With a new season of Fantasy Premier League (FPL) underway, weโre welcoming back our team of Hall of Famers and guest writers for the new campaign. Here, FPL General reflects on a disappointing Gameweek 2 and reveals his Gameweek 3 team plans.
Our writers will be providing regular articles and team reveals throughout the new season, with only Premium Members able to access every single one.
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GAMEWEEK 2 REVIEW
After a decent start in Gameweek 1, FPL brought me crashing back to Earth in Gameweek 2. The troops managed to score just 33 points between them which resulted in a 2.7m rank drop, not that it means much at this stage.
In the marathon that is FPL 2023/24, Iโve let the Bryan Mbeumo (ยฃ6.7m), Kauro Mitoma (ยฃ6.6m) and William Saliba (ยฃ5.1m) owners set the early pace. Iโm relishing the challenge of catching up and hopefully overtaking them over the course of the next few weeks and months.
STEPPING AWAY AFTER A BAD GAMEWEEK
One of the most important aspects in FPL is coping well when a bad Gameweek occurs. They are part of the game, we all experience them. How we react is what matters most. It would have been very easy to rage-transfer out a few players earlier this week. There were even Wildcard thoughts floating through my mind on Sunday/Monday.
Instead, I stepped away from the FPL website and stayed calm. Now itโs Wednesday evening and my thoughts have turned to the next Gameweek rather than dwelling on the previous one. Those points are gone. Itโs time to bounce back this weekend.
PRICE CHANGES V WAITING FOR INFORMATION
Price changes donโt bother me, unless thereโs ยฃ0.0m wiggle room for moves. I looked at a couple of transfer options earlier in the week and there was ยฃ0.4m in the bank, so I didnโt make any changes. I knew Gabriel Magalhaes (ยฃ4.9m) was going to drop and that one of my targets, Mbeumo would rise, but Iโm happy to wait until Friday. Itโs one of those weeks where there are lots of routes to go with the two frees, so I need the full week to come to a final decision.
Being patient could play into my favour this week as Iโve seen a few tweets suggesting Brightonโs Julio Enciso (ยฃ5.4m) could be injured. Keep an eye out for more information on that before the deadline. If I made early transfers this week, Joao Pedro (ยฃ5.6m) would almost certainly have been shipped out following his benching. If it does turn out that Enciso is injured, Joao Pedro will probably stay. Itโs another example of why I like waiting for all the information before making transfers. Things change very quickly in this game.
Julio Enciso suffered knee injury, also Paraguay statement confirms: โEnciso has suffered trauma to his left knee, in one of his club’s training sessionsโ. โ ๏ธ๐ต๐พ #BHAFC
โHe is being assisted and evaluated by the Brighton medical teamโ, statement reported by @RobertoRojas97. pic.twitter.com/QvUyX61ijL
โ Fabrizio Romano (@FabrizioRomano) August 23, 2023
ADMITTING MISTAKES
Looking back to pre-season, almost every draft I made was 3-5-2. Until the day before the Gameweek 1 deadline. I replaced Mitoma with Pedro and went for a 3-4-3 with a strong defender as a first sub. Do I regret it now? Yes. Was it overthinking? Probably. Am I willing to fix it immediately? Yes.
If thereโs no injury to Enciso, Iโm eyeing up a mini-Wildcard (two frees and one hit) for a restructure from 3-4-3 back to the original 3-5-2 plan. Brentfordโs Mbeumo is at the top of my most-wanted list. Heโs a no-brainer FPL pick, plays for a good team, takes penalties and set-pieces, and has good fixtures. Donโt be stubborn if you missed the boat in Gameweek 1.
Above: Even taking penalties out of the equation, Bryan Mbeumo still rides high for expected goal involvement (xGI) at this early stage of 2023/24
ONE MORE CHANCE FOR THE ARSENAL/UNITED MIDFIELDERS
Having a midfield four of Bukayo Saka (ยฃ8.6m), Gabriel Martinelli (ยฃ8.0m), Bruno Fernandes (ยฃ8.5m) and Marcus Rashford (ยฃ9.0m) looked great on paper for Gameweek 2. It was fun watching them muster up nine points in total. Thereโs lots of chatter this week about selling them but when itโs Fulham (home) and Nottingham Forest (home) respectively, itโs worth giving them all another week at least. Thatโs why Iโm looking at upgrading my bench fodder midfielder to Mbeumo rather than losing one of these guys.
Above: Fulham and Forest were ranked 20th and 17th respectively for big chances conceded (BC) in 2022/23
GAMEWEEK 3 TEAM PLANS
Best of luck for Gameweek 3 folks.ย
