Eight-time top 10k finisher Zophar hosts his weekly Q&A, giving an opinion on Gameweek 24 captaincy, various Chelsea players, the essentialness of Bruno Fernandes (£9.5m), plus what Fantasy Premier League (FPL) managers should do with Bukayo Saka (£10.0m) and Hugo Ekitike (£8.8m).
You can see his Gameweek 24 team reveal here.
Q: Is it worth taking a risk on Joao Pedro (£7.2m) for these three home bankers in four, given the lack of other forward options and Igor Thiago’s (£7.2m) trickier games? Or do you think he is too much of a rotation risk?
Q: Is Joao Pedro a pick, or is Liam Delap (£6.2m) too much of a threat to his minutes?
(via MJF and FPL Virgin)
A: Joao Pedro has scored four goals in his last three starts for Chelsea and looks to have established himself as Liam Rosenior’s first-choice centre-forward. Although this might come at a cost, with rotation possible for more ‘winnable’ fixtures like the one at home to West Ham United.
With the Carabao Cup clash with Arsenal being next Tuesday, I expect Delap to start against the Hammers.
Chelsea qualifying directly for the Champions League round of 16 slightly eases the fixture congestion, but that’ll return should they reach the cup final and receive a Double Gameweek 26.
The upside is certainly there. He is playing more of a centre-forward role, rather than the deeper role under Enzo Maresca. But I still think minutes are risky, and early withdrawals will occur.
If you’re willing to accept three starts out of four – maybe two – I think you can go ahead and make the move. Personally, I wouldn’t go there, preferring Evanilson‘s (£7.0m) security of minutes.
Q: For captaincy, is it time to go against Erling Haaland (£15.0m) or play safe?
(via g40steve)
A: I think Manchester City will beat Tottenham Hotspur this weekend but, as much as Thomas Frank has struggled to get a tune out of his side offensively, I still back him to set up a robust defence.
Neither Man City nor Haaland have been prolific of late, and I think there is an opportunity to take him on this time. Of course, the Norwegian is capable of netting a hat-trick on any given day.
I will most likely be going with Bruno Fernandes, and there’s not much I want to say to justify this, stats-wise. The sample size we have under Michael Carrick is only two games, and Fulham at home is a completely different kettle of fish to facing Arsenal and Man City.
I just like Fernandes’ routes to points and the general feel-good factor around his team right now. But I’m well aware that this could come crashing down very soon.
Q: Is it worth switching from Bukayo Saka to Declan Rice (£7.4m)? I have a feeling it could backfire immediately.
Q: Is it worth holding Saka for a potential Double Gameweek 26, given he might not start both matches? If not, who are the best three Arsenal players to own for it?
(via Pep Roulette and ebb2sparky)
A: With Thursday’s provisional announcement yesterday of a potential Double Gameweek 26 for Arsenal, I think whichever players of theirs you have, you hold until Tuesday’s semi-final is done.
If they do indeed receive a Double Gameweek, I think I would want Saka for that. Despite the recent poor output, he still has their highest attacking ceiling. But if Chelsea prevail, then I think you can start downgrading your Arsenal coverage.
I think the players most likely to start every game for Arsenal over Gameweeks 25 and 26 are David Raya (£5.9m), Gabriel Magalhaes (£6.9m), William Saliba (£6.0m), Rice and Saka.
Having an FA Cup game against Wigan Athletic in between the two potential Double Gameweek fixtures should offer a breather, but these aforementioned five are who I’m backing to get the most minutes. I would pick Gabriel, Rice and Saka.
Q: For those managers who took a blind leap of faith and own Cole Palmer (£10.4m), is he now a sell?
(via The-Red-1)
A: Palmer impressed off the bench in Naples, assisting twice, and Rosenior said that he hopes to see the best of him now that he is ‘fully fit’.
Does that mean he starts against West Ham? I don’t think so, because the Saturday-to-Tuesday turnaround before Arsenal is so short. Being in the lineup versus the Hammers would jeopardise his availability for the latter.
It’s tricky, though. If Chelsea end up getting this Double Gameweek 26, then Palmer might be of interest, especially if his minutes show gradual improvement.
Personally, I would sell him and see how things develop until then. It’s just too heavy a price tag to have an uncertainty of minutes for. Just keep an open mind to buying him back if things fall in place.
Q: Moving forward, how would you navigate the Man City midfielders?
