FPL Hints - Gameweek 31

FPLH's GW 31 Team*

Transfers: Reina and Santon (-4 Hit) OUT / Fabianski and Monreal IN

*FPLH reserves the right to change this team at any time. Any changes made will be confirmed on FPLH's Twitter and Facebook accounts.

Team Reasoning

The international break is over... and I'm back!  No real lessons learned in the interim, apart from the fact that England crack under pressure and can't keep the ball.  Nothing new there I suppose.  Back to FPL...

With the "real" business end of FPL upon us, I decided to take a -4 hit.  Whilst making my transfers I had GW31 and DGW33 in mind.  I decided to sell Reina for Fabianki.  In truth, I was more keen on financing a move for Monreal, which is why I did the change in goalies and sold the injured Santon in the process.

Arsenal haven't been fantastic this season.  Having two defensive Arsenal players could be seen as risky.  But I think it's worth the punt, especially with 2 on form players.  Monreal in particular has shown his defensive and attacking prowess.  If all else fails I still have my wild card at hand which is a plus!

This GW I have decided to captain Suarez.  He may not have scored last GW, but he should be able to cut through Villa's defence like a knife separating butter.  My vice-captain is Bale.

Recommended Player for Gameweek 31

  Nacho Monreal

 FPLH's Hot Picks XI

Fabianski

Monreal

Clichy

O'Brien

Cazorla

Mata

Maloney

Coutinho

Bale

Berbatov

Suarez

Subs:

Hart

Riether

Baines

Benteke

8/15 Hot Picks' feature in FPLH's GW Team

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FPL Hints - Gameweek 30

FPLH's GW 30 Team*

Transfers: Fellaini OUT / Mata IN

*FPLH reserves the right to change this team at any time. Any changes made will be confirmed on FPLH's Twitter and Facebook accounts.

Team Reasoning

I ended up with 40 points during last week's truncated GW.  I would have taken 30 points if they were offered before hand.  But the Santon/Coutinho fail didn't help my cause.  Moreover I probably should have gone for the common Suarez or Bale captain option rather than risking Sissoko to boost my tally as my positioning fell slightly.  But it was worth a try nonetheless.  On a side note, GW 33 is confirmed as a DGW for Man United, Arsenal, Everton and West Ham.  I think more DGWs will be likely with fixtures involving Tottenham, Newcastle and Chelsea due to Europa League progression.

This GW I decided to not do too much with my team as next week is the much maligned international break.  However, I decided to sell Fellaini.  I think he will struggle to do well against a rejuvenated City team and their tough defence.  Moreover Fellaini is one yellow card away from a two match ban, so it made sense to ditch him.

I transferred in Mata as I believe he is the linchpin to Chelsea's attacks.  His PL goals and assists are indicative of this.  I always look for a FPL bargain and was shocked to see that his FPL price had nosedived by £0.4M since his last PL outing.  He is due to face an inconsistent West Ham team on Sunday afternoon.  Chelsea will go out for the win as they are still not guaranteed a Champions League place for next season.

My captain for this GW is Robin Van Persie.  He is due a brace or a hat-trick, especially with no more Euro concerns - What better way to do so than against a manager-less relegation bound team?

Recommended Player for Gameweek 30

  Juan Mata

 FPLH's Hot Picks XI

de Gea

Rafael

Luiz

Terry

Sissoko

Mata

Walcott

Gerrard

Bale

Van Persie (vc)

Suarez

Subs:

Mignolet

Shawcross

Dawson

Benteke

5/15 Hot Picks' feature in FPLH's GW Team

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FPL Hints - Gameweek 29

FPLH's GW 29 Team*

Transfers: Sagna & Lampard OUT / Santon & Coutinho IN (-4 Hit)

*FPLH reserves the right to change this team at any time. Any changes made will be confirmed on FPLH's Twitter and Facebook accounts.

Team Reasoning

Gameweek 29 is upon us - the much feared "Truncated Gameweek"!  A lot of the big guns will not play and will see their matches postponed due to FA Cup matches.  Rather than panic buy mediocre and relegation struggling players, I have decided to opt for a calm approach and only take a -4 hit.

I decided to purchase players who were differentials and had relatively decent upcoming fixtures.  I sold Sagna due to his injury and Arsenal's no show.  I replaced him with Santon due to his sub 5.0 value and 2.1% ownership.  Moreover his regular game time and attacking attributes can't be denied with 4 assists thus far in the PL this season.

My other transfer involved selling Lampard.  As much as I like him, I feel that he may be overshadowed in the goals/assists front by the likes of Oscar, Mata, Hazard and Ba.  I chose to replace Lampard with Coutinho.  He may not have played a full 90 minutes in the PL this season, but he will be key to Liverpool having a good finish.  His demolition of Wigan is testament to his prowess.  I am surprised that only 1.6% own him.  I am so confident of his abilities that I have even made him vice-captain.

My captain for the Gameweek is Sissoko.  He has form on his side.  Newcastle need to string a few more wins to guarantee that they avoid relegation, whereas Stoke have been dire of late.  Stoke will be difficult to beat and score against, but I think Newcastle's French revolution may just be enough to put the guillotine to Stoke!

