Yes, yes, we know: we are too good to you people here at Fantrax! Not only do we give you the wise words of the Kickaround Pod, the astute analysis of Genie’s Waivers, the informed insights of the Chaps Sleepers XI, and the must-read musings of Totti’s Weekly Rankings, but NOW we are providing you a preview of your very own personal league. Okay, enough of the alliteration. Hopefully, you know the score: on Monday we gave you the opportunity to win a written preview of your league’s matchups, and you got back to us admirably (by the way, a big thank you for this – we love reading all the retweets!). This time we have given Australia some love and chose @diddyg91 as our Community Special winner, so here is that preview…
P.S. Even if this isn’t your league there should still be some useful tips for gameweek 10!!!
Note: this article gets written on a Wednesday and therefore is based on information available up until that point. For players who are classified as ‘doubtful’, I tend to go by the status report at premierinjuries.com, with anyone less than ‘75%’ generally not considered for the starting 11 (unless their inclusion is required in order to field a full 11).
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Community Special: Gameweek 10
Jubentus vs Stannis VARatheon
Gotta feel for Mason Mount being in this midfield. It must be how Tim Cahill felt every time he put on the jersey for the Socceroos. Jorginho – woeful. Partey – bang average. DVB – no thanks. Thiago – pass. It tells you everything you need to know about Fantrax draft fantasy that the 2nd best midfielder in this squad isn’t one of the Chelsea, Arsenal, United, or Liverpool players listed above, but rather, Brighton’s Leandro Trossard. In a 10-man league, I would drop all of those “big names” and find some others. Pascal Gross is a FA; he’d be ideal given that Trossard is already owned but has had his injuries this season. This league (with its managers based in lovely Australia) uses locked lineups, so team selections have to be made accordingly. Even more reason to bin off Partey and co, otherwise Mount may literally be the only midfielder who plays. The Chelsea man is having an excellent season, and his Loco-Motion allows him to contribute all over the pitch (8 tackles won and 14 key passes so far this season). Outside of him though, a lot will rest on Mahrez here…if he were to experience Pep-roulette (which I don’t think he will), then this matchup could get interesting. To Jube’s credit, the defense is nice.
Stannis has put together a very good squad here, but their matchups this weekend might be some of the worst I’ve seen. Wolves duo away at Arsenal; Fulham pair against Leicester; Mee versus Man City, and even star-man Bruno won’t have it easy taking on high-flying Southampton. Speaking of Bruno, I ranked him at 3 in the recent ROS rankings but I think I’d have him at the Don Bradman spot overall now (i.e. number 1). And I’ll stand by my controversial pick of Grealish ahead of KDB too, which means Stannis has the 1 and 2 ranked players in the game right now (according to yours truly at least). If that bench gets fit (Castagne, Ings, and Antonio) and in-form (Willian and Adama), then they will arguably be the team to beat. Will these things all happen? Stannis Should Be So Lucky.
Jubentus 87-73 Stannis VARatheon
Barack O’Bameyang vs Ayew Not Entertained
One of the beauties of Fantrax scoring is that it rewards all positions. That said, multiple deep midfielders is still not a tactic that generally equates to success. This advice applies to all managers, but Especially For You, Barack. Kante and Ndidi are the poster boys for Fantrax scoring, but Neves and Romeu need to go (someone may see Romeu’s overachieving start to the season and offer a decent trade, but if not, just let him go to the free agent pool). And whilst we’re having a squad overhaul, let’s discuss Ake and Lindelof. Yes, they play for the two Manchester clubs, but both of these should see as much game time for Barack as Warney saw at the 2003 World Cup. This squad is way off the mark. I’m talking Steve Harmison, opening ball of the 2006/07 Ashes off the mark. How they sit 6th is beyond me, though it’s probably something to do with the forward line, which to be fair, is very tasty. If Auba gets given a run as the central striker (apparently Martinelli is almost back, so this is a possibility, despite the blank when put there against Leeds), and Abraham continues his good run, then this front three will put fear into any side…even if the remaining eight don’t.
Prior to gameweek 1, Ayew Not Entertained traded Son for Greenwood. Is that not why they are here (10th)? Probably. The trade has cost them 148.5 points in the first 9 gameweeks of this season. That’ll hurt more than a David Warner punch in Walkabout. That said, this is a good squad. The fantasy points total suggests 10th spot is harsh (they have the 8th most), but I think they’ll finish even higher than that come the end of the season. The midfield three of Pereira, ASM, and McNeil – whilst perhaps not the most glamorous to the OFPL community – has exactly what you need: they are the focal points of their teams. Add in an Andros Townsend – who has taken a Step Back In Time to look more like the 2015-16 version that had an FP/G of 12.9 – and you’ve got yourself sorted in the middle. In fact, a Lamptey/Doherty/Telles defense and a frontline which has a certifiable number 1 in Jimenez, number 2 in Adams/Greenwood, and number 3 in Ayew, and it really is a mystery how Ayew Not Entertained is bottom of the league.
Barack O’Bameyang 63-98 Ayew Not Entertained
*The trade also involved 100FAAB coming in; an amount that was destined for Havertz and would have flipped the tables on this trade. Unfortunately for Ayew, Jubentus mind-gamed them and managed to acquire the Chelsea signing by bidding 1 extra FAAB.
