just don't let the missus find out

Palmer / JP for me son

Palmer for me, Rogers will be good though.

I'm not sure about so many Ipswich to get the BB benefit when playing Sunderland. If you're going that route, might be better to BBGW2 and go Coventry instead against Hull?

4.5 Walton - I'd rather have Dovin and stick the .5 somewhere else

That's quite an expensive bench. If you've looked into good rotations, then all good. If not, then maybe drop one of the GKs to a 4.0 and Muha to Rodon to get an extra 1mil

Are you bench boosting?

I like the Vuskovic pick (I'm settled on Kadioglu). Double B+H defence though? You not like Kinsky?

Iraola said he won't play till the final game of the US tour. Probably an avoid until he proves his fitness

Personally very doubtful - shared minutes surely?

Looks good. Not keen on double United mids but other than that, looks good

I actually like the double utd mid, assuming its short term. atm i have the same, targerting those 2 early fixtures.

le fee is also a nice differential, worth a punt, am also considering similar although atm not currently in my team.

i think its solid, personally not on the szobo + ndiaye bandwagons, I think you'll be transferring them out within the first few gws if pks don't come in. they just aren't likely imo to be as attacking as the alternatives available, but thats a minority opinion here, i know the hive mind likes.

I like LeFee, but if you're not going to play him against Ipswich, is it even with having him? Downgrade to a 5.5/5.0 for the beech would be better?

Start Le Fee, or get Brobbey upfront. I’ve got him at the moment. Then can downgrade Jacquet.

Thoughts on Califiori starting over Hincapie? I’d like that double Arsenal defence, but unsure who the picks are excluding Gabriel.

Looks solid. Not sure about Wirtz, and not sure about Sesko's minutes, but we have pre-season to judge them.

I'm trying to get a bit of Sunderland in my BBGW1 too for playing Ipswich.

I think without those 3 I’d want Semenyo in my team.

A lot of risky picks in there. Shows why those Haaland and Bruno are so highly priced, to make you question whether it’s worth it. I think it is because of some of the value I see in cheaper players. Brobbey, Le Fee, DCL, Welbeck, Garner, Ndiaye, Sarr.

What does the FFS rater rate it at?

foden + saka + wirtz together is so risky, the chances of all 3 paying off are remote imo. altho in isolation I could justify all of them individually.

foden + saka, given the mins, will probably return but you're gambling they will straight from the bat. chancy.

wirtz probably will start and i am in the 'he'll be better this year' camp. but its also another risk you're taking.

We must talk about Bruno. Put him in for Saka, start Brobbey and get rid of Foden. Rest looks great!

1. Isak Cunha Ndiaye
2. Bruno Brobbey D.Gomez

A. Cherki and Szobo
B. Foden and Wirtz

If no Verbruggen in your team, I'd be tempted

Yep I reckon he is, can also play midfield too but should be starter at full back. He's highly rated by us at the Amex, good player.

He’s in my squad since first draft as first sub.

Lovely stuff guys. I'm def playing him against Leeds and Coventry

Really depends on how much you want Cunha... Downgrade him to a Sarr/Ndiaye and you can put some more cash in defence

That's not to say that your defence isn't viable because it is

I like it more than most of the Bruno Haaland double ups I've seen.

Timber obviously needs monitoring, but is an easy downgrade to another Arsenal defender if needed. Similar with Barnes being nailed, but if not there are plenty of other good 6.0s to move to - and if he's starting he could be great.

Raya PLUS Timber. Nice, but I'd downgrade Raya to Kinsky and upgrade gomez

Harry Wilson, though admittedly a risk going to a new club, I think he's going to be great. Wait and see what set pieces he takes away from Stach in pre-season though (and if Stach keeps them all, then he's great instead)

longest-term pick in my team is haaland. but everyone is disposable. think points are lost by holding existing players too long, and made by identifying the next ones coming into form early.

Outside of the obvious picks, Van Dijk - not seen in too many teams.

Raya and Haaland. After that, I can’t see Mbuemo coming out, I think he’s guaranteed points. I’m also pretty confident in Solanke actually at 6m if he stays fit.

Wirtz will thrive in the #10 role or Iraola's system - if a 19 year old maverick (Koupi) can score 13 goals playing this role, then I'm very confident Wirtz can hit double figures for both goals and assists.

Also, whoever becomes the starting LWB in Alonso's 3-4-2-1 (Grimaldo got 14 goals and 33 assists in 89 starts) and Chelsea not in Europe.

Stopped reading when I saw no Haaland - no way. I'd have bought the striking viking even if he was 18m

I personally think BB GW1 without Haaland is the way to go.
What are the chances we're going to get a BB opportunity later down the line with an expensive Haaland in our squads?
I say go for it, just keep an eye on Jacquet's minutes.

Ndiaye (but would get a different chap, Manzambi maybe) and DEFINITELY DCL for first few anyway.

Ndiaye has pens so him.

Wouldn't base your team rating on what a computer says.
If you had Roefs & Wilson start of last season, team rating probably would've plummeted.

A

A

A

Weird question. There is nothing forcing you into those specific pairs. MGW Szobo is better than both options imo.

Cunha

Cunha.

Interesting... I have Mbeumo atm. Cheers guys!

I like B)

With 442 I'd want a better 5th defender

I like it. Only colwill would make me nervous for minutes. It’s anyone’s guess what that Chelsea back 3 looks like

Not really. Just more chips and this thing called DefCon.

Yes. Different game.

game used to be alot easier. now there are 13m players, rather than 3-5m, and there are about a billion fpl content creators on youtube who alot of people copy, so the edge you might've previously had, pouring over stats, xg, etc, is pretty diminished. same info is being digested in 10-15min videos by the masses. which is annoying.

Both nailed. Aina

Aina

B

Bench a bit too strong with two playing keepers and Brobbey, unless you want to use BB early.

Garth Crooks

MGW is a decent bet, but Beto and Okafor are not starters in their teams...

The top premiums never look good for value, but are the most reliable captains, so you pay extra for that reliability. The lack of value is why I'm only going one of Bruno and Haaland, with the occasional captaincy elsewhere.

If you want to go against it and rotate higher risk captains, then you'll lose out some weeks, but you'll also have more money to spread around the squad. High risk, high reward. I tried this for a couple of years, and it was so hard to get the right 'sub-premium' players at the right time to make up for the lack of reliability without the premium. Not a plan for me any more.

Good luck if you want to go for it though!

Agreed. A lot of people (me included) are sleeping on MGW, he'll go well this season, as will the team under Glasner.

I love it in theory, but I do think there's more value in attack this year. Last season, no one was truly awful defensively (even Wolves didn't really get battered). I don't think Ipswich, Fulham, Coventry, and especially Hull will be so solid this year. Targeting them could get you a lot more attacking value, which is why I wouldn't want to go a full 5 at the back. 4-4-2 maybe though?

Slight issue I have with all three mids:
Saka - with the depth Arteta has, I expect him to rest Saka occasionally, most probably in the easy games which is when we most want him.
Cherki - wait and see how he sits with whatever Cares Maresca

Jeesh, I don’t want a single Liverpool defender yet