2 x top 10,000, best finishes: 7k, 9k, 12k, 13k. Passionate football fan playing FPL since 2014, sharing insights, thoughts and interesting tid-bits ID: 94595
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Neel Plays FPL retweeted
7. Kinsky & Verbruggen are the best £4.5m GK roation for 15GWs ✅
🔵 GW1 : Verbruggen v AVL (H)
⚪️ GW2 : Kinsky v NEW (H)
🔵 GW3 : Verbruggen v LEE (H)
🔵 GW4 : Verbruggen v COV (A)
⚪️ GW5 : Kinsky v AVL (H)
🔵 GW6 : Verbruggen v SUN (A)
⚪️ GW7 : Kinsky v COV (H)
⚪️ GW8 : Kinsky v CHE (A)
⚪️ GW9 : Kinsky v CRY (H)
⚪️ GW10 : Kinsky v LEE (A)
🔵 GW11 : Verbruggen v HUL (A)
⚪️ GW12 : Kinsky v SUN (A)
🔵 GW13 : Verbruggen v BOU (A)
🔵 GW14 : Verbruggen v NFO (A)
⚪️ GW15 : Kinsky v HUL (H
Neel Plays FPL retweeted
So I watched 75 preseason matches, and here's everything I noted from an FPL perspective.
Arsenal:
- Tzolis, despite excellent defensive support for Calafiori, showed versatility in how to attack different types of defenders, a great sense of timing for passing behind, and great numbers of attacking returns as a result. Incredible set-piece delivery. It was especially noticeable that he is now an option for receiving a short throw-ins, despite the fact that long throw-ins from Calafiori have been practiced all season.
- Gabriel is dominant as a set-piece receiver. The most common routine used was where Arsenal players overload tightly at the far post, literally pressed against each other, and when the ball is played they quickly run in different directions, with Gabriel remaining to receive it.
- Calafiori is absolutely elite at interpreting space. He is where he needs to be at the right time and is often used to distract the opponent, so there will be many goals where his position will be incredibly high, but where he will be left completely without the ball.
- Bruno is a bonus for both Arsenal attackers and defenders. More risky directness means more attacking opportunities, but it also means more transitional moments and, accordingly, a few more DEFCONs.
Aston Villa:
- 3-2-5 in possession will give more variety than "give the ball to Rogers". The opposition often struggled to find a reference point for the fifth player in the first line. It would make it harder to find FPL options based on open play.
- Buendia finally moved into his favourite #10 role, and it instantly translated into attacking returns. In general, his big-chance involvement was one of the best among all players in preseason. Very small sample size, but already a lot more box entries from him than usual.
-Bogarde had one of the highest DEFCON numbers for midfielders, and Maatsen gets into the top 10 as well, just keep in mind Villa's signing of Ruggeri.
- Players I will target against Villa are the ones who will most likely participate in quick diagonals to exploit the high line.
- Ironically, after losing their set-piece coach, Villa started to concede a lot from set pieces. Absolute disorganisation and, what's worse, a lot of initial duels and clearances falling directly to the opponent. So don't be surprised if set-piece takers have a lot of pre-assists instead of assists against Aston Villa.
Bournemouth:
- Bournemouth participated in the highest-intensity matches. DEFCON was all over the place, but there were low numbers from the usual suspects. Instead, a lot more defensive actions came from the wing-backs.
- Truffert was easily the most advanced defender out of all teams. Creating for teammates but, most importantly, creating for himself even more. Biggest amount of box arrivals, DEFCONs and shots. Full-package defender.
- Disappointing corner delivery from Scott and Tavernier, but nice indirect free kicks. Expecting both to dominate big-chance involvement.
- Categorically not expecting any DC potential from Antonio Silva. The guy is just too good in possession and tends to prioritise intended passes in aerial duels, even when clearing the ball would be the easier option. In Portugal, too big a portion of his defensive actions came from the danger created by his own teammates.
Brentford:
- Only two teams in Europe's big five leagues relied more heavily on set pieces to generate shots. They also had some really nice set-piece routines in preseason. As funny as it sounds, I wouldn't pick said set-piece takers, because most of the routines are not direct and too much variability hurts their predictive value in that sense.
- Sangare is a main talking point for a good reason. I highly expect his DEFCON numbers to translate to the PL, not only because the number of defensive actions will naturally inflate, but also because he plays for one of the most direct teams in the league. Just like Elliot Anderson, he doesn't need to make a lot of defensive actions to hit the threshold as long as he progresses the ball forward.
