GW33+ revelations; Vardy can still score, Arsenal can keep clean sheets, and Pope concedes goals, those are just three of many unusual incidences that have occurred this weekend.
As expected, Man Utd assets returned big, and if you had three in your FPL teams, you had a very good week in comparison those who didn’t. Other than that, some FPL haul regulars; KDB, Sterling, Jimenez, and Ings, to name a few, blanked.
Whilst we still have Tottenham Vs Everton to look forward to tonight, today we’re going to look at some of the key discussions, as a result of the weekends action.
United assets
First and foremost, before we look at two United forwards in more detail, the key lesson from the weekend, for those who weren’t already aware, is the requirement to invest in multiple United assets. Bruno, Martial, Rashford and Greenwood are all in hot form, and whilst United’s defence is inconsistent, they are very much firing on all cylinders.
The trio of Martial, Rashford and Greenwood, now have more goals combined, than that of the Champions (Salah, Mane, Firmino), and next come up against a Villa side who haven’t kept a clean sheet in four matches, have only 74 hours recovery time, and are low in confidence.
Greenwood or Rashford?
Last week I tipped Greenwood as a differential United asset to pick. He returned 13 points Vs Rashford’s 6 on Saturday, and delivered two blistering finishes. In contrast, Rashford’s goal came from a penalty and it’s likely that Fernandes will return to penalty duty in the future.
Greenwood is still the man in slightly better form, converting both of his shots, whilst Rashford, asides from the penalty, only managed to get one of his three shots on target. If you have Rashford, it’s probably worth hanging on to him, as he remains a threat, with service coming from the likes of Bruno, Pogba and AWB, and could be a wasted transfer. However, if you’re looking to upgrade in other areas, or starting to invest in a united forward, then at £4.5m, Greenwood offers great value and is the better option.
Pulisic or Willian?
This has become a debate in recent gameweeks, and the last two games have been the same; Willian returning more points whilst Pulisic’ impact on the game has been greater.
We can see above that their stats are fairly similar, with Pulisic’ passing being more accurate, whilst Willian had more attempts on goal and greater touches of the ball.
From an FPL perspective, I’m tipping Willian as the better option for investment; he’s on set pieces and has a lower ownership. There is no disputing how well Pulisic is playing, but his three assists have all come from him winning a penalty, as opposed to coming from a pass, and so all the while he’s winning penalties, Willian is going to keep getting chances to score. Pulisic himself looked a little greedy in front of goal, and was perhaps guilty of trying too hard to score towards the end against Watford.
Willian in contrast, has a 100% success rate on penalties, and has been known to score from free-kicks in the past. Both players are great options, and their identical price bracket makes the decision all the more difficult, but my pick goes to Willian for the reasons discussed above.
Pep rotation – predicting GW34+
I played my Free Hit this week and left KDB and Foden, who I have in my standard team, out of the FH team. Pep’s teamsheet reveal, leaving them out, was a joyful moment. That joy soon faded when my three city assets totalled 4 points between them, including my captain, but we’ll move on from that.
The benching of KDB and Foden indicates they are both likely to start at home to Newcastle, and City will be wanting to respond to their loss at Southampton. Historically they have been known to respond emphatically after a loss, remember their 8-0 drubbing of Watford, after THAT Norwich loss? No? Well I’m sure Watford do.
Newcastle, their opponents, have also conceded goals against Villa, Bournemouth and West Ham in recent weeks, and so KDB has to be a strong candidate for the captaincy this week, alongside Bruno Fernandes, or even Son Heung-Min (look out for the captaincy picks blog tomorrow to help with your decision on that one!).
Sterling and Mahrez were removed from the action on 58 minutes, and are also hot favourites to right their wrongs against Newcastle. Defensively, Walker and Mendy were both left out of the squad, and look set to start against the Magpies. City’s defense certainly does not look flawless, but Walker and Mendy’s attacking potential could be worth a punt.
Bournemouth & Norwich – invest in their opponents
Despite their mauling, Bournemouth showed signs of improvement against United from an attacking perspective, but are still a no go in FPL teams. In fact, managers have begun targeting transfers to coincide with the team they are playing against. Norwich also failed to show any signs of reigniting their form from the start of the season, which saw them beat City at Carrow Road in September. As a consequence, their fixtures are also a target for possible transfers and captaincy picks.
Bournemouth have extremely difficult fixtures, and so these players may be suitable transfer targets, if they aren’t already in your squad; Spurs (Son), Leicester (Vardy), City (see below), Southampton (Ings) and Everton (DCL).
