Getting your team selection correct in Draft Premier League is just as essential as your pre-season draft or your weekly waiver wire claims. And that’s exactly why we’re here to help with our Gameweek 29 Start and Sit article! We’re here to help you with some of the big Fantasy EPL decisions you may need to make for the upcoming fixtures.
Gameweek 29 Start and Sit
Whether you’re an obsessed EPL fan like our Fantrax HQ team, or a casual player new to the world of Fantasy EPL, you know to start your attacking players against relegation-threatened sides. We’re not going to waste your time dealing with the obvious! The goal of this article is to delve into notable players across each Fantrax position and let you know if you should be starting or sitting those players.
Our format is as follows: We will be choosing 2 different teams. One will be our starts of the week, made up of non-obvious, low-rostered players. The other will be our sits of the week, made up of highly rostered, normally started players.
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Double Gameweek 29 is upon us. Several teams have a Double Gameweek (DGW): Newcastle, Chelsea; Villa; Forest; Bournemouth; Leeds; Liverpool; Brentford; Leicester; Man United; Brighton; & West Ham. This inherently factors into how to set up your lineup in this pivotal GW. However, it’s important to not overthink it or get too cute. As they say, start your studs, even if they unfortunately just have a single game. For example, don’t bench Kevin DeBruyne to slot in Robin Koch. And, in general, suspect defenses such as West Ham & Leicester are not to be trusted. If you have better options, it’s probably best to avoid DEFs (who don’t ghost well) from those teams (e.g., folks like Faes & Aguerd), which are always very unlikely to keep clean sheets. But enough meandering; without further ado, here are your Gameweek 29 Start and Sit contenders!
Starts of the Week XI
Player Pos. Team Opponent % Rostered Neto G BOU FUL/BRI 25% Felipe D NOT WOL/@LEE 35% Liam Cooper D LEE @ARS/NOT 18% Alex Moreno D AVL @CHE/@LEI 48% Rob Holding D ARS LEE 19% Jefferson Lerma D BOU FUL/BRI 25% Wilfried Ndidi M LEI @CRY/AVL 7% Crycencio Summerville M LEE @ARS/NOT 21% Fred M MUN @NEW/BRF 23% Tete F LEI @CRY/AVL 29% Evan Ferguson F BRI BRF/@BOU 34%
Average % Rostered: 26%
At GK, we’re going with the one word named Neto (Bournemouth GK), not to be confused with Prince. He has been scoring very well, picking up a fair amount of saves, and has a tasty DGW (Fulham & Brighton at home).
The back line will consist of: Felipe (Nottingham Forest DEF); Liam Cooper (Leeds DEF); Alex Moreno (Aston Villa DEF); Rob Holding (Arsenal DEF). Felipe has been a revelation (2nd in ghost point production, just behind top total point scorer Kieran Trippier) and has a great DGW (Wolves & Leeds). Cooper has been injured and benched for a long time now but a knock over the International Break to Max Wober could make way for the Scot. If so, he has proven to be a good scorer and has a DGW, albeit a tough matchup in the first fixture. Check Wober’s injury status before pulling the trigger on Coop; worse case scenario would be Cooper gets the Arsenal game then is benched for Forest. Moreno has seemingly nailed down the LB spot, wresting it away from Lucas Digne, and has excellent upside. The DGW is a nice bonus. And rounding out the defense is the lone Single Gameweeker, Rob Holding. If Saliba’s injury keeps him out, Holding can do a job as he scores well and hosts struggling Leeds at the Emirates.
In the middle of park, we’re going with a gang of Central Defensive Midfielders (CDMs), Crycencio notwithstanding: Jefferson Lerma (Bournemouth MID); Wilfried Ndidi (Leicester MID); Crycencio Summerville (Leeds MID); & Fred (Manchester United MID). There’s a reason for featuring so many CDMs – they are usually nailed on to start & their 5-10 point floor usually yields a tasty score over two matches in a DGW. Lerma fits that mold & has averaged over 9 points per start over his last 5. Ndidi is more of a nostalgic shout – he has it in his locker to score well (and has done so a lot in the past), so let’s give him a shot in this DGW. Summerville has been in and out of the starting xi but should be in for now given his colleague Willy Gnonto’s knock (check the lineups before banking on him). And good old Fred is a warm blanket in DGW29 – rest assured he’ll get you 14+ by hook or by crook.
