I shall keep this short and sweet today; mainly because the pressures of work coupled with the shortened timeframe between GW's has left me strapped for time to dedicate to this weeks pick.
Maybe that's a good thing. Rather than analyse stats and try to identify a player who is going to come into a decent run of form (aka "fly"), I will have to go with gut instinct.
In FPL terms, these gut feelings are sometimes what can allow you to steal a march on your rivals. For instance, predicting Adam Johnson would go out and bag a hat-trick in GW21 would have meant you reaped the rewards of his 22 point haul. But who would have picked him? In the 5 GW's prior to GW21 he played 19, 28, 0, 0 and 14 minutes respectively, accumulating a points haul of 1, 1, 0, 0 and 1.
If you did transfer him in for GW21 then you deserve a solid gold crystal ball shaped trophy for doing so!
Last weeks pick was disappointing. Fabio Borini got sacrificed early on after Wes Brown's (inevitable) red card. Less said about that the better.
So, onto this week. No analysis of stats, pure gut feeling. My #FlyBuy pick for GW26 is Stoke City defender Ryan Shawcross. Normally good for a couple of goals a season, I think he may have only one this season so must be due another. I also can't recall the last time Stoke kept a clean sheet, so again, they must be due one! I predict this home fixture against Swansea on Wednesday night could be the night he rectifies both.
Disclaimer: *FPLH reserves the right to change this team at any time. Any changes made will most likely be confirmed on FPLH's Twitter account.
2 FREE TRANSFERS AVAILABLE.
TRANSFER(S) MADE: NONE YET*
As you probably know by now, the Fulham v Liverpool match may be postponed due to the scheduled tube strikes. Confirmation of this should be made public by 11th February, 3pm GMT. *Due to the aforementioned issue, I am unable to finalise my team as of yet. I have 2 free transfers available and will be looking to purchase at least one player. If the Fulham-Liverpool match isn't cancelled I may buy Nolan or Zaha. Then again, I could buy Zabaleta due to his 2 good upcoming games (but he has no game in GW28). I can't make transfers when I may lose out on a match which involves two of my players (incl. captain). I have no plans to play Ward or Januzaj, so my team above is 90% complete albeit the armband will be reassigned if Suarez isn't available. Any transfer(s) will be confirmed on Twitter. So there you have it. On a side note, despite not captaining Hazard in GW25, I still managed to shoot up the rankings. My minimum target of a 30k finish is still achievable. Have a good GW everyone!
#CalledIt pick for GW 23, Wilfried Bony, FINALLY decided to join the party and score a goal. Of course it happened only after I tweeted that I give up on him, turned off the TV and logged off all electronic devices connected to internet, but still. He did score. It wasn't until the next day that I even realized that he actually did, which was a nice surprise.
#CalledIt pick for GW 24, Phillippe Coutinho ALSO decided to join the thrashing of the Arsenal team who looked completely helpless (did I mention I am an Arsenal fan? :/). An assist, 5 points and just missed out on a BP.
#CalledIt pick for GW 25, Jesus Navas, failed as Norwich surprisingly shut down Manchester City. 2 shots on goal with 2 chances created - potential was there, but it appears MCFC misses Agüero (and a healthy Negredo) much more than they would like to admit.
So, what do we do with GW26? My main man would have to be Silva. A home game against Sunderland and with MCFC in dire need of bouncing back from not one, but two disappointing results, provides the perfect ground for the Spanish playmaker to deliver BIG. He created 6 chances over the weekend and by golly he should get some points this GW. Unless he gets benched. Just out of #CalledIt reach with 5,6% ownership, but that can't stop you from taking him in your team, if you believe he is due a big point haul (which is what I am hoping for).
Who also tickles my interest? For sure Kevin Nolan. I thought he might again face a dip in his performance with Andy Carroll out, but he followed up that brace against Swansea with another brace against Villa. 6.6m and 7.6% means he is out of my #CalledIt league, but could offer good potential with Norwich and Southampton at home in the next two GWs.
Who then gets my #CalledIt voice for GW26? It's easy, Wilfried Zaha. Great talent, good fixtures. Might have not had the best game against Swansea (to say the least), but I believe he will want to bounce back. Need more convincing? Read Walt's article here http://fantasypremierleaguehints.blogspot.com/2014/02/gw26-fpl-jackinthebox.html.
