Players to watch this (2017/2018) season

ElTel

ElTel wrote: »

I'm gonna put Diafra Sakho and Glen Murray forward.

I'll scout them out over the break and update.

Picked the wrong one of course!

Morzadec

Hazard was excellent yesterday. Still overpriced when you look what you can get for 8.5 - 9.0, but the guy obviously has serious returns over the years, worth keeping an eye on as he looks he's playing at his best at the moment

Morzadec

Joe Gomez is serious value imo.

Liverpool have only conceded 1 goal at home - generally teams come with zero attacking intent so the XG against Liverpool at Anfield in these matches is I believe amongst the lowest in the league.

At 4.5 you can afford to have a defender just for home games, although he'd probably be a decent option in some away games as well.

Prefer him to Moreno for two reasons:

1. Less likely to be rotated. Moreno has been nailed on as of late, but he's been playing every game and he might require rotating at some point, whereas Gomez and TAA seem to have settled into a PL / CL rotation pattern.

2. Gomez plays deep enough and gets a lot of easy passes (the type of passes which get you bonus points as you complete a lot of easy passes). Would've picked up a bonus point yesterday had it not been for the penalty save boosting Lossl's BPS.

Moreno gets forward a lot but I'm not sure if he is actually much of a genuine assist / goal threat as his crossing / shooting / decision making is actually pretty poor.

thewools

What happens when clyne returns though?

Morzadec

thewools wrote: »

What happens when clyne returns though?

Very unclear when that will be, but definitely not in the short term.

There's no mention of an upcoming date for Clyne to be back and he was not named in Liverpool's CL squad, so my guess would be not until the new year

Morzadec

Chilwell(4.3) and Simpson (4.5) appear to be lining up in wing back roles in a 3-4-2-1 for Leicester.

Their upcoming fixtures are pretty poor, but if this becomes Puel's go to formation they could both provide attacking and defensive returns at a very cheap price. Puel's teams tend to be solid at the back.

Chilwellin particular is interesting for possible bench fodder at that price if he's going to nail down a place.

Ones to keep an eye on rather than act on though with the upcoming fixtures and uncertainty about how much Puel will rotate

Scorpion Sting

Morzadec wrote: »

Chilwell(4.3) and Simpson (4.5) appear to be lining up in wing back roles in a 3-4-2-1 for Leicester.

It's a 4-4-1-1 actually.

Morzadec

Scorpion Sting wrote: »

It's a 4-4-1-1 actually.

Yup that's what BBC seem to be saying after initially lining them up as 3-4-2-1.

That would be even better news for Chilwell who I assume was playing outright as a Left mid in that game (with Fuchs as playing LB)?

Scorpion Sting

Morzadec wrote: »

Yup that's what BBC seem to be saying after initially lining them up as 3-4-2-1.

That would be even better news for Chilwell who I assume was playing outright as a Left mid in that game (with Fuchs as playing LB)?

Yep, Chilwell was left mid.

km79

Gray was excellent

Iused2likebusts

km79 wrote: »

Gray was excellent

What position was he playing.

eh i dunno

Iused2likebusts wrote: »

What position was he playing.

Right wing. Mahrez played as a ten behind vardy

shineon23

Nice to the guy top of my watchlist has an eye for goal

Pity for Jonjoe Kenny and myself that it's his own goal.

I'd say the own goal would have stuck if I had bought him already

Watching Kenny, Simpson and Chilwell (4.3) if he continues to play whenever I have a spare transfer.

In midfield I have a lot of time for Oriol Romeu, he has good long range shot, but likes a yellow card. If he drops to 4.3 he could be a good enabler later and 3rd sub in the season.

Thought I had mentioned Demarai Gray in this thread previously but must have been another thread.

A player that has caught my eye every time I’ve seen him on the pitch. Fast, direct and likes a shot.

Didn’t see the match at the weekend but I’ll be watching their next 4 games very closely.

Two of those matches are against City and Spurs but I’d love to have him for the Stoke and West Ham games.

If he starts against City and Spurs I’ll be bringing him in without hesitation.

Mr.Prodston

I've been doing a bit of thinking about the old wildcard and squad formation over the past week or so and the weekend confirmed it for me.

Luka Milivojevic (4.6) As a 5th midfielder he has the traits of TPT but for 0.1 more he has penalties in his locker. With the way Zaha and not to mention the likes of PVA, Spacecraft and Schlupp flying forwards there could be more penalties for Palace going forwards if they continue to pick things up.

Sure there's a chance Benteke takes back penalties when he's fit, but the way he missed so many last season might mean he's permanently off them. And if not then he should still pick up his 2 points each week.

manual_man

Mr.Prodston wrote: »

I've been doing a bit of thinking about the old wildcard and squad formation over the past week or so and the weekend confirmed it for me.

Luka Milivojevic (4.6) As a 5th midfielder he has the traits of TPT but for 0.1 more he has penalties in his locker. With the way Zaha and not to mention the likes of PVA, Spacecraft and Schlupp flying forwards there could be more penalties for Palace going forwards if they continue to pick things up.

