Review of Game Week 2

Posted on by Dream Team Tips
Review of Game Week 2

GW Points: 78
Overall Points: 132
Overall Rank: 23,314
Transfers: Aubameyang out, Werner in
Willian out, De Bruyne in
Traore out, Podence in (all end of game week 1)

Overall I was delighted with the performance of the team during game week 2. A rise on the overall leaderboard by roughly 20,000 positions was a great result at this stage of the season and I’m comfortably having one of the best starts to a season that I’ve ever had. There’s certainly room for improvement but everything is going in the right direction at the moment with plenty of options going forward. I did miss out on points in a couple of areas – mainly due to not bringing in De Bruyne and debating whether to bring in Foden for Traore and then opting to stay as I was. However, all in all I can’t complain. Had I gone for De Bruyne, Havertz would have come out and I’d have missed his hat trick so it all worked out for the better in the long run – although I do feel that hat trick was a very big slice of luck for me. One key thing I did want to mention was patience – I noticed a lot of people rushing into 4-5 transfers after game week 1 and after only seeing one performance taking out players such as Alisson, TAA and Kane because of one bad week. I tend to select my team for a number of weeks and one poor performance wasn’t going to put me off giving these players at least another week as I picked them for a reason at the start of the season. I could see the value in sticking to a sensible plan and holding off on unnecessary changes to give myself a bit more data – this certainly paid off this week. I would add that I’m probably more cautious than most and this does cost me points at times but the vast majority of the time it does pay off to not burn transfers as a knee jerk reaction to one poor performance. 

Positives:

11 points for Alisson. Clean sheet and a penalty save contributed to this. Very lucky in some ways as most of the time players score from penalties but either way a welcomed 11 points.

8 points for TAA with a clean sheet. Happy with that after a poor defensive display against Leeds.

28 points for Havertz after a hat trick in the EFL Cup. Very fortunate to say the least. He got taken off early due to the sending off against Liverpool and perhaps this was the reason he started in the cup. Either way, these points pretty much saved my game week and got me into the position I’m in now. He was due to come out as well but due to these points I’ve kept him in with Chelsea having some good fixtures on the horizon.

4 assists, a goal and a star man for Kane. This isn’t too far off hat trick territory in terms of points on the board. I was absolutely delighted with this considering there was so much talk about taking him out. Again patience being the key and not taking him out based on one fixture.

Not a positive in their own right but good to see some points on the board for Salah, Traore and Aubameyang. 

Potential Issues:

Spurs failed to keep a clean sheet again, in the context of the game week this wasn’t a disaster but how good of a start would the team have had if Spurs could have managed even 1 clean sheet from their first two games? As they play Newcastle this weekend, I’ve decided to keep Davies and Doherty for the time being – however neither are likely to last much longer in the team. They’ve also got the Europa League playoff fixture to play this week, which will count for points so I thought it was worth holding on.

I saw Arsenal’s fixtures as a potential problem so I’ve taken out Aubameyang and Willian. I wanted to get De Bruyne in anyway so these two had to make way to free up the funds to get him. If you wanted to read a full explanation of my transfers it’s here.

Although I’ve only just bought them in, longer term I’d have question marks against Podence and Werner. I’m hoping this week is the week that Werner kicks on but I’m still a little uncertain given the start that he’s had. With Podence, I’m concerned that the new right back for Wolves might push Traore on and risk his position in the team. However, both could potentially be shorter term options with 1 transfer still left for the month and 5 more soon available for October. I’m considering bringing in a Wolves defender and returning to Traore already given Wolves upcoming fixtures.

Despite the hat trick for Havertz, his first game can’t be ignored. As a result, he’s another player I’ll be keeping an eye on.

Tips for Game Week 3

I’m not sure I’d be bringing in many Spurs players if I didn’t already own them (except Son or Kane), however on paper they do have a decent week ahead of them in terms of fixtures so this could be worth considering.

I’ve avoided Leicester players this week as they face City and have no EFL Cup fixture due to getting knocked out.

Man Utd and Chelsea both have decent fixtures but their form has been less consistent than other teams and clean sheets appear hard to come by. Liverpool and Arsenal play each other. 

Wolves have a decent fixture against West Ham but are also out of the EFL Cup. Wolves are also a team that stand out as having a very good run of fixtures in October which is worth considering.

Here’s a graph mapping my progress compared to last season. I think it will be a big ask to do as well as last season, however early signs are optimistic.

221 thoughts on “Review of Game Week 2”

  1. Havertz save me this week too !
    I also took a gamble on Podence taking Davis out for him .
    The way he’s playing he could become undropable 🤔

    I’m already looking to next month . With City facing Leeds there could be an argument for needing Sterling and Foden for that game ?

    1. I’ll be looking at how to get both in but can’t imagine it will be easy with De Bruyne as well

  2. Nice analysis. I do admire the way you keep your cool with transfers, sometimes wish I was more like that. 😆

    Do you feel that Kane and Salah are becoming pick and stick players, I certainly am?

