Helloooo FPL top 100k! After somewhat of a disappointing start to this fantasy premier league season we have continually set and hit our targets and this week was no different. Our aim going into gameweek 4 was the top 1m and once we hit that as early as gameweek 9 the target was to hit the top 100k by end of season. Well we have achieved it in half the time. We went into gameweek 19 with a team we were confident in but a score of 79 exceeded expectations. So let’s have a look at how our team did in gameweek 19 and how we are going into gameweek 20.
Our decision to start Hennessey over Butland was tough given the Stoke shot stopper’s incredible form but we got the decision spot on. Butland was involved in the 4-3 thriller with Everton whereas Hennessey picked up a clean sheet and 7 points against shot-shy Swansea.
We started a back 3 and they made it a full house of clean sheets, the first time this season our entire defensive 4 have picked up cleanies. We had Scott Dann in a Crystal Palace double up, Russell Martin picked up a comfortable clean sheet in the 6 pointer against Aston Villa and the surprise one was Aleksandar Kolarov against Leicester. I’ll admit I had fully expected the Leicester-Man City game to be an absolute goalfest, but in keeping with the unpredictable nature of this season the game finished 0-0. Go figure.
Speaking of that game, the 0-0 result actually had a frustratingly negative affect on our midfield. Both Riyad Mahrez and Kevin De Bruyne kept to 3 and 2 points respectively. We stuck with Giorgio Wijnaldum given his decent match up but once again he proved how he is this season’s ‘boom or bust’ player. Going forward he just doesn’t look a viable pick. He may well be 5th in midfield scorers but he has actually only scored attacking returns in 5 of his 19 games. Last up was Mesut Ozil. His level of consistency is nothing short of incredible. He faced a Bournemouth team that had actually only conceded 2 in 4 going into the Arsenal match but they didn’t have enough to stop the silky German. A goal, an assist and 3 bonus left him on 14 points for the week and 129 points overall.
Up top we had Jamie Vardy, Harry Kane and Romelu Lukaku. The decision to keep Vardy in FPL line ups dominated social media all over Christmas and with his 2nd blank in a row some will feel they made the right move. Harry Kane picked up 7 points for us following his assist and bonus, but it was Big Rom that delivered for us once again. We handed him the armband and he popped up with 2 goals and max bonus in the thriller with Stoke.
So given our impressive score we also made it 2 wins from 2 in the FPL Cup beating ‘Chiggywig FC’ 79-57.
Last week we decided to carry over our free transfer, but this week we have chosen to only use 1 which will still give us 2 transfers when the Premier League returns after the FA Cup 3rd round. So let’s have a look at how we will be lining up this week.
Giorgio Wijnaldum (OUT) – Marko Arnautovic (IN)
Jack Butland is back! It will be interesting to see how Stoke bounce back defensively but West Brom away isn’t the worst match up. Honestly, I think both our keepers will concede.
At the back we certainly won’t be looking at a clean sweep of cleanies! Right now I would take even one. Russ Martin has Southampton, Scott Dann faces Chelsea and Aleksandar Kolarov has Watford. Minimal clean sheet potential but all 3 with plenty of attacking threat.
Our midfield on the other hand looks primed for a decent return. New boy Arnie is in! Yes, this has a little tinge of points chasing and does kind of feel a little like the FPL equivalent of buying a Euro Millions ticket with last weeks numbers but he is a class act… when he wants to be. This Stoke team is really starting to live up to the pre season hype and given that he is also occasionally on penalties, he looks a decent pick going forward. West Brom up this week. Ozil starts again obviously. Home to Newcastle looks a great match up so fingers crossed for no rotation. De Bruyne has Watford this week. The Belgian has actually only returned in 1 of his last 5 but he’s just too talented to see that continue so we will be sticking by him. Mahrez makes up our 4 man midfield and he has Bournemouth. As we said, Bournemouth are hardly the walk over they had been at earlier stages of the season but this is a game we think Leicester could dominate and re-establish their push for top spot.
Our front 3 are the same again. Kane and Lukaku face off against each other. A repeat of Everton’s 4-3 last week would be hugely appreciated. The 2 strikers have 26 goals between them already and I would be shocked if both failed to deliver this week. Last up is Jamie Vardy. The joint top scorer this season has seen a net transfer out total of 170k over the last 2 weeks!! Absolutely incredible. His ownership of 52% hardly makes him a differential but given the fact he has Bournemouth and Aston Villa in the next 3 he still looks a great player to own. For that reason he gets the armband this week.
This week looks an absolute minefield to predict results but with us scoring 60+ in 9 straight weeks that’s the aim again.
We have drawn ‘The Mainman’ in the 3rd round of the cup. Sitting 38k overall this could be a great match up.
Happy New Year and good luck to everyone! Let’s keep the green arrows rolling in!
Written by FPL Guru
