If I was the big boss of FPL, there’s a few things I’d change. Captaincy would be straight on the chopping block, for example, although Haaland has basically already made this happen this season.
Right at the top of my list this week is the ‘assist’ for own goals.
Liverpool did not play well against Leicester. Alexander-Arnold is a particularly terrible pick right now. He’s the second-most expensive defender in FPL, doesn’t get cleans, and – coming into this game – had one goal and one assist all season.
Well, the 17% of FPL managers who did have Trent were rewarded in this game, when he put in a cross nowhere near its intended target of Salah. Fortunately for him, Wout Faes took a swing at it, and the ball looped comically up and into his own net. Great job, Trent!
(01:00-ish in the video)
The ridiculousness of the goal itself is simply annoying. From a rules perspective though, I hate defenders being penalised for own goals already, since they’re always just freak accidents. The opposition player then getting an ‘assist’ is just the icing on a very stupid cake.
(For the record, Trent still has exactly zero assists counted by the actual Premier League this season.)
To add insult to injury, Nunez – who couldn’t hit a barn door right now – also managed an ‘assist’ to bail out FPL managers. Again, it was Faes who obliged here.
Fantasy Premier League basically just want to give out as many points as they can, because they think it makes the game more exciting. Their rules for ‘assists’ are simply the most egregious example. I’d prefer if the game actually reflected, y’know, actual football a bit better.
FPL Review – Gameweek 18
With my little rant concluded, let’s get into some actual, proper FPL analysis. Here’s a quick rundown of all the Gameweek 18 action, including my key takeaways.
West Ham 0 – 2 Brentford
West Ham are dreadful. They’ve got loads of players who should be FPL-relevant (Antonio, Bowen, Paqueta, Benrahma, etc.), but none of them are. Hard avoid.
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Brentford are now five games unbeaten in the Prem, but I’m not sure they’re particularly FPL-relevant either. Toney picked up a late injury here, and is going to get suspended sooner or later.
You probably think their defence is good… but this was their first clean sheet since Gameweek 12. That said, I don’t hate someone like Mee as an enabler back there, with Bournemouth, Leeds, and Southampton all coming up after Liverpool next week.
Liverpool 2 – 1 Leicester
We’ve all been asking ‘Are Liverpool Actually Good or Not?’ all season, and it feels like we’re no closer to an answer.
Technically, they’ve won both games since the World Cup. Neither has exactly been a convincing win. In fact, winning via two own goals, at home, is about as unconvincing as it gets.
The defence is terrible, and I don’t want any part of it. Leicester’s goal at Anfield was comically easy.
As a non-owner, Salah still scares me. Liverpool have gone to a far more direct approach, which suits Mo better than the slower style they were playing earlier in the season. He’s a hold if you’ve got him. If you don’t, you probably have De Bruyne instead, who you need to hold until his double gameweek anyway.
Darwin is probably the most intriguing name here. As noted, he was bailed out by an FPL ‘assist’ in this game, but his finishing was comically bad again. He’s getting in great positions though, is linking up well with his teammates, and is nailed. I’d hold if I had him, however infuriating it might be right now when he skies yet another easy chance.
Wolves 0 – 1 Man United
I’m hoping Wolves will be back on the FPL menu soon. Their defenders are super-cheap, and Lopetegui knows what he’s doing.
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Rashford – I wish I had him. He was benched in the first half for tardiness, came on at half-time, and promptly dominated. He scored one, and could easily have had another. He’s still only 6.9, and is in fantastic form. Bruno also looked okay, and is presumably still on pens, but Rash is far better value.
I do have Martial, and don’t feel great about it. He’s started three games in a row now (including pre-World Cup), has 1 goal and 0 assists in that time, and hasn’t exactly looked super-dangerous. With Mitrovic only a little more expensive, and Nketiah cheaper, it’s starting to feel like Martial is stuck in a pretty pointless middle ground. He does have Bournemouth at home next, which is a decent fixture, but then you’ll definitely be binning him for City and Arsenal.
Man City 1 – 1 Everton
Sigh.
Pep’s neverending troll of FPL managers continued this week, with Cancelo benched for *checks Google* Rico Lewis. Thankfully he didn’t bring Joao on for an FPL 1-pointer, so we got our subs in, but two benchings in a row since the World Cup… for the best full-back in the Prem… is still… a bit weird?