    1. It can be difficult at time because the temptation is certainly there to plough through the transfers. I’m not sure anyone is essential really because if Sterling starts to look essential, one of them might have to go.

      1. Must admit – that works quite well for me as I was going to go for him instead of Werner but played it safe so there won’t be any wondering “what if”.

  4. team 1 Patricio

    T Alx
    Castagne
    Shaw out for Semado or Coady

    William out for Traore
    Barnes
    D bruyen
    Fernandes

    Salah
    Rashford out for Kane or Sterling
    Son

    Team2 Patricio
    T Alx
    Castagne
    Shaw out for Semedo or Coady

    William out for Havertz
    Barnes
    D bruyen
    Fernandes

    Sterling
    Salah
    Werner

    this the next transfers.

    1. Thanks Mick – happy with the team progress to date so hopefully get a another decent game week in.

  6. Do any of you guys have the list again of the dates in the month that the transfers end and get new allocation for the season?

    1. Oct-20 02/10/2020 07:00 06/11/2020 06:59
      Nov-20 06/11/2020 07:00 04/12/2020 06:59
      Dec-20 04/12/2020 07:00 01/01/2021 06:59
      Jan-20 01/01/2021 07:00 05/02/2021 06:59
      Feb-20 05/02/2021 07:00 05/03/2021 06:59
      Mar-20 05/03/2021 07:00 02/04/2021 06:59
      Apr-20 02/04/2021 07:00 07/05/2021 06:59
      May-20 07/05/2021 07:00 29/05/2021 20:00

  7. Great review Paul and a great result for your team. The Havertz hatty was a huge boost but sometimes you make your own luck by staying patient.

    I think sticking with the Spurs at the back could be a patient move that could give rewards soon too looking at the fixtures. There is also the added bonus of that play-off fixture and progress through to the next round of the EFL cup.

    I’m similarly keeping faith with the Everton boys at the back due to fixtures and EFL involvement. I just have to prey for no more idiocy from Pickford! 😂

    1. Thanks Chris – certainly had a good slice of luck but as you say. It was the decision to hold transfers and take another look at what happens over game week 2 that caused it.
      I really hope Spurs can keep a clean sheet this week. It would really help to give the team another boost. I think it’s the only major mistake I’ve made so far.
      Must admit we’ve probably got the opposite hopes for the game week for the time being. It’s the Everton clean sheets which can do me harm so I’m always hoping they get wiped out 😂

  8. Another great review and definitely heading in the right direction.

    It’s been confirmed that Tottenham will play the next round of the EFL cup on Tuesday 29th September against Chelsea so that’s three games this week! Fingers crossed for at least two clean sheets for you Paul as I haven’t seen many teams with Spurs defenders in.

    What about rolling the dice and replacing Auba/Salah to Son for this GW? Auba/Salah may be rested for Thursday’s game as they may let the kids have a run out against Liverpool’s 2nd team squad?

    In my opinion, Son will surely rise with Auba likely to fall but its anyone’s guess with the random pricing we’ve had so far.

    #foodforthough

    1. Your flying Guru……as usual I feel compelled to do my own thing and already 30+ points behind you, when will I learn…..you are 4 points off the leader in my mini having smashed it the last 2 years…..will pay more attention..lol. Keep up the great work Bud

      1. Could all easily change, only 2 weeks in. All it takes is an Aubameyang windfall and you’ll have caught him. (That’s if you still have him).
        Kane will get a serious injury this weekend 😉

      2. Thanks David – early days but happy with the start. Could all change within a game week though. Starting to feel a bit more hopeful about the season now.

    2. I have put Son and Kane in one of my teams but I’m not brave enough to take Salah out of my main team so I think there’s certainly scope in the idea. Hoping for some decent returns from Spurs players this week but I’ve been saying that since the start of the season.

  10. I’ve had some interesting messages from dream team support this week which have helped clarify the odd price changes.

    After dream team support told me that:

    “The projected price is given at the start of a week and will not change until the next game week”

    they then went on to clarify this further (this was in response to my message reading “Thanks, unfortunately I don’t see the point of it in that case as all the information it provides is just complete guesswork” which I think might have goaded them into revealing more than they probably wanted to):

    “The projected price increase is not guess work, it is worked out using the points scored last in the previous game week, the projected score in this game week along with the fixture difficulty.”

    The most important thing to note from this reply is “using the points scored last in the previous game week” as I think this is key to the odd price changes. In the first week Boly and Traore both scored 11 points over 2 games. Traore rose in price by 0.1 while Boly stayed the same price, the only difference was that Boly scored 8 then 3 and Traore scored 3 then 8 so it was only the last game that counted. It was the same for Jimenez (8 points then 0 points, dropped 0.2 in price) and it explains why de Bruyne dropped in price this week too.

    I think it is fair to presume that price change is based on that weeks scores plus the last score from the previous week.

