It’s the most wonderful time of the year for FPL managers. The festive fixtures are upon us. Over the next fourteen days, four Gameweek’s will be played out in a feast of football for us Fantasy enthusiasts.
This period can make or break your season. With deadlines coming thick and fast, it’s a good idea to make note of when those deadlines are or set reminders on your phone. Don’t be that person in your mini-league who does a Gerrard and slips up at a crucial time.
Rotation will be rife across all teams with the short turnaround between matches, so make sure you have bench players who can come in and do a job for you.
Is it time to invest in Manchester United assets?
Ole Gunnar Solskjaer has taken the reigns at Old Trafford following the sacking of Jose Mourinho. Options such as Anthony Martial (£7.3m), Paul Pogba (£7.8m), Marcus Rashford (£6.9m) and Romelu Lukaku (£10.7m) are being talked about this week, given United’s kind run of fixtures: Cardiff (away), Huddersfield (home), Bournemouth (home) and Newcastle (away).
Getting in on their assets before others do could be a shrewd move but it’s always risky backing players before they’ve played for a new manager. We don’t know who Solskjaer will include in his first starting XI. It’s a ‘wait and see’ approach for me.
Not owning Eden proving hazardous
Eden Hazard (£11.0m) has returned attacking points in each of his last four appearances (one goal and five assists) to frustrate former owners. Out of all the premium assets, he’s arguably the must-have player for Christmas and New Year.
He’s got the form and the fixtures. Chelsea’s next five games are Leicester City (home), Watford (away), Crystal Palace (away), Southampton (home) and Newcastle (home).
If Maurizio Sarri continues to play Hazard as a ‘false nine’, Pedro Rodriguez (£6.3m) could become a decent option again. He’s started the last two, getting on the scoresheet against Brighton. It’s a situation to monitor. The Spaniard has six goals in just 805 minutes of playing time this season.
Saints reborn
Ralph Hasenhüttl’s side was excellent in the 3-2 win over Arsenal in Gameweek 17. Danny Ings (£5.4m) was the star of the show, bagging himself a brace. Off the back of that performance, he’s the second-most transferred-in player this week behind Leroy Sané (£9.7m) and Felipe Anderson (£7.4m). If he can stay fit, he could offer excellent value between now and the end of the season.
Jan Bednarek (£3.9m) could be another bargain. He’s started the last two and was outstanding against Arsenal, much to the frustration of Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang (£11.5m) owners. It’s probably best to give it another few weeks before buying him to see if he is going to be the first choice and if Southampton can get to a stage where they are keeping clean sheets.
Hammers continue to shine
Lukasz Fabianski (£4.7m) has been FPL gold over the last four Gameweek’s, scoring twenty-seven points which included bonus in three out of the four games. He could well be a ‘set-and-forget’ goalkeeper for the rest of the campaign.
Anderson and Robert Snodgrass (£5.4m) are in blistering form and should continue to deliver as West Ham’s favourable fixture run continues.
There is talk that Marko Arnautovic (£6.9m) could return to action for the Southampton game on December 27th, in which case we should make sure we can get him back in our squads if we need to.
Transfer plans
The time has come for me to get a Man City midfielder, and why get one when you can get two? It is Christmas after all, I may as well treat myself.
With two free transfers, the plan is to ship Mohamed Salah (£13.1m), James Maddison (£6.8m) and Aleksandar Mitrovic (£6.8m) for Raheem Sterling (£11.6m), Sané and the enabler Ings.
Fingers crossed it pays off.
Don’t forget it’s a Friday deadline this week!
Good luck to all in the next four Gameweek’s and have a Merry Christmas.
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5 years, 5 months ago
Am I g2g?
Fab
Alonso - Robbo - Doherty
Haz - Sterling - Sane - Snodgrass
Kane - Kamara - Jiminez
(4.0 - Masuaku - AWB - TAA)