Review of Game Week 17

GW Points: 45
Overall Points: 963
Overall Rank: 128,863
Transfers: None used

Game week 17 provided a slight improvement on the leaderboard but the team didn’t do enough to make a significant jump. All in all, it was another frustrating game week and I’ll be looking to make some big changes to the team in January. It was really difficult to see Moura get on the scoresheet again for Spurs – I’d picked him a few weeks ago for this very reason but felt like I had to take him out when Covid hit the Spurs squad. I had the transfers and we had no idea how long he would be out for. Remarkably, he’s now scored twice since Spurs have been back in action. I was also missing Robertson and Walker this week – Walker appears to have disappeared since his red card in the Champions League and is simply stating as “not being fit” and obviously Robertson was suspended. The late Brighton goal cost me a reasonable number of points with clean sheets being taken out for Rudiger and Alonso but at least Mount picked up star man. It’s been a tough season and I’ve never found myself in the position where I’ve fallen behind and struggled to catch a break to gain momentum but every choice seems to backfire at the moment. I’m looking forward to January, in the hope of finding some luck in the New Year, with Salah heading off to the Africa Cup of Nations, this should mix things up for a short while. 

Positives:

De Bruyne picked up 18 points with a goal and a star man performance during the game week. 

Mount picked up 9 points 

Ronaldo got on the scoresheet against Burnley and picked up 9 points as well

Potential issues

If I were higher up on the leaderboard, I’d say the team isn’t in bad shape. However, because I’ve got ground to make up, I’m going to have to make some changes. Walker, Sancho and Salah are likely to come out straight away in January. I’m not sure who I’ll be able to afford as of yet, but if I can bring in Son for Salah and Cancelo for Walker, I’d be fairly happy. I’d then use whatever I’ve got left over for a decent replacement for Sancho – I’d happily take someone like Moura or Bowen but I’ll have to see how the price changes affect my budget over the next week. 

Tips for Game Week 18

There is one more game week left in December and if anyone is lucky enough to have transfers left, it would be a great time to use them. It’s a double game week for Liverpool, Chelsea, Spurs and Arsenal, as they are all involved in the EFL Cup semi finals. Although I’m fairly sure any players involved in the Afcon won’t feature in the extra cup fixtures. 

If I had transfers remaining, I’d certainly be considering Kane, Son, Moura, Jota, Lukaku, TAA or Smith Rowe. Having said that, it is worth considering a few factors – how will Liverpool perform without Mane and Salah? Jota will have game time but will they score as many goals? When considering Chelsea defensively, it’s worth noting that they will be losing Mendy, so will they be strong defensively? They’ve not been great at the back recently anyway. Spurs shouldn’t be affected by Afcon so Son is a player who interests me personally. With Mahrez off to Afcon and Sterling in good form, he could also be worth considering, although he won’t benefit from extra EFL Cup fixtures. Another longer term option could be the inform Bowen.

As always, check out the fixtures spreadsheet below:

https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1vAtgJN53MKh-u007SOFmPKu8lwbyD7eYVlB1-CLm0qo/

I also published a couple of blogs earlier in the week that might be of use:  

Bargain Players going into 2022
Top 10 in form players

If you’d like any other similar topics covered, feel free to make some suggestions in the comments. Also, make use of the comments, as the more people who contribute the more tips/advice we will generate.