    I did go on to point out to dt support that “the projected score is a guess and to a certain degree so is the fixture difficulty because as you yourself previously stated earlier in our chat “Anything can happen in football and sometimes teams can over or under perform (Leicester vs Southampton being a great example)” and so a “difficult” fixture is not necessarily difficult on the day”

    Which they then agreed with, not that they had much choice considering their explanation included 2 pieces of data that are, as they call them “predictions” which is essentially a guess!

    Hope this is of help to everyone in explaining the odd price changes being thrown up. I can’t guarantee it is all correct but it seems to fit with the players I have looked at.

    1. I still can’t figure it out regardless. De Bruyne is worth 7m. He scored 15 points. Even if that’s across 2 games his average was 7.5 points per game. He can’t be expected to score more than that – he should have broke even at the very least. In my view 15 points across the game week for a 7m player meant he should have gone up regardless of if he played 15 minutes in the cup.

      1. Because it was the first week only the second game score counted, the 15 points de Bruyne scored didn’t count towards his price change at all

          1. It’s just the way they have worked it out for the first week of a player playing, no idea why. Seems to fit with the players i’ve looked at

            Traore scored 3 then 8 and rose

            Boly scored 8 then 3 stayed the same price

            Jimenez scored 8 then 0 and fell

            De Bruyne scored 15 then 0 and fell

            I think because only the last games score from the previous week counts towards the next weeks price change for the first week only they have only included the last games score towards the price change

            1. Sounds like a glitch in the system or the logic is wrong. As far as I can see – if De Bruyne scores 15 points over a game week then he absolutely should go up, no question about it.

  11. Jesus is out for a few weeks maybe more good job we brought Werner in instead I just hope now he starts firing!!! I was reluctant to lose Auba who is proven goalscorer. I think Martial and Jiminez will have a good month too…

    1. I didn’t want to lose Auba either but needs must. Will be monitoring the other two but Werner is a safe bet at the moment.

      1. Yeah I think he will lose his place but he’s likely to be gone after this game week for me, even if they keep a clean sheet.

  13. what drama in the M.U Brighton game.
    Brighton deserved the win really.
    ref blue the full time whistle at 2+2 but VAR spotted hand ball
    ref looked at the monitor awarded a nailed on pen.
    after this game Shaw has to go M.U defence leaks
    like a leaky roof.

    2. Glad I didn’t bring Shaw in. I was tempted with their first two fixtures but they’ve been poor at the back.

      1. he is out next week.
        looking at 2 off wolves defenders good fixtures and more reliable.
        or maybe Chilwell if he looks like starting, he likes to get forward.
        they cant possibly be as bad as tonight surely.👍

  14. Just completed the MOTD challenge…

    Not…….an……..enjoyable………watch. 🤢😭😂

    United extremely fortunate to win that one. Chelsea defence an embarrassment, Werner testing my patience now especially playing more out wide. Everton shipping the usual goal but 🔥 up top.

    Gotta stick with the Toffee defence until that Derby now as much as it pains me. Chelsea look too much of a work-in-progress all over the park.

    Glad to have Rash in my best team at least but he ain’t in the team i want to be the best! 😂🙄

    Need Harry to do the business tomorrow as I brought him in along with KDB with my final two transfers…

  15. Werner don’t look like scoring anytime soon. To be honest, he wouldn’t finish his breakfast! 3 in 3 for Danny Ings. Havertz looked decent today. Jimenez or Ings has to be worth considering now.

    1. Jimenez is definitely on my radar looking at there next few fix.
      he would replace
      Rashford for a few games looking at M.U fix.🤔

      1. I thought Rashford is probably the pick of the United attackers at the moment tbf (although that’s not saying much right now). Incredible to see how much they’ve dropped off as they were imperious post lock-down.

    2. I’m fighting the urge to rage transfer out next month but I think I’m going to try and be patient and see what happens when Pulisic comes back into the fray. I’m hoping that he’ll move back to the centre-forward position when Puli returns on the left.

    3. I did notice that he hit the bar – appreciate that gets you no points but had that one gone in then I’d have been happy.

  16. Man Utd seem to hit top gear around the end of January. And they drop off around March. Strange one really. They seemed unbeatable last February. Rashford definitely looks top of his game. No so sure on defenders

    1. Defence look so poor and they really need to address the centre-back position imo. Maguire & Lindelof is not a pairing that belong in a team with title-winning aspirations. Thought AWB looked very ropey too which says something as he’s usually a steady defender.

    1. Absolutely Marc, insanely harsh. I just don’t see how he can control his arms making an aerial challenge, add to that his back were turned and it hit him on the elbow. Absolute shocker.

      1. So many penalties being given by var now its crazy. Its the whole argument on what is classed as the ‘natural’ position. Seems you have to jump with your arms down straight now.

  18. Wow, what an absolute shite show that Spurs game was. I can’t believe they are giving penalties for that but it needs sorting ASAP.