Guys/gals, with 13 fixtures left in the English Premier League season, there are ELEVEN sides within 7 points of the bottom. ELEVEN! None of these teams are safe by any stretch of the imagination as we approach the business end of the season. I cannot even begin to imagine the excitement we are in for as these 11 squads battle it out over the coming weeks. If things continue to stay this close, we are virtually guaranteed of a "six-point relegation battle" every gameweek. It makes the battle at the bottom of the table a nervy test of survival that will surely be almost as closely scrutinized as David Moyes' handling of the Manchester United job. But I digress. Our spotlight, although touching the edges of the full 11-squad free-for-all, centers pointedly on the bottom 8 clubs; those clubs who have accumulated 26 points or less from their first 25 EPL fixtures this season. Not an accomplishment to write home about, is it? Combined, these squads represent an overall record of 47 wins, 49, draws, and 104 defeats. That's an average of 6 wins apiece, or one win out of every 4 fixtures. As a group, they've combined to score 186 goals while allowing 318 footballs to hit the back of their net, for a combined goal differential of -132. Surprisingly, at least 5 of these squads (and maybe more, depending on how the 3 currently above them in the table fare over the coming weeks) will survive and play in the Premier League again after the World Cup has come and gone. Your current 8 #JackInTheBox eligible squads are: 20) Fulham, playing home to Liverpool (4) 19) Cardiff City, playing home to Aston Villa (12) 18) West Bromwich Albion, playing home to Chelsea (1) 17) Sunderland, playing away at Manchester City (3) 16) Norwich, playing away at West Ham (15) 15) West Ham, playing home to Norwich (16) 14) Crystal Palace, playing away at Everton (6) 13) Stoke City, playing home to Swansea (10) It is almost impossible to resist the six-pointer taking place between West Ham and Norwich tomorrow, but I'm going to. I'm choosing to train my eye on Wales, where Cardiff City host Aston Villa. Everyone knows that Villa play better away from home and that Christian Benteke is gaining form. That scares me, which is why I'm not choosing a defender this week. Cardiff are in desperate need of a positive display, especially after the derby thumping they were handed by Swansea at the weekend, and Villa's position just outside the bottom 8 shows they are susceptible, especially when coming to visit a nasty, snarling, angry, intimidatingly-named Bluebird side (who wear red).
GW26 FPL #JackInTheBox: Wilfried Zaha
Yes, Ince has shown his promise and has found a way to the score sheet both times he's suited up in a Palace uniform, but I've yet to see him play and am gonna withhold the armband at least until I'm able to get a chance to watch him. Zaha is quick and tricky; elusive and explosive. I can certainly see him causing trouble for a Villa defence known for its difficulty in keeping a clean sheet. Zaha has been fielded twice by Cardiff, notching an assist on his 53 minute debut and getting the start at the weekend before being subbed in the 76th minute vs Swansea. I think he has something to prove, will approach the home game with something of a chip on his shoulder, and I hope he produces crowd-pleasing results tomorrow evening when Benteke and Co. come to town. Heck, even if he doesn't, he will surely be fun to watch ;)
I knew who I wanted to pick this week. I planned it 4 weeks ago. In all honesty he was supposed to be my pick for GW23 for the derby game. But Manchester United signed Juan Mata, and well, y'know, he absolutely HAD to be my choice for that week. After all, the parameters I get to play with are a player who perhaps used to be an FPL necessity, who has gone off the boil for one reason or another, but who I predict will "fly" again. So, Mata was a no-brainer. And it paid off.
Last week (GW24) I seized on a closing window of opportunity to pick another United player. Why do I say closing window? Well, my parameters mean my pick has to come from a team who are between 5th and 15th in the Premier League. I truly believe United are in a false position and will be overtaking Spurs, Everton and Liverpool in due course. I never expected them to lose to Stoke though. The return of RVP saw him as my FlyBuy pick last week, and he repaid me with a goal.
But this is where it gets difficult. The guy I had lined up for GW23 but left on the back-burner has gone nuclear. To the point where I can no longer use him as a FlyBuy pick. Why? Because he is already flying high again so it would be viewed as a pick with the benefit of hindsight.
To whom do I refer? The human tank that is Christian Benteke. 3 goals and 2 assists in his last 4 games tells you all you need to know about the big Belgian. If I didn't have J-Rod occupying my 3rd Striker spot in my own team, Benteke would be in there in a flash.
But I can't pick him with all good integrity. So who should I go for? Well, in all honesty, I'm struggling. Nobody is an immediate choice, and those names I am considering I personally don't really believe are capable of going on a run. Except one. In all honesty he's not "my" kind of player, but I guess that's irrelevant and I should go with what I see.
I see a player who is going to have to lead the line for his club in the absence of the (so called) main man. The club itself are in decent form and the guy loading the bullets at the moment is THE in form FPL player (I refer of course to Adam Johnson).
So without further ado, I reveal to you my FlyBuy pick for GW25; Fabio Borini
It's a long shot, and it may backfire - we shall have to wait and see...
