Well, this time two weeks ago I was pretty happy with my team. Now four members of my starting XI are flagged… Yep, that’s an international break for you!
Fortunately, we’re basically done with internationals for now. Until the impending African Cup of Nations, that is. All we have to worry about now is midweek European fixtures followed by the usual congested schedule around Christmas. Easy!
Let’s take that positive mindset with us into this full Gameweek 13 preview. We’ve got all your usual favourites, including talking points, fixture analysis, and should I buy/sell.
Gameweek 13 Talking Points
There’s only one major talking point this week – injuries!
At the time of writing, we’re unfortunately unsure about a lot of these. Haaland should be fine, for example, and Mitoma probably won’t be, but we don’t have any certainty.
That said, we’ll be posting our usual news roundup on Friday, after the press conferences. Check back here for that, or follow us on Reddit to get it hot off the press, for further details.
Elsewhere, everyone’s up in arms over the whole loaning-players-between-sister-clubs thing.
In real life, I get it (even if this is something that’s been going on for ages). In FPL though… the more loanees, the better! None of us care about a Ruben Neves coming back, for example. But Karim Benzema parachuting in for half a season to give us – gasp – another good forward option? Sure, sign me up!
Fixture Ticker
As usual, it feels like ages since the Premier League paused.
Obviously I’m a pro, so I remember exactly what was happening, and what fixtures were coming up next… But if you’d forgotten, here’s a quick run through the best upcoming schedules.
(Home games in caps)
| Team | GW 13 | GW 14 | GW 15 | GW 16 | GW 17 |
| West Ham | Burnley | SHEFF UTD | Wolves | Brighton | EVERTON |
| Notts Forest | BRIGHTON | EVERTON | Fulham | Wolves | SPURS |
| Newcastle | CHELSEA | MAN U | Everton | Spurs | FULHAM |
| Wolves | Fulham | Arsenal | BURNLEY | FOREST | West Ham |
| Arsenal | Brentford | WOLVES | Luton | Villa | BRIGHTON |
Two things, right off the bat.
Firstly, Burnley actually have the best upcoming fixtures, but obviously we don’t care about their players.
Secondly, no team has an amazing, must-target fixture run. That’s largely because there aren’t that many rubbish teams to target. We’ve got Burnley, Luton, Sheffield Utd, and Bournemouth. Apart from that, there’s no sides I’d specifically be going after. The likes of Everton and Fulham aren’t ‘good’, but they’re not terrible either.
With that said, let’s go through the teams with good fixtures that we do care about.
- West Ham
Great defensive fixtures. Any of these games except for Brighton could be a clean sheet. We’re all definitely holding Areola, even if he’s fallen off recently. Annoyingly, none of their defenders do much going forward. I guess I’d take Emerson, of the bunch – he’s only 4.5, and has the best xGI numbers (although they’re still rubbish).
We have to hold Bowen for Burnley and Sheffield Utd, unless we hear bad news about him. I wouldn’t gamble on any of the other mids/forwards though.
- Notts Forest
It’s always annoying when good fixtures are wasted on a mediocre team.
Awoniyi is the only name I’d consider here (right now he’s flagged, but he’ll probably play). He was excellent in the first five weeks, and scored his first goal since returning from injury before the break.
- Newcastle
Who knows about Chelsea. But Man U, Everton, and Fulham are all rubbish going forward. Hold Trippier (obviously), and Lascelles is a great budget option at 4.1.
Their mids/forwards are too unpredictable, and these aren’t great attacking fixtures anyway. You’re probably holding Gordon if you’ve got him, but don’t bring him in.
- Wolves
Again, good fixtures wasted on a boring FPL team.
I do like Hwang a lot. I was weighing him against Gordon a few weeks ago, and wish I’d got him instead. His underlying stats are excellent, and he passes the eye test. He’s a bargain at 5.5.
Wolves never keep cleans (1 all season). Kilman is fine on a wildcard, because of these good defensive fixtures, but I wouldn’t bring him in apart from that.
- Arsenal
These are very good defensive fixtures, especially the next three, and Arsenal are one of the best defences. Gabriel is easily the best value.
Saka is the only mid/forward we can really consider right now, unfortunately. Breaking news – hold him if you’ve got him, and he’s a good replacement for Bowen/anyone else who’s injured.
Should I Buy?
We might all be doing a lot of shopping this week, following all the international break injuries. Here’s a quick look at the most transferred-in players among FPL managers right now.
- Palmer – Maybe
He was always going to top this list, coming off 18pts in the past 2 weeks, and against Spurs and Man City at that.
This is a really tough one. He has Newcastle and Man U coming up… but Man U’s defence isn’t that good anyway, and – as mentioned – he keeps scoring against big teams anyway.
He feels risky, maybe in part because it’s still hard to trust Chelsea. But he’s also got 7 returns in 6 starts, is nailed, is on pens, and only costs 5.2.
He’s certainly excellent value, and is probably worth the punt at that price. On a wildcard he’d almost certainly be in my team.
- Bowen – No
At the time of writing, it seems like he’s missing this week’s game. Wait until next week.
- Saliba – No
I’d just rather have Gabriel, and save the money.
- Mbeumo – Maybe
We definitely want him. The question is just whether you get him for the Arsenal game this week, or wait until the Luton, Brighton, Sheff Utd run after that.
Personally I’m waiting. But if you need to replace an injured player, like Mitoma, I don’t mind moving early.
