Welcome back to our FPL Focus article, where we cover off everything FPL based. In this article, we will cover off tips of all sorts for the next two weeks ahead, review how our previous tips played out and explore who is doing well in our Focus league. Let’s begin with exploring how our tips in the last article are performing so far.
In the first article, we pinpointed 3 main men for the coming season, whilst this is not a short stay tip, more for the duration of the season or until at least January, it is good to check up on how they have been currently performing;
Aubameyang
Points – 4
Upcoming fixtures – West Ham (H), Cardiff City (A).
Well, this one has been a real slow starter, BUT I had expected that. Manchester City home and Chelsea away really is not the easiest of starts, but it’s the Chelsea away game which really caught my eye. Aubameyang missed some gilt-edged chances and should really have scored more than the measly 2 in which he accumulated. With his next 8 games all being against favourable opposition until they face Liverpool on the 3rd November, now really is the time to be including him in your front line.
Bernardo Silva
Points – 10
Upcoming fixtures – Wolves (A), Newcastle (H).
Bernardo really is a steal at a starting price of £7.5 million (as I keep repeating). He has had quite the successful start to the new season, he really shone at the Emirates in their first game, grabbing himself a goal in the process. He followed this up with a more disappointing FPL score of 2 against Huddersfield where City ran out 6-1 winners (obviously I captained him this week). I expect even more impressive displays to come Bernado’s way and his price has risen to £7.6 million now.
Andros Townsend
Points – 5
Upcoming fixtures – Watford (A), Southampton (H).
A mediocre start for Andros on the FPL points front, but his performances have still been impressive. I have seen fans raving about him so far ‘the best I have seen Townsend performing’. Andros looked very lively when Palace visited the cottage on the opening day of the season and also hit the woodwork against Liverpool on Monday night. A cheap midfield attacking option, who I’m sure will still score highly.
Last Article’s Captain Choices
Whilst I was very vague and gave a player and a team to pick from for the captaincy choices (which will happen often this season). There were some negatives and positives from these choices. Finding a team to pick a captain from is always a better starting point than just thinking of an individual player and hoping they have a good game alone.
Gameweek 1 – Josh King/Bournemouth player.
Only collecting two points against Cardiff, Josh has not taken his pre-season form into the new season yet. Whereas his attacking counterpart Callum Wilson has been hitting the back of the net for fun. Wilson was also £0.5 million less than Josh at the start of the season and hit 8 points against Cardiff and 6 points against West Ham, potentially a player to look at with their easy fixture list in the coming weeks.
Gameweek 2 – Bernardo Silva/Manchester City player.
As covered above, Bernado only scored 2 also on this gameweek, a poor return from both individual choices. BUT Manchester City were rampant and if you had captained Aguero he would have got you 40 points. Unfortunately, I did not have him in my team but this is why it is so key to search for a team which will score high before a player and pick accordingly.
Bargain Buys
We will now look at how our ‘Bargain buys’ section of players are performing, these will not necessarily be the highest scorers, but great squad fillers who have the capability to step up for a low value.
Joe Gomez
Price – £5 million
Points – 12
Upcoming fixtures – Brighton (H), Leicester (A).
Joe has had a solid start to the season for Liverpool at CB with Van Dijk. Keeping two impressive clean sheets.
Lewis Cook
Price – £5 million (dropped to £4.9 million)
Points – 1
Upcoming fixtures – Everton (H), Chelsea (A).
Not currently starting games, I would think about getting rid, but at his value, he is worth keeping as a bench player.
Cenk Tosun
Price – £7 million
Points – 7
Upcoming fixtures – Bournemouth (A), Huddersfield (H).
Fairly good start so far, worth keeping in for the coming fixtures, or possibly transferring in if you do not already have him.
Josh King
Price – £6.5 million (dropped to £6.4 million)
Points – 3
Upcoming fixtures – Everton (H), Chelsea (A).
I would consider changing Josh for Callum Wilson, or a striker of a different side. Their next two fixtures are not the most favourable. BUT if you do stick it out, he has a run of 6 fixtures after the next 2 which are favourable for him.
We had also tipped teams to pick players from, Burnley, Bournemouth, Everton, Palace. I would be looking strongly at still picking players from these teams for cheap but good value. For example, I have Richarlison in my team for Everton, he has already picked up 23 points! His value has also risen by 0.3 million also.
Looking Ahead to the Next Two Weeks
Who to transfer in?
So, had you not shot a transfer in for the first week already, you would have accumulated 2 free transfers, it is so important not to rush into changing your team and spend an unnecessary -4 points in the process. I am making just the one change this week, Eric Bailly out for Yerry Mina, Everton needing to swap around their ageing defence and there was a good reason for bringing in Mina. This paired with their fairly easy starting fixtures as well as Mina’s lethal presence in front of goal that we saw at the world cup, especially at set pieces. I will expect him to chip in with FPL points. Everton fans on social media are raving at Gylfi Sigurdsson’s deliveries at set pieces and the thought of Yerry getting on the end of them. He should be available for this weekend’s match and will cost you £5.5 million.
Another player to look to bring in (if you haven’t already) is our very own Aleksandar Mitrovic, he scored last weekend in a rather amusing way and I expect him to fire on from here. Of course, he will keep his position in the front line. Fulham face Burnley and Brighton next, hoping to capitalize on a tired Burnley from travelling to Greece on Thursday. I already have him as my sole Fulham player and I encourage you to bring him in! He only costs £6.5 million and already has 8 points to his name.
Who to captain?
Gameweek 3 – Aubameyang/Firmino (or another Liverpool player).
Again, indecisive but giving options. I fully expect Aubameyang to start firing soon and with his next fixture being West Ham at home whose defensive line looks shaky, it could be the perfect option, he is my personal pick for this coming gameweek. Liverpool play Brighton at home and any Liverpool player is safe to pick, but Firmino will be looking to finally score this season and not fall too far behind his teammates.
Gameweek 4 – Richarlison/Hazard.
Richarlison will be facing off against what seems to be a struggling Huddersfield side, with the start to the season that he’s had, he could really grab a few here. Hazard will be back to full fitness and you’d expect him to start matches, they face off against Bournemouth at home and the way they’re playing I can see a lot of goals there.
Which teams have the easiest fixtures in the coming month?
Manchester City – Wolves (A), Newcastle (H), Fulham (H), Cardiff (A).
Now really is a time to invest in some Manchester City players.
Arsenal – West Ham (H), Cardiff (A), Newcastle (A), Everton (H).
Slightly trickier than Manchester City, but get your Arsenal forward players in!
Chelsea – Newcastle (A), Bournemouth (H), Cardiff (H), West Ham (A).
Pricey players, but worth it for the potential points.
These are all teams who are of a high stature if you want teams with cheaper players and an easy fixture run then check out the first article also. These teams include – Everton, Burnley, Crystal Palace and Bournemouth.
Focus League Watch
Jimmy Rimmer leads the way with a massive 184 points in two weeks. His squad value has already increased by £0.3 Million in two weeks! Some great picks in his team including Aguero captained last weekend, Mané and Richarlison.
Catch him if you can!
Stick To Your Guns
I wish I had Aguero like many FPL players will do right now. But I stuck with Aubameyang, now if you’re in the same boat as me, you’ll be as gutted as I am. Last weekend showed he will get chances and with an easier run of fixtures coming up, I fully expect him to get some goals soon.
Do not dive into changes too soon, this is where you will find it harder in the later rounds of the season.
Thanks for reading and I look forward to writing the third article in 2 weeks time! – @lukealele.