With the above in mind I have a maximum of 10 players available for GW29, hopefully all will start.  I didn't think it was worth taking a -8 hit with no real big hitters in the picture.  I still have my wildcard at hand.  I will most likely use it after the big teams' DGW, with the final leg of the season in mind.

Recommended Player for Gameweek 29

  Moussa Sissoko

 FPLH's Hot Picks XI

Reina

Martin

Harte

Santon

Sissoko (c)

Michu

Coutinho

Gerrard

Bale

Suarez (vc)

Lambert

Subs:

Bunn

Samba

Davies

Remy

10/15 Hot Picks' feature in FPLH's GW Team

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FPL Hints - Gameweek 28

FPLH's GW 28 Team*

Transfers: Walcott & Pogrebnyak OUT / Sissoko & Lambert IN (-4 Hit)

*FPLH reserves the right to change this team at any time. Any changes made will be confirmed on FPLH's Twitter and Facebook accounts.

Team Reasoning

Before I waffle on about how lucky I got with damage limitation last week and this GW's team I must say...

TRUNCATED GW29 ALERT!

Due to FA Cup fixtures, the likes of Everton, City, United and Chelsea will not play Premier League football.  8 teams will be affected in total.  Some of them could play in a super-extended GW29, but that is unlikely.

As for GW 27, it was disappointing.  My Tri-Reading connection failed with Pog getting sent off.  Lamps missed a penalty which further diminished my score.  Buy my recommended player/one-time bogey player didn't let me down - Bale's brace and Joey O'Brien's assist bailed me out on Monday night and doubled my score from a paltry 19 to 38! #damagelimitation

For this GW, I almost thought of selling RVP, due to his injury and no-show for GW29.  In addition, with United's involvement in the FA Cup and Champions League, his PL impact will be limited.

I decided to sell Walcott as I felt that he is being drowned out by the likes of Cazorla, Wilshere, Podolski and even Giroud.  Walcott may have shown form in December and January, but I feel the time is right to sell him.  

I decided to draft in Sissoko this GW with GW 29 also in mind.  His stunning form since joining Newcastle can't be ignored.  At sub-7.0 he is a steal.

I couldn't stand relying on one striker, even for one GW.  That's why I decided to cut my losses with Pog and bring in Lambert.  12 PL goals, with 2 goals and 3 assists shows his calibre.

I believe Lambert will be the reason why Southampton will avoid relegation.  Their match v QPR is like a Cup Final and I think he will once again shine.  Southampton are also due to play in GW29.

Recommended Player for Gameweek 28

  Marouane Fellaini

de Gea

Rafael
Baines

Cahill

Bale

Sissoko

Mata

Fellaini (c)

Suarez

Aguero (vc)

Lambert

Subs:

Hart

Michu

Zabaleta

Shawcross

6/15 Hot Picks' feature in FPLH's GW Team

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Football's New Fantasy Stock Market

In the past week's we have heard some buzz on Twitter about a new Fantasy Football game that is launching. In fact, we just heard today that Football Trader has just gone live with it's Beta game, meaning anybody can now play it! We ourselves were invited to try the game last week, and we really liked what we saw.

Football Trader is a new type of Fantasy Football game where you Buy & Sell shares in players on a live stock market called the PlayerDAQ. Unlike most fantasy football games, this is played in Real-time, meaning the price of players is changing constantly based on users trading on the market and also player performances. 

Every user starts with £100M budget and the goal of the game is to Grow the Value of your Players, and therefore your Team, as much as you can.

What makes the game different to traditional Fantasy Football games is that it's all about investing in players, as opposed to picking a team for the weekend. Finding good value in players is something a lot of FPL players look for, but this is always outweighed by having to look to pick players who we think will score or assist or keep a clean sheet. In Football Trader, you look to Invest in players and sell them when you think their value has peaked. 

You also get Match Dividend Bonus cash added to your cash balance after the weekend's matches that gives you extra money to buy more shares in players. This dividend is based on how your players performed in their matches. What we liked about the game when we tried it was the Live historical graph feature and also Breaking Player News, we haven't seen something like this before and is something that should go down well.

The Beta game is now open Live for users to play till the end of the season.

Users can play the game on the link below on their mobile or on web. Football Trader plan to launch native apps very soon.

Football Trader Game Link: http://mobile.footballtraderapp.com

FPL Hints - Gameweek 27

FPLH's GW 27 Team*

Transfers: Gerrard - OUT / Bale - IN

*FPLH reserves the right to change this team at any time. Any changes made will be confirmed on FPLH's Twitter and Facebook accounts.

Team Reasoning

I was 5 short of a ton during DGW 26.  The lows and highs I felt of Liverpool's two matches must have been a FPL microcosm!  If only Gerrard didn't miss the penalty... If only I captained Suarez... If only I captained Michu... Meh, overall I can't complain.

