Last updated on May 13th, 2021
Written by @IamtheMarkus. Follow him on twitter for regular FPL insights!
A tricky article to pen as we look towards another Friday night kick-off as we still have Thursday nights games to go. Certainly the final few weeks remain busy. Some thoughts ahead of the week ahead:
- With two teams now deemed relegated in Fulham and WBA, it’s possible that these two teams may start to rotate a little more to give an opportunity to their future talents in order to bolster their resolve for next season in the Championship.
- Woods notches once again as Burnley pull away from the drop.
- Benteke the star of Palace’s DGW
- Newcastle were stellar against Leicester, but an injury to Wilson is unfortunate.
- Everton, still with a game to play, really have been hot and cold in terms of getting results Home vs Away but DCL could be hitting another purple patch of scoring as the run out of the calendar continues.
- Spurs play Wolves next but tend to perform better when facing lower half opposition.
- Man City are now Champions.
- Chelsea will be kicking themselves after their loss to Arsenal, so I anticipate less rotation where possible until the end of the season.
- The United lineup on Tuesday helped almost no FPL players as Ole turned to rotation much to Leicester’s pleasure
- Blanks for Man United, Chelsea, Leicester, Arsenal but it seems most have around 10 players without hits.
In terms of our own selection, we started with the armband firmly on Salah but flipped late into Friday afternoon. This so far has proved to be an okay decision with Bruno getting a long-overdue penalty and somehow wrangling a share of 3 baps too but with United/Liverpool still to come I won’t know if it really was a successful week. Fresh from their triple header, Manchester United have an FPL week off along with Chelsea, Leicester and Arsenal. Safe to say there will be a few hits around but I think most appear to be claiming they have circa 10 players without hits.
TLDR
My © will be Salah*.
Vice – Antonio.
After a late switch last week I don’t think I quite have the heart to do it again here but I’ll stick with my initial gut pick and no doubt wish on what could have been if Antonio hauls.
*Should Liverpool lose tonight I am likely to switch these around.
Aguero – TSB ~ 1.3% – Newcastle
With his panenka last week, Sergio didn’t quite cover himself in glory and perhaps the penalties will be back with Mahrez (or KDB) but it does seem like he is being given ample opportunity to play and gain form ahead of their club’s most important game. A goal in the game prior and what really should have been a goal and assist against Chelsea there are certainly signs that we are going to see a little more magic from Kun before he departs.
I really thought Newcastle would be on the beach by now but they tore into Leicester last Friday. With Wilson out injured and Guardiola warranting a reaction from his would-be champions, City really should come out firing here. Without Wilson, the ability to get out from the back will be difficult. There is a slight temptation to chase some glory of Aguero in seasons past, particularly when looking at Sergio’s individual record against Newcastle.
Salah – TSB ~ 35.3% – WBA
Freshly relegated opposition with Liverpool in desperate need of three points in their CL chase.
At the time of writing, I won’t know if Salah has notched again, but with Salah seemingly willing to assist Mane then surely anything is possible. Salah hasn’t scored more than 1g since GW21, whilst it’s pleasing that he is beginning to tick over in the points again, the lack of double-digit returns has lessened his cult captain appeal this year.
Jota’s form too has plateaued of late as he seems to be avoiding points at all costs, but Mane is looking sharp for his 5% ownership. Salah to me is still the best of the three to own and captain and my gut says he will do the business here with Big Sam and Co. suffering from the relegation blues.
Antonio -TSB ~ 5.8% – Brighton
With neither West Ham or Brighton likely to have many fit centre-halves between them, this fixture has the potential for goals. Back in the lineup, Antonio has the chance to help cement West Ham’s best finish in recent years. Antonio can be a bit of a bully against certain defenses and will be keen to add to his tally of 9 goals. Had he remained fit throughout there is an element of what could have been for the striker. Whilst he missed the reverse fixture, that finished 2-2 and we could well see a similar scoreline this weekend. I think the lack of presence of Dunk will hurt Brighton. His ownership is rising but at this level is still a handy differential pick.
Ings -TSB ~ 5% – Fulham
After two games out, he’s back with a brace. Danny faces freshly relegated opposition in Fulham. Parker has hinted at changes but that could be off the field as well as on it. Ings has the perfect option to finish with a flurry here and whilst Fulham have shown themselves to be more resolute I do think it is natural that their heads will dip a little.
Historically, he’s not been a good player for me to own and when I don’t own him he seems to do well/tick over nicely. So I promise I will not be buying him so if you do own him he’s probably going to get another brace just to continue to wind me up.
