GW Points: 71
Overall Points: 148
Overall Rank: 15,443
Transfers: Sanchez out, Kane in
If I was going to describe this game week I’d say it was a fairly solid result. It wasn’t by any means good but it wasn’t a disaster either. A drop on the leaderboard is never what I want to see but still being within touching distance of the top 10,000 is a good thing. To put it in perspective, when I finished within the top 600 places overall a couple of seasons ago, at this stage I was around 45,000 so there’s a long way to go and overall position at the moment means very little.
Positives:
Aguero hat trick. I was debating whether to include him at the start of the season because of rotation issues. I’m certainly glad I did with 28 points at the weekend.
Another clean sheet for Robertson. Liverpool have made a solid start defensively but face some more difficult games in September.
A goal and star man for both Kane and Mane. Mane has made a very strong start and it was good to see the transfer of Kane pay off so quickly when I was completely torn around bringing him in or not.
Although Mendy only picked up 5 points it was another good performance from him.
Potential Issues:
Man City midfield. Seeing Mahrez benched is a huge concern. I’ve got to have players who are on the pitch in my team. He also drew a blank in the first game which makes it two in a row. I’m also not overly convinced that B. Silva is going to be a regular starter long term or a consistent point scorer. At the moment I’ll be focusing on Mahrez though, he will get one more chance at the weekend. If he starts, he stays in. If he’s dropped he’s out before the game. If he starts and draws another blank, he’s out before the prices change.
Hart/Lowton. Burnley shipped 6 goals across the game week. Fortunately Lowton and Hart missed the game in the Europa League. For me it’s now pointless doubling up on them defensively. I was bitterly disappointed that they conceded at home to Watford at the weekend. They don’t let in many goals at home and Watford hadn’t scored an away goal since January. It looked like a nailed on clean sheet. For me it’s time to move Lowton on. I’ll probably go 3-4-3 for the time being and bring in either Pedro or Richarlison at the weekend. Both have made solid starts but I’m not convinced by either of them in the long term. I’m going to try and ignore that feeling for now as they may surprise me and their values are almost certain to rise.
I don’t see too many issues within the team at the moment once these positions have been looked at. I can see where a couple of ‘mistakes’ may have been made with the initial team selection but without being able to predict the future it was hard to spot them before a ball was kicked. In hindsight I’d have gone for Gomez over Lowton and Richarlison or Pedro instead of Mahrez. This would have put the team around 30 points ahead of where it is now.
Tips for Game Week 3
Looking forward to game week 3. I’d fancy Man City, Liverpool and Chelsea to do well. They’ve all started well and I can see this continuing for the next game week. Both Man City and Chelsea have favourable fixtures in the short term as well. I’d personally probably avoid bringing in and Man Utd or Spurs players if you don’t already have them at this stage – as they face each other.
Wolves v Man City
Liverpool v Brighton
Newcastle v Chelsea
Arsenal v West Ham
Man Utd v Spurs
In terms of my transfers. I’ve already decided Lowton needs to go. As he’s 2.5m, this gives me a few options but I’m currently favouring Pedro or Richarlison with a change to 3-4-3. I’ll also be taking a look at the Man City line up with tomorrows early kick off. I’m hoping Mahrez starts – if he does then he will stay in. If he’s benched, he’s almost certainly going to have to go. This then leaves a more difficult decision – do I go for the player I don’t go for in place of Lowton (either Pedro or Richarlison) and end up with them both. Or do I go for a defender who is likely to pick up a few clean sheets over the next few weeks. I must admit at this stage I’m favouring a defender more – given that Man Utd, Man City, Chelsea and Spurs generally got between 16-19 clean sheets in the Premier League last season. I can’t see Pedro or Richarlison getting the equivalent in goals across the season and both score the same amount of points. If Liverpool didn’t have a few tricky fixtures during September my first choice would be Van Dijk as I don’t think there’s a rotation issue. Given their tricky fixtures I may be tempted by Stones or a Chelsea defender. This would be a difficult decision as Alonso has started well but I think he’s overpriced at 4.5m. However someone like Luiz at 3m may be at risk of getting dropped.
