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Hey guys, James here with your preview for Fantasy Premier League (FPL) Gameweek 4!
In this piece I will be looking at all the usual stuff in FPL: best upcoming fixtures, transfer tips and captaincy picks.
I know a lot of people are on wildcard in FPL this week (I may join you) so I will also do a wildcard draft.
But first, I want to look at midweek Carabao and European football.
And, just in case you missed it, check out the review of last gameweek here.
Let’s get into it.
Any team not in Europe and not knocked out of the cup is playing and Champions League starts.
All I can hear when I read that in my head is the terrible sound effect that Garry Blendening used to play on Football Weekly.
In the Carabao (or EFL Cup) this week we have:
Bournemouth 4-0 Lincoln
Bournemouth smashed Lincoln with Ryan Christie putting up 7 shots and a hat-trick. I’m not reading much into it.
Palace 3-0 Middlesbrough
Palace played a largely rotated squad. Strand Larsen scored a brace.
Sunderland 1-0 Hull
Both played a second team.
Millwall 0-1 Newcastle
Thiaw got a rest but they largely played the first team. They’re taking this competition seriously but obviously they don’t have Europe so I’m not too concerned about rotating players. Another Hall attacking return.
Chelsea v.s. Leeds
At the time of writing this game has just started. Chelsea are rotating their massive squad again so all of Palmer, Pedro and Rogers are getting a rest (they are on the bench though)..
The only European competition this week is Champions League. Next week its only Europa League (and Champions League teams will play EFL Cup). The next Conference League game for Brighton is after the international break.
So, this week we have:
Yeah, I don’t know who Sabah are either…
Villa put up 3 goals with Jackson, Buendia and McGinn getting on the scoresheet.
At City, we saw the pitfalls of their midfield again. Semenyo, Cherki, Foden, Enzo and Bouaddi all started with only Enzo lasting the 90 mins. Given he is one of Maresca’s men, I think he might be one of the most nailed City players. He put up 15 attacking returns last year and I am starting to wonder if he might be the second best City asset.
At the time of writing, the Arsenal backline to face Napoli is Hincapie, Gabriel, Konsa and White. I think that means Calafiori is nailed for the PL (if he stays fit) because that wing-back spot is a hard working one. I also think Konsa is just the first choice centre-back to go alongside Gabriel whilst Saliba is injured (at least until Christmas) because I think centre-back is a less taxing position. Tzolis is on the bench too so I like him for this weekends game.
And, the Liverpool backline is Kerkez, Virgil, Jacquet, Araujo. I think this is probably the backline they will try and play every week. Interestingly Gakpo has been rested so maybe he is a good pick in the PL, I’m just not sure I trust it long-term.
As always, we’ll look at both attacking and defensive runs from our very own, completely free fixture ticker.
Newcastle top our absolute ticker again, mainly because of the plum Hull and Coventry fixtures. If you’re a member, you can see the hop-on/hop-off tracker doesn’t like them that much after that. I don’t mind a move for Barnes or Wissa right now, just be ready to hop off again soon after.
Next up we have Chelsea. It’s probably incredibly obvious but Joao Pedro, Palmer and Rogers are all great picks. They are nailed, likely to play 90 and in a very attacking team that cannot defend (so will need to attack).
Fulham are next. You might be thinking you HAVE to wait another week or two to bring one of their guys in. However, if you have to make a move for Gonzalo or King a week or two early I am fine with that. Neither Liverpool nor United’s defence looks especially solid. But, obviously, you really want them for gameweek 6, 7 and 8 against Ipswich, Hull and Coventry.
Everton are reasonably attacking these days. I don’t really love any of their attackers, nor do I think they are underpriced bargains or anything. But, if I was looking for a short-term move, I could be convinced to get Dewbsury-Hall. Or, if I needed a really cheap forward, I think you could do worse than Barry.
I’d probably just avoid Palace at the moment unless it’s a one week punt (and I don’t like those except on Free Hit). Mateta is out until the international break with a hamstring thing so Strand Larsen could be a good shout. Yeremy would be my pick of the midfield – good underlyings.
This has been a question that seems to keep cropping up. I absolutely think you can triple up on a single attack. They look right now to be a top 4 attacking team so I think the volume of goals should be there that you need not worry about one of the picks cannibalising the mins of others. In fact, if you are on wildcard, I think this is almost certainly the way to go right now. More on that later…
I continue to be underwhelmed by Palace’s defence. Obviously Mitchell is interesting but he won’t score two goals every week and he just went off injured – I’d probably just avoid them.
I kind of feel the same about Fulham at the moment. Either way, you are definitely not bringing in their defenders before Pool and United.
And, Coventry are just shit. Keep Thomas or whomever on your bench as a cheap 4.0 for sure, but try hard to avoid playing them.
Like Joe, I do like Newcastle defensively. They played very well against Liverpool, were unlucky not to win, and then cleaned the weekend after before conceding two against Bournemouth.
Finally, only an idiot would not have any Arsenal defensive coverage. That idiot is writing this piece right now. Grab as much of this defence as you can right now. Raya and Gabriel are absolutely nailed. I think Konsa is in the starting lineup going forward. I am a little that White’s time is limited but still a good pick to hold this week (not to buy).
In this section, I pretend that you are asking me ‘should I buy/sell this player?’ and offer my advice, normally on players I haven’t covered above in fixtures.