Chelsea:
- Caicedo unsurprisingly finished in the top3 for DEFCONs in preseason, and with the way Alonso plays, midfielders will get more defensive actions while defenders will get less. Still, it took him 6-7 months at Leverkusen to get to this point, so I'm not expecting a quick decrease.
- Palestra picked some nice positions, but he wasn't that good on the ball. I'm considering him a pretty safe option, as with Lacroix in the squad Alonso has no choice but to play with three in defence.
- Joao Pedro looks central to everything, and it's important that we're seeing different types of goals rather than simply a player converting a few preseason chances.
- Palmer is still the main creative hub. Preseason wasn't spectacular, but the structural changes should give more hope than the preseason output.
- Biggest takeaways from an FPL perspective are transition vulnerability, occasional defensive disorganisation, large spaces behind the wide players and struggling to break down a settled block.
Coventry:
- The most DEFCON-friendly team, with the weakest right wing. Van Ewijk was overcommitting a lot, and not successfully. He also invert during the first phase and, despite dominant phases of the game, looked fairly conservative. Expected him to make some aggressive runs once Coventry establish possession, but that wasn't happening.
- Big difference between Thomas and Amenda in how they deal with pressure, and that should be a big difference in their DEFCONs as well. Thomas steps forward to engage an attacker or follow movement into midfield, which can leave space behind him. That can be particularly dangerous because Coventry's structure can already have van Ewijk moving into unusual positions.
- Yirenkyi is extremely direct after winning duels, which helps him pick up extra DEFCONs. That's Anderson/Sangare territory.
- Grimes with very good set-piece delivery. Small chance he might be on pens as well.
- Tchaouna is direct but wasteful, most likely to be the most isolated player on counters.
Palace:
- The biggest problem is what happens immediately after Palace lose the ball. The rest-defence behind the wing-backs isn't consistently ready for the moment Palace lose possession.
- Very aggressive defensive structure + naturally aggressive CBs is a DEFCON heaven. Disconnected two-man midfield inflates those numbers as well, but as you can imagine, that's not very good for clean sheets. High defensive line is also vulnerable when the press doesn't arrive, with too much grass behind the defenders, and they don't have Lacroix anymore. Good luck to No Haaland teams, what can I say.
Everton:
- Unusually composed in the first preseason matches, but rolled back to the good old Everton in the last games. A lot of DEFCONs, but proportionally spread among all the players. Röhl and Mykolenko ended up being the biggest hitters.
- Röhl has been used both out of position and in a reverse out-of-position role throughout preseason, and even in a more advanced role he still produced strong DEFCON numbers. Not looking like he's going to get regular minutes, but that's definitely the one to monitor because he could be this season's Mats Wieffer.
- Midfield is stacked, genuinely good games from pretty much everyone. KDH with more box arrivals than usual.
- Keane is the primary target on set pieces.
- Barry improved, much better both in large spaces and tight areas. From an FPL perspective, I like that he shoots more, even from unbalanced body positions.
-Mykolenko with some horrendous highlights, but he played an important role in the last Everton goal. Was struggling in the George-KDH triangle, but generally showed why Everton is a top-five team by limiting the threat from RWs.
- Armstrong, although wasteful at times, impressed a lot, and his inswingers were great.
- Ndiaye is much more comfortable on the left, but with the way George plays, I'm not sure he'll get as many minutes on the left as I want him to.
Fulham:
- Iwobi looks like one of the three reasons why they might not get relegated. Biggest number of penetrating passes into the box, even when playing in a double pivot, on set pieces and potentially on penalties as well. Possibly the best corners I've seen this preseason, each time finding his target.
- The other two reasons are Palacios and Garcia. Sadly, I'm not as confident in Garcia as an FPL option. Both him and Palacios are doing way too much on and off the ball, very good for Fulham but very bad for an attacker that you want to pick.
- Individual quality in defence is horrendous. Bassey had the biggest amount of dangerous ball losses, basically helping the opponent create chances. Defenders stretch as wide as possible to create more build-up options, but when possession is lost, it's a tragedy.
Ipswich:
-One of the most stubborn and straightforward teams, and it helps to identify their best assets. In possession, the 3-4-2-1 transforms into a front five: Davies – Maeda – Emersonn – Walle Egeli – Fatawu.
- Leif Davis is the key figure on the left flank. In a back three, he has the license to push up almost into the attacking line. His freedom to attack creates a downside to the team's setup: a wide-open corridor behind him whenever possession is lost. That's why I'm expecting Florentino's DEFCON potential to be even higher this season.
