GW Points: 87
Overall Points: 980
Overall Rank: 7,726
Transfers: Aguero out, Aubameyang in
Initially I thought game week 15 was going to be a positive week with a decent climb on the overall leaderboard. After the weekends Premier League fixtures I’d made a decent jump on the leaderboard. However this was quickly closed down across the European fixtures. As a result I’ve pretty much remained the same for this week compared to game week 14. The highlight of the week was Salah coming good with a hat trick and 35 points on the board. Although this hasn’t really helped much as his ownership is so high, it does help to illustrate what can happen if these big names are replaced. There’s been quite a bit of talk recently about people taking Salah out, this would have been a huge mistake given his points return this week. It’s almost a little unfortunate that Aguero got injured as I think many people would have opted to take Salah out instead at the start of December, this would have played nicely into the hands of people who kept him in. In terms of where the results from this week leaves my team going forward, at this stage I’m unsure about what to do with my final two transfers for the month. However I’ll cover this in more detail below.
Positives:
Salah hat trick and 35 points on the board.
Clean sheet for Kepa with a solid performance against City.
A goal for Richarlison, bit of a shame he didn’t pick up an additional 3 points to go with this.
Two clean sheets for Robertson.
Another goal for Doherty.
7 points for Hazard with a couple of assists.
Aubameyang and Kane both chipping in with 5 points.
Potential Issues:
I could say that Shaw being injured has been a little unfortunate. However in reality he wouldn’t have scored many points anyway with Man Utd not keeping a clean sheet while he’s been out. I’m tempted to keep him for now as their fixtures improve dramatically towards the end of the December (should he look like returning from injury)
Mane’s form is a big concern. However he did miss a couple of great chances in the Champions League. Had he put a couple of these away it would be a very different story. I must admit it is very tempting to put Sane in instead which would also free up 0.5m but I just feel like this is a big risk with Mane being highly owned and likely to get more game time across the season.
I’ve kept two transfers in the bank for December, but the return of Aguero could be a concern. As Salah illustrated this week, these big names are more than capable of hitting a hat trick at any point. If I don’t bring Aguero back in when he’s fit again, this could potentially cost me massively. On the other hand with Arsenal’s upcoming fixtures the same could be said for Aubameyang.
Tips for Game Week 16
This game week is a short week with only one round of Premier League fixtures at the weekend and only the league cup midweek (where player selection can be a lottery). There are also some games where the big teams are going to clash:
Man Utd Vs Liverpool
Everton Vs Man City
With easier fixtures for:
Brighton Vs Chelsea
Spurs Vs Burnley
Southampton Vs Arsenal
As a result I’ve got a few options (with two transfers remaining and £1.1m in the bank):
Do nothing. It’s a short game week and retaining the two transfers should be beneficial in what could be a low scoring weekend.
Swap Mane for Sane. This would ensure I can still transfer Aguero back in (should he return quickly from injury). However I’d lose a big name player who is highly owned.
Swap Richarlison for Mahrez. I’d then lose the option of bringing Aguero back in for Aubameyang during December.
I don’t really see any as ideal. Doing nothing is a bit of a risk as I’m concerned that I’m lacking Man City coverage going forward. However Swapping Richarlison for Mahrez is far from ideal either. If Aguero comes back in he could do some serious damage during the last two game weeks of the month and I’d have no way of getting him back in. At the moment I’m favouring sticking with what I’ve got for the weekend. This should give me chance to review the situation this time next week but I’d be interested in other people’s thoughts.
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Good analysis as ever DTT.
I think that you need to lose Shaw. Even when he is playing, you seem to be playing with 10 men.
If you was going to lose Mane, you probably should have done it a few weeks ago. Players seem to go through peaks and troughs. Surely, it’s only a matter of time before he hits another purple patch, so I can understand your reluctance to lose him.
I have a similar ownership concern with Sterling. I’m the only one in the top 6 without him, but at the moment I cannot bring him in without losing another big name.
I took the plunge last night and lost Ederson for Alisson. As predicted, it saved me 0.2m. Just hope it pays off because those Liverpool sheets were keeping me from taking first place.
Sterling is becoming fairly highly owned in my league as well which is a worry with Mane dropping in value. I think I’ll stick this weekend with a busy end to the month approaching.
Only bottom club Fulham have kept fewer clean sheets than Man Utd. I think that alone will persuade me to lose Shaw
Any thoughts on a replacement for the same value?
I had Shaw for a few months, but lost him in November. His value was spiralling rapidly in the wrong direction and I’ve lost all faith in Utd clean sheets this season, irrespective of the opponent!
