One week to go – ten FPL questions that need answering
As of right now, we are five days away from the start of the gloriously
stressful endurance test called the Fantasy Premier League (FPL). I don’t know
about you, but my team has more ins and outs than an hour-long hokey cokey!
This is mostly because there are still too many unanswered questions, as well
as the plethora of outstanding midfield options and lack of cheap choices. So,
with time ticking, I will not take on the top ten questions that are giving me
sleepless nights.
1: Which Arsenal midfielder?
Choosing one from Ramsey, Sanchez and Ozil is tough enough, especially
when Arsenal start at home to Crystal Palace. Add in Walcott’s imminent return
from injury and the forgotten Santi Cazorla – who on earth do we pick? I’ve
went with Alexis Sanchez all along but yesterday’s Community Shield changed my
gut feeling. Cazorla got on the score sheet and is cheaper than the other
options, but Aaron Ramsey – whose bandwagon I was reluctant to go on – might have
won me over. Certainly at the start, as it gives Sanchez time to both adapt and
drop in value. So today, I’m proceeding with Ramsey. Tomorrow? No idea.
2. Rotating goalkeepers?
A common tactic amongst the FPL die-hards is to rotate two cheap
goalkeepers whose combined fixtures are superb. This year, this favours 4.5m
keepers like Krul, Foster and Green. Sunderland are a potential option here but
Gus Poyet hasn’t made it clear who his #1 is, between Mannone and Pantilimon.
Newcastle/WBA and Newcastle/Sunderland are interesting rotations, though
nowhere near perfect. Looking at last year’s totals, there was no goalkeeper
who pulled away from the rest. Also, are save points just as vital as clean
sheets? Because, if so, the whole strategy behind choosing goalkeepers changes.
Another idea is to choose a goalkeeper from a lower side with great fixtures –
like Begovic – so you have a good chance of clean sheets but also don’t need to
panic when he faces Man City in week three because he’ll save a lot. Or you
could choose a heavy-hitter like De Gea, Hart or Courtois/Cech. It’s an
interesting dilemma, also influenced by the prices of that goalkeeper’s
defensive team mates.
3. Which 4m defenders will
actually play?
And how long is a piece of string? Unfortunately, it’s not possible to
foresee which bargain basement players will get regular game time, but we’re
able to make an educated guess. West Brom pair Baird and Wisdom are good
options, but the signing of Costa Rica’s Gamboa makes the battle for right back
look tougher. Baird has often been deployed in midfield this pre-season so, if
he retains his place, he not only plays games but has out of position (OOP)
potential. Hull like to play 3 centre-backs which makes Alex Bruce – manager’s
son – an appealing option. In both legs of their Europa League tie against
Trencin, Bruce started. Paul McShane is also worth 4m, so it’s likely that one
of these will start most games. If in doubt, choose nepotism! Alan Hutton has
featured a lot in pre-season but I don’t trust Aston Villa. Kyle Bartley may
get games after Chico’s departure from Swansea, but the Welsh side are more
likely to buy a replacement. Dummett and Targett won’t get games, leaving
Burnley and Leicester options. We don’t know what their defences will be like
at this level, but Duff, Upson and Moore could be worth a pick.
4. Lamela or Eriksen?
Mauricio Pochettino is lucky enough to have these two talents at his
disposal and they offer a classic FPL clash between the proven pick and the
differential. Both priced at 8m, Christian Eriksen had a marvellous end to last
season, finishing with seven goals and nine assists. Played in a #10 role, he
thrived behind whichever striker Tim Sherwood chose that day. Erik Lamela, on
the other hand, has had a miserable time since his £30m move from Roma. He
played a paltry 331 minutes. However, Pochettino has put his faith in the
Argentine and has responded with three pre-season goals. With only 2.6%
ownership, could choosing Lamela be an inspirational piece of genius?
5. What about Calum Chambers?
Back to Arsenal and the Englishman they spent £16m on. With only 21
Premier League starts under his belt, his transfer to North London was a
surprise. Highly-rated, such a fee was considered a huge risk by Arsene Wenger.
But early performances and quotes have been encouraging. Priced at 4.5m,
Chambers would save you 1m on Mathieu Debuchy. Despite being played at
full-back by Southampton, Wenger believe Chambers will eventually be a world
class centre-back or midfielder, with Chambers partnering Koscielny during the
Community Shield. Chambers would be in almost every team is he was guaranteed
starts – which remains the problem. By resting his German World Cup stars,
Wenger will start Chambers on the opening day but what about after that? Will
he play enough games? Perhaps sticking with Debuchy is the best option.
