MyFPL is a series where we will go through our thought process before every FPL Gameweek in the 2019/2020 season.
2018/19 Overall Ranking: 16 658
Current Overall Points: 80
Current Overall Ranking: 1,031,442
Last Gameweek Points: 80
The first gameweek of the season always seems to deliver a lot of points and this year certainly was no different. Nearly all the big hitters produced and if you used your Triple Captain chip already, you probably got more than what my eventual double gameweek triple captain will get. Salah, Sterling, Kane and Rashford all started off great, punishing those who rather went with an expensive defence.
While I warned about not making knee-jerk transfers a year ago, I seemingly don’t need to this season. Firstly, because unlike last season, some of the most prolific offensive players like Salah and Sterling got the most points. A year ago the biggest bandwagons were for Ruben Neves and Roberto Pereyra. Apart from Origi (£5.6), none of the bandwagons seem unreasonable this time around. Secondly, most people in the FPL community have preached this cautious no transfer approach already.
Some players are worth selling though, while some you are better off keeping a bit longer. Here’s a rundown of some of the more popular transfers out and my take on whether you should look to get rid or keep them in your team:
Should I Sell Alisson? Yes
The most transferred out player was not surprisingly Liverpool’s now injured #1, Alisson. He will miss the first 4, possibly 5 Gameweeks and will only return for a much tougher run of fixtures. Wasting a Liverpool spot on a £6.0 goalkeeper was probably never a good idea to begin with, as there are so many awesome Liverpool assets to own, both in defence and attack.
2nd choice Adrián might be one of them for a much more reasonable £4.5, but those who transferred him in early might live to regret it, with reports now that Adrián is in danger of missing out Saturday. Liverpool have looked pretty shaky at the back in both the league opener vs Norwich and the Super Cup vs Chelsea, so picking a player limited to getting clean sheets from Liverpool seems like a waste.
As for GK replacements outside of Liverpool, many opted to get Ederson (£6.1), who is the only truly safe way into Man City’s defence outside of Laporte, now that Cancelo has arrived and can shift everyone else around. With the price fall for Alisson and rise for Ederson, you need money in the bank to do that move now, in which case getting someone cheaper like Ryan (£4.5), Henderson (£4.5) or even FPL favorite Fabianski (£5.0) might be the better option.
Should I Sell Robertson? NO
Robertson on the other hand, you should absolutely keep, especially if he’s your only Liverpool defender. He might not have gotten the offensive contributions his partners van Dijk (£6.5) and Alexander-Arnold (£7.0) got, but Robbo was never a one week punt anyway. Robertson is there for the long haul and he showed a willingness to go forward that will for certain reap the rewards sooner rather than later. TAA might be better short term and van Dijk is as good and cheaper in the long term, but there is no reason to waste a transfer now that you ended up with Robertson.
This is where the “hold your transfers” advice is very good. There is no need to do transfers just because you feel like doing something to change a bad start. Patience is key and Robertson is still one of the most valuable players to have in FPL.
Should I Sell Bernardo Silva? Yes..
This is a tough one, as it almost always is with Man City midfielders. Not even Bernardo Silva was safe and the underutilized Riyad Mahrez got his chance to shine instead. Now normally I would say the best week to keep/get a Man City player is the week after he got benched, as Pep’s wheel of rotation would mean he’s a sure starter the next game. Sadly, with Bernardo, one of my favorite players, I think you might have to let him go.
After all, his nailed-on-ness was THE most appealing thing about him. A year ago, Guardiola said Man City consisted of Bernardo Silva and 10 other players, this season he’s saying that Mahrez is a great player and Bernardo needs to step forward. Remember, Bernardo only started in 15 matches in the 17/18 season.
There are also enticing options you could replace him with. Martial (£7.6) is the strongest candidate, serving as Man Utd’s unquestioned #9 this season. As an Out of Position (OoP) player originally priced at £1.0 less than Pogba and Rashford, he is the best offensive Man Utd option and has favorable fixtures coming up after Wolves away Monday. Neither Richarlison (£8.0) or Sigurdsson (£8.0) got any extra points in GW1, but their fixtures are undeniably good and both looked eager to score in the opener. If you want arguments for picking either one, take a look at our teammate comparison.
Should I Sell Leandro Trossard? No
I was one of a couple of disappointed Trossard owners, after he was surprisingly left out of Brighton’s starting XI in their away opening win against Watford. His exclusion and his teams good performance without him would indicate that it might be better to cut your losses and sell, but I’m sticking with him for a couple of reasons.