- Saka – Yes
He’s almost certainly carrying a long-term injury. But he keeps returning in FPL anyway (including some very suspect ‘assists’, it must be said), so I guess we don’t care!
- Salah – Yes
Always yes.
- Solanke – No
I don’t hate Solanke as an FPL player. He’s fairly priced at 6.4, his underlying stats are solid, and he has Sheff Utd this week.
There are two problems though. Firstly, he has Villa, Palace, and Man U (for what that’s worth) after the Blades. Secondly, who are you choosing him over? I’d rather have Watkins, and definitely wouldn’t bring him in for Alvarez.
- Tsimikas – No
Not before City away. Wait for the nice run of fixtures after that.
- Mykolenko – No
He started 30 games last season and got 0 goals, 1 assist. I’m going to guess his current attacking run is not sustainable.
- Sterling/Jackson – No
Chelsea’s attack has obviously been much better recently… but I still wouldn’t bring either of these guys in for Newcastle away, which is one of the hardest attacking fixtures in the league.
If they perform well again this week, we can get them in for a great matchup against Brighton at home.
- Zinchenko – No
Hardly ever gets attacking returns. Again, I’d just rather have Gabriel and save a bit of money.
- Mitchell/Anderson – Maybe
They play for a good defensive team, and have Luton, West Ham, and Bournemouth in their next three. They do have Liverpool and City after that… but it could be worth it for the three games before anyway.
Take Mitchell out of the two – he’s 0.4 cheaper.
- Doku – No
It’s too early anyway, he plays for Pep, and Liverpool isn’t a great fixture.
- Eze – Maybe
Love him as a player, and he predictably hit the ground running after his injury, with an assist then a goal. He also has those three tasty upcoming fixtures.
Again though, he also has Liverpool and City after those games. Also, in this price bracket, I’m not sure he’s worth so much more than Hwang or Palmer.
- Nketiah – No
Jesus will probably be back this week… again. Wait until the next time he gets injured, and get Nketiah then – it won’t be long!
Should I Sell?
We’ve got to make room for all those new guys we’re getting in. These are the most-binned players in FPL right now.
(For the record, of the 22 most-sold players this gameweek, 15 of them are flagged!)
- Long Term Injuries – Automatic ‘Yes’es
All near the top of the most-sold list are Maddison, Burn, Van de Ven, and Estupinan. All will be out for ages, and can be binned. Obviously the likes of Maddison and Estupinan are more urgent, since they’re more expensive.
- Mitoma – Yes
It sounds like he’ll miss this game, then he has Chelsea and Brentford. Burnley come along after that… but then it’s Arsenal. He hadn’t been lighting the world alight before his injury, and there are so many other good mid-priced midfielders.
I don’t think you’re a fool for holding. But you’re basically wasting a spot that could be used on a good player, like Eze, Mbeumo, Hwang, Palmer, etc.
- Romero – Yes
He’s still suspended for two weeks.
- White – No
He’s flagged, and didn’t play the Burnley game, but I’m assuming he’ll be back.
I wouldn’t have got him in the first place, since he’s so expensive. If you have him though, you can’t sell him before his upcoming fixtures.
- Son – Maybe
He is one of the best players in the game… but there are so many question marks now.
He’s expensive. Spurs have four tricky fixtures coming up. Maddison’s injured. He’s blanked two games in a row.
He’s so good that he might return anyway. But if I had transfers to spare (i.e. if I didn’t have injuries to deal with), I’d be tempted to shift him.
- Alvarez – Maybe
I wouldn’t rush to get him out, because he’s class, and plays for arguably the best team in the league. Liverpool isn’t a terrifying fixture either – those games are often high-scoring.
But he’s definitely gone off the boil. His underlying stats have dropped considerably too. As with Son, he shouldn’t be a priority, but I don’t mind binning him if you’ve got spare transfers.
- Odegaard – Yes
He wasn’t really returning anyway, and has this weird, niggling injury that he apparently can’t get rid of.
- Cash – No
Again, this is pending an injury update.
In general though, if he’s not injured then I’d hold. His underlying stats have still been fine, even if the attacking returns have dried up. Spurs’ defence isn’t great, so he could return against them, and Bournemouth after that is a nice fixture.
After those two games he’s got City and Arsenal. That’s when we’ll bin him!
- Hojlund – Yes
I wouldn’t have got him in the first place…
(And now he’s injured)
- Ferguson – Yes
Would much rather have Solanke around this price point.
- Watkins – No
He’s still class, and bounced back after two blanks to score against Fulham. I don’t really know why you’d bin him right now – it’s not like we’re blessed with great forward options.
- Wilson/Isak – Yes
Both flagged, and neither can be trusted.
- Bowen – No
If he’s just missing the one week, I’m fine holding him. If it’s more serious, then sure, we’re moving him on.
- Nketiah – Yes
Jesus is back.
- Trippier – No
This will be a ‘no’ until further notice. He’s the best defender in the game by miles.
Final Thoughts
God, what a mess… I mean the FPL situation, of course, because of all the injuries and whatnot. Not this article, which was as coherent and well-organised as ever, I’m sure you’ll agree!
Again, I’ll be back tomorrow with a full round-up of all the Gameweek 13 news. It’ll easily be the most important news summary of the season so far, so be sure to check that out.
Cheers everyone, and good luck in Gameweek 13!