Welcome to FPL Versus Mode, where we pit two teammates against each other and decide who deserves the esteemed spot in your pure and sacred Fantasy Premier League team draft #134..!
“Who should I pick between Wilson and King?” “Is Jimenez worth the extra £1.0 more than Jota” “Who will win the assist battle between TAA and Robertson and more importantly get more FPL points both in the first few gameweeks and when it’s all said and done?”
The VideoScope co-writers and teammates @Maefteda and @KevNissanka will go head to head and by using stats, gut feelings and banter, we will try to figure out which FPL teammate should get the most consideration for your Fantasy Premier League team.
What you can figure out, dear reader, is which one of The VideoScope teammates best argues their case. Whoever gets the most new Twitter followers (that is @KevNissanka and @Maefteda still, if you were wondering) by the start of the season, wins this edition of versus mode!
Round One!
Trent Alexander-Arnold vs Andrew Robertson
@KevNissanka:
First 10 Gameweeks: Trent Alexander-Arnold
Season: Trent Alexander-Arnold
TAA was sick for me last year and had you sweating for the last couple of gameweeks as we fought for our mini-league championship. He finished the season much stronger than Robbo did and in terms of points per match he was also better. Trent is on set pieces which gives him an edge and while the argument you’ll make for Robbo probably is consistency, I feel like they will be much closer in terms of minutes played this season. TAA missed quite a few matches to injuries last season after all.
Trent might be more of a boom or bust option, but that is more my style anyway. Go big or go home! £7.0 is a lot to invest in a defender (which is why I prefer van Dijk out of all the Liverpool options), but if you splash that much cash, you better go for someone with a high upside.
TAA broke my heart when he played a huge part in knocking out my FC Barcelona last year and I can’t deny just how well he played and how quick he was to take that damn corner. The way he ended last season I don’t think Klopp can bench him for much of this one and if playing time is close to equal I’ll choose Alexander-Arnold over Robertson any day of the week.
@Maefteda:
First 10 Gameweeks: Trent Alexander-Arnold
Season: Andrew Robertson
It’s right that TAA made me more nervous than I wanted to be towards the end of last season, but thankfully for me he assisted Mané and not Salah in the final gameweek to secure me our mini-league! He did gain an awful lot of points for you compared to my pick of Robertson, so for that reason I’m also leaning towards picking TAA to start the season. Unless I double up, I’m picking VVD over both of them too, as I think both full-back will get less assists in 19/20.
Anyway, back to the comparison. It’s true that TAA lost out more because of injuries than rest last season, but availability is the best ability. Trent could get injured again, while Robertson is always fully fit to run up and down the wing. I think Robertson is a better player, even if TAA is more flashy and could possibly provide more FPL points. Joe Gomez is also more of a threat than whoever Liverpool’s backup LB is. I think Robbo will end up with more points in the end, but TAA will take an early lead.
Round Two!
Callum Wilson vs Josh King
@Maefteda:
First 10 Gameweeks: Callum Wilson
Season: Callum Wilson
I’m gonna side with the devil on this one and choose my troll Wilson. Two seasons ago I had Wilson for a torrid 6-7 gameweeks as he was one of my few players playing in a blank gameweek. Last season I only had Wilson for about 2 injury/bench filled weeks while you reaped the rewards from him and Fraser early on.
I just feel lucky and I have this huge inkling that Wilson will have one of his signature 10+ point hauls at the start of this season, giving me major FOMO. Yes, King is cheaper and on pens, but Wilson is clearly the better player. There’s no certainty that Bournemouth players will even produce, so I’ll take the better option. VAR penalties be damned. Wilson will probably win most of them anyway.
@KevNissanka:
First 10 Gameweeks: Josh King
Season: Callum Wilson
Like you said, this basically comes down to King being the cheaper option and being on penalties. That will also be the case for the whole season, where I prefer Wilson, but my reasoning is that at the start of the season you need all the value you can get with a budget of only £100m. At the early stages of VAR there might be an increase in penalties too that might die down a bit as the season goes along and the league gets more accustomed to the new system.
King will want to bounce back and try to reclaim his form from the 16/17 season. If not, Bournemouth might look for other options. This is King’s time to shine and I think he’ll be very motivated at the start of the season. Wilson is class however and in the long run he might prove to be more valuable despite the price difference. But for now, I gotta find some way to fund my deadly Salah, Sterling and Kane trio!
Round Three!
Diogo Jota vs Raul Jimenez
@KevNissanka:
First 10 Gameweeks: Raul Jimenez
Season: Raul Jimenez
For starters, I feel bad for being too harsh on him before last season, so this is my way of saying sorry. Looking back and seeing Everton having a chance at getting him, I was full of regret, at least until we got Moise Kean, who will do bits for us for a long long time.
Jimenez was also the star in the Gold Cup this summer and has shown that he is more than a one season wonder. He was the star of the show last season with Wolverhampton and I think he’s both more fixture proof and rotation proof than Diogo Jota. He will play every match and is (at least partly) on penalties as well.