- Fatawu's role depends on the opponent. Against Rayo, he played as a wing-back. From that position, he has more ground to cover to reach the goal after winning the ball, so against an evenly matched team, it makes more sense to play him higher up the pitch. In a match where Ipswich spend long periods defending, O'Neil might drop him into a back five or position another player behind him. If you want a player with more box arrivals, it would be Maeda.
- Jacob Greaves is the left-sided centre-back responsible for covering the space vacated by the high-pushing Davies. He's absolutely essential, and I expect him to get the most minutes out of all the defenders. O'Shea can play on the right or in the centre of a back three and organise the defensive line. Diop is more accustomed to defending large spaces and adds height for aerial duels.
Leeds:
- I'm not sure about the repetitiveness of bicycle kicks, but I'm pretty sure about the repetitiveness of defensive actions from Tarik Muharemovic, the best DC hitter during preseason.
- Joe Rodon has repeatedly been advancing down the right from centre-back. It's not simply that he's carrying the ball forward occasionally. There is a clear tactical pattern where, when Leeds have possession, Rodon can become the right-sided progressive player, moving much higher than you'd expect from a conventional centre-back.
- Stach provides the physical coverage that allows the defenders to move more, and I'm not a fan of it from an FPL perspective. Also, it was a really nice preseason from the whole midfield, so I wouldn't even try projecting their minutes.
- Ampadu is probably the safest, and he ended up being the highest DEFCON contributor among midfielders.
- Longstaff has been surprisingly interesting, with an unusually good amount of box arrivals and nice set-piece involvement.
-Each of the defenders is a nice option for different reasons, so I'd probably pick them based on the positional vulnerability index short term.
- Wilson is comfortable receiving between the lines and generally drops into midfield a lot to help with the build-up. Still manages to find some nice shooting positions, just not as attacking as last season.
- Early vertical balls are inflating DCL's potential. Them becoming way too direct can become their main weakness, but that's also the biggest positive for DCL owners.
Liverpool:
- A lot of questions about DEFCON. I'm expecting numbers to stay big but not really increase because we have to understand that Liverpool already produced a very similar amount of transitional defensive touches last season, and it's not like this number will get ridiculously bigger under Iraola. Araujo is not as proactive as he's been described, but his attacking potential is definitely underrated.
- When Liverpool's midfield/pressing structure isn't functioning, Isak can become quite isolated, and I don't really like it.
- Iraola has increasingly used Wirtz as a genuine No. 10, rather than trying to force him into a wider role, but Mac Allister's availability could start a huge domino effect, so it's simply too hard for me to speculate about the roles of players like Szobo and Wirtz.
Man United:
- Andrey Santos finished preseason with some strong DEFCON numbers and showed some nice ability to find passes between the lines, but his most underrated weapon could be his role as a set-piece receiver. At Strasbourg, this was one of his biggest strengths, but it's rarely talked about. He seems to thrive in unconventional routines and has a habit of finding himself unmarked. With Bruno taking the set pieces and United relying heavily on them, Santos could be a real hidden gem at his price.
- Maguire was unusually uncomfortable in possession, which is obviously good news for his DEFCON potential. He also offers something from set pieces, but De Ligt is one to keep an eye on.
- Dorgu was wasteful again. The work rate is excellent, but the timing of his attacking runs still doesn't look quite right.
- Mbeumo looked very comfortable operating through the middle, and I actually think this could make him even more appealing in fixtures where United are happy to give up possession and attack in transition.
Nottingham Forest:
- Williams is one of the main talking points. Very attacking and involved on corners. I wouldn't draw a direct comparison with Munoz, though. Rather than both wing-backs simply bombing forward, Glasner's Forest are showing a clear right-sided structural overload, with Aina and the midfielders helping to create control and attract pressure before progressing towards the left. The left side is much more aggressive, with Neco pushed very high and combining with Gibbs-White and the forwards. It creates a strong attacking triangle on that side, but also leaves significant space behind Neco when Forest lose possession. His flexibility is a bit of a problem.
- You can clearly see that Glasner wants multiple players arriving in dangerous areas. Gibbs-White rotates with both Neco and the striker, consistently finding some good positions. Ndoye provides the width and vertical threat on the right, while Aina remains slightly more conservative.
- Jesus' situation is closer to Garcia's at Fulham, especially in the latest matches.
- I'm also expecting Milenkovic to maintain a similar DEFCON potential, with Diomande rarely hitting the threshold.
