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: 261
Current Overall Ranking: 91,971
Last Gameweek Points: 86
It feels like a lifetime ago, but GW4 was a disappointment for many, but a huge win for me. My patience with my two Liverpool defenders paid off, finally keeping a clean sheet against Burnley. Fredericks and West Ham got their first clean sheet of the season by being the first team to keep Pukki from scoring. Finally and most crucially, my captain Sergio Aguero, thoroughly outscored the more popular Raheem Sterling.
The commonality of those players and decisions? They were unpopular among the FPL community. Many had sold one of their Liverpool defenders, no one ever believed West Ham would shut out Norwich and everyone knew that premium strikers are a waste of time and Sterling is the one who is essential.
Sometimes, going against the norm can serve you well in FPL and while so called template teams and plans seem more prevalent than ever, you can finish top of your mini-leagues by making some unconventional, but shrewd transfers and decisions. Getting Aguero with a simple change instead of taking more hits and downgrading other parts of my team to get Sterling has been my best decision so far, even though I had people telling me that Sterling is the much better asset.
So in honor of going against the grain, these are some non-template players you should consider for your team, whether you are wildcarding or making a simple switch:
Nicolas Pépé (£9.4)
Arsenal’s star signing has looked dangerous so far, without it resulting in lots of FPL points just yet, which is perfect for people looking to get on a future bandwagon. Arsenal’s fixtures are a breeze for a loooooong time now. Alexandre Lacazette will be out for a while, practically guaranteeing Pépé playing time high up the pitch. Aubameyang is another enticing option, but Pépé is £1.6 cheaper and as a midfielder he obviously gets more points for every goal and clean sheet than Auba does.
I had more pressing needs in my own team, but I’m currently planning on selling Salah to get Pépé either next week or the week after. It will free up some cash to upgrade elsewhere and I think Pépé could score close to as much as Salah with Liverpool facing some good defensive teams after they get past Chelsea next GW. I really wish I could have him this week however.
Callum Wilson (£7.8)
I started the season with C.Wilson and his steady diet of 5 points per game, but in order to get Aguero last week, I had to sell him for Pukki to get enough funds. I fear I might regret that decision. Wilson usually gets a lot of FPL points when fit and ready, but usually they come in bunches, not with a small return in every game. I think one of those gameweeks where he gets 2 goals and an assist will be coming up shortly and many will rush to get him in again.
Getting two price drops is incredibly harsh, but as someone who contributed to that by selling him, I can’t say much. Bournemouth face plenty of poor defensive teams coming up and he could be a differential starting this week. Bournemouth vs Everton is usually filled with plenty of goals, Southampton is a team anyone can score against and Callum Wilson always scores against West Ham. As a Hammers fan, I know.
Callum Hudson-Odoi (£5.9)
Back to back Callums, not bad. Forgot about this guy? He’s still red flagged and won’t be a full-time starter right away, but his return in a few weeks coincides very well with Chelsea going six straight weeks from GW7-12 against some of the easiest opposition. Mount and Abraham are obviously great picks as well and Emerson should be in consideration when he’s likely healthy for GW7 onwards, but Hudson-Odoi is the most talented out of all of them.
Obviously you should tread with caution with any player returning from a serious injury, but once Hudson-Odoi gets close to 60 minutes and looks pretty sharp, you should be one of the first people to own him.
Andriy Yarmolenko (£5.9)
As a Hammers fan, I also know that Yarmolenko is class. With Michail Antonio out with injury for a while, Pablo Fornals still getting used to the physicality of the Premier League and Robert Snodgrass being.. well, Robert Snodgrass, Yarmolenko’s spot at West Ham’s right wing is pretty safe. He got a long awaited goal last GW and could’ve had more too in a free flowing and offensive West Ham team.
Manuel Lanzini and Felipe Anderson are also great alternatives along with the bandwagon for Sebastien Haller that I also jumped on, but Yarmolenko with his goal threat and price could be your cheap way into a team that will need to outscore their opponents this season. As with the other picks, West Ham have an easy schedule all the way up until Christmas, so there’s no reason to waste time getting him.
Gylfi Sigurdsson (£7.8)
Just like Callum Wilson, this Icelandic talisman was one of the main bandwagons before the season and just like Wilson, Gylfi has also dropped in price twice. Not as surprising in this instance as Gylfi only has a single assist to his name so far, but that is about to change. Everton still have easy fixtures for a while, Gylfi looked a whole lot better last time out vs Wolverhampton and the Premier League referees have to at some point make clear and obvious penalty decisions.
Gylfi is 155 – 180 points guaranteed over the course of the season, but at the moment he is only on pace for around 130. He’s gonna have to catch up and that likely starts with Everton’s kind run as they are figuring themselves out offensively with Moise Kean up front, Iwobi being a bigger part of the team and Richarlison starting to look like himself. All good differential picks, but I’m backing the usually consistent Gylfi Sigurdsson!