(via Boz)
A: I would find it difficult to invest in any of their midfield options at the moment, bar Antoine Semenyo (£7.8m). At the time of writing, we don’t have a clear timeline on Jeremy Doku’s (£6.4m) return from injury, and if the Belgian international is out for an extended period, that should boost Semenyo’s minutes.
I think he’s also a different profile of player from their other wingers, somebody who has more of an eye for goal. And his fitness levels are really good. I think I would’ve possibly even bought Semenyo for my own team this week, if there wasn’t a Double Gameweek looming.
Q: Is Bruno Fernandes definitely the one to go for over Bryan Mbeumo (£8.3m) and Matheus Cunha (£8.0m)?
(via TheBiffas)
A: Short answer – yes, absolutely. I think Fernandes, along with Gabriel and Haaland, are the three most essential assets in the game. I think you get Mbeumo or Cunha alongside him, not instead of. Playing in this ‘number 10’ role, he is absolute FPL gold.
Q: Do you expect Enzo Fernandez (£6.7m) to start against West Ham, given all the consecutive 90 minutes he has played? Will Chelsea prioritise the EFL Cup over the Premier League?
(via FPL Virgin)
A: I have my doubts about Palmer and Joao Pedro starting against West Ham, so how many first-team players can Rosenior afford to leave out?
He has commented on Enzo’s role as a leader in that team, and I think his robustness in terms of minutes is very high. I expect him in Saturday’s starting XI, with maybe an earlier than usual substitution if the game looks comfortable.
It’s not a question of ‘prioritising’ the EFL Cup, either. I believe Chelsea has enough weapons in their locker to beat the Hammers even with several key names rested.
Q: Newcastle United has so many upcoming games, with very small gaps between them. What should we do with assets like Anthony Gordon (£7.3m)?
(via Vasshin)
A: I think Newcastle’s attacking assets are an easy sell. Three away games are in the next four, and they’re struggling on the road.
However, defensively, if you have them paired with a Sunderland name, you will always get a home game for one of these North East sides, both of whom are much more solid on their own patch. A rotation of Malick Thiaw (£5.1m) and Nordi Mukiele (£4.5m) is still excellent for the long-term.
Q: Would you sell Saka this week for Bruno? I’d captain the Man United man, rather than Haaland, in doing so.
(via AC/DC AFC)
A: This is made trickier by the likelihood of Arsenal’s Double Gameweek 26. While Saka could still be picked, Fernandes is essential for this upcoming run as well.
That being said, I don’t think it would surprise anyone if Rice outscores Saka over the two matches, especially given the central midfielder’s better performance in away games than the winger.
So what you could potentially do is move Saka to Fernandes this week, and look to buy Rice in should the Double get confirmed.
Q: What should be done with Rayan Cherki (£6.6m) and Hugo Ekitike? I feel like I should hold the latter against Newcastle, and I’d like to keep Cherki versus Spurs, as I can’t afford Mbeumo or Morgan Rogers (£7.7m). Plus, I want to avoid Harry Wilson (£6.1m), due to ownership.
Q: What do we do with Ekitike?
(via Flynny and @alexwaterbaby)
A: I fully expect Ekitike to start at least the next two league games, as Liverpool have a free midweek in between. He got his rest against Bournemouth before being subbed off early against Qarabag.
There’s no doubt in my mind that Ekitike is part of Arne Slot’s first-choice XI. Last weekend’s benching was simply to protect a player straight after an injury scare.
Q: Have the recent low average Gameweek scores given those with poor teams a false sense of security?
(via Hairy Potter)
A: It’s certainly been a slow, hard grind. The green arrows feel hard to come by, and the red ones get pretty big.
That being said, I had a Gameweek 24 rank of almost 10 million and only fell from 290k to 360k, meaning that not many FPL squads are scoring lots of points.
Keep faith in good players from good teams, and the points will eventually come. At least that’s what I’m telling myself!
Q: Would you sell Patrick Dorgu (£4.4m) to James Hill (£3.9m) for free, or roll the transfer, play Joachim Andersen (£4.6m) and get Trevoh Chalobah (£5.7m) next week, once funds are freed up?
(via Jet5605)
A: I don’t think there is any point buying Chalobah in Gameweek 25, unless Chelsea’s double gets confirmed.
The Blues sit 19th on the Fixture Ticker between Gameweek 28 and 31 so, to maximise Chalobah’s points, you really need to be buying now, especially knowing he was rested at Napoli.