Chicken Tikka Mo Salah vs Throbbers
Got To Be Certain that your player will start, or at least get minutes, when you play with the locked lineups rule, and this predicament is going to trouble Chicken Tikka all season long. Aguero or Jesus? Jesus or Aguero? How about just putting them both in and saving yourself the stress? I think that would actually be my strategy here (well, my first strategy would be to trade them both out, but let’s ignore that). You never know; Pep might look at City’s current XG of 12.4 (10th best in the league…surely their lowest rank since XG began…) and play them both…now that would be nice for Chicken Tikka. If my strategy is taken on board, the biggest question may be Barnes or Brownhill. Barnes had a poor game against Liverpool and was subbed off (shock) just after the hour. I think when you’re taking on a big dog, you’ve gotta go with the high risk, high reward option, so it would be Barnes for me – particularly as Leicester faces Fulham. I’d also be swapping Lo Celso out for another defender, which would allow Taylor to go on the bench. I’m a fan of the Burnley left-back, but the last three times he’s faced City he’s returned -5.5, -0.25, and -6.25. And yes, that is the 16.4 FP/G Watkins on the bench.
Throbbers sits atop the table not because they drafted Harry Kane in the 9 spots, but because they have picked up some absolute steals on the waiver wire. Robinson (8.0 FP/G), Neto (11.7 FP/G), Zambo Anguissa (8.4 FP/G), Fofana (8.9 FP/G), and Walcott (10.0 FP/G) were all available for others to grab, but have ended up contributing big time to the 8-and-1 leaders. Many of these were nobodies until very recently, and whilst I understand it’s sometimes a case of Better The Devil You Know (i.e. your Lucas Moura’s, Sigurdsson’s, and Felipe Anderson’s), sometimes you also need to take a few punts. I like Digne and Richarlison to rack up the points against a Leeds side who are shaky at the back, despite their clean sheet against Arsenal (the Gunners are just bad going forward…a sentence I never thought I’d say having grown up in the Bergkamp-Henry era…sad times). I still have faith in Eze too, and a game against Newcastle could be just what the doctor ordered to kick start his campaign. This one’s gonna be closer than Edgbaston in 2005 (remind me who won that again?).
Chicken Tikka Mo Salah 104-105 Throbbers
Fiorentina Turner vs DARSENAL
A few nice pieces in place here, but still, a hell of a lot is riding on DCL continuing his blistering start to the season. The young Englishman may be as likable as Harold Bishop and Lou Carpenter combined, but Hand On Your Heart, can you honestly see his good form lasting for another 6 months? The Everton man has scored 10 goals with an XG of just 6.0…this doesn’t tend to be sustainable unless your name is Messi (or believe it or not, Vardy too). Injuries have hit the club hard recently, but Phillips is back, and Pulisic might be too soon. Gomez – injury or not – should not get anywhere near a Fantrax side, and his relegation to free agency would free up some space to allow someone else to take Bale’s starting spot (the 100FAAB acquisition is unlikely to start this week). The matchups are certainly not the best for Turner; a Walker clean-sheet and a big day from Maddison are absolutely essential if they are to get the win here. Fun fact: Maupay scored 4 goals from 6 shots on target in gameweeks 3-5, and has scored 0 goals from 5 shots on target in gameweeks 6-9. What does this all mean? I haven’t a clue.
Ironically, DARSENAL looks set to be forced into doubling up in defense against Arsenal. I’ve said – and the stats back it up – that Arteta’s men are poor going forward, but it’s still not a tactic I’d advise. Aubameyang, Willian, Lacazette…these guys are still very good players who can score goals for fun. The big decision, though, lies in midfield. I’ve been Spinning Around with different combinations of Fornals, Havertz, March, Foden, and Praet, but ultimately gone for the safest options here. It is very tempting to go with Foden in place of March or Kilman, and I’d be tracking all the press conferences and news up until the lineups lock to try and get an inkling of Peps’ thoughts. 60+ minutes from Foden against Burnley could be pivotal. DARSENAL will rise and fall on the back of Son and Werner, and the two stars square off against each other this week. On paper, that doesn’t seem like a good thing, but Son has had bigger returns against the better sides so far this season, whilst Werner is on a 3 game run of double-digit points returns. This one’s gonna be closer than Headingly in 2019 (remind me who won that again?).
Fiorentina Turner 89-91 DARSENAL
Patchy FC vs Far North QLD FC
This matchup could come down to two Villa center-backs, with Patchy holding Mings and Far North owning Konsa. With the lineups locked, a bit of guesswork will be in order: do they counter each other and let it be a 10 v 10? If you back your 10 – which Far North should – then countering is the go. If you don’t (as Patchy shouldn’t) then you don’t counter. It can become a game of cat and mouse that goes right up to the deadline. Anyway, Patchy’s team will miss the injured Barkley, but with KDB, Zaha, and Ziyech, they’re pretty loaded in that area anyway. It’s the defense and front line that has the concerns, with Chilwell and Vardy the only premium players here. One name, in particular, stands out: PVA. I Just Can’t Get It Out Of My Head how people continue to think the Palace left-back is a viable fantasy option. He isn’t. I’m going to keep saying this until his ownership is where it should be at under 10%.
The gameweek kicks off on Friday night, and On A Night Like This we should all be out having some well-earned drinks, not dedicating ourselves to two hours of Hodgson vs Bruce. But that’s what Fantrax does to us. It makes the boring games brilliant and the mediocre players miraculous. Far North will be keeping close eyes on Zaha and the left-back-who-should-not-be-named, but even with a Palace clean sheet and a Zaha goal, I think they should have more than enough to win this one. In fact, I’m going for Far North to top score this week. Sterling is going to go off to the tune of 30+, Rodriguez likewise. And I’ve got a funny feeling Bobby Firms will bag again too. It might be the highlight of their season though, as this is not a top-four squad. The starting 11 is okay, but an injury or two could see Far North relying on that bang average bench…I think I’d rather have Kath and Kim than Konsa and Keane to be honest.
Patchy FC 101-129 Far North QLD FC
Previous Editions: Gameweek 6 | Gameweek 8 | Gameweek 9 |
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