The main one is Graham Potter’s comments about Trossard not featuring. For a very important and tough away fixture to start the season, he opted with Pascal Groß with his Premier League experience instead. Trossard is still set to get the nod ahead of Groß for most of the season and with Trossard in and Groß out of the lineup, he will be on set pieces too, a dangerous weapon for Brighton’s Dunk and Duffy.
Brighton’s fixtures look good and their opening match was very encouraging, so if Trossard was “unlucky” not to start last time, there’s a decent chance he’ll start this one and against a leaky West Ham defence who Brighton usually win against. Trossard is still a good punt in my eyes.
Should I Sell Lucas Moura? YES
I get the allure of going with Moura and hoping for a huge haul against Aston Villa in the opener, I flirted with the idea myself, but now it’s time to sell. Man City away next and then Son comes back, Lo Celso is closer to starting and Eriksen’s future might be decided.
Martial is again the most appealing option if you have the money, but if you don’t it might be a good idea to consider getting Wilfried Zaha (£7.0) who looked a lot less sulky about his failed transfer request than people expected. When he does stuff like this on the training ground as well.. watch out! There are quite a few cheaper alternatives you can consider too.
John McGinn (£5.6) looked lively against Moura and Spurs and has good fixtures through GW9. Another newly promoted player, Emiliano Buendía (£6.0) was involved with everything for Norwich going forward and even got an assist against Liverpool. Todd Cantwell was a surprisingly good £4.5 candidate for the same team and is likelier to start now with Onel Hernández out injured for 2-3 months.
Should I Sell Sadio Mané? NO
Having Mané for a GW1 fixture he was very likely not starting in might not have been enviable, but a lot of non-owners will become envious of teams with Sadio Mané coming up. He didn’t get too much playing time against Norwich, but he looked dangerous straight after his inclusion. Then he went to Istanbul to score twice for Liverpool to help secure them the coveted Super Cup troffie (not a real trophy init?).
With Salah and Sterling getting double digits there are no one who has the money to bring in Mané, so if you started the season with him you got a mighty good differential on your hands. I wouldn’t be surprised if he continues to dominate early season as usual, score a brace against his former team Southampton and get a good bandwagon going. Keep!
Should I Sell Divock Origi? Yes, soon.
The guy who should be sold among the offensive Liverpool players is Divock Origi, who somehow got a bandwagon going and went up in price. Almost 200k FPL managers have brought in Origi, who there’s a good chance won’t even be starting this weekend with Mané back.
The argument against selling is Origi’s price. £5.5 won’t get you any better striker for him, so if you don’t have money saved up, there’s no need to sell Origi just to get rid, but it’s time to start looking for options. If you do have £0.5 to spare however, there are some interesting £6.0 strikers emerging.
Neal Maupay (£6.0) scored on his Brighton debut and as their main striker after an impressive 3-0 win away in the opener, he is a good shout. Che Adams (£6.0) was close to scoring as well and looks like the most nailed striker for Southampton. There’s a chance he scores against a surprisingly shaky Liverpool defence too.
Should I Sell Josh King (or Callum Wilson)? Sell one if you have both.
I never quite understood the logic behind getting both King and Wilson. I guess it’s a fear of missing out on either of them getting a huge haul, but the likelihood of both of them netting good points was always pretty low. Going with a Bournemouth striker was not a bad idea however and keeping one of them at least for the match against Aston Villa would be smart.
Wilson at least got an assist, but that difference of points is what you should expect for £1.5 more. With three tough matches following their trip to Villa Park, they both have to prove more to stay in your team for long. There is an even better striker partnership available for about the same price, which is why the next question has an emphatic answer:
Should I Sell Diogo Jota (or Raul Jimenez)? H-E-L-L N-A-H. NAH. (and No).
Like I mentioned in our FPL Guide and reiterated in my teammate comparison with @KevNissanka, Diogo Jota will be worth £1.0 more than Raul Jimenez to start next FPL season. That doesn’t mean I think Jimenez will flop and you should sell him either, as he is also a candidate for double digit points any week and double digits goals and assists at the end of the season. Jota is just that talented and will properly break out this year.
Don’t let the xG score against Leicester fool you, as he could’ve had a hat-trick if things broke right for him. Jota is hungry for goals this season and played measurably higher up in the pitch than his striking partner against Leicester. Jota also scored in two meetings against Solskjær’s Man Utd last season and could very well do it again. His magnificent goal against Pyunik in his Europa League cameo Thursday, is a sign of things to come and he might get a lot of points linking up with Jimenez. Stick with the one you had faith in from the start.