    I got rid of Dier but i would be fuming losing the clean sheet so late for that. Frustrated Kane owner here though, he looked great first half and could have been a brace first half but for a superb Darlow. They struggled to create anything second half though, possibly because of the Son substitution. Hope Bale is out there for them soon, it will make a huge difference to their attack.

  19. These penalty decisions are a joke and Hodgeson summed it up perfectly yesterday. We really need to load up on penalty takers this season it appears. So unlucky for those Spurs defensive assets.

    Son went off with a hamstring strain which is a real concern as a new Kane owner. He’s involved with most of what Spurs do going forwards and without him I’m looking at that Spurs team looking where any other creativity and attacking threat is coming from and I can’t see it. He’ll be sticking Alli back in at this rate…

    1. I’m still absolutely raging. I’m a terrible loser at the best of times but feel like I’ve been robbed of 16 points. I’d climbed to within the top 5,000 in the 90th minute. Doherty and Davies were on 8 points each. I’d kept them in mainly for that fixture, it’s an absolute joke.

      1. Newcastle never looked like scoring today and a Spurs CS looked so comfortable and inevitable. So many strange variables to contend with this season, whether it be within the DT game or the football itself. I’m hoping things settle down a bit because I feel that I’ve applied decent logic to most of my decisions but Lady Luck is sticking two fingers up at me at present…😳

        1. Couldn’t agree more – if it wasn’t for this blog I’d be throwing in the towel. I always want to win at anything I do, it’s out of your control enough when it comes to fantasy football but when decisions like that come into play it drives me up the wall. At least when I play football, I can sometimes blame myself if we don’t win but you’ve literally got no control over the outcome in this other than applying logic to decisions.

      2. These penalty decisions are also making me wonder if there’s little point investing heavily at the back. Just feels so difficult for ANY team to keep a CS at the moment.

  20. Is anybody thinking about dropping Werner?

    I’ve noticed he’s still in a lot of peoples teams despite not really doing anything points wise at the moment. 3 goals for Chelsea this weekend and his name wasn’t on the sheet. Looks like Lampard sees him more as a winger now as well. Ings and Bamford are getting a goal a game on average in the Premier League alone, though Leeds have quite a tough run with City and Wolves up next…

    Dream Team have Callum Robinson down as a Midfielder despite starting up front for West Brom. He scored two this weekend against Chelsea and West Brom have a fairly decent run with Southampton, Burnley, BHA and Fulham coming up next. Has anybody considered him?

    1. Personally, with Pulisic looking close to a full return, I’m going to see how he gets on with him in the team. I’d like to think with Puli being back on the left that will nudge him back into the centre. He comes across as a confident boy so hopefully when he gets one, the rest will follow.

      More games like yesterday though and I’ll be reconsidering as he just wasn’t in the danger areas.

    2. I’ve only just put him in but will need to consider it. I’d hoped the West Brom game was going to be where he really started to kick on.

  21. Anyone know how long Marcal is out for?

    Thinking of bringing in Vinegra for Bellerin but if Marcal is back next game I will go for the new signing Semedo.

    No Spurs clean sheet today, pissed!!

    1. Does anyone know if it’s an injury or left out for other reasons? Very, very frustrating he looked great last weekend against Man City!

      1. Nuno Espirito Santo confirms that Daniel Podence misses out with a “knock” picked up in Gameweek 2 but says that it is “hopefully not” serious.

  25. If anyone is having a bad GW like myself, take solace from some of the horror stories I’m hearing on Twitter today.

    One guy brought Jesus in, then had to use his last transfer to take him out for……….Son. 🤢

    Another guy took out Havertz just before his hat-trick. Then this week he took out Vardy! 🤢

    As bad as our gameweeks are, there is always someone else out there suffering more! 😂

    Now….who’s up for a bit of REM or Radiohead? 😂

    1. LOL, Thanks Chris , cheered me up, i thought i was the only one with misfortunes!!Love REM, keep them coming 🙂

  26. Paul, I fully agree with the comments above, VAR, should be used for off-sides, & goal line technology, it’s tough to take, over a season clear concise thinking, will always win over chancers & lucky players, so many pts up for grabs atm, with champions league starting 20th October. Castagne looked decent today with an assist, also keeping an eye on Semedo, both cheap defender’s with good upcoming fixtures, finally Chris, unwinding to REM, & Radiohead, half decent bands, for me nothing touches the PEERLESS MIGHTY AC/DC, formed in 1973, new album due in November, & next year once this pandemic is defeated, they will be back on tour selling out stadiums.

    1. Yeah, don’t mind REM or Radiohead but I was more joking about how depressing they can sometimes sound so it fitted in well with my Gameweek! 😂

      Wolves getting hammered 3-0 by West Ham now! Everything just feels upside down at the minute! 😳

      1. “Everybody hurts” by REM comes to mind for this game week 😂 although I’m sure their will be a few “Shiny happy people” with Vardy picking up a hat trick.