Once the fixtures get tough, I would feel more confident in keeping Jimenez if I have other players in my team that I need to sell first. In Wolverhampton’s first 10 matches they face Man Utd and Chelsea at home and Man City and Everton away, so taking last year into consideration, I think Jimenez is more likely to score in those fixtures than Jota.
@Maefteda:
First 10 Gameweeks: Diogo Jota
Season: Diogo Jota
I made this bold prediction in our FPL guide and I’ll state it again here: Next season it will be Jota who is worth £1.0 more than Jimenez. That’s not because I think Jimenez is bad, quite the contrary (although he did do a double blank when I boldly triple captained him last season).
I have just been a huge fan of Jota since he started playing for Wolverhampton and at 22 years old I can see him taking a major step up this season. He already progressed immensely last season having started his first PL campaign very slowly. He came into his own as a striker and can provide explosive gameweek scores, like his hat-trick last year.
Who did that hat-trick come against? Leicester. Who do they open the season against? Leicester. Without Maguire mind you. Jota might be one of our first bandwagons this season, as I can see that being a high scoring match. Jota will be more ready to go as he didn’t have to play in the Gold Cup like Jimenez. While Jimenez gained a reputation for scoring against big teams and rightfully so, Jota scored against Arsenal, Chelsea and Man Utd (in the FA Cup too). Apart from Man City away in GW8, Jota can easily score in any of the other 9 matches at the start of the season.
Round Four!
Ayoze Perez vs Jamie Vardy
@Maefteda:
First 10 Gameweeks: Ayoze Perez
Season: Ayoze Perez
Like with Jota, once again I choose one of the guys I had for my Zombie Team of the Season, Ayoze Perez. He is criminally underpriced in my eyes, mostly due to him being at lowly Newcastle when the season started. I’m pretty sure we both think Perez will outscore his similarly priced “Midfielder” partners Tielemans and Maddison.
That being said, I will definitely have Vardy at some points of the season too as I think Leicester look really promising under Brendan Rodgers. Vardy will end up having more points due to spearheading Leicester’s attack and taking pens, but it won’t be £2.5m worth of value.
Perez, like Fraser before last season, has shown real glimpses of being something special and I’m just waiting for him to take the next step. I think that is coming in 19/20, to the benefit of Leicester, Vardy, but mostly Ayoze Perez himself. With the role and success he has had in pre-season, I’m fully confident this could be Ayoze’s year.
@KevNissanka:
First 10 Gameweeks: Jamie Vardy
Season: Jamie Vardy
Jamie Vardy is having a party for the 5th season in a row and I’ll be having a party when Vardy is in my team. We don’t know exactly how Perez will fit in with Leicester, but we know exactly how Vardy will fit in with the team he helped lead to a Premier League title (still crazy to think about). He is fixture proof and has a fantastic record against the top 6, so much like my reason for picking Jimenez, I also prefer Vardy.
I’m surprised he’s still at Leicester to be honest. He’s crazy good. He drinks his red bull and espresso before matches and goes out and dominates year after year. He’s a great premium-ish option at striker and I prefer him comparatively speaking to those priced similar to him. Compared to someone like Lacazette he is guaranteed more playing time and is a safer bet. He will play every game and is always the #1 choice on penalties.
Round Five!
Richarlison vs Gylfi Sigurdsson
@KevNissanka:
First 10 Gameweeks: Gylfi Sigurdsson
Season: Gylfi Sigurdsson
Sigurdsson is Mr. Consistent even though he was a troll for me and performed poorly when I had him last season. He’s shares set piece duties with Digne and is on pens for sure even with some misses last season and I think that can boost his points total this time around. He has a good track record with penalties before and Everton might get more of them this season with the inclusion of VAR, (cost us pens last year). Especially if Zaha (fingers crossed) joins the team. He can be a more offensive minded Milivojevic on a better team!
I’m still on the fence for who to pick between Sigurdsson or Richarlison for the first 10 matches, because like you said, Richarlison does usually start the season well and is a more explosive point getter in comparison to the consistent Sigurdsson. RIcharlison is also a more explosive personality and could get silly suspensions like we saw at the start of last season.
Considering my team name is “Gylfi Pleasures” however, I need to represent and pick Sigurdsson, but they are both good options.
@Maefteda:
First 10 Gameweeks: Richarlison
Season: Gylfi Sigurdsson
I’ll have the last laugh for now (just like I did in our mini-league last season), but I’m gonna agree with you on picking Gylfi for the entirety of this season. He is Mr. Consistent as you said and he’ll pick up some penalty goals here and there against tough opposition. Considering Everton’s super easy fixtures to start the season however, Richarlison is the one making my GW1 squad.
He has started the last two Premier League campaigns on fire and there’s no reason he can’t do the same again. Sure, he returned late from Copa America, but he is always ready to go. Richarlison only just turned 22(!) after all and has his best years ahead of him. He’ll get much closer to matching Gylfi’s point total than last season, which bodes very well for your beloved Everton.
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So… Who do you think came out on top? Whose advice do you wanna follow?
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Do you want us to tackle any other comparisons? (Sterling vs Aguero? Anderson vs Lanzini vs Fornals? All Aston Villa midfield options?) Feel free to make it known and we might revisit this type of article in the near future.