Sure there's a chance Benteke takes back penalties when he's fit, but the way he missed so many last season might mean he's permanently off them. And if not then he should still pick up his 2 points each week.

Tempting at 4.6 alright but only worthwhile if you play him every week imo, and use the saved cash to strengthen elsewhere. Trying to predict when penalties will be given is a mugs game. Definitely the pick of the cheapies though if you intend to play him every week.

Morzadec

Mr.Prodston wrote: »

I've been doing a bit of thinking about the old wildcard and squad formation over the past week or so and the weekend confirmed it for me.

Luka Milivojevic (4.6) As a 5th midfielder he has the traits of TPT but for 0.1 more he has penalties in his locker. With the way Zaha and not to mention the likes of PVA, Spacecraft and Schlupp flying forwards there could be more penalties for Palace going forwards if they continue to pick things up.

Sure there's a chance Benteke takes back penalties when he's fit, but the way he missed so many last season might mean he's permanently off them. And if not then he should still pick up his 2 points each week.

I could be wrong but I'm almost sure he's on pens even when Benteke is fit. I had him in my initial team for that reason (he was also supposed to be on corners / free kicks at the time).

Ended up being a disaster for me, but he was 5.0 at the time. At 4.6 he's a tempter.

A mate in work is a massive Palace fan and he says that RLC is some player. He says he should get a lot of assists this season and that he's been one of their best players. Also he says he thinks he should be nailed on to start now he's over the injury.

I'll be waiting to see if he starts the next couple because the one thing you want from your 4.5 fodder is that he starts but he's definitely on my radar.

It's not the first time I've heard that he's been very impressive and I wouldn't be at all surprised if he emerged as a must-have at that price, a 4.5er that you actually want to play most weeks.

Dearg81

Morzadec wrote:

It's not the first time I've heard that he's been very impressive and I wouldn't be at all surprised if he emerged as a must-have at that price, a 4.5er that you actually want to play most weeks.

I saw him a couple of times earlier in the season and he was their best player. Only bad finishing from Benteke stopped him from having a some assists and he hit the post too against city. He was playing behind the striker before but I think he was wide right on Saturday so that could be a negative.

PVA

Thoughts on Rashford?

He's a full £4.1m cheaper than Lukaku, but his stats are great for his price.

4.3 Points Per Game versus Lukaku's 6.2 PPG, however the latter generally plays the full game while Rashford averages only 60 minutes, so if we were to extrapolate out a 'points-per-minute' comparison Rashford would actually be higher. This doesn't help much for FPL, as we need our players getting the most minutes (and points) per 90 minutes, but it does indicate his propensity for good returns the longer he is on the pitch. Despite his low gametime, Rashford has featured in every PL game for United this season, although on three occasions this was 45 minutes or less (he scored in two of these!).

Rashford has taken more shots than Vardy, Firmino and Jesus, despite being on the pitch for far less minutes. He leads all of them (including Lukaku) on corners and crosses, and is joint top on both assists and attempted assists. Lukaku has lost pens, however Rashford still seems to be fancied for Free Kicks.

United have a great run coming up between GW12-14, might take a gamble on him.

Morzadec

PVA wrote: »

Thoughts on Rashford?

He's a full £4.1m cheaper than Lukaku, but his stats are great for his price.

4.3 Points Per Game versus Lukaku's 6.2 PPG, however the latter generally plays the full game while Rashford averages only 60 minutes, so if we were to extrapolate out a 'points-per-minute' comparison Rashford would actually be higher. This doesn't help much for FPL, as we need our players getting the most minutes (and points) per 90 minutes, but it does indicate his propensity for good returns the longer he is on the pitch. Despite his low gametime, Rashford has featured in every PL game for United this season, although on three occasions this was 45 minutes or less (he scored in two of these!).

Rashford has taken more shots than Vardy, Firmino and Jesus, despite being on the pitch for far less minutes. He leads all of them (including Lukaku) on corners and crosses, and is joint top on both assists and attempted assists. Lukaku has lost pens, however Rashford still seems to be fancied for Free Kicks.

United have a great run coming up between GW12-14, might take a gamble on him.

Well you've certainly put him on my radar with that analysis!

Don't love players who won't guarantee me even the 2 points generally. I'll likely use the transfers and the funds to get a United defender (or two) which is clearly missing from my team at the moment, but with the lack of mid range striker options out there I may well consider Rashford if I end up axeing Morata

Morzadec

Thought this might be of interest. Easy enough to interpret but you want to be as far to the top and right as possible

No major surprises but put a couple of players on my radar

Ramsey looks really good at his price.

Rashford not at all bad either.

