Last updated on September 23rd, 2020
Written by @IamtheMarkus. Follow him on twitter for regular FPL insights!
Wow. What a weekend, 44 goals, zero draws and double-digit scores in abundance. On a personal team scoring front, it could not have been a much worse weekend even if we tried: 41 (-4) points, well below average and reading more like a binary code. With a gameweek rank of about 5.5m, safe to say this was one of my worst weeks particularly given the volume of double-digit players about, the captain pick was an underwhelming choice with just an assist. Not the ideal start to the season. 24pts in 2 games from my own captain picks. Bleurgh.
As a recap of last week’s considerations:
In my Squad
Auba – 1xAssist (no bonus)
Salah – blank (our thinking was correct here)
Sterling – 1xAssist
Richarlison – 3xAssist (1 bonus point)
So, the players under consideration were right but the end result was not.
Out of my Squad
DCL – hat-trick (3baps, kudos if you made the move to own and/or captain)
Martial – blank (looked poor)
Bruno F- blank (also looked poor)
Aguero (injured) – no game.
KDB (since I went with Sterling) – Penalty (1xGoal) + 1 Assist + bps
Leeds – points across the board with another 4 goals. Helder Costa, Klich and Bamford are really impressing me, to say the least. Granted it was another defensive horror show from Fulham but Leeds have come to play.
West Brom, Fulham and Leeds right now are shipping goals for fun. It’s also fair to say that Southampton’s high line is only going to cost them more after being picked constantly over the past two gameweeks by both Son and Zaha, but with Burnley maybe not being as much of a breakaway team, this may not be an issue this coming week.
Looking forward…
Zaha continues to look in the mood but will struggle against teams who sit in. Wolves fixtures look quite tempting now that Man City have gone past and I expect WBA, Fulham and Southampton to continue to concede. West Ham did look better but I don’t know if the “London Rivalry” was what caused them to raise their game. Chelsea need a few changes, the return of Pulisic and Ziyech from injury will no doubt be key, but Timo Werner looks a cut above the rest around him at this time. Liverpool took the 3 points from Chelsea without really going through the gears. When Chelsea click into gear no doubt he will go on a decent run. Manchester United look like they will need a couple of weeks to get up to speed. City, on the other hand, looked like they picked up where they left off. KDB looked imperious, Sterling a little bit behind him.
There are cup games to be factored in as well this week, so keep an eye out for injuries.
Onwards to GW3…
Good fixtures aplenty in my squad, but I think Chelsea will show up at WBA looking to put down an emphatic result. TLDR; My GW3 © will be Timo Werner as I don’t own any Chelsea midfielders and the ones I would want have an injury question mark against their name. Sterling and Richarlison are in the back of my mind but I feel the fixture is there for a Chelsea asset to shine and is likely to be a strong marker. If I had KDB/Salah I would be captaining him.
Sterling – TSB ~ 6%
Manchester City looked great against Wolves, most will be buying KDB (already risen once in price so far) & Sterling’s ownership will likely rise based on this week too albeit much slower. Just the assist in the first game but did threaten. Leicester again did not look their best defensive selves against Burnley at the weekend so I’m expecting the Man City front line to have plenty of chances. If you have KDB then he is as good a pick as Sterling this week, if not better.
Timo Werner – TSB ~ 32.5%
Jorginho scuppered, or Allison scuppered, a second assist in a row. Normally that would not be captain material but he again looked sharp against Liverpool and was Chelsea’s best player by far. A price drop as people are finding plenty of forwards on offer that are delivering points. Whilst WBA did not help themselves after losing a man to a red card, the manner at which they fell apart will be alarming to their fans and manager. Chelsea might not have the luxury of playing against 10 but a similar result could be on the cards as Chelsea will look to make a statement of intent in this game. If Ziyech and Pulisic can make progress from the treatment room, this only bolsters his appeal IMO.
Richarlison – TSB ~ 11%
Another victory and another “Green” fixture up next. Many will have DCL due to the price difference. Over the course of the season, I think he will outperform DCL, but for now I’m happy to own one of the pair (albeit maybe the wrong one). Palace have looked very decent so far, this will be quite a tight game probably. So I’m likely not to captain this man here.
The Fear
This list makes me want to spend the wildcard in order to try to fit everyone in. These players are not in my squad and I will be watching from behind the sofa as they look likely to cause serious damage this weekend.
Kevin De Bruyne– TSB ~ 40%
A penalty, an assist, 3 bps and a price rise. KDB looked like he was the top dog of the City midfielders and with good reason. I’m scared of not owning this man after only one week. If I had him, I would captain him over my current squad picks above. City won’t really let up this season, fans or no fans, they only know how to play one way. Leicester again did not look their best defensive selves against Burnley at the weekend. If you have KDB then he is as good a pick as they come.
Salah – TSB ~ 40%
A subdued performance at Chelsea with the goals going to his counterpart Mane, I’d expect a reaction in this fixture. Salah will no doubt be looking to swing the balance back in his favour. With 6 goals, 4 assists in 7 games against Arsenal there’s no doubt he would be a strong contender if he was in my squad. From a look at his general stats, it seemed that he preferred playing at home as well: PPG Home 8.22 vs 5.31 Away.
Kane – TSB ~ 15%
A strong showing against Southampton with just the 4 assists and a goal, perhaps Spurs may maintain a bit of momentum this time now that he’s found the net, instead of providing assists, he may well be a feature if you have him. Newcastle were exposed by Brighton and I fancy Mourinho to get this right tactically and expose them again. Another midweek fixture ahead of this game against Newcastle but he would be a strong contender if I owned him.
Grealish – TSB 10%
Certainly didn’t shy away from attempting the shot on Monday against ten men Sheffield. He fits the team talisman down to a T. They will be looking to make it two from two and the game against Fulham will be open and I expect plenty of goals here.
Ziyech/Pulisic – TSB 5% and 1.5%
If either of these two are fit again, it is entirely possible they will have a good day out against WBA. As highlighted with Werner, we expect WBA will have another bad day at the office, so goals and assists will be likely if these midfielders can shake off their injuries. Perhaps they will be the spark Chelsea need.