    2. Castagne is definitely on my list. Was definitely planning on bringing in a Wolves defender as well but after their performance yesterday I’m not so sure now. I’m with you on AC/DC – although I didn’t realise they had a new album coming out. Can’t be many from the early days still going?

  27. my heads spinning I was thinking wolves defenders
    after today I am at loss to think of any team that are
    any good at the back.
    Chris I am suffering as well at the moment. 😭

    anyone no what happened to Song.

    1. Amen to that Don!👊

      I normally have a decent idea of what’s happening within the game and I’m normally able to form an idea in my mind about strategy moving forwards. This is the first time since I’ve started playing FF when I genuinely don’t know what to do next! 😂

      This season just feels weird on so many levels…

      All we can do is keep making decisions based on logical thinking and hope that the stars will finally realign and we’ll get our rewards. I’ll bet there are a few “auto-pick” teams out there that are storming it this season!

      Keep calm and carry on people…

  28. Pretty dire week-end, wolves conceded 4, Semedo still got a score of 6.7, can’t be that bad next week, europa league on the horizon, might need to give Maddison some consideration now, had Foden pencilled in for October, but Maddison made me have a re-think, let’s hope for some pts in midweek via league Cup, premiership Liverpool vs Arsenal, & dare I mention Spurs Paul in the Europa league, they will need to put out a strong team for that fixture.

    1. It’ll be interesting to see the Spurs line-up for Tuesday’s Carabao and then Thurday’s Europa play-off. You can’t imagine they’ll be many players really that’ll play both? Brutal schedule.

        1. You would have thought so as Europa qualification surely HAS to be priority. It’ll be the likes of Parrot, Aurier & Alli you’d imagine.

  29. Paul, according to the rumour mill, whoever he might be, new AC/DC album due in November, most original members back on board, Phil rudd, drums, Cliff Williams bass guitarist, the incomparable Brian Johnson vocals, a geordie like myself took over from Bon Scott in 1980, & the greatest lead guitarist of his generation BAR none, he may only be 8 stone soaking wet, but drenched in testosterone the legendary Angus Young, let their music flow through your bloodstream, & I guarantee you are hooked for life, only original band member missing the late great Malcolm young, onto dreamteam matters Paul, its difficult to predict anything atm, yeah I’m going to have a punt on Castagne, who do you see being the best option between Maddison, Mahrez, Phoden.

    1. Must admit I’m already a fan – I was bought up listening to it 😂 and who couldn’t enjoy watching Angus Young perform. But back to Dream Team Castagne is likely to be my final transfer of the month as I’ve got one left. I’ll bring him in for Doherty or Davies. On the midfielders I’d probably go for Foden out of those three.

  30. Lampard confirms that Pulisic & Ziyech ruled out until after the international break. Genuinely considering ditching Werner now as I can see Tammy/Giroud operating in that centre-forward spot until then.

    2. Werner wasn’t that bad. He looks decent to me, very quick and once settled will bang the goals in I’m sure of it.

      I’m also struggling to see what anyone sees in the Wolves team, they’re hopeless

    3. It’s a frustrating one – I’d be happy with the odd goal here and there but as he’s yet to score it’s hard to know what to do with him. Can’t see him starting tonight either.

  31. Vardy anyone?! Pens… European football he’s pissing all over most of the other strikers in his price range atm

    1. My consistent is Vardy and Leicester playing well, further proof you don’t always need the big values players in your team.

    2. Got to be considered. My only concern would be if he can withstand two games a week on a consistent basis once Europa League kicks-in. Rodgers has already mentioned an ongoing hip issue. As daft as it sounds, you want to see a few of the big guns in the fixtures for him as he can tend to get more space in behind more than those teams that like to sit deep.

  33. my mind is now made up it has to be Robo and Alx
    for my to fullbacks.
    William is a goner, looks like a waste.
    mane looks a lot more of a danger than Salah.

    1. Willian is nearly always hooked between 60-70 minutes as well which isn’t ideal.

      Robbo & Trent looked back to their best again tonight (barring Robbo’s assist for Lacazette😂)

      Mane was pure mustard tonight. Great performance. I’m wondering if a Salah/Mane double up might be worth a shot at some stage.

  34. Yeah I must admit robbo/trent are an absolute must for me! Cant watch liverpool again without having both in my side. Electric, really advanced and on every set piece. Clean sheet, attacking returns . . .double digit hauls most weeks

    I feel like I’ve got away with it big time with Robbo.

      1. I always feel like there’s a safety net with Trent & Robbo in that if lose the CS, they still have a VERY good chance of getting an attacking return.

        From the more budget options that may offer this, Justin & Castagne look great options too.

        1. In fact, with European competition kicking in mid-October, I’m considering moving from a partial Everton block to a partial Leicester block with Castagne & JJ coming in for Keane & Digne. If Leicester continue to play three centre-backs (due to the absence of Ndidi I’d imagine) this should give them both license to push forwards.