As always, feel free to share your own progress in game week 1 below, suggest any players to look out for or provide any other useful comments below.
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I’m currently on 170 and have one transfer left. I’ve got Robbo Mendy shaw at back, mane bsilva willian richarlisson and then salah aguero and Kane up top. Do u think I should think about dropping silva out which would leave me with 4m to spend on another midfielder.
Or I could leave b silva in and drop Willian as Pedro and hazard are likely to start against Newcastle…
Who do you have in goal?
Is there a way to downgrade your GK to upgrade b.silva?
Im thinking of taking him out too but I dont see many options at £3.5m
I’d probably be more concerned with Willian than B. Silva at the moment.
Fantastic analysis one again DDT 👍
Looking at the team if you took out Lowton for Stones and mahrez for hazard you could afford this by swapping Salah for Aubameyang.. would this be an option for you or not? I personally think it would make the team stronger on a whole. Whether or not it needs this change now or not is a different matter. Would you be prepared to just leave the team as it is for now and wait just before player price change and use your last 2 swaps on a purely money making view?
Thats an interesting idea.
I have an upfront of salah morata and aguero uptop – i was thinking of taking out Salah, but is that a crazy idea considering his high ownership? I’ve got Mane so I have liverpool coverage but Salah has 1 goal and 2 assists from 2 games without neccesarily being on ‘form’ yet. I guess the reward of a more balanced team worth the risk of salah bagging several points?
I think we need to make a move on Lowton but I’m not overly worried about getting Hazard in just yet. I’d rather hold onto Salah for now but I wouldn’t rule it out for September.
this is my team after GW2
hart
mendy
robertson
D sanchez
bailey
keita
mane
B silva
kane
salah
aguero
my team is sitting on 144 pts which I’m content with at the moment. i still have all my 3 transfers so ill be tempted to use one this weekend. I’m not happy with bailey and my current 3 targets are pedro richarlison and stones. any other suggestions and or criticism is welcome.
Maybe Bailly could go, but not sure. In my opinion richarlison has great fixtures but will he maintain form? Pedro looks to be in favour right now but hazards immenent return my complex things and. Stones could be a good shout as citys fixtures are great! Its so tough to decide right now given its so early in the season!
thanks for the opinion mate, think bailly needs to go as I’m cutting ties with man utd players as they seem to be in for a hard season. think stones is my first choice. I’m very tempted to swap out kane for aubmeyang whats everyones thoughts about this?
He’s probably the only player I’d change at the moment, all of the others are performing to a certain extent.
Hi DTT and co,
My team is on 182 points and team is as follows;
Ederson – luiz, robertson, mendy – b silva, hazard, mane, richarlison – aguero, salah, morata
My main concerns are around luiz, b silva and morata. Not sure chelsea defence looks solid atm. B.silva dont think he will score/assist much and morata is it the morata of the 1st half season or second? That also leaves me with only £10m in terms of budget to spend on 3 players. Note I dont have Kane or Aubeymayang (who in partiuclar has great fixtures).
Any thoughts would be much appreciated.
Cheers,
$
I don’t think I’d change much – you’re on a really good points total so it’s obviously worked to date. Chelsea have decent fixtures approaching, I’d probably not be happy with Morata but there’s no better option at 3.5m.
DTT, we can only put Stones in if Mahrez doesn’t start, with only having 3 million in funds, Gomez from the start was the way to go, but again we don’t have a crystal ball, if it was a straight choice between Richarlison/Pedro, not sure if Chelsea’s extra fixtures will be a factor, rotation will come into play, if we get rid of Mahrez as well, I would put in Richarlison & Pedro above Stones as I have said before their gung-ho style will annihilate most teams but will leave them succeptible to conceding the odd goal, huddersfield an example, hopefully 2nite we will find a solution.