City have a chance of redemption against Norwich on the final day of the season, and also face Bournemouth before the season closes. With that in mind, a triple city assets approach could become a must. KDB is essential and unlikely to be rotated any time soon after being rested at Southampton. Defensively, city are unpredictable, and so it may be better to target attacking options. Foden (5.3m), Mahrez (£8.5m) and Sterling (£11.7m) offer a range of pricing options, and could all return, so it could be a case of how much money you have ITB, to swing your choices.
If you have enough for Sterling, you could even use your free transfer each week to bring in one of the three, dependent on whose been benched in the previous game. A very city focused transfer system, but it could pay off if you’re already set up with a strong squad.
One city asset to avoid at all costs is Gabriel Jesus, he could be at St Mary’s until the next PL season begins, and still wouldn’t put the ball in the net.
Wolves attack
Despite their good form leading to Arsenal’s game, Wolves have been low on goals, scoring only once against Bournemouth and Villa.
They looked lacklustre in front of goal against Arsenal; Traore spurned a fantastic chance, and Jimenez didn’t look his normal, clinical self. Despite registering 10 shots, they were only able to direct 1 on target.
In 2019/20, Jimenez has achieved an average 3 shots per game, 47% of which have been on target. In the last two games he has averaged 2 shots per game, with 25% on target. This reduction in opportunities is a worry for Jimenez owners, and with his wife due to give birth this month, a spell out of the team may be imminent.
Wolves are still a team who are likely to gain points in the league, and will be determined to gain a European place, however, aren’t currently looking as though they have the potential to score multiple goals in a game. Their next three fixtures are against three strong defences in Sheffield United, Everton and Burnley, and I’m eyeing this as the right time to consider alternative attacking assets, with various teams and players capable of more returns.
Time to move Salah cash elsewhere?..
Salah was tipped to haul this weekend, and whilst he didn’t blank, there weren’t many signs that he is going to continue hauling at the rate he has been for large parts of the season. For his £12.7m price tag, you couldn’t be blamed for looking elsewhere.
Klopp has emphasised his lack of real desire to reach 100 points, and the first half against Villa demonstrated perhaps the lack of motivation that we may continue to see from the Liverpool players. They weren’t their usual energetic, high pressing-selves, and it took Jordan Henderson coming on to inject some passion in their game.
It’s far easier to psychologically motivate yourself when you have a goal to chase.
“The brain releases dopamine, a hormone associated with both motivation and happiness, in anticipation of reward. So when you plan and know you’re going to work for something, you’re in biological position to feel good. Each milestone gives you another dopamine hit, which makes you want to keep going with the job. But when you reach your goal, that release of dopamine drops. It’s harder for you biochemically to have joy.”
https://www.inc.com/wanda-thibodeaux/why-you-might-feel-empty-after-reaching-a-huge-goal-and-how-to-move-on.html
The biggest goal of the these players careers thus far has been reached, and they’ve been driving themselves towards that goal for two consecutive seasons. They may now struggle to continue reaching those heights for the remainder of this season, with that pressure lifted, particularly against the likes of Arsenal and Chelsea, who are desperate for points.
Salah is chasing the golden boot and is able to come up with special moments at any given time, but at this stage of the season, you arguably want players who are playing in teams with something to fight for, not just personal goals. With the likes of Minamino, Elliott, and Origi looking for game time, he is also likely to be rested on occasion.
In summary, there’s no doubting that Salah has the ability to bring in points, but it may be time to look elsewhere for now, until next season.
What about the other Liverpool assets?
If you are considering the same for your other Liverpool assets, then retaining defensive players until GW36+ could still prove good value, particularly Alisson and VVD/Gomez. Whilst TAA and Robertson are at risk of rotation, Liverpool only have VVD and Gomez fit, with Lovren remaining out of the squad on Sunday, and Matip out for the remainder of the season.
The reds play Brighton and Burnley in GW34+ and GW35+, who have scored the same amount of goals combined, as Liverpool have alone, all season, and thus, holding your Liverpool defenders may still be worthwhile.
🚨 Injury news 🚨
Finally, the following players all required treatment at the weekend and are doubts for GW34+:
- Ben Chilwell
- Allan Saint-Maximin
- Ngolo Kante
- James Maddison
- Ayoze Perez
- Victor Lindelof
- Isaac Hayden
FPL_LiverGirl 