            1. Yeah, kinda wished I had got on him or JJ earlier tbh but considered them to be unknown quantities. Knowing how Rodgers likes his full-backs to get forwards though it would have been a calculated gamble.

            2. Wish I’d have started with him – I’ll almost certainly bring him in as my last transfer.

    2. It’s a tough one with a limited budget but I’m struggling to see who would come out for Robertson. I’ve got an eye on needing Sterling at some point – but luckily his value is dropping but I can’t see how to get a balanced team with three 6.5m+ players up front.

  35. Potentially good news for Marcal & Podence owners:

    Podence and Marcal…neither are ruled out for the weekend. Marcal in light training. They’ll see how they both get through this week before making a decision ahead of Sunday’s game against Fulham.

    1. These cameo appearances can be a bit of a poisoned chalice though if he ultimately blanks. Seems to make a massive impact to the players values this season. I’m not sure if I want him to come on or not!? 😂

  40. I’ve been thinking over any potential early transfers (I was originally going to hold until after the international break) and I’m getting quite tempted at the thought of Mahrez.

    With Jesus, Aguero & Bilva all sidelined until after the break AT LEAST you’d think his gametime would be decent for this month. Coming up against teams that have conceded a fair amount of good chances since the start of the season too.

    Sterling, whilst I’m sure will score well just doesn’t offer enough value for his price imo currently whereas I think Mahrez could (as does Foden).

    Anyone else tempted by the Algerian wizard?

        1. Oh no, Harvey’s going nowhere, he looks such good value so far. Would most likely be Keane and switch to a 3-4-3. Hopefully he can give me a nice goodbye present with a CS tonight if I do choose to bring in Mahrez. I’m not fully decided yet but I’m wondering if I could drop on one of those Mahrez “purple patches” with his potential increase in minutes.

          Anyone else considering early moves?

                1. 😂 It’s worked every game before. We might be routing for the same teams next month if you’re looking at Leicester defenders.

                    1. 😂 the score line isn’t ideal in that game though. I could have put DCL in this week and saved a transfer but didn’t go for it.

          2. yes outing William for Traore
            outing Shaw for robo
            outing son for Kane might put jiminez in for a few weeks
            owing to wolves fix then put Kane in.

            1. Jose has confirmed Son will definitely be back after the international break and hasn’t discounted him being involved this weekend Don. Not sure if that changes your strategy or not but something to consider…

              1. see where you are coming from Chris. thinking of putting
                in jimines this week only, then after that put
                son back or Kane. owing to the game between
                wolves and Fulham, could be a big score for wolves.
                + I am also putting in Traore for William.

          3. Mahrez starts tonight AND Bernardo is among the subs (as is Foden). Lessens the appeal of Mahrez slightly now but I’ll keep an open mind…

          4. Despite Wolves shipping 4 this week I’m considering one of their cheaper defenders. Castange will almost certainly come in. This might free up budget to stick Traore back in or Sterling.

    2. I was more tempted by Foden but I’m also considering putting Traore back in. It’s a tough choice.

  41. Hi dream team tips
    I use your dream team fixture spreadsheet a lot, I find it a very useful and quick to read across tool when targeting players for up and coming fixtures. Could you add Everton to the spreadsheet, as I and most of the guys on here are using a few Everton players atm.
    TIA

    1. I can try next time I go into it. I only really shared it because it’s something I use personally and I don’t tend to look at Everton in much detail but I’ll certainly add them if I can find the time.

      1. Cheers. I use it a lot, great tool for TRYING to predict which players to bring in. I think the likes of DCL, Richarlson, James, Keane and Digne are all players of interest atm. Especially with the good start they’ve had, and decent fixtures.

  42. Very strong line-up for City tonight including;

    Walker
    Laporte
    Mendy
    KDB
    Mahrez
    Sterling

    I can see City running riot tonight as they are a wounded animal right now.

    1. I’m worried by Sterling tonight. I was hoping he was going to drop in value again but a good return tonight will ruin that and I think he will get at least a goal.

      1. Not 1 person in my league owns him so not much of a worry for me atm. If he does start firing, he could be a good player to get in for me

  43. Wolves next 4 fixtures are very appealing, was last week just a blip, furthermore can Jimenez out score Vardy in the same period, Leicester also have Europa league on the 22nd, but how many minutes will Vardy get in the early stages.

    1. Is Sterling well owned in your mini league? He’s not in most of the ones I’m in. The problem with this season is we can’t have them all, all the time. A lot of players are scoring well and we’ve only got three striker positions.

  48. Sterling has to come in for me now, too many have him in my mini leagues.

    Torres is also one to keep any eye on, looks impressive and is cheap at £1.9M

        1. Yeah I’ve already taken him out so the only real option for me would be to remove Kane or Salah which I’m not keen to do.

