MyFPL is a series where we will go through our thought process before every FPL Gameweek in the 2018/2019 season.
2017/18 Overall Ranking: 9058
Current Overall Points: 197
Current Overall Ranking: 510,460 ⬇️
Last Gameweek Points: 47
See!? I just sold Salah! Am I crazy? I just might be.
Salah has kept up his record-breaking pace from last season, making him well worth the £13 million he costs so far. He has averaged over 8 points per game against West Ham, Crystal Palace and Brighton and he has actually been unlucky (or too rusty?) not to score even more points so far. He is owned by over 50% of FPL managers at the moment so any points haul he will get in the coming weeks will come back to haunt me. So why am I selling him? Care to Hazard a guess?
Well, one reason is obviously his replacement, Eden Hazard (£10.6). I have always been a huge Hazard fan and now that he plays under the guidance of Maurizio Sarri, he’s going to be better than ever. Sarri tends to get the best out of players with similar skill sets to Hazard. Dries Mertens and Lorenzo Insigne can attest to that, even though they are not even on the same level as Chelsea’s Belgian wizard.
Still, Hazard won’t outscore Salah for the rest of the season, but he very well might do so in the next couple of gameweeks. Bournemouth (H), Cardiff (H), West Ham (A) and Southampton (A) as 4 of the 5 matches going forward looks too good to miss. The 5th match is at home against Salah’s Liverpool in GW7, in the midst of a grueling schedule for Liverpool in September and October.
Salah is fixture proof I’ve heard, but he scored markedly lower away against top 6 sides last season, making especially the away fixtures to Tottenham and Chelsea really tough. Liverpool scored a grand total of 1 goal in those two fixtures last season, courtesy of Salah obviously. Away against other top 6 teams last season, Salah, didn’t get close to his 8.4 points per game pace, scoring “only” 4.2 points per game.
Even if Salah still outscores Hazard the next few gameweeks, I have some aces up my sleeve. Going from Salah to Hazard saved me £2.5 million, making it possible to swap out the always disappointing Cedric to FPL’s top scorer so far, Marcos Alonso (£6.7). Alonso is pretty much essential at this point, especially with Chelsea’s easy PL schedule. I just had to find a way to get him in. I’d be very surprised if Salah and Cedric outscore Hazard and Alonso from GW4 to GW8.
Either way, once Liverpool’s fixtures clear up again after GW8, I am ready to use my wildcard and bring back Salah. He’s still going to be the highest scoring FPL player this season, even though I slightly prefer Hazard and the extra cash over the next few gameweeks.
If you already have Alonso, the extra cash could help you get one of the following players that are currently on my watchlist:
I’m backing Arsenal to get back on track and back on FPL manager’s radars sooner rather than later. I sort of have to, as a distraught Aubameyang (£10.9) owner since GW1. He’s too good to continue to fail. As he is very pricey however, I’d rather advise you to get Mkhitaryan (£7.2). They have about the same underlying stats and the tricky Armenian seems to be just as nailed on as the Gabonese speedster. Monreal (£5.5) made his presence known last GW, while his full-back partner Bellerin (£5.5) seems to be a vital part of Unai Emery’s offensive strategy.
Crystal Palace also continue to benefit from a soft schedule to start the season. Wan-Bissaka (£4.1) should have been in every single team to start the season and there is no reason to sell him now either. van Aanholt (£5.5) is also a good option if you’d like to double up with Palace defenders. Zaha (7.1) has 2 goals in 3 matches and might get the lone striker role now as Benteke has continued to disappoint for Palace.
Richarlison (£6.7) getting a red card threw a real spanner in the works for everyone who had brought him in. I was looking into getting him this gameweek, but I obviously won’t do that anymore. If I had him however, I wouldn’t be opposed to keeping him. I like Walcott (£6.8) and he’s on the watchlist, but I don’t like going sideways with my transfers. You’ll want to get Richarlison back soon enough as they continue to have awesome home fixtures for a while.
You can obviously go with Mkhitaryan if you have the extra cash. Pedro (£6.7) getting subbed off early last time is disconcerting, but Sarri tends to pick a starting XI and stick to it. Maybe Pedro can play alongside both Hazard AND Willian, as Morata has looked dire so far.
Gundogan (£5.5) has started every match for Man City so far and with their kind fixtures as well as Gundy’s tendency to join the attack, he is a great punt, especially if you need to save money to get Alonso or Mendy. He is also on set-pieces with de Bruyne out for a while, boosting his chance of keeping his place as well.
Sell:
Mané (£9.9) – Tough matches and he hasn’t looked all that threatening apart from GW1 IMO.
Sané (£9.3) – Rumored to be left out of Man City’s squad this weekend. What is going on??
Richarlison (£6.7) – Red card and dropping in price.
Sessegnon (£6.4) – Fulham keep rotating and Sessegnon is too expensive anyway.
Bailly (£5.4) – Lost his place and Mourinho can’t settle on central defenders.
Replace them with:
Hazard (£10.6) – Usually scores against Bournemouth and West Ham, while Cardiff at home is tasty.
Mkhitaryan (£7.2) – Looks like Arsenal’s biggest threat so far. Emery’s Arsenal about to be good.
Walcott (£6.8) – The easy option to replace Richarlison. Quick wingers excel under Marco Silva.
Gundogan (£5.5) – Hard to predict Man City’s midfield, for £5.5 you can afford him getting benched.
van Aanholt (£5.5) – The Premier League’s most attacking full-back? Solid team, easy schedule.