Frankly, I’d be fine binning Cancelo at this point. Based on total points, he’s wedged firmly in the ‘best of the rest’ group behind Trippier, and costs far more than everyone else around him there:
City haven’t kept a clean in four games now, and their upcoming fixtures are tough defensively (Chelsea, Man U, Spurs, Spurs again, and Arsenal in their next seven matches).
Foden was also benched again. If he’s still on your team, I don’t know what to tell you. He’s great when he plays, but Pep’s fallen out of love with him for some reason, and he’s a headache you don’t need.
Kev blanked again, and I’d much rather have Mo right now. Unfortunately we have to hold him anyway, for the Gameweek 20 double.
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Everton were super defensive, and it worked. No interest in them for FPL, though.
Fulham 2 – 1 Southampton
The Mitrovic penalty miss was either the most infuriating or hilarious moment of Gameweek 18, depending on whether you have him or not. I don’t, and therefore loved it. He’s probably must-own for his Gameweek 19 double, so get him in if you don’t already have him.
Andreas continues to be an all-time FPL bench guy. That’s at least three times he’s been subbed into my lineup with points this season.
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Southampton are really, really, really bad.
Bournemouth 0 – 2 Crystal Palace
Bournemouth aren’t as bad as Southampton – nobody is – but they’re still not FPL-relevant.
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Palace are just extremely inconsistent. They’ve got decent players in both defence and midfield in FPL, but we can’t trust any of them.
Newcastle 0 – 0 Leeds
Bit of an off day for Newcastle, but nothing to panic about. They had to start Wood up top, who looked a bit rubbish, but Wilson came on in the second half. Assuming he’s fit to start the next game, they’ll be fine.
Arsenal away in GW19 isn’t a good fixture, but we’re still holding Trippier and Almiron obviously. I still like the defensive double-up going forward too, with Botman being the value pick at 4.4.
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Leeds didn’t ship a ton of goals this week. Congrats to them!
Brighton 2 – 4 Arsenal
Brighton are that classic example of a team that’s good in real life, and plays good football, but has nobody you want in fantasy.
Trossard started up top again, and blanked for the third game in a row (he got hooked in the 59th minute here, to rub salt in the wound for FPL managers). He’s still 20% owned, and you have to bin him if you’ve got him at this point, with Rashford being the obvious straight swap.
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I’m so annoyed at myself for binning Saka for Kulusevski on my wildcard. I probably over-reacted to the Jesus injury, like everyone else, forgetting that Saka was also great last year before Jesus even arrived. Now I’m stuck with an injured Kulu, whose double gameweek (Arsenal and City in GW20) is rubbish anyway, instead of just having the most consistent midfielder in FPL.
At least I do have Martinelli, who continues to be great.
Odegaard now has three double-digit hauls in his last three games. There’s been a huge slice of luck involved here though, first in his mis-hit assist to Saka last week, and in his scuffed goal this week. He’s definitely tempting, because he’s so cheap (6.6)… but Rashford seems like a safer bet.
I’m a little concerned about the Arsenal defence. Mistakes are being made more regularly now, and Newcastle, Spurs, and Man U are tricky defensive matchups. I’m still holding White because he’s cheap and nailed (even if he did annoyingly get hooked at 59 minutes against Brighton), but I wouldn’t bring any of them in right now.
Spurs 0 – 2 Villa
Spurs have been rubbish for ages – they just kept getting away with it. This time they finally got what was coming to them.
As noted, I’m stuck with Kulusevski, and we have to hold him for that aforementioned rubbish Gameweek 20. I’ll probably keep Kane after that, because he is super consistent however terrible his team is.
Apart from that, there’s nobody worth considering here.
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Since my guy Emery arrived, Villa have now beaten Man U, Brighton, Chelsea, and Spurs. This hasn’t translated to any must-own FPL players, but there are a few decent options here.
Bailey remains a solid enabler at 4.5. Mings is a super-cheap starter, at only 4.3, and has a beautiful upcoming run of defensive matchups (Wolves, Leeds, Southampton, Leicester). Watkins has now returned in back-to-back games, but – since he’s priced identically to Mitrovic – isn’t really an option.
Notts Forest 1 – 1 Chelsea
Forest’s results have actually been fine for a couple of months now. We don’t care about them in FPL, though.