1 clean sheet in 10 is just not worth keeping!! Especially when they don’t have the attacking prowess of a Doherty, Alonso, etc!!
I do completely agree, just struggling to find a better replacement. Any ideas?
Just had a quick look DTT and I must admit, no names spring out at me at a similar price. Could you get extra funds from a Mane to Sane transfer?
Although he may not play every game (Sane) I can see him playing most whilst Mendy is out. He seems to bring in good returns with every game he plays too whereas Mane can be hit and miss?
No other transfers jump out at me within your team unless you downgrade Kepa? Not an ideal situation though…🤔
I have the same team but I have Sane instead of Mane. This leaves me with one transfer and enough funds to bring Agureo back in for Auba. I only took the punt on Sane to save the cash. Is Shaw out for long?
I don’t think Shaw is out for too long but it would probably be better if he did miss the Liverpool game.
With mane id be more worried if he wasnt getting these chances. A player of his quality wont keep missing the golden chances like he did in the week.
Completely agree. A good outcome would be keeping him while others take him out and then he grabs a couple of goals.
I like the sane , mane swap idea , especially as it leaves the potential to put aguero back in.
Who’s got the better fixtures ?
I think Man City have slightly favourable fixtures but I have doubts over Sane’s selection in every game. Whereas I think Mane will get a lot of game time.
I lost Mane a while back and was glad of the timing of it. However, as others have pointed out, it could be a matter of time before he bangs a brace in and I wouldn’t hesitate to bring him back if form improves (and my transfer allowance comes back!) 😬
United’s injury situation is horrific at present so I’d certainly be looking at shifting Shaw on. Decent fixtures or not, I wouldn’t be predicting too many clean sheets with the number of bodies they currently have on the treatment table.
Good Luck with your decisions DTT! 👍🏻
I don’t fancy him against Liverpool this weekend but it wouldn’t surprise me too much if they kept a couple of clean sheets during the rest of December. It’s a tough one as I don’t see an obvious replacement.
I agree with the comments about shaw. Have no faith that united defenders will be picking up many points any time soon. Hard to believe that united defenders were all the rage last season.
I swapped aguero for auba and unlike you and many others, I have no real plans to get him back in. I’d be just as wary about going through December without auba and seeing that he’s cheaper I’m going to stick with him. Hoping that doubling up on city mids will soften any blow aguero could deliver.
City do have that extra game this week though which worries me. Regarding Shaw, who’s a better replacement?
Definitely agree with the comments above about Shaw. He needs to be replaced asap.
119 points for my team, doing ok with my team at 4356 overall position. A change of strategy from last season has worked out well for me.
On Sane, good choice but likely to be out of the team when Mendy comes back. Their record of playing in the same team is really bad. So already planning to take Sane out of my team in the next month.
Tempted by Aguero today if he starts, could come back with a bang and makes a nice differential as most of my mini league rivals replaced him.
Who would you take him out for at the same value? that’s my main problem.
I’m in the same boat. Need to get rid of shaw asap. But for who? Any advice would be appreciated!
On 1010 points. 1.9m in bank. Still got all 3 subs
Team is
Kepa
Doherty Robertson Laporte Shaw
Sane Hazard Richarlison
Salah Kane Auba
how long is Shaw out for anyone know?
Starting to think may aswell keep him in if he’s back soon rather than waste transfer on someone who won’t do any better?
Also probably the same with Mane, keep him in this week we can always reaccess, especially with not many games this week.
Most people will have used their transfers up, so eventhough may lose a few points this week may put us in a good position over the busy xmas schedule.
Ideally be great if there was a way to get Sane and Mane in the team and another city defender(their defence will only improve point wise surely). But cant find a way to do this!
Good analysis as always dt.
I have shaw in one of my teams and would like to get rid but not many options. Davies for Spurs is good value at 2.9 if you can free up extra cash. Another option I’m considerinh is Dalot at 1.5, obviously utd aren’t great at back but he looks decent attackong threat and should play abit with their injuries.
Another option is to throw in a midfielder instead if you’ve got 4 at the back, Maddison or Torreira from Arsenal. Also Henderson is a cheap option.
I’d be interested to know your thoughts on a potential transfer of mahrez to Ali. Had he not started today I would have definitely made the change but tempted to leave mahrez in at least for this week as he plays today and think he will play against Leicester in the week too with it being his old team but think sane and sterling will be first choice for the wing positions at city and Ali looked good the weekend and should play every game. Appreciate your thoughts.