          1. Tough choice that. I’d like to keep Aubameyang in for this weekend as they have Sheff Utd at home. Originally I was going to put Kane in for him but Sterling is a better option imo

    1. Crazy and far from ideal when you don’t own them. Not many do in my mini league but even so it’s not going to help with overall position on the leaderboard. I’m thinking the only way to do well this season is to have 10 teams and cover all bases across them. Trying to do it with 1 team is virtually impossible with so many strikers scoring big points.

      1. I’ve never known a start to a season like this with so many goals & hat-tricks. For those managers who have dropped on them they are going to be streaks ahead and as you say, the overall leaderboard could look very ugly for many of us.

        Here’s hoping Harry can give us a hatty himself on Thursday…🤞

        1. Can only really be put down to good fortune in most cases, I mean with the abundance of strikers available who would consider DCL? Maybe after his first hat trick but there can’t have been many with went for him and got both.

      2. But it’s more of a challenge with 1 team. 10 teams just ruins the enjoyment in my opinion.

        1. I completely agree – but it’s demotivating knowing you’re losing places on the overall leaderboard because people with 10 teams will basically cover all the strikers who might score well. It’s not their fault because they are allowed to pick 10 teams but for me it doesn’t work as a system.

          1. I agree. I’m realistic enough to know I won’t win the overall leaderboard, although last years winner only had 1 team.

  52. I have to be honest and say that with all the options we have up front I haven’t even considered DCL, I’m not sure how this makes me feel to be honest 😄 one thing I do know is its not nice seeing someone rack up 72 poins in 3 GWs and not owning them.

    Inevitably, people will be bringing him in in the masses come Friday but my question is, has that ship sailed? Or is Timo to DCL still a good move purely for the price rises?

    Is there anyone else going under the radar who we haven’t considered to get us the next hattrick? Ings perhaps? Even Brighton are creating buckets load of chances for Maupay, Jimenez maybe. All food for thought.

    I’ve also been looking at Liverpools run of fixtures and I think now would be a good time to get on that defense with a treble up at least. Ideally I would like Alisson in for Pickford but for the cash it will probably need to be Digne to Gomez.

    Kane to Mane and having double Liverpool attack is also an option I’m contemplating. Any thoughts on that?

    1. I think this post sums it up this season. Almost feels like there are TOO MANY roads to travel down and it’s making my head hurt! 😂

      I mentioned Mahrez earlier and I’m now wondering if Foden will be the smarter move with him sitting it out last night. Guaranteed starter for the weekend and with him being left out of the England squad for the international break, he’ll be fresh and raring to go when they return too.

      1. Yeah I got Foden in last week and think it could be a coin toss between him and Mahrez on who gets the most starts/points. I went with Foden because of the funds I had left but I think its just a case of getting one in and sticking with them.

        What are you doing with that Everton defense Chris? My likely moves this week will probably be Pickford out for Patricio (good run of games) and Digne to Gomez.

        Really like Digne but need those clean sheets and think Liverpool could be the team to deliver them, only problem with Gomez is he offers no attacking threat at all which is putting me off slightly.

        1. I still stand by my logic in going for that Everton defensive block at the time based on fixtures & early form, just unfortunately been a bit unlucky. To be fair to Digne & Keane especially they’ve ticked along ok despite the goals conceded. With European games coming up though I’ll probably start the dismantling job soon.

          I think Gomez is a great defender but as you say, pretty much offers zero attacking threat which is something I like to target in my defenders. You’ve just got to ask yourself if points from Gomez CS’s will outweigh those of someone like Castagne with his CS’s AND attacking returns. You’d expect Liverpool to keep more CS’s but I tend to sway towards those defenders that offer multiple avenues of points tbh.

          Having Gomez would kinda feel like having a second keeper in a weird way, as in once that CS has been wiped out you’re stuffed.

          1. Yeah thats exactly right mate. He’s a really boring pick thats for sure 😏 I’m not sure how to play it yet but Everton just keep conceding that 1 goal.

            Castagne is a good shout and we can wait and see with Semedo who could turn out good for Wolves.

            1. Allan getting injured is a worry for Everton CS’s prospects too. As I say I’m probably going to make a start on the dismantling job…

    2. I considered him last week but dismissed the idea quite quickly. I don’t think anyone expected him to score another hat trick so soon. It’s a complete lottery to be honest. My plan will still be to stick to the known consistent point scorers and hope for the best. If I were to take Kane out, I think it would be for Sterling rather than Mane.

      1. Dcl is killing me in my mini league 😂 I’m 3rd but the only people that have him are the top 2.
        1st place is now 60ish points clear of me just because of dcl. Very frustrating
        Could do with a Kane double hatrick tonight 😂

      2. Listening to Planet FPL podcast and Kane’s underlying stats are very good at the moment so he’s a hold for me for now, really hope Son is back sooner rather than later though to benefit Harry.

