Review of Game Week 22

GW Points: 98
Overall Points: 1295
Overall Rank: 53,441
Transfers: Lukaku out, Cancelo in
Alonso out, Dias in
Rudiger out, Matip in (after the game week had finished)

All in all, I was fairly happy with 98 points on the board for game week 22. My transfers paid off to a certain extent and players like Jota and Bowen continued to score really well. Unbelievably I’ve hardly moved on the overall leaderboard though, which came as a big surprise. I only ever check it at the end of the game week and expected to be closing in on the top 40,000 but saw very little movement at all.  This just goes to show how important a good start to the season is, I’ve been chasing the pack after a really poor start and it’s incredibly difficult to play catch up with most teams holding fairly stable in terms of their position. I’ll keep chipping away at it but it’s been a really frustrating season for many people. I swapped Rudiger for Matip last night as Rudiger doesn’t play this week and Matip was certain to rise and already on my radar to bring in. I decided to leave Ronaldo in, although I’m concerned about not having Salah for the week ahead. With two transfers still to use, I may try to find a way to have both for the rest of the month but I’ll give this some more thought.

Positives:

Clean sheets for Robertson, Dias and Cancelo, and a star man for Cancelo resulted in some instant returns for my City defenders and Robertson continues to score well after a slow start. 

21 points from Bowen is another fantastic return. Really happy with his performances since he’s been in my team.

15 points for De Bruyne was a good result over two fixtures.

You can’t ask for much more than 33 points from a player and Jota delivered this. He’s been a great pick since I’ve had him and only wish I’d have bought him in sooner. 

Potential issues

Maddison and B. Silva have gone off the boil recently, but I think I’d be impatient to take either of them out just yet. Hopefully, Maddison will get some game time in Europe this week as well.

Ronaldo is my biggest problem, Man Utd are still out of form and his value will keep dropping. Combine that with needing to bring Salah back in and there’s a really big decision to make. Should I just swap Ronaldo for Salah and be done with it? More on this below. 

Tips for Game Week 23

Firstly, it’s worth a reminder that Chelsea have no fixtures this week so it makes sense to me to move their players on. I’ve already done this and have now doubled up at the back with two Liverpool and two City defenders, which I think is a good combination for the month. 

I’d imagine the next biggest problem everyone is facing is how to get Salah back in. He’s still the highest scoring player despite missing a significant chunk of time at the AFCON. I think he’s essential but I’m struggling to get him back into my team. My options currently are:

– Wait a week and don’t bring him back in yet (huge risk)

– Swap him for Ronaldo (big risk given Man Utd’s fixtures) 

– Leave Ronaldo in and make two changes – removing a couple of players who have done well for me so far for a cheaper option and Salah. 

None of these are ideal and I’m still undecided on what to do. If Ronaldo’s form continues, then it’s not a problem as I could just take him out, but we all know what he’s capable of. I’m still undecided on what to do so I’ll ponder it a little longer. 

Beyond this issue, if it’s not a problem for you, Man City, Liverpool, Man Utd and Leicester all have a double game week this week. If you don’t own them already I’d be looking to bring in some of their assets. Robertson and Matip look good value, as does Dias. I’m still not sure I’d touch any Man Utd players other than Ronaldo or Fernandes at a push. The only players that would really interest me at Leicester are Maddison or Tielemans. 

As always check out the fixtures for yourself below and I’d be interested to hear what everyone is doing with their teams in the comments below.

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