That could be just about the most painful green arrow ever obtained in FPL history.
Welcome back folks. We have a quick turnaround for Gameweek 28, so this will need to be one of those Diet Fuzzy columns. The picks will be there, but the analysis will be brief. There are still several clubs that have not had a press conference, so there could be injuries I have no idea of that will not be known until I’ve published. But, considering how maddening Week 27 was, perhaps I am being a bit too critical of myself.
A total of 37 measly points, and yet, a green arrow over the weekend. The vast majority of those points were not earned until Luke Shaw and Sead Kolasinac secured clean sheets on Sunday, so, up until the final whistle of the last matches of the round, I could have ended up with a score in the 20s. Unless it wins you a head’to-head matchup at the death, it is difficult to celebrate a clean sheet the way you do a goal. Ahh, goals. Remember those? Apparently Mo Salah, Heung-Min Son, Paul Pogba, Ryan Fraser, Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang and Marcus Rashford are all going through short-term memory loss.
Anyway, if you want a bit more in-depth look at setting your squad up for the blank and double gameweeks, click on my previous column from a few days ago. The most immediate and pertinent information to know regarding your transfer plans is that we have three more rounds to play before a massive blank gameweek where half the league will not have a match.
So, as a reminder, clubs who do not have a match in Week 31 include: Arsenal, Brighton, Cardiff, Crystal Palace, Man City, Man United, Southampton, Tottenham, Watford and Wolves.
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Right, no time to waste. Let us take a look at the have’s and have not’s for Week 28...
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TO HAVE AND TO HOLD
So now it is time to look at the players to think about ahead of Week 4. As a reminder, there are four categories of players which I feel are worth mentioning week to week when making decisions about transfers....
1) Players to buy
2) Players to sell
3) Players to hold onto
4) Players to avoid buying
I will also include later in the section, my top choices for the captain’s armband. While I will consider every player from A to Z, you will normally find the usual suspects there.
Right, so let’s dive in.
GOALKEEPERS
*Just as a reminder, keepers should always be the last position to think about using transfers for, unless there is an urgent need. So, when you see who I have listed here, bear in mind that my keeper advice does not carry as much weight as the outfield positions.
Player to buy: Kasper Schmeichel - How will Leicester respond hours after Claude Puel was sacked? Usually, teams rise to the occasion for this situation. Brighton, Watford, Fulham, Burnley, Bournemouth in the next five should allow Brendan Rodgers, or whoever takes over as manager, a chance at a hot start.
Player to sell: Kepa - I mean, if there was any more of a warning sign about a player’s starting role. Yeah, I would be very surprised to see Kepa between the sticks against Spurs after his exploits in the Carabao Cup final.
Player to hold: Lukasz Fabianski - West Ham haven’t had a clean sheet since Week 22 and that trend is likely to continue heading to Manchester City this week. These are legit reasons to offload Fabianski, but I wouldn’t. Yes, the City fixture will offer nothing in all likelihood, but the Hammers have a really nice run of opponents immediately after.
Player to avoid: Any keeper with a Week 31 blank - Ten keepers qualify for this, and you can look at the list earlier in the column of who they are by which clubs are on a blank.
DEFENDERS
Player to buy: Luke Shaw - It has taken a few years but Shaw is now playing at the level Manchester United expected from him. He was their man of the match in the 0-0 draw against Liverpool and certainly deserved a share of bonus points. The old FPL system would have certainly given him something. No defender has more clean sheets to their name in 2019, and he’s cheap. Get him.
Player to sell: Tottenham options - Spurs went to Turf Moor with wingbacks and three center backs and still manages to cough up a pair of goals. To Burnley’s credit, they are in form, but that result does not bode well going forward, when Spurs have Chelsea, Arsenal, Liverpool and a blank over the next five rounds.
Player to hold: Ricardo Pereira - Pereira was my defender to buy a few days ago, and he wound up with a 0 point dud. For that, I apologize. All I can advise is that you do not drop him out of frustration. I still believe you will get rewarded in the long run.