  53. Having had time to think I’m considering being bold with the transfers this month to facilitate getting Sterling in for Werner. I want to try and get my team set-up for the longer-term so I think I might even use as many as three transfers to make this happen. The moves I’m thinking about are:

    Pickford – McCarthy
    Keane or Digne – Castagne
    Werner – Sterling

    This would give me a team of

    McCarthy
    TAA
    Robbo
    Castagne
    Digne/Keane
    Bruno
    KDB
    Barnes
    Kane
    Salah
    Sterling

    This team is then starting to have a good look to it for the longer-term.

    I’d then look to probably move out Digne/Keane after the international break.

    Hasty/rash thinking or good planning for the long-term? Honesty appreciated as ever guys. If you think it’s trash please say so as I like to get criticism as well as agreement.

    1. I think it’s wise to have Kane, Salah and Sterling as the top 3 for most of the season, so would say it’s worth using the 3 transfers. It ties a lot of money up front and I think the best way to work a team like this is to go with 4 defenders as you have done, which probably isn’t ideal. I currently have that top 3 but with 3 defenders. They are Robbo, Marcal (hoping he’s not out long term!) and Davies. Would rather have one more ‘elite’ defender in there for probably Davies, but money probably won’t allow unless I ship out a Traore in midfield.

      I’m going to see what the price changes leave me with, then see what can work. Personally, I currently have no Leicester coverage, so Castagne and Barnes are on the agenda!

      I do like the look of your team though Chris. As has been said, probably just the keeper but not worth worrying about when they score such few points.

    2. Looks good to me Chris – if I could get that front three and be happy with the rest of my team I’d be more than happy.

  54. to be honest Chris cant fault it mate. 👌
    maybe just the keeper what about the wolves keeper
    instead, obviously if you can afford him.👍

    1. Yeah that’s the thing Don, can’t afford it. Listening to podcasts though they mentioned that McCarthy was starting out further up the field so they were less exposed when pressing so hopefully they can tighten up a bit now. Fixtures not too bad either and he’s cheap.

      1. Chris are you working out who you can afford
        taking in that the players you want to bring in
        may rise in price or go down.
        I worked out some of my ideas that where dead on the money
        only then to realise it was pointless until after
        the prices have been declared on Friday morning.

        1. I’ve worked off what I “think” the prices will do and i think I’ll be ok to make those moves. If I can’t do it with Keane then I should hopefully be able to manage it with Digne who’s a slightly higher value.

  55. Very surprised salah is starting. Also Doherty, Davies and Kane ! Need a big night tonight boys!!!

    1. Kane & Salah to run riot, Liverpool CS with Robbo coming on, Spurs to concede would be ideal….

      That’s my Carlsberg scenario anyway…😉

  56. Early goal for Harry! 💪

    Are we gearing up for YET another hat-trick? 🤞🤞🤞

    Davies assist too for you owners. 👌🏼

    1. For a very brief moment Davies was star man and heading for 15 points. Think it lasted less than 5 minutes 😂

    1. Welcome to my world as an Everton defence owner…😂

      CS’s are gonna be like the Holy Grail this season it appears…

  60. is it just me or does Salah look as though he has lost
    his scoring touch for the last 2 games.
    Mane seems to be the most likely one to score
    wonder if its worth keeping him.

    1. As soon as you swap Salah for Mane though Don, you do know what happens then right? 😉😂

      1. I am going down faster than the titanic
        none of my players have come out of fifth gear yet
        its not as if I have bad set of players.
        first with the razor.😂😂😂

    1. The T&Cs say that the Europe league qualifiers don’t count though? Will be chuffed if they do as it won’t be the first time they’ve gone against their rules haha

      1. This is classed as the “play-off” game and IT VERY MUCH DOES COUNT my friend.

        Cleared it up a while ago from official sources.

        Get in! 💪⚽️⚽️⚽️

  63. Whoop there it is!

    Harry gets the ⚽️⚽️⚽️!

    That’s soothed the pain on missing out on all of the other hat-tricks a little…😅

    1. Happy with that hat trick – pretty much saved my game week. Imagine those who had Kane and DCL this week.

  65. Kane could genuinely be a season keeper now. Weaker Europa opposition, still in EFL Cup, very little competition for his place as the central striker, on pens, Bale coming in to supply the ammo as well as Son.

    Just need to hope he doesn’t break as his workload could be pretty relentless this season.

    1. Spurs look like they are bringing a striker in the next few day, vincius or something he’s called so I’d expect him to share some Europa League game time for sure. However, Kane is looking really good this season for sure. Cant wait for Bale and Son to slot back in.

      1. Just had a quick look and it looks like he’s one for the future. It’s probably not a bad thing to have someone else be able to
        step in from time to time and give Kane a breather as his workload would have probably been unsustainable anyway. He’ll still be playing the majority of games you’d imagine. The good thing about owning Kane last night is that whilst his ownership 24.8% that’s not as high as some of the other big names in the game. A bit of ground made up! 👍🏻

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