6. Chelsea midfielder or
Diego Costa?
Eden Hazard is one of the safest picks you’ll encounter in this season’s
FPL. A guaranteed starter, the Belgian carried Chelsea last season with his 14
goals and 10 assists and will probably do the same this time. He costs 1m more
than Cesc Fabregas – a world class midfielder who scores and assists on demand.
We all remember his time at Arsenal, which he followed with a productive spell
at Barcelona. Having a midfield with those two is why Chelsea are favourites to
win the 2014-15 Premier League. But they now have a striker – a good one! £32m
was spent on Diego Costa and his pre-season form looks encouraging. There’s a
lack of enticing striking options, whilst there are loads of outstanding
midfielders, which favours Costa. But most of these outstanding midfielders won’t
outscore Hazard. Chelsea’s generous early fixtures may enable you to choose
both at first, then decide later.
7. Geoff Cameron
Apart from Man United, Stoke have the nicest sequence of opening
fixtures and traditionally defend well. It is almost essential to have some sort
of Stoke player in your 15 but, defensively, it’s tough to call. Cameron
started almost all of Stoke’s games last season, offering solidity and
versatility. Yet with Begovic (5m), Bardsley (5m), Huth (5m), Shawcross (5.5m) and
Pieters (5m) their likely back five, there’s no cheap option to go with.
Cameron and Mark Wilson – both 4.5m – have started most pre-season games yet
their prospects don’t look good. But Cameron is a good player, should we risk
him?
8. Dzeko or Jovetic?
Despite rarely being first choice for Man City, Dzeko always seems to
be FPL gold. He’s had Aguero, Tevez and Negredo in front of him but has
registered 14, 14 and 16 goals in his three seasons. Last term’s 16 came from
31 starts, where he’d very rarely finish a game due to being substituted. Right
now, with Negredo injured and Aguero not being 100% fit for some time, Dzeko
looked nailed on to finally be the main man. For 8.5m, this would be
incredible. However, Stevan Jovetic has shone in pre-season and there are fears
that Dzeko may remain in purgatory. At half a million cheaper, should we risk
Jovetic or remain faithful to Dzeko? I’m crossing my fingers tightly and going
for Dzeko.
9. Which Man United defender?
A huge question for various reasons. Ideally, Van Gaal would’ve bought
Thomas Vermaelen (already priced at 5m) or Ron Vlaar (4.5m) and FPL managers
would have a cheap way into the defence of a fantastic set of fixtures.
Unfortunately, their only centre backs remain Evans, Jones and Smalling (all
5.5m) and you’d expect any big signing from abroad to be worth at least that.
The Dutch boss looks intent on playing three at the back, making a Red Devils
defender vital to FPL teams. So maybe the right answer is paying even more
money for wing-back Luke Shaw. Priced at 6m, he’ll theoretically be bombing
down the left flank, providing plenty of assists and causing carnage. With the
updated bonus points system favouring full-backs that dribble, Shaw should get
significantly more points than any of the centre backs. If a new defender was
priced at only 5m or 4.5m, I’d go for them. But if we’re splashing out, you may
as well go for Shaw.
10. Is Liverpool coverage
essential?
Unfortunately, we’re limited to a budget in FPL and sacrifices have to
be made. It’s hard to fit in attacking Chelsea, Man United, Man City, Arsenal,
Tottenham and Liverpool talent, whilst having a semi-balanced team. For me,
this means I’ve neglected Liverpool despite always intending to have Daniel
Sturridge and possibly Raheem Sterling. Their fixtures are mixed – starting at
home to feeder club Southampton, before tough trips to Man City and Tottenham. So
is it essential to start with one of Rodgers’ men? With so much transfer
activity at Anfield this summer, would it be advisable to wait until the
transfer window is closed to see who’s still there? I currently have Mata and
Rooney, so maybe after a month one of those should become a Liverpool player.
It hurts to not start with Sturridge, though.
So there you go. We’re close to the season’s start but there’s too many
unstable elements floating around. My current team (which will DEFINITELY
change) is:
Begovic, Myhill
Debuchy, Shaw, Neil Taylor, Bruce, Baird
Hazard, Mata, Ramsey, Eriksen, Sigurdsson
Rooney, Dzeko, Austin
What debates are you having with yourselves? Commenting below may prove
inspirational.