Choupo Moting hasn't got any goals lately but this graph would suggest they're coming. Still have him and was going to ditch after this GW if he blanked again but may reconsider

The unmarked yellow dot near Morata is Richarlison, not surprised to see him up there.

hots

Morzadec wrote: »

Thought this might be of interest. Easy enough to interpret but you want to be as far to the top and right as possible

No major surprises but put a couple of players on my radar

Ramsey looks really good at his price.

Rashford not at all bad either.

Choupo Moting hasn't got any goals lately but this graph would suggest they're coming. Still have him and was going to ditch after this GW if he blanked again but may reconsider

The unmarked yellow dot near Morata is Richarlison, not surprised to see him up there.

Anyway to get that data? Would be cool to create a shot/xpg value X and then have a value X per m value after that...

Morzadec

hots wrote: »

Anyway to get that data? Would be cool to create a shot/xpg value X and then have a value X per m value after that...

No man, I just robbed this off reddit.

Regarding player costs, there's this Tableau dashboard that looks into points / cost, you can play around with it a bit depending what you're looking for: https://public.tableau.com/profile/mike.croom#!/vizhome/GraphofFPLPlayerPerformanceagainstcost/AveragePoints?publish=yes

Morzadec

Does Bakayoko always play this far forward?! I though he was a big destroyer DM, or maybe a bit of a box to box CM, but his role when Chelsea have the ball seems to let the other do the playing and just drift up and alongside Morata.

He doesn't look a great player to be honest but at that price and with Chelsea's fixtures coming up it's just one that may come onto my radar whereas previously I thought he was in that category of FF untouchables (dedicated DMs).

He was supposedly a Matic replacement but on evidence of this game he plays a totally different role.

5.1, 2 assists and 1 goal so far. Assumed they were just fluke points but he really seems to play very advanced. Not exactly prolific in his career though

Iused2likebusts

Morzadec wrote: »

Does Bakayoko always play this far forward?! I though he was a big destroyer DM, or maybe a bit of a box to box CM, but his role when Chelsea have the ball seems to let the other do the playing and just drift up and alongside Morata.

He doesn't look a great player to be honest but at that price and with Chelsea's fixtures coming up it's just one that may come onto my radar whereas previously I thought he was in that category of FF untouchables (dedicated DMs).

He was supposedly a Matic replacement but on evidence of this game he plays a totally different role.

5.1, 2 assists and 1 goal so far. Assumed they were just fluke points but he really seems to play very advanced. Not exactly prolific in his career though

I didn't see the game today but the midfielder that plays alongside kante generally has a bit of a licence to get forward. Matic for example got a number of assists last year.

ElTel

Morzadec wrote: »

Does Bakayoko always play this far forward?! I though he was a big destroyer DM, or maybe a bit of a box to box CM, but his role when Chelsea have the ball seems to let the other do the playing and just drift up and alongside Morata.

He doesn't look a great player to be honest but at that price and with Chelsea's fixtures coming up it's just one that may come onto my radar whereas previously I thought he was in that category of FF untouchables (dedicated DMs).

He was supposedly a Matic replacement but on evidence of this game he plays a totally different role.

5.1, 2 assists and 1 goal so far. Assumed they were just fluke points but he really seems to play very advanced. Not exactly prolific in his career though

Iused2likebusts wrote: »

I didn't see the game today but the midfielder that plays alongside kante generally has a bit of a licence to get forward. Matic for example got a number of assists last year.

They all seem a bit better this year. Dacoure, Fernandinho are other examples.
Are three man defences helping them look good?

hots

Morzadec wrote: »

Does Bakayoko always play this far forward?! I though he was a big destroyer DM, or maybe a bit of a box to box CM, but his role when Chelsea have the ball seems to let the other do the playing and just drift up and alongside Morata.

He doesn't look a great player to be honest but at that price and with Chelsea's fixtures coming up it's just one that may come onto my radar whereas previously I thought he was in that category of FF untouchables (dedicated DMs).

He was supposedly a Matic replacement but on evidence of this game he plays a totally different role.

5.1, 2 assists and 1 goal so far. Assumed they were just fluke points but he really seems to play very advanced. Not exactly prolific in his career though

It's the first time he's ever played that far forward, I wouldn't punt for him.

Against weak teams we'll revert to 343 and at best he'll be sitting with Kante and at worst dropped. Against strong teams he might get that role again but then it'll be in a poor fixture and not an attractive play.

I can't see him ever getting into a starting XI in fantasy and then he's too expensive to have as a 5th mid for ench fodder.

Iused2likebusts

Christensen 5.4 Chelsea is an interesting one if luiz remains out of favour. Callum Wilson 5.9 another one I'm keeping an eye on.

ScummyMan

Iused2likebusts wrote: »

Christensen 5.4 Chelsea is an interesting one if luiz remains out of favour. Callum Wilson 5.9 another one I'm keeping an eye on.

I've been looking at both of these myself, fixtures are excellent

That one spot to play with King upfront is as competitive as any team in the league.

Defoe, Wilson and Afobe all competing. Expect lots of rotation and I can’t see many of the above getting 90 minutes very often.