We are back! Well, some of us anyway. Brighton, Palace, Man United, Leeds, Liverpool and Chelsea won’t play this weekend, so what should you be looking at?
Potter Takes Over at Chelsea
I know, they aren’t playing this week. But Potter managed Chelsea in his first game which was a 1-1 draw against RB Salzburg. It’s a good result for Salzburg, but Chelsea only gave up 0.38xGC so they got a bit lucky. Its early, but we learned that he thinks James and Sterling are threatening when played out wide. Shocking that Tuchel couldn’t figure that out…
Basically, it means you should probably hold James even though he blanks this week. He could be back to his best (although he was played a little deeper than usual against Salzburg, to compensate for Sterling playing so far forward on the other flank.
We also have the prospect, maybe, of a goalkeeper battle at Chelsea. Mendy is obviously the usual starter, but he missed the Salzburg game through injury and Kepa played instead.
Potter is obsessed with playing out from the back, and this showed already in his first game in charge. Mendy has made several high profile blunders already playing out this season, most notably against Leeds, while Kepa is stronger in this area. The caveat is that Kepa was absolutely bloody awful last time he was Chelsea’s number one. It’s one to keep an eye on, but Kepa as the Chelsea number one priced at only 4.4 is a mouth-watering prospect.
Best Five Week Fixture Runs
| 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | |
| Fulham | nfo | NEW | whu | BOU | AVL |
| Newcastle | BOU | ful | BRE | mun | EVE |
| Forest | FUL | lei | AVL | wol | Bha |
| Bournemouth | new | BRE | LEI | ful | SOU |
| Leicester | tot | NFO | bou | CRY | LEE |
Slim pickings, eh?
Newcastle are the only team you’d really trust to take advantage of a good fixture run, which is why every man and his dog is rushing to get Pope and Trippier into their fantasy teams.
Forest have great defensive fixtures. On the flip-side, they have the worst defence in the league statistically. Don’t get sucked in by Henderson (4.7). Take out the two penalty saves and he’s had an awful fantasy season.
Best Captains
I’m on Haaland at Wolves. Wolves have a good defence but City did put 5 past them last year. Also, it’s Haaland.
Jesus is an okay shout, but we haven’t seen much production from him lately. Brentford’s defence is shocking though, so this could all change this week.
Mitrovic is bit of a rogue shout, I guess, but I wouldn’t bother. He’s been consistent, but his ceiling so far this season has been quite low – certainly compared to the Norwegian menace terrorising Europe right now.
Should I Buy?
Newcastle – Yes. Pope (5.2), Trippier (5.3), and Isak (7.0) are all excellent.
Maddison (7.9) – I prefer to wait a week but if you must he’s okay. He’s just such a streaky player and very difficult to predict when he gets on those streaks. Oh, and Leicester are woeful.
Mitrovic (6.9) – Yes. I’m even considering a minus 4 for him this week (just because I think the average player will have had to take a hit or wildcard).
De Bruyne (12.2) – With Salah out, I don’t see any other premium mid I want. Salah could still be better long-term, however.
Kane (11.4) – In a vacuum, sure. I just think there is more value in other forwards. I haven’t seen a thremium wildcard draft I love yet.
Should I Sell?
Rashford – Well that was fun while it lasted. He’s not playing this week, and is too injured to make the England squad. Feels like my Rashford advice changes every week at the moment. Perhaps a sign that he’s not that trustworthy.
Jesus – No, I don’t think so. Brentford are terrible (at the moment).
Toney – We are in the window for when it’s okay to sell. I can see him and Mitro matching each other in the next three games, but after that Mitro becomes a much better option.
Salah – Yes. Even if it’s just a one week thing, and you get Kev. Just make sure you have a route back to him.
Trent – I know they look terrible in defence, but he is still top of the list for defenders for xGI for the season. That’s mainly on assists, but still… I’m holding. I wouldn’t say it’s ridiculous to sell, for obvious reasons. But, I think you probably have bigger fish to fry (unless you’re a on wildcard).
My Moves
I already moved Salah to KDB last night. I was worried about price movement.
I’m also considering Toney to Mitro, which was always my plan for this week.