In GW 27 we see the absence of Liverpool and Swansea players, due to their fixture being played a week in advance.  Luckily I have enough players to field a starting XI without taking a -4 hit.  It means that I am playing all three of my Reading players who have a decent-ish match v Wigan.  

I decided to sell Gerrard for Bale, in part due to various Liverpool attack-orientated players hitting form. The emergence of Coutino and solidification of the Suarez/Sturridge combo could push Gerrard into a less attacking role.

Despite Bale's form, I have captained Walcott due to Arsenal's easy fixture at home to Villa.  They may not have had much luck in the FA Cup and Champions League, but will be wanting to prove a point or two to their detractors.

Recommended Player for Gameweek 27

  Gareth Bale

Szczesny

Evans
Harte

Debuchy

Bale

Sissoko

Santi Cazorla

Walcott (c)

Fellaini

Podolski

Van Persie (vc)

Subs:

Federici

Pogrebnyak

Zabaleta

Hangeland

7/15 Hot Picks' feature in FPLH's GW Team

FPL Hints - Gameweek 26

FPLH's GW 26 Team*

Transfers: Begovic - OUT / Reina - IN

*FPLH reserves the right to change this team at any time. Any changes made will be confirmed on FPLH's Twitter and Facebook accounts.

Team Reasoning

I am pleased that my risk of benching Suarez paid off last GW.  It was just a shame that my other outfield subs bagged 12 points between them and that my last minute captain switch from Fellaini to Walcott minimised my overall points haul.  Either way, 70 was a good tally for last GW and I shouldn't complain too much.

For this GW I have decided to make only one change.  I sold Begovic for Reina, due to it being a DGW for Liverpool and Swansea.  Reina has had much stick of late but he is due a few more clean sheets and good matches.  In addition the combo of Reina/Federici seems to be potentially viable for the next two months.  I already have Gerrard, Suarez and Michu so didn't need to take any hits.  I didn't want to go over-board with Swansea players as I think some of them may be rested with the League Cup final due soon.

As for the captain's arm band, I decided to give it to Gerrard due to his good form.  Suarez was an option but I feel he has been cancelled out by Sturridge and Michu hasn't done well of late.

Recommended Player for Gameweek 26

  Steven Gerrard

 FPLH's Hot Picks XI for GW 26

Reina

Davies
Evra

Cahill

Lampard

Mata

Gerrard (c)

De Guzman

Michu

Suarez (vc)

Van Persie

Subs:

Begovic

Martin

Dawson

Benteke

7/15 Hot Picks' feature in FPLH's GW Team

FPL Hints - Gameweek 25

FPLH's GW 25 Team*

Transfers: Rafael - OUT / Sagna - IN

*FPLH reserves the right to change this team at any time. Any changes made will be confirmed on FPLH's Twitter and Facebook accounts.

 

Team Reasoning

With the passing of another January transfer window, we saw an array of real life transfers ranging from the obvious to the knee jerk.  Samba for £12.5M? He won't be worth half that in FPL!  Not that it affects my team for this GW.  In typical FPL fashion I followed up a cracking GW score with one of my lowest GW scores for this season.  I rarely score sub-40 and for it to happen after the use of my WC sucks.  Ah well...

For this GW I have decided to take a few calculated risks.  I am playing all 3 of my Reading players in the hope that they can maintain their good run of form with a clean sheet to boot.  It means that I am benching Suarez, but I feel he may be due a 2 point game as he will face up to Man City at the Etihad. I have also decided to bench O'Brien as punishment for his own goal and also due to the fact that West Ham's defence can be leaky.  In fact I may even sell O'Brien and re-sign Davies for GW26, but will wait and see.

With GW 26 being confirmed as a DGW, due to the League Cup final the week after, I decided to take no transfer hits.  The only change I made was to bring in Sagna for Rafael.  Why? you may ask.  I feel Rafael isn't value for money at the present time.  He is being outdone by the more expensive Evra in the attacking department.  In addition it seems United aren't bothered by clean sheets with de Gea in goal - they will gladly settle for 2-1s, or 3-1s so long as they win.  Signing Sagna may appear odd as Arsenal haven't kept many clean sheets of late, but they have a good run of upcoming fixtures as follows:

GW25 - Stoke (H)

GW 26 - Sunderland (A)

GW 27 - Aston Villa (H)

I plan to use the extra money on purchasing Reina for DGW26.  Sagna could also be a fail despite the aforementioned run, but at least I am not paying over the odds for him.  My captain for GW 25 is Walcott, based on the fact that he is on form with Fellaini as vc.  Stoke have recently been a difficult nut for Arsenal to crack, but their defence has been shabby of late, where as Arsenal have a good goalscoring record at home.

Recommended Player for Gameweek 25

  Theo Walcott

 FPLH's Hot Picks XI for GW 25

Cesar

Sagna
Baines

Samba

 

Walcott-cpt

Mata

Fellaini-vc

Bale

Michu

Remy

Van Persie

Subs:

Howard

Lambert

Clichy

Harte

7/15 Hot Picks' feature in FPLH's GW Team