Top 10k, we’re coming for you! Free Hit was played and I think we did pretty well considering the GW average was just 30pts. Thanks to a decent Sunday afternoon and Monday night we scored 67pts, which was a weekly rank of 55k. We are now up to 20k from 35k and still have our Triple Captaincy chip intact.
I went with Nick Pope again and I should have known better. Burnley clean sheets are as much of a myth as my sex life right now and there was a painful inevitability that a Stoke goal was coming.
I decided against the Burnley defensive double up as I put Matt Lowton on the bench. Although maybe I should have started him seeing as Joe Gomez and Shkodran Mustafi combined for the same amount as the Burnley full back. We did however pick an FPL ‘Hall of Famer’ in Leighton Baines who came up big for us with 8pts. To be fair Newcastle looked less likely to score than Iain Dowie in a Nunnery but a cleanie and 2 bonus points are never going to be scoffed at by me.
In midfield we captained that man Mo and well, obviously he scored. It was a little nervy for a while but his 14pts were a big relief. Alongside him we had a blank from Wilf Zaha on Saturday but good returns from Sunday’s games. Marko Arnautovic scored against Arsenal whilst Raheem Sterling continued his ridiculous season with an 11 pointer. It was his 9th double figure return this season. To put that in perspective Harry Kane has 8, Eden Hazard 6, Sergio Aguero 5 and Christian Eriksen 4. To be honest the list could go on all day seeing as Mo Salah is the only player with more.
Up top it was a real mixed bag. Thanks to a pretty honest Arsene Wenger midweek press conference we changed from Pierre Emerick Aubameyang to Alexandre Lacazette and it paid off in a massive way. Although it had looked a little bleak for the first 80 minutes. That was until Arsenal scored 3 times in the final 10 minutes, with the Frenchman scoring 2 of them. His 13pt salvo should have been matched by Gabriel Jesus but his wanky penalty was saved and he ended up on 7pts thanks to a very late goal. Last up was auto-sub Ayoze Perez. He came in for the non-playing Leroy Sane and scored 2pts. Which actually worked out well as it helped Baines’ total.
So with the last blank gameweek of 17/18 in the books we need to see how our team looks now it’s reverted back to its previous state. One thing I can say for sure is it is lacks a serious amount of Egyptianess. And yes, that’s definitely a word. Aside from that I’m actually pretty happy with the line up and I’ve decided against any transfers. This will then give us 2 free next week, which given that it’s a big double gameweek should be far more beneficial.
David De Gea gets the nod between the sticks. With this game sandwiched between both Europa semi’s for Arsenal I expect them to put out a half strength team. United are hard enough to score against at the best of times so I think De Gea is a better bet than Nick Pope, who faces a Brighton team fighting for survival.
At the back we do go with Matt Lowton however. Not that I think he’s guaranteed points but I think there’s more chance of him scoring them than either of our benched defenders. He lines up next to Andreas Christensen and Jan Vertonghen. Bizarrely after all the mid-season plaudits Christensen received from FPL fans alike he has now scored just 18pts over the last 14 GW’s. I really don’t want to own him right now but taking him out feels a wasted transfer given that he has a DGW coming up. Vertonghen has now gone 5 games in a row scoring 2pts or less. Watford at home looks the best chance to rectify that.
Talking of Spurs v Watford we have Heung Min Son in our midfield. 2 assists in his last 4 isn’t horrific form but we could really do with a little more from him. He has the potential to explode in games and with MNF at Wembley I have a good feeling about him this week. Paul Pogba is next up and he should thrive against an Arsenal midfield that will obviously allow him time and space. I guess it just depends which Pogba turns up. Our last 2 have away games against teams fighting for survival, so although they look good on paper they may be a little more challenging than we’d like. Willian didn’t feature against Burnley given that he was being rested for the cup semi final but I fully expect him to return this week. Riyad Mahrez has Crystal Palace and this one is tough to call. It could be 0-0 as easily as it could be 3-3. So let’s hope for the latter. Not that it seems to matter to Mahrez who i’m pretty sure decided his summer holiday started in April this year. No returns for 4 GW’s he’s playing like he’s thinking about the beach and his inevitable summer transfer. Ironically he’s the likely candidate for a transfer out for us next week, even though Leicester do have a DGW.
Our front 3 all have decent home games and I’d be disappointed if we didn’t see some healthy point hauls. Ashley Barnes has returned to form with 2 in his last 2 after a couple blanks. That’s now 6 goals in his last 8. Not a high ceiling when it comes to point scoring but consistent as a bargain. Romelu Lukaku will be looking to add to his 16 league goals so far at home to Arsenal. Watching Arsenal’s centre halves defend this season I think Rom could dominate here. I’d be stunned if he didn’t pop up on the scoresheet this week. Last up is Harry Kane. I think we can all agree he has rushed himself back and looks a long way from his free scoring injury-free form. But I have to admit that I just don’t have the bollocks to run without him. 4 very favourable fixtures to finish the season, 3 of which are home, I just can’t bare the thought of going without. Especially as he’s a leading shout for our Triple Captaincy next week. A lot will depend on this week though. A Watford team with nothing to play for can hopefully be the remedy.
So the line up is set, we’ve banked the transfers and we are setting our sights heavily on a top 10k finish.
As always we have the captaincy poll set up below so all votes are greatly appreciated. You guys have been top class selecting our captain each week this season so in a week where we have 2 or 3 genuine candidates your help will be good.
[polldaddy poll=9990434]
Thanks for reading and good luck all. Fingers crossed for some green arrows come Tuesday morning!
Written by FPL Guru (@FPL_Guru)
