MyFPL is a series where we will go through our thought process before every FPL Gameweek in the 2018/2019 season.
Current Overall Points: 605
Current Overall Ranking: 6,462?
Last Gameweek Points: 53
Last week turned out to be something of a nightmare for most FPL managers, with low scoring points across the board. Unless you picked the correct Arsenal players, you likely didn’t cross that magic 60+ points line. I got below 60 for just the 2nd time this season, but with a score of 53 I was quite happy with my wildcard selection from last week. I’m sticking with my team and saving up a transfer.
For a lot of other managers however, the itch to make some changes to turn things around will surely be there. As a general rule, being patient and not overreact to a single gameweek is a good idea, so I wouldn’t advise you to take an 8 point hit or anything, but what I can advise you on, is which players you should target for your transfer this week and beyond. It’s been a while since I’ve updated my watchlist, so it’s about time to do a watchlist walkthrough.
The Watchlist:
Goalkeepers:
There are 4 good options for your goalkeeper, depending on if you want a premium option, mid-price option or a cheap rotating pair. It’s been a while since I had this many goalkeepers on the watchlist.
The premium option is my personal goalkeeper, Alisson (£5.6). A cheap-ish way into the Liverpool defence is hard to get now, with only the pricier Van Dijk and Robertson being truly nailed on. Instead, why not hedge your bets by getting Alisson? It helped ease the pain of seeing Trent Alexander-Arnold being left on the bench yet again.
Arsenal are in red-hot form, winning 11 straight, so getting a top 6 GK in Bernd Leno (£4.8) at such a low cost seems like a steal. A cheap set and forget option for the rest of the season. Peter Cech might be back from injury, but with their recent success, why would Arsenal change a winning team? Especially considering Leno is the future at the position. Add him to the watchlist.
While people usually tend to rotate £4.5 goalkeepers, both Mat Ryan (£4.5) and Lukasz Fabianski (£4.5) make some sense as set and forget goalkeepers themselves. Brighton have 2 clean sheets on the trot, as they continue with their soft schedule, while West Ham are just about to embark upon their own set of easy fixtures. Ryan has the best fixture in 4 out of the 5 next gameweeks, but after that, Fabianski is the favorable GK in the next 7. Whether you stick it out with Ryan, get Fabianski for the long haul or rotate between the two, it’s a good way to get some cheap clean sheets. I’d probably go with Ryan myself and then decide in GW14 or 15 if I needed to move on to Fabianski.
Defenders:
When talking about defenders on the watchlist, you can’t go on without mentioning the RAM. Andrew Robertson (£6.4), Marcos Alonso (£7.0) and Benjamin Mendy (£6.3). The essential trio back in GW3 and the top 3 point getters in defence had Mendy not been out injured for 3 gameweeks. I thought I made the right decision by going with Mendy, covering Robertson with TAA and hoping Alonso wasn’t as attacking as he was in the first few gameweeks, but that was wrong. I’m happy with Mendy, but Alexander-Arnold is not a safe option at this point and Alonso will continue to dominate and was lucky not to get more last GW.
If you go full-on RAM you’d be hard pressed to have any money left to spend on your last 2 defenders, but there are some enticing cheap options here. My very own Issa Diop (£4.3) has started to gain some traction as an FPL option and it’s easy to see why. The 21 year old former Toulouse captain put in a Man of the Match performance against Spurs last gameweek and looks set to become a star. He even has a goal threat in the air and on the ground.
Once again, Brighton’s upcoming fixtures looks great and Shane Duffy (£4.5) is as safe as an option as you’re gonna get at that price. If he can finally turn his goal threat into actual goals, he might become essential. DeAndre Yedlin (£4.5) hasn’t yet provided the goods this season, but it’s just a matter of time before Newcastle are a force defensively and they have easy enough fixtures to go on a run. Yedlin himself likes to run up the wing and has some assist and goal potential as well.
There are a couple of interesting mid-price options to consider too. Hector Bellerin (£5.4) was unlucky to score an own goal, but made up for it with 2 assists against Leicester. The pacy full-back seems to be more attacking than ever and clean sheets are sure to come for Arsenal at some point.
Lucas Digne (£4.8) has earned his place as a regular for Everton and has the goods to deliver pinpoint crosses to whoever nails down a striker spot for the Toffees. Remember when Leighton Baines was almost essential a few years back despite costing £5.5 and above? Imagine getting that value for £4.8. No penalties for Digne though.
