***GAMEWEEK 22 DEADLINE: FRIDAY - 18:30 GMT***
I hope you enjoyed the FPL break. It gave us all a chance to overindulge in some proper transfer insanity. I thought no one bought players in January anymore? Someone forgot to tell Chelsea… but the best moment was Marcelo Bielsa flying to England to tell Everton he’d take over the Under 21s. I delayed this edition of FPL Is Life so that the cup games were out the way. We now have a much clearer picture of fixtures over the next four Gameweeks, which helps with planning. There’s some great opportunities to make up ground over the next few weeks, so let’s get on with it.
This week: Planning over two Gameweeks, targeting Man Utd, look out for The Blank, Cancelo replacements, Arsenal Arsenal Arsenal, Predicted Points, using the Triple Captain and a classic cliché. DON’T FORGET THE FRIDAY DEADLINE!!!
Need a transfer tip? Miss the transfer gossip? Email me: fplislife@substack.com
Have a plan for the next two weeks
It’s a big two weeks in FPL ahead. Man Utd (and Leeds) have a Double Gameweek this week. Arsenal and Man City have a Double Gameweek next week - so have a plan covering the two weeks and judge your performance after that. The fixtures are below - an obvious takeaway for me is that Arsenal play Everton this week, before a Double next - so it makes sense to bring one in this week if there’s no Man Utd players you need.
Man Utd and Arsenal are the priorities this week - more later. The only real Leeds option is the cheap Gnonto (£5m) if you can bench him most weeks and play 3-5-2.
Man Utd players to target
Two good home games for Man Utd - Crystal Palace and Leeds - so they must be top of the list for transfers, especially as their form has been so good. The loss of Eriksen is a blow for sure, but the Double and the fixtures still make them the obvious bet. Rashford is cheap and high scoring and is the No1 target - many will Triple Captain him this week. Shaw looks a bargain even now at £5.2m.
The big call for many is whether to bring in Bruno Fernandes this week, probably in place of Salah or De Bruyne. Salah seems an easy switch now - Liverpool keep losing to Brighton. De Bruyne to Bruno looks trickier because KDB has a Double Gameweek next week vs Villa and Arsenal, but you can switch straight back next week. Many people will do this - if no points hits are involved, it looks a good move to me. It’s an even easier move if you have a decent sub or two in case of injuries.
But should you switch Bruno to KDB and then back again if it is for a -4 points hit? A very tough call, but the potential points ceiling is high, so it’s not mad.
Man Utd, Newcastle will Blank soon
This is important to have in the back of your mind, but in my view it shouldn’t affect your planning too much this week. In Gameweek 25, Man Utd, Brentford, Brighton and Newcastle will all have a Blank Gameweek, because Man Utd and Newcastle have made the Carabao Cup final. You should NOT be using your Free Hit in that week (there will be better times to use that later), so just have that in mind if you’re starting to build up a lot of players from those four teams.
Cancelo - FPL essential to Red Flag
The transfer window has slammed shut - it knows know other way of closing - so there are a few FPL-relevant moves. The most immediately significant move is actually a departure - Cancelo has gone from must have, to benching headache, to out of the game. It’s not just FPL managers who shouldn’t mess with Pep. I’m not sure we should rush to buy Rico Lewis just yet - some good alternatives below. It’s Shaw if you don’t have him (we all have Trippier). Elsewhere, Doherty has moved to Atleti - tough luck for anyone that gambled on him. Too soon to be bringing in other January singings in my view - though Porro at Spurs looks interesting.
Arsenal remain a dream FPL team
Everton this week for Arsenal, then their Double next week is Brentford and Man City. They also don’t Blank in Gameweek 25, and have a more predictable line-up than Man City - so they are the dream FPL side for the moment.
I don’t recommend Wildcarding yet - there will be better weeks to target. But if I were, I think three Arsenal attackers is the way to go. Trossard will hit Martinelli’s minutes a bit. Saka and Odegaard remain the main guys - and Nketiah would be my third Arsenal player. He’s been a great punt for those who went for him early on.
Predicted points this week
The models have been fired up and the points predictions have been spat out. It’s a Man Utd marathon. See what our new robot overlords have told us to do below…
Triple Captain choice - Haaland vs Rashford
There’s a big opportunity to use your Triple Captain chip over the next two weeks. It’s basically “stats vs fixtures”. This week, Rashford has Crystal Palace and Leeds at home. Next week, Haaland has Aston Villa at home and Arsenal away. A tough choice - they both look unstoppable at the mo. A great data table below from the FPL BlackBox YouTube channel to help you decide.
Part and parcel of the game
A lot of you will have come across the Bryan’s Gunn Twitter account - basically glorious mash ups of footballing cliché and absurdity. But this one really got me - and Steve Bruce always features heavily, which is lovely. Still, cliche’s are part and parcel of the game aren’t they.
Please get in touch with any FPL dilemmas or general football internet gold. Remember the DEADLINES and see you next week! I’m on Twitter here. Please help me grow FPL Is Life by sharing… thanks!