starting and both.
We were all of the opinion that Isak is definitely the most secure for minutes. Wilson should start one of their two games but Isak is the one more likely to start both. Gameweeks 37 and 38 need to be factored in too – if you need the forward to start in both of these, then Isak is the one.
However, it’s not as clear-cut as that. Given equal minutes, Wilson is the more explosive option. So if you are chasing and looking to make up rank, maybe you bring in and captain Wilson. If you can afford to bench him in Gameweek 37 and play someone like Luke Shaw (£5.1m), that’s fine.
As Newcastle United’s match is the weekend’s first, there may be some early team news. The only scenario where I can see myself buying Wilson over Isak is if we hear that the latter is benched. If both of them start, I think what happens for the midweek game becomes largely performance dependent.
The experiment didn’t exactly work against Arsenal and, if it fails again at Leeds United, then surely Eddie Howe will scrap it for Brighton. That leaves an element of uncertainty that I don’t like. In my opinion, Isak is clearly the first-choice striker, despite what Howe says in press conferences to appease Wilson.
And I’m not put off by his role on the wing, which positions him as an inside forward similar to Marcus Rashford (£7.3m) and gives excellent assist potential. So without fence-sitting, the answer is Isak.
Q: Is it worth swapping Sven Botman (£4.5m) to Wilson with two free transfers, to double up with Isak?
(via @ElMagico_21)
A: Leeds have conceded 20 goals over the last six matches and Brighton have let in 11, so I can definitely understand the temptation of doubling up on Newcastle forwards. I will assume for this question that you already own Isak.
With the two free transfers in hand, you now have four of them until the end of the season. Hits do not really appeal at this point, with the limited period for them to pay off. So every transfer has the opportunity cost of limiting you when we get to Gameweeks 37 and 38, where several other moves have appeal.
Looking at how most teams are set up, I don’t think the additional Newcastle forward will be starting for your squad in the final two weeks, so it is basically a one-week move. It is not unfathomable that Botman outscores Wilson either, so there’s potential for it to go sideways.
I think the only scenario where I can see the appeal of doubling up is if you are planning to slap the captain’s armband on Wilson.
Q: What’s your take on Botman or Pervis Estupinan (£4.9m) versus good single Gameweek players – Trent Alexander-Arnold (£7.6m) and Luke Shaw, and Manchester City picks like Riyad Mahrez (£7.3m), Julian Alvarez (£6.0m) and Jack Grealish (£7.2m)?
(via @FplRichard)
A: Bench dilemmas are a common theme this week, let’s look at the defenders first. In order of who to start, I would go with Alexander-Arnold, Botman, Estupinan then Shaw.
Trent has to start as, despite only playing once, his ceiling is the highest one with this new midfield role. Liverpool will also surely have their tails up with their top four rivals recently dropping points. I like Botman over Estupinan despite the former’s limited attacking threat, as I think there is decent clean-sheet potential for Newcastle both times, whereas Brighton have only two clean sheets away from home all season.
Then it’s Estupinan over Shaw, as the latter’s attacking threat is virtually nil when playing at centre-back and the Ecuadorian international gets forward a lot.
In attack, it is trickier. Man City made no substitutions against Real Madrid and we could see some first-teamers rested or with reduced minutes. I think Mahrez will start the second leg on Wednesday and Pep Guardiola will want to give him some minutes to get rhythm beforehand, so I would look to play him.
Alvarez should get a start as well, either replacing Kevin De Bruyne (£12.2m) or Erling Haaland (£12.4m) or even on one of the wings. His ceiling is very high when he does start and I would possibly play him over Grealish. The Man City attackers are good plays this week and I would start them over any Double Gameweek defender except Kieran Trippier (£6.1m).
My team
We discussed Newcastle, benching dilemmas, Brighton and more on this week’s episode of The FPL Wire. I highly recommend checking it out.
Hope you enjoyed reading, see you next week!