Yeah Stones can only come in for Mahrez if we take out Lowton for someone else at the same time. If Mahrez starts I’m just going to leave him in anyway. I guess the question is, over the next 3-4 Premier League games do we fancy Pedro/Richarlision to score more goals than Man City will get clean sheets? I personally think City are likely to keep more clean sheets than goals scored by either player.
I’m very tempted to swap out Kane for Auba!!!
Very risky, I know, but Kane has two away games in his next 3 fixtures including matches against Utd and Liverpool, where as Arsenal have an easier run of fixtures and Auba will be itching to get off the mark.
The problem is of course having the discipline not to spend the excess in the next transfer window as I’m sure I’d want Kane back at some point.
Yeah I’d agree that it’s tempting but I’m personally going to resist because ultimately I’ll want Kane back at some point.
Well I’ve changed my mind again on my final transfer (you’ll be surprised to know 😉). I’m going to switch to a 4-3-3 and take out Arnautovic for Gomez. I realise I’m taking a risk given a few tricky fixtures to come in September but I’m going go for the long game with him.
If Liverpool can negotiate September without too much damage defensively I can really see Gomez cementing his place in the starting 11 for Liverpool. If he does that, £2.5m is an absolute steal.
He’s also one of the tips that Dream Team hint at having a price rise so that’s a bonus too. My team going into the weekend:
Hart
Mendy Robertson Gomez Shaw
Mane B.Silva Richarlison
Kane Salah Aguero
Good luck to all and I’ll look forward to seeing your thoughts.
I can see this team doing well over the weekend. My only concern would be if Shaw and Gomez find themselves out of the team in September and Richarlison stops scoring it doesn’t leave much room for movement with only 3 transfers for the month.
I’ve already earmarked my replacement for Shaw in the form of Wan-Bissaka. This will then also free up enough funds to bring in Hazard for B.Silva.
I agree though it is a risk having Gomez with the risk of him losing his place once Lovren gets back but I reckon it could be a risk worth taking.
He could be a good option based on his cost. Wish I’d gone for Gomez at the start of the season, it’s easy in hindsight but having seen two game weeks some choices should have been obvious now we’ve seen how all the teams are lining up.
Can’t take Kane out. Just can’t can we?
I agree with David K, I think Pedro (1st choice , Chelsea more fixtures) and Richarlison in, Lowton and Mahrez (if he doesn’t start) out (if he does start don’t put Richarlison in) , we can always change them later?
I’d agree that one of them should come in for Lowton. I’m just not sure if it would be more worthwhile going for a defender. As goals score the same points as clean sheets. Do we see Richarlison or Pedro scoring more goals than say City keep clean sheets over the next 4-5 games?
Your uncertainties over Richarlison and Pedro make me thin neither would be long term solutions. At this stage I would favour Richarlison for the short term. Both teams have favourable fixtures however Everton have the extra fixtures this month,and there is no chance of Richarlison being rotated in Premier League games, so saves you that headache when Hazard is back and Pedro starts sharing game time.
What are your thoughts on Mkhi for Mahrez? Arsenal have some good fixtures coming up and he could prove to be a good differential. Good alternative for an attacking option than Aubameyang
I slightly favour Pedro, purely because they have Europa League fixtures in September (although he may not play in these games). I’d imagine they will both rise in value so can always switch to Richarlison if Pedro finds himself out of the team. I’m not overly keen on Mkhi if I’m honest, he’s too inconsistent for me, I could see him drawing a blank for 3-4 games in a row. Equally he could get a goal a game. I’m starting to think there’s less risk with going for defenders. It’s almost a certainty that teams like City, Chelsea, Spurs, Liverpool will keep 16-18 clean sheets per season in the league. Obviously this is 5 points per clean sheet – do we really see Pedro, Richarlison or Mhki scoring over 15 goals for the season?
Yeah, I was tempted by Mkhitaryan myself to get some Arsenal coverage in my team (before changing my mind again another 27 times).