Cheers
I’d personally favour Mahrez at the moment. Just because the transfer is very like for like – I could see either of them scoring equally well. With December being a long month it’s always worth holding onto the transfers you’ve got unless it’s essential.
What did you decide dtt, justvabout to kick off aren’t we?
Yeah I’m not changing anything at the moment.
No attacking returns today but Doherty is securing Fantasy Football legend status with another eight points today. 👏🙌
Another week goes by with another goal conceded by City. With Liverpool suffering from injuries in defence also, I see 3-4-3 as a decent choice for this month.
My Silva to Sane transfer gave instant returns which was good to see. Was aware of the possibility that one of Sane or Sterling may be benched today so it was nice to see Sterling score from the bench.
Spurs got out of jail today and you have to feel sorry for the Hart owners. At least Kane got the assist as he was in danger of blanking.
Decent start to the weekend. Hope you all had similar. 👌🏼
Jetting back home tomorrow so in for a long day of travelling. Great time had by all and Santa was brilliant. The Husky ride was pretty intense though as my kids were thrown from the sleigh! All still in one piece though. 😅
Had another look DTT at potential Shaw replacements and I’d quite fancy Declan Rice if I were in your position. West Ham fans rave about him and he plays in midfield but is classed as a defender on DT, so multiple avenues of points. They have great fixtures and he’s only priced at £2m currently. A nice little differential?
Nice tip Chris Sutton. Could be a good punt. Frees up funds to to bring in Mane for Richarlison. Can’t be too many with a midfield of Sane and Mane
Could be a good option and is certainly cheap. He’s not been on a radar at all so I’ll have a look in more detail. Man Utd have a decent run of fixtures now though – I must admit I could be tempted by Lindelof given how low his value is. Surely Man Utd are going to finish in the top 6 so a defender below 2m for a club that big isn’t bad going. This would probably give me enough funds to stick Aguero back in and swap Richarlison to a City midfielder.
Yeah, I’ve taken another look at the fixtures, and apart from Spurs, United have good fixtures. Just feels like the club are so dis-jointed all over the park. Could be a worthwhile gamble though if they can tighten up and get back to basics.
You’d think a club of that size will eventually put a run together. However their record when it comes to clean sheets this season does look very poor. Also I can’t see them doing much at all against PSG.
Hope you didn’t listen to me in the last thread Mux. He was wondering who to ditch out of Shaqiri and Maddison. I said Shaqiri would probably be a bit part player through the season and Maddison should get much more game time thus more points.
Maddison gets subbed at half-time and Shaqiri comes on, scores a brace and gets Star Man. 😬
Lol, you just cannot predict things like that!!
I’m more annoyed that they removed Salah’s 7 rating almost two hours after the game!!
Apparently he didn’t deserve one because he didn’t provide the assist!
At least you didn’t take Jesus out of your team just before kick off Saturday 🙈
Anyone thinking of getting De Bruyne in this week as could be good differential which those who have used all their transfers. Or do you think he will need a few games first ? As I need to do something as trailing in my mini leagues and have 3 transfers left
I’m not touching KDB until he he played at least 3 full 90 min games!
One sub left.
1.1m in the bank
1009 points
Alisson
Robertson
Laporte
Doherty
Hazard
Maddison
Mahrez
Sane
Kane
Auba
Salah
I’ve only had Mahrez for 3 games, but once again (as happened at the start of the season), he just doesn’t seem to earn points when in my team.
Thinking of replacing him already!!
Do you fancy Maddison to Richarlison or Digne as Everton have some good fixtures after spurs game. Or Mahrez to Mane think he might start scoring well again.
My team
Fabianski
Laporte
Doherty
Robertson
Hazard
Richarlison
Mane
Sterling
Kane
Aguero
Lacazette
0.8ITB and all three transfers left.
Hi Callum,
Yes, I had Richarlison a few weeks ago, but took him out ahead of the City & Spurs games. Actually it was Richarlison who I took out for Mahrez. Wish I hadn’t bothered now, but at the time, City had more (and easier) fixtures.
Mane isn’t a bad shout either. Again, I had him earlier in the season, but took him out when he got injured and never bothered to put him back. Just as well I suppose because he went on a dry spell, but as you say, he could ignite again at any time.
Ideally, I need to get Sterling in, but that will not be happening in December! I may have to do what you have done and lose Alisson for a cheaper keeper to accommodate him.
Digne is a player I like too. Like you say, decent fixtures on the horizon, bodies back from injury in defence now and he seems to be heavily involved with set-pieces. Could be a great differential. 👍🏻
Yeh, I’ve heard a lot about Digne. He seems to be similar to Doherty in as much as you will not get many clean sheets from him, but he does provide other avenues for points.
