With Gameweek 12 of Fantasy Premier League (FPL) nearing, our pundits are starting to finalise their teams before Saturday’s deadline.
FPL General, who has three top 500 finishes to his name, is fully committed to going without Mohamed Salah (£14.2m) and Erling Haaland (£14.9m) this season. Here, he reveals his Gameweek 12 team plans.
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Gameweek 11 Review
The Free Hit chip was a success in Gameweek 11, resulting in a green arrow of 600k places. Another ten of those 600k rises and I’ll have a respectable rank again. From November 22 to January 6, there are 10 Gameweek deadlines! It’s going to be a rollercoaster for the next few weeks. I’m hoping to finally start a consistent run of green arrows during this congested period.
The Free Hit team only scored 50 points but just having Robert Sanchez (£4.8m) and Joao Pedro (£7.5m) made a big difference in a low-scoring week. Erling Haaland (£14.9m) missing a penalty was nice! Shipping out Antoine Semenyo (£8.1m) to avoid his penalty miss was a sweet slice of fortune, too.
The chip allowed me to finally experience double Arsenal defence – and glorious one-pointers from Gabriel Magalhaes (£6.6m) and Jurien Timber (£6.2m). I was very late to the Gabriel party (Gameweek 10) and it now looks to be over before I’ve even had a chance to grab a drink.
West Ham scoring three with no involvement from Jarrod Bowen (£7.7m) was frustrating. I also managed to get the Bukayo Saka (£10.1m) vs. Jean-Philippe Mateta (£8.1m) captaincy decision the wrong way around for the last two Gameweeks.
Gameweek 12 Team
There’s nothing worse than seeing your old team the week after Free Hit! It’s a complete mess and there’s only one free transfer available. My first hit of the season is definitely happening, maybe even two.
The three guys on the bench all need to go sooner rather than later. Gabriel is looking like a sell too. Semenyo could be an issue as well. I also want a new goalkeeper! Dear Santa, this year I would like…. a new FPL team.
My number one target is Manchester United’s Bryan Mbeumo (£8.5m) to go alongside Bruno Fernandes (£8.1m). The fact he’s going to AFCON soon doesn’t bother me. There are points to be attained from him before then. United’s fixtures are great. Mohammed Kudus (£6.5m) will make way for him.
With just £0.1m in the bank, the easiest way to find the Mbeumo cash is to sell Viktor Gyokeres (£8.9m). It would also free up the third Arsenal spot. Brentford’s Igor Thiago (£6.3m) is the obvious replacement. That would leave £0.7m in the bank.
There’s a good chance I’ll take a hit for a new keeper, too. It’s between Sanchez and Gianluigi Donnarumma (£5.7m) as David Raya (£5.9m) is unaffordable. The Sanchez move is more attractive as it would leave £1.0m in the bank.
If Gabriel, Semenyo and Chris Wood (£7.2m) all miss out in Gameweek 12, I’d have no bench cover. The guys in the starting XI should all play, though, so hopefully it will be fine!
The fight for the captain’s armband will be between the two Manchester United midfielders, Saka and Mateta.
Best of luck for the Gameweek folks and have a great weekend.
Check out this week’s video with Joe on the Fantasy Football Scout YouTube channel and the latest 59th Minute Podcast.