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Chelsea continue to be one of the most bizarrely frustrating teams in FPL. There’s a load of big names on this team, and none of them can be trusted. If you’ve got any Chelsea players, you’re stuck with them for the Gameweek 19 double. After that, bin them immediately.
FPL Gameweek 19 Preview
I actually touched on quite a lot of FPL tips for Gameweek 19 already, in my Gameweek 18 review (what a smart cookie). Accordingly, we can keep this section nice and concise.
Fixtures
Chelsea have the only double in Gameweek 19. Unfortunately one of those games is against Man City, so it’s more of a… 1.5 Gameweek? I wouldn’t bring anyone specifically in for these games.
A lot of the worse teams are matched up against other bad or boring teams this week, annoyingly (Southampton with Forest, West Ham with Leeds).
The best individual fixture to target is probably Man U home to Bournemouth. I might not be able to get to Rashford for this one, and that makes me feel all kinds of nervous.
Should I Buy?
- Rashford – Yes. He’s cheap, nailed (if he doesn’t oversleep again) and is in great form
- Mitrovic – Yes. He’s consistent, cheap, and has a double gameweek
- Odegaard – I don’t hate it, especially for only 6.6. His fixtures are about to get a bit tougher, though
- Shaw – No. He’s nailed again now, and Man U have back to back cleans, but they also have City and Arsenal coming up after Bournemouth
- Mount – Meh. It’s not a great double to bring him in for, and you’ll probably be taking him straight out again after (also see: Havertz, Cucurella, etc.)
- Saka – Yes. I wish I had him. He’s nailed, fixture proof, and is so damn consistent that he’s basically a season-long keeper
- Alexander-Arnold – Noooooooooo.
- Salah – In theory, yes. If it means selling De Bruyne, probably not, with Kev’s double gameweek coming up
Should I Sell?
- Toney – Yes. He was already risky to own, with the looming suspension. Now he’s got an injury as well, and Mitrovic is cheaper
- Trossard – Yes. He’s bang out of form, and Rashford is a way better option
- Cancelo – Tough one. I’m sorely tempted. Surely he won’t keep being benched, but City’s defence is middling, and they have tough fixtures. If it enables another move, do it
- Foden – Yes. Far too rotation-prone
- De Bruyne – No. He’s blanked a couple of times, but he’s still great, and has an upcoming double
- Zaha – Yes. He and his team are very inconsistent
- Darwin – Probably not. The misses are frustrating, but he’s super-involved and constantly looks dangerous
- Kane / Kulusevski – No to Kane. Probably not to Kulu – his injury doesn’t seem serious, and he doubles in Gameweek 20.
My Gameweek 18, and Upcoming Moves
I slightly exceeded the average score in Gameweek 18, but still saw my second consecutive red arrow. After shooting up the ranks pre-World Cup, I’m now hovering back at around a mediocre 650k.
I rolled my first free transfers, so I’ve got two to use this week.
Mitrovic is the most obvious move to make. I don’t actually feel great about it, since Martial’s fixture home to Bournemouth is fine, and Fulham’s fixtures are so-so (Leicester is okay; Chelsea is… tough, in theory, but maybe not in reality).
To actually get Mitro, I need to find 0.4 from somewhere. I have two main choices:
- Kulusevski to Rashford – leaves me 0.7
- Cancelo to Cheap Defender, let’s say Ben Mee – leaves me 2.1
I don’t love either move, honestly. Kulu and Joao both have doubles of their own coming up in Gameweek 20. Neither has the floor nor the ceiling of Mitrovic, but still…
Another option is:
- Bin Ben White, and replace him with a 4.2 or cheaper, like Patterson at Everton for 4.0.
(Annoyingly, I’m 0.1 short of Mings – classic FPL).
You might say that leaves me with a shaky defence, but I’d say nobody’s keeping clean sheets anyway this season, so why does it matter? Arsenal are one of the few teams that have been getting cleans, but have Newcastle, Spurs, and Man U in the next three. The fixtures do turn after that, but – at that point – I can do Joao to an Arsenal defender, and free up funds for another move.
I think I’ve talked myself into the no-defence strategy. I still get Mitro, keep Joao and Kulu for their doubles, then can just bin both if they’re still rubbish after that.