At this moment in time I’d say that it could be a good move going into Arsenal’s short term set of fixtures. Just find it too risky to drop any of Salah, Kane and Aguero for Auba at the moment. You just know the one you drop is going to smash a hat-trick in the moment you do. 🤦♂️
I’ve just been taking a look through the Arsenal expected line-up and in all honesty, very few of their players take my fancy. I’ve been concerned about not having Arsenal coverage given their upcoming fixtures but I’m feeling a bit more relaxed about having no Gunners for the time being.
I don’t fancy Cech or any of the defence at this moment as they’ve looked leaky thus far. If they can shore up over these next few easier games then I may re-consider.
Guondouzi and Torreira are deeper lying midfielders which we no isn’t great for fantasy football scoring.
Ozil is way too inconsistent and in a poll on Talk Sport today, apparently 81% of Gunners fans think he should be dropped. When the chips are down, his head drops.
Mkhitaryan did tempt me as I mentioned earlier, but again as DTT alluded to, can be inconsistent also.
Iwobi is classed as a striker so no chance choosing him over some of the other choices.
Aubameyang could begin to bag a few now but has shown recently that he can be ineffective against the better sides.
Not that much to tempt me at the moment truth be told. Are any of you bringing in any of the Gunners soon? Who do you see as potentially scoring heavily for them?
I sense DTT, you are leaning towards Stones, so we will have to wait till the City lineup tomorrow, then make a single or double transfer, I understand your thought process with City keeping 16-18 clean sheets over a season campaign, can Richarlison or Pedro do that in goals unlikely, but if we look at it from a short-term perspective both players on form at present, catching a player as he is about to start a purple patch is the key, we can’t predict that, but what is obvious at present is both players are in a rich vein of form.
I think either one of their form could drop at any point which is my issue with them. It’s almost guaranteed that City will keep 15 or more clean sheets. I’m happy to go with one of them but not both. If Pedro was then dropped or lost form Richarlison could come in.
Any decisions made yet.
Same sues toon from me
I know nothing about football but following this forum I won my office World Cup dreamteam and am ahead here too!
Really bugging my colleagues!!!
As I truly know nothing about football I am just copying you guys but am nervous of missing a transfer
I notice first game today is 12.30 so guess whatever is decided needs to be made known by midday or before – am I right?
Decision will be made from 11.30am when the line ups are announced.
I’ve just put up a post covering the options as I’m not sure I’ll have the opportunity to do one just before kick off.
Just put up a separate post. Depends if Mahrez starts but going Pedro for Lowton definitely.
I tend to agree with DTT, I think a defender will be a better option, long term.
This isn’t the World Cup game and we don’t have the luxury of putting players in and out based on fixtures, so a long game is needed.
If it wasn’t for Liverpool’s fixtures, VVD would be my first choice, then Stones and then Alonso, yes he’s expensive but he’s a DT favourite and can bag goals.
Completely agree, Van Dijk would be my first choice. If Stones was nailed to start he would be a close second and then Alonso. I’m mainly going off fixtures at the moment.
I think I prefer Richarlison over Pedro. I Can see pedro getting benched as soon as he’s got everyone available.
What about David Silva in for Mahrez?
David Luiz seems a good option for Chelsea’s defence or Sanchez for spurs.
For me it’s a close call between them but I prefer Pedro for fixtures and additional games. If he gets dropped Richarlison comes in.
I think DTT points about defenders need to be considered , easy to want to pick attacking players isn’t it more exciting , but he’s right a clean sheet is the same as a goal.
Anyone spotted any absolute bargain defenders who will score heavily ?
Do you think it’s to early for Hazard?
One way to get him in would put to take out Lowton , we’d have to put a 1m player in (Daniels Bournemouth perhaps) And then we could put in Hazard for Mahrez?
Worth considering as another way to go isn’t it ?
Definitely worth considering if Hazard becomes almost essential. Bit too early for making the move now for me though.
Love the email updates dtt.