Harry Maguire (£5.5) has been a popular name as of late, scoring or coming close to scoring in the last few games. It certainly helps having top notch delivery from James Maddison. Speaking of..
Midfielders:
You can’t write an FPL article without mentioning Mo Salah (£12.9) at least once and this one is no different. I wouldn’t like going without Salah in my team, that’s for sure, as a superb captain option at home to Cardiff. 2 goals in the Champions League, the designated penalty taker with James Milner out of the lineup and a similar trajectory to last season’s record-breaking FPL year. IMO, you gotta get him.
Eden Hazard (£11.4) might be out this gameweek, but you should by no means sell the Belgian wizard. He’s a keeper through the whole season for me, finally unlocking his true potential under Maurizio Sarri. You should likewise not sell Raheem Sterling (£11.2) who will surely be back in the lineup after getting a rest last week. He will come good, even at that price.
Richarlison (£6.8) or Maddison (£7.0) has been a constant duel in the minds of FPL managers, but I’m still leaning towards keeping both. Maddison has come maddeningly close to FPL points lately, while Richarlison still has 4 tasty home fixtures coming up in the next few gameweeks.
The biggest reason to go for both is that there are simply not that many good midfielders this season. There haven’t been many standouts outside the top 6 this year and it’s not much better among the best teams. No one stands out with Tottenham or Arsenal, Man Utd and Pogba are far too inconsistent, and I’d never trust Martial with Mourinho. Liverpool and Chelsea have the obvious options with Salah and Hazard.
It’s hard to figure out Pep Guardiola’s rotation in midfield, but with Kevin de Bruyne (£9.8) coming back, we might have an in. He is tentatively in my watchlist, even though I predicted before the season that KdB would drop deeper in midfield this year, with Bernardo Silva playing a more prominent central role. Any consistently playing Man City midfielder would help out a lot.
In the bargain bin department there are a few options. Jose Izquierdo (£5.9) by all intents and purposes scored a goal last week, finally making good on the belief I had in him before the season. If I wanted a Brighton midfielder, I’d go for him.
David Brooks (£5.1) is the cheapest way into an impressive Bournemouth side, but their fixtures don’t look good in the near future. Good bench stash to get the occasional game however. My 5th midfielder is Kenedy (£4.9), who sadly didn’t produce for me when given the chance last week, but there are a lot of chances for him to redeem himself with 9 good fixtures in a row.
West Ham have a kind run of fixtures as well, but sadly, Andriy Yarmolenko won’t be able to take advantage of it, getting a season-ending injury against Spurs. This opens up some opportunities for other West Ham players however, and his direct replacement in that game, Grady Diangana (£4.5) is one to watch. If he can grab his chance and break through, that price point will be an absolute steal considering West Ham’s fixtures and potential quality.
Forwards:
The best way into West Ham’s offense is through Marko Arnautovic (£7.0). Last season was no fluke and £7.0 was far too little for one of the best strikers in the league. He has done well in a tough set of opening fixtures, but is about to explode in FPL pretty soon. Everything goes through Arnautovic, he’s the penalty taker and he has the ability to create something out of nothing. He should be on everyone’s watchlist.
There are other good options around the same price point, most notably Callum Wilson (£6.5) and Aleksandar Mitrovic (£6.9). Their fixtures turn soon however, especially in Wilson’s case, with the next 3 gameweeks looking okay, before going on a rough patch. Mitrovic hasn’t looked like the threat that he did early on in the season, but with fixtures against Bournemouth, Huddersfield and Southampton in 3 out of the next 4, he’s likely to get on the scoresheet again.
Jamie Vardy (£9.0) is a bit more pricey and those who took a punt on him last week were left unhappy after he came off early with some issues. I’d still keep the faith, because Vardy’s track record and Leicester’s fixtures are indicators that he’s going to bang in goals the next 6 gameweeks, with beatable opposition in every single game.
I’m still keeping faith in Sergio Aguero (£11.3), even though he annoyingly gets subbed out right around the 60 minute mark every game. He keeps scoring goals however and has been unlucky not to get even more.
Speaking of unlucky, we left my most frustrating player for last, with Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang (£10.8). I had Aubameyang since GW1, but after a string of lackluster returns and giving him far too many chances to stay in the team I shipped him out. Obviously, after I sold him, he has been scoring goals left and right as a substitute for Arsenal. 4 goals and 1 assist in 57 minutes the last 2 gameweeks since I sold him… Argh. I’ll probably get him back from gameweek 16 onward.