My only gripe is at 3.3m, he is a bit pricey for an Everton defender.
Wouldn’t surprise me if he does well against Leicester in the league cup. Team looks solid though. Any thoughts on when/if you will put Aguero back in?
Now that Jesus seems to have found some form, do you think more rotation could be on the cards for the striker role at City?
Yeah absolutely – which is why I’m a little hesitant about putting Aguero back in but Aubameyang hasn’t done a lot since I put him in either. I think you could literally toss a coin between the two who may score better across the season and also the end of the month. Are you not planning on putting Aguero back in?
Well being as I’ve used my transfers already, I’ll just have to monitor to striker situation at City and make a decision in January.
Lacazette is probably not a long-term player for me but I’ll see how he does for the rest of the month.
Need to switch Ryan out as soon as the transfers kick back in as well.
When you consider Rudiger is £4.4m and has 65pts, Digne is £3.3m and has 64 pts though, worth consideration?
Certainly worth considering if Everton have decent fixtures, which they do have after Spurs. I’m not sure whether he will be as effective as Doherty in getting consistent points from other avenues though.
He will certainly be a differential. Not only in terms of the player, but also the team, so on that basis he is staying on my radar, although the main problem for me is who would I lose to bring him in?
I guess a case could be made for losing Laporte because City’s defence is pretty dismal of late, however he does pop up with the odd goal and goals from defenders are gold dust!
This leaves just Maddison and Mahrez who I’m looking to lose anyway.
Jose sacked.
Worth keeping our eye on the Utd team now….. Maybe Sanchez ‘s potential could be reignited in the coming months…
Who do we think will replace him? Zidane? Might see a different player in Pogba if that’s the case.
Out of the current United squad, I reckon the only player to have come out with any decent recognition this season is Rashford. One of the very few who has been trying his best.
It will be Carrick until the end of the season. After that, they might look to Zidane.
Aguero to return tonight!!.. Urrgghh…. You just know that he will sting all of us who replaced him with Auba!!
I wouldn’t mind if Auba had been worth it!
I think if you have a couple of City midfielders that can kinda cover the odd goal from Aguero. It’s when he hits a brace or hat-trick that he does real damage.
Hoping for Sterling game time mid-week, along with Lacazette and Kane. Think the rest of my team who could be involved will be rested.
I have Mahrez and Sane, but Sane will be rested.
They will go with Aguero up front, Sterling on the left and Mahrez on the right.
That doesn’t really help me when my main rival has all three, so Sterling and Aguero will cause problems for me tonight. :/
No points for Aguero or Sterling. Over the moon with that!
It seems that Mahrez doesn’t like being in my team though. I have now owned him for a total of 7 games. 3 at the start of the season and the most recent 4….. still yet to register me a single point!
Weird how we get these bogey players!!
For those who brought Auba in for Aguero and considering swapping back, Aubas stats in recent weeks have been amazing, despite no goals, so I fully expect him to score a fair few over the coming weeks…
We shall see.
Apparently Kane May sit out tonight because he has a cold…. Diddums.
I very much doubt he’d want to miss this one so surely he’ll start?
I’ve read this via many sources, most of which said that he also skipped training, so it’s unlikely that he will start. Probably be benched!.. ffs!! Could have done with some Kane points too.
For a bit of a sniffle? Give me strength…🙄
Thanks for the info Lee. 👍🏻
No Hazard either because of a knock, although I don’t suspect that this will bother too many people given his widespread ownership.
No Hazard in my team, maybe time now for me to quit this game.
Have a nice Christmas everyone 🎄
You love it really RR. 😉
He does seems to pick up so many star man awards doesn’t he. I think the fact that Chelsea have no decent centre forward and no other huge stars in midfield, it kinda puts him in the default position to pick it up most weeks (when Chelsea win).
Yeah, not a good week for me being a non-hazard owner. Anyway, doing ok on 1037 points.
I have to say Hazard and Van Dijk are probably in the essential status.
Are you not in the DTT mini league RR? Was going to have a quick look at your team but can’t see a team on 1037 points?
Yeah, got a team in DTT league but it is my lowest team out of 5. My main team is on 1037 and my highest ranked. It is also in all my paid leagues so it is the one I concentrate the most on. My lowest team is all in the free mini leagues. I should go back to having one team really, easy to manage. Also busy managing 5 telegraph fantasy teams and Fpl team (sort of, don’t like that game much, always get captains wrong) never tried the sky game though.