As always, wait as late as possible in case any of these guys get injured midweek.
Gakpo – Maybe. I get why people are interested. He looks to be nailed in an attacking Liverpool team. But, the fixtures are only fine and I don’t see him playing 90 every week. So, I struggle to see how he’s a better option than Szoboszlai or the next guy at about the same price.
Rogers – Yes. If you can’t get to Palmer, I still like this move.
Isak – No. I love Isak as a player but I don’t want to pay 9.1 for a striker not on pens who won’t play 90 mins every week. Particularly when I think the fixtures are just fine.
Wissa – Maybe. It’s a short-term move in my opinion. However, if you are planning on wildcarding soon then I like it.
De Cuyper – Maybe. I think he’s probably a logical pick on wildcard but soon it will be the big international break and I assume Mitoma or whomever will be back. I don’t hate it though because he is SO CHEAP and OOP.
Scott – No. The fixtures aren’t great and if you want a defcon guy I think you can get one for cheaper.
Gvardiol – No. I think he’s probably nailed and a good pick but I’d just wait a week.
Any Hull player – No. They have been lucky and I doubt that luck lasts.
Havertz – No. I don’t think he is nailed or will consistently play 90.
Yalcouye – No. Hinshelwood will be back fit soon and take his spot.
Muharemovic – Yes. 13.00 DefCons per 90 in three games. That’s great and he could be a DefCon gem at only 5.0.
O’Reilly – Yes. I think Enzo has taken his spot.
Szoboszlai – No. Why would you sell the most nailed Liverpool asset ahead of a game against Fulham?
Calvert-Lewin – Yes. I don’t think you should be desperate to sell or anything but I do think there are more interesting options at this price point for you to move to.
Mbeumo – Yes. I think there are better options at his price point now that the easier fixtures are out of the way. He is still a good pick though so I wouldn’t do anything drastic (like take a hit) for someone like Rogers.
Tzolis – No. He’s not started Champions League so will probably start this weekend.
Cherki – Yes. I don’t think his minutes are nearly secure enough for the long-term.
Maguire/Shaw – Yes. The United defence looks pretty bad right now.
Ndiaye – Yes. I don’t trust his minutes in the long-term.
Thiago – Maybe. I think you could hold him another week but I would switch him to Joao Pedro this week if that’s your move.
Sangare – No. IF he is the Defcon guy that his appearances so far suggest then I think you could hold him through the bad fixtures, that’s kind of the point of these guys.
Semenyo – Maybe. He’s playing a bit wide for my liking but I think he is more nailed than Cherki or Foden. I don’t mind holding him if you need to for a week or two.
Wirtz – No. I wouldn’t sell him this week against Fulham. I am a little concerned about a lack of returns and his underlying numbers given the price. But, the fixture this week is too good to sell him.
Brobbey – Yes. In three games he has only played 90 once and has been subbed off at about 65 mins twice.
Gabriel – No. The fixture this week is great. I guess I could see you selling him to make money for another move and that’s probably fine but I am not sure.
Wissa – No! A couple of great fixtures coming up. Don’t panic after one blank.
Foden – Yes. Not nailed.
Raya – No. I very rarely think a goalkeeper move is a good one and I think people should be buying him not selling him.
I could give you my favourite wildcard build, and I will, but I think this is a more interesting way to think about it. I have covered almost all of the players in the watchlist above but I will give a little more explanation too.
There are 555 players to pick from in FPL. I’m narrowing it down to about 30 for you here.
We are thinking quite long-term with this wildcard draft because we don’t have another wildcard for a while.
Almost all of these players are nailed for 90 minutes every week. That’s really important. You can’t score FPL points if you aren’t on the pitch, and the final 15 minutes of games are often when goals start flying in.
I’d also mainly target players who aren’t playing in Europe. Most of these guys don’t have that extra fixture congestion to worry about, which should help when it comes to minutes and rotation.
I’d want triple Chelsea attack and, most likely, triple Arsenal defence. Chelsea look like the best combination of attacking quality and nailed starters in the league, while Arsenal’s defence looks as strong as ever—they held Chelsea to just 0.35 xG.
I also don’t think Gabriel or Bruno are worth their price tags. With Gabriel, you can get exposure to Arsenal’s defence MUCH cheaper. And with Bruno, I just don’t see him matching his career-best performance from last season.
And, of course, I want exposure to players with good fixtures, which we covered above in the ticker section.
IF you have lots of free transfers saved, you can also take a bit more risk with, for example, guys like De Cuyper because if Mitoma comes back fit then you can just transfer him out.
Much like the wildcard watchlist I would encourage you to get triple Chelsea against Hull and probably double or triple Arsenal against Sunderland.
I would also get some Palace players against Ipswich, Liverpool players against Fulham and Brighton players against Coventry to make something like this:
Whilst Haaland has a “tough” fixture against United this week, I still don’t mind him as a captain. Nor do I mind Bruno who will almost certainly be involved if United score and I don’t think City’s defence is super solid right now.
However, the best fixtures are with Chelsea and Liverpool. So, for my money, I’d rather captain Palmer, Joao Pedro or Isak – the latter being my least favourite because I think he isn’t likely to last 90 mins.
Hopefully you agree that’s quite a lot. Don’t forget to sign up to the mailing list for our final thoughts ahead of the deadline.
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