Player to avoid: Arsenal options - The Gunners kept a clean sheet, just their second in their last twelve league games. The cleanie is encouraging but there were signs of shakiness against a weak Southampton side. While a home fixture against Bournemouth might look appealing, the next three rounds offers Tottenham, Man United and a blank. Hold ‘em if you got ‘em, but too late to invest now.
MIDFIELDERS
Player to buy: Diogo Jota - Have you been too stubborn to add Raúl Jiménez over the last few months? Well, there is an alternative. Wolves play Cardiff and Huddersfield over the next couple of rounds and have a double gameweek immediately following their blank in Week 31, so I think he is worth investment even if you do not use a wildcard or free hit chip to bring in fresh faces for that round. Anytime brace potential with this one.
Player to sell: Christian Eriksen - I hate to pick on my Spurs like this but the fact is, not only did they take a dip in form with their display against Burnley, but of all the “elite” clubs, they have the ugliest schedule over the next five rounds. I would still keep the faith with Heung-Min Son, he deserves to have one goalless outing without giving up on him, but Eriksen can be chopped.
Player to hold: Leroy Sané - If you held him through the blank, chances are you are banking on him to start this round, and he should, considering he should have more juice in his legs than most of City’s attacking options. I think Mo Salah is the safest choice for the armband this week, but Sane might be a sneaky play on my part.
Player to avoid: Gerard Deulofeu - I hate calls like this. If I am wrong, and he gets an attacking return this round, I will look like a complete fool after he is coming off a hat trick. But, it is away to Liverpool, the club with the best defensive record in the league. It seems obvious to not bring in a player for a fixture like that, not to mention Watford play both Manchester sides and have a blank in three of the following four rounds. I say avoid. You have my permission to hurl tomatoes at me if Deulofeu lights up Anfield.
FORWARDS
Player to buy: Chris Wood - Wood was my budget striker pick of the season back in August. I guess I failed to mention the rewards would not show up until the calendar flipped to 2019. In the new year, Wood has six goals already. Only Sergio Agüero is above him in the form guide. Big body that is a threat to polish off a corner or a cross and he’s got that finishing touch working. He is still under the radar. I like him as a differential third striker or a set of budget forwards alongside Raúl Jiménez.
Player to sell: Marcus Rashford - Let me provide a caveat: If you can afford to stick Rashford on your bench and use someone else with a decent shot at a return, then that would be my move. Otherwise, despite not having officially been ruled out yet, you have to think he is not going to start in Week 27. Circumstances over the weekend saw him go the distance after clearly injuring himself early on against Liverpool.
Player to hold: Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang - What can I say. He was my captain over the weekend, and we all know how that went. I am sticking with him. I would rather save a transfer and make it easier to replace him with a Kane or an Aguero, and a home game to Bournemouth, who usually concede, is dangerous to pass up. I mea, he has to start this one, right?
Player to avoid: Jamie Vardy - Why did I advise holding Pereira but in the same breath telling you not to buy Jamie Vardy? Simple. If you have Leicester players already, you stick and see how they perform this week. If you do not have a Leciester player, you wait and see how they look before you buy. Let’s see how Vardy looks for one match. If he finds a spark, Leicester still have several weeks of plus fixtures ahead.
TOP CAPTAIN CHOICES
1) Mo Salah
2) Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang
3) Paul Pogba
4) Mo Salah
5) Sadio Mane
That’s it from me this week folks. Please, bear in mind much can change between the publishing of this column and the FPL deadline on Tuesday night. Remember, some injuries are not revealed until just before the deadline. Always try to refrain from executing your transfers for as long as possible to avoid wasting it on a player who turns out to have had a problem in training. That said, if you only have just enough money for the player you are looking to bring in and that player is at risk of rising in price, then sometimes you need to take a calculated risk and hope the fantasy gods will be kind to you.
Good luck, and may your arrows be green.