I won one of DTT mini leagues last season so I don’t see myself as a bad player but even with four years experience I can still improve. I generally find the psychology of fantasy football interesting. Maybe that is why I enjoy the game. I always looking for answers to questions like what is the best strategy? Is there a set formula people use for success year after year? Can we predict player’s form so being one step ahead of the competition? How much does bias play in our decision making? Should I go with form over fixtures or vice versa? Which stats should I look at and do I even need to watch football games anymore? When is the optimal time to use transfers? Questions generally people don’t ask about but they do maintain my interest in the game and could help me improve.
I’ve been having a look ahead to possible transfer routes in January and I’m seriously considering going 4-4-2 for a while. The move I’m considering is Lacazette to VVD. Arsenal’s fixtures stiffen up in January whilst Liverpool’s become really nice. Could be some decent clean sheet opportunities there and he’s a main stay of that defence whereas Lacazette is always running the risk of being benched.
This move should leave me with extra funds for a Ryan upgrade in January also. I’d then have the one transfer left to cover injuries or possibly go back to 4-3-3 and bring in the likes of Aguero if I wanted to.
A lot of water to flow under the bridge from now until then however and we all know the best laid plans can quickly be in tatters. No harm in looking ahead though in terms of strategy.
What keeper are you looking at to replace Ryan?
Need to asses the values at the time in all honesty as a lot will be dependant on price. Hopefully the big teams will keep leaking goals through December to bring their price down. 🙂
Getting a bit pissed off with Lacazette being benched.
Surely he starts at home to Burnley now though? Aubameyang has played a lot of minutes of late compared to Lacazette so it’s not beyond the realms of possibility that Aubameyang is benched whilst Lacazette starts. Most likely both will start though.
The good thing for you Chris is that Auba has been poor!! Had he been bagging the points, it would have made you question you choice of Lacazette over Auba.
Not so good for us Auba owners however!! Really disappointed to see just a 5 point return from 4 games!
Looking at his stats and the patterns, surely Auba is due a peak soon, but if I have a weakness in this game, I have to admit, it’s patience!!
I have been stung many times in the past where I’ve shipped players after they’ve done nothing in 4-5 games, only for them to bag points the minute I lose them. Auba and Mahrez are prime examples of this at present. I’m thinking of shipping them, which probably means they are due points! ha ha!
Yeah, none of the strikers bar Kane now are performing consistently this season it seems, hence why I’m considering 4-4-2. Hoping Lacazette can get some more game time in the coming games as he must be pretty fresh now from the amount of time he’s sat on the bench! 😂 As you say, feel like I’ve dodged a bullet somewhat with Aubameyang being quiet, as many of my ML rivals have him too.
Not rushing to get Aguero back in as I can see Jesus getting more game time now that he’s found some form, so I can see plenty of rotation there.
Anyone looking to bring in KDB? Could be a good differential initially before the masses swell towards him as he gets back to full speed.
I will consider KDB but only when he has 2 or 3 full 90 games under his belt.
I don’t like to risk bringing them in so quickly when they are returning from injury. I know a few people that did that with him a month or so ago, only for him to limp off again.
That said, he isn’t as cheap as I’d like him to be. Areas that need to be improved for me are:
Chelsea defensive coverage – I have no Chelsea defenders and their fixtures look very good
Sterling – Primarily as a block. I am now leading my ML (just) and Sterling is owned right down to 8th place
As I only have one sub remaining for December, I need to think how to accommodate these changes and the only way at present is to lose Mahrez for Luiz and then Auba or Sane for Sterling.
I don’t feel comfortable with either option so am scratching my head a bit.
Can’t see much wrong with the Mahrez to Luiz option.
I’d be keeping hold of Sane for now as well whilst Mendy is absent. He is their best option on that left hand side so should get good game time.
I am taking a punt on Snodgrass with my last transfer…hes 2.7 million and rising, his high average means he will continue to rise into January and West Ham’s next games are Watford, Southampton, Burnley, Brighton and Birmingham in the FA cup, they have also won 4 in a row….What could go wrong!!
Snodgrass is a great shout and a bargain way into that West Ham midfield. Good form, good fixtures, set-piece involvement etc.
What do you reckon will happen to Ryan’s value this week Al? Hoping to get as much value out of him before I shift him in January. He’s off with Australia in the Asia Cup after Boxing Day as well.
Any transfer happening this week or hanging it out until Boxing Day? 😁
Probably going to stick with what I’ve got unless Shaw our Aubameyang don’t start.