Up front, we’re led by a Brazilian & an Irishman: Tete (Leicester FWD) & Evan Ferguson (Brighton FWD). Tete has largely underwhelmed since his explosive debut but has a chance to make up for it in this DGW. Meanwhile, Ferguson has also largely gone off the boil in the EPL (although he has been bagging in the FA Cup & for his international team); but he should regain form over these 2 legs of the DGW & fill up the stat sheet.
Sits of the Week XI
| Player | Pos. | Team | Opponent | % Rostered |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ederson | G | MCI | LIV | 80% |
| Antonee Robinson | D | FUL | ARS | 59% |
| Kyle Walker | D | MCI | LIV | 57% |
| Eric Dier | D | TOT | @EVE | 91% |
| Marc Cucurella | D | CHE | AVL/LIV | 76% |
| Christian Pulisic | M | CHE | AVL/LIV | 56% |
| Ilkay Gundogan | M | MCI | LIV | 98% |
| Ivan Perisic | M | TOT | @EVE | 82% |
| Andreas Pereira | M | FUL | @BOU | 88% |
| Che Adams | F | SOU | @WHU | 81% |
| Roberto Firmino | F | LIV | @MCI/@CHE | 78% |
Average % Rostered: 77%
It’s becoming a weekly thing – Ederson (Manchester City GK) is on our bench. It’s pure name recognition that makes him so heavily rostered. With a plethora of DGW keepers available & other SGW GKs that score better & have more favorable matchups, the Brazilian is relegated to the pine.
A back 4 of Kyle Walker (Manchester City DEF); Eric Dier (Tottenham DEF); Marc Cucurella (Chelsea DEF); & Antonee Robinson (Fulham DEF) is delightfully underwhelming. Walker needs to be dropped immediately – he isn’t even a lock to get 6 points with a clean sheet. Never stream him; move on with your life. Dier can be streamed in dire circumstances – we’ll show ourselves out – but with so many more attractive alternatives, this GW does not qualify. The only DGWer at the back, Cucurella has been playing better but still should not be trusted, even with two bites at the apple. Finally, anti-Americans rejoice; Antonee is benched. Fulham is out of sorts & even against Bournemouth, a cleanie isn’t likely. Avoid.
Meanwhile, the engine room includes: Ilkay Gundogan (Manchester City MID); Andreas Pereira (Fulham MID); Christian Pulisic (Chelsea MID); & Ivan Perisic (Tottenham MID). Gundo has not been producing of late & has only one fixture this week – a tricky matchup against Liverpool. A controversial take, we would drop Andreas this week. A highly-rated midfielder against Bournemouth – what gives? He has been very poor, has just a single game, he & Fulham are without Mitrovic, and the Cherries are no longer pushovers. It’s not the worst thing in the world to field him but there should be better options in your squad this week. Another piece of anti-Americanism – Pulisic should be avoided. He returned to the starting lineup last GW after a long time out but that isn’t guaranteed, even over two matches. The uncertainty is just too much. Finally, Perisic & Spurs are in crisis mode – what else is new? – and play the last game, a single game at Goodison Park. We wouldn’t count on the aging Croatian in the late game.
Here are the tips of the dull attacking spear: Che Adams (Southampton FWD) & Roberto Firmino (Liverpool FWD). Che is hit or miss – and almost always the latter. He also picked up a knock and does not have a DGW. And where to begin with Bobby? He hasn’t started in months & can only score if he’s up against a Scott Parker-led Bournemouth. If he does somehow start this weekend, he has a dreadful matchup v City & would certainly not also start the second of the DGW. Cut your losses. On that positive note, that’s your lot!
Make sure you also check out our official EPL content partner, The Draft Society, for all the latest! Check out their Fantrax Weekly Player Projections page for more player evaluations for the upcoming week!