Sunderland:
- A lot of territorial dominance from Ballard, along with plenty of progressive carries and dribbling. It's not that he's extremely attacking, but more that Sunderland can cause problems when the opposition doesn't press them. His defensive involvement was fairly low, with most of his defensive touches coming from set pieces. He wasn't as involved in dead-ball situations as I'd hoped, with Reinildo looking like the main set-piece threat.
- Problems building up from the back make Enzo Le Fee less appealing, as he often has to drop deep to help with ball progression.
- I quite like Talbi and Angulo on the wings. They looked a lot better and the contrast with what Sunderland were trying to do out wide in the first matches.
Spurs:
- The main topic is DEFCON. As I mentioned already, Spurs are happy to circulate the ball for ages until they bait the opposition into pressing. Because of that, I wouldn't be too optimistic about Van Hecke's potential. He finished the last match with 12 DCs, but two of those actions were calculated incorrectly. Two clearances were actually directed passes, with Gray and Vicario simply failing to receive them. There were also a couple of tackles high up the pitch, while some of the clearances came from Senesi. That's what happened to Hill last season: Senesi can be good at making the first contact, but someone still needs to clear the ball afterwards. So while Senesi is playing, he will naturally increase Van Hecke's potential, but over a larger sample, I'm still convinced De Zerbi's style will be the stronger factor.
Neel Plays FPL retweeted
FPL is back so here's a few thoughts before 2026/27.
ARSENAL
- The Champions have given us a lot to think about especially following the Community Shield.
- They've been a difficult team to get a read on as far as owning their players from the get go, Tzolis has been the pre-season standout with a goal and 6 assists to his name including the Community Shield. Only 6.5!
- Seems almost mad to go without an attacker from the Champions playing home to a promoted team in GW1 but that's a very popular set up. Arsenal attackers low owned.
- Can Tzolis sustain good numbers in the Premier League after impressing in the Belgian league the last few years?
- In the Arsenal defence Raya and Gabriel are the two nailed picks, the others have question marks over them.
- Calafiori looks set to start but will Hincapie get a game later?
- It might not matter if he continues to take up such advanced positions like in the Community Shield, leading to his goal and another half chance on the volley to bag a second.
- Calafiori on his competition with Hincapie: "I don’t see it as a battle. He’s one of my best friends, and we’re very different players. If I was the manager I’d be very happy about the options."
- It's been widely reported Arsenal are in the market for a new CB as well, which casts some longer term doubt over Mosquera's nailedness.
- And Timber is a few weeks away from returning potentially, which would make White a problem when that happens.
- Arsenal were very dominant against Man City after some mixed results earlier in pre-season, and that was with the likes of Rice and Saka on the bench, Timber and Saliba missing.
- Calafiori got 59 minutes, bad news on FPL but in the context of that game it was 3 - 0 already.
- Odegaard absolutely bossed the game, is he back to his best?
- He'd make a mockery of 6.5m if he can get back to his form of a few years ago. Bruno G, Rice, Lewis-Skelly as options in midfield could free him up to play more advanced.
- Arteta post match: "If we can maintain him fit, available with the players around him, we’re going to see a very different Martin."
ASTON VILLA
- Aston Villa have been very busy with 8 pre-season games, no real stand outs besides wonderkid Madjo though, who is now injured for a while.
- Buendia with 2 goals 4 assists could be one to consider for 6m, likely on pens and direct free kicks.
- Konsa for 4.5m is one of the names being linked with Arsenal, he'd be a game breaker if that materialises.
- Joao Gomes and Onana are both injured for the start of the season, Villa players probably avoids at both ends of the pitch initially.
BOURNEMOUTH
- Kroupi Jr is sidelined with injury for a while, which has seen Kluivert getting lots of minutes in the same sort of role in pre-season, the forgotten man after barely playing much last year, but of course the year before had 18 goal involvements, 158 points.
- He and Tavernier are interesting for 6m.
- Kluivert on pens, Tavernier with some free kick and corner duties.
- Antonio Silva (5m) is one to watch, their Senesi replacement.
- Rayan has been playing like a second striker at times and is a really interesting option for 6.5m but perhaps not from the get go either given it's Man City away first.
BRENTFORD
- Brentford had an unbelievable end to their pre-season, they absolutely battered Eintracht Frankfurt 7 - 0.
- Schade with a 10 match rating after 2 goals 2 assists, so much food for thought from this game.
- Thiago bagged a brace and assisted one of Schade's goals, then you had Dango scoring as well, Kayode assist, Sangare scored as well!
- An incredible piece of business by Brentford, and while common advice is to avoid new signings in FPL to see how they get on he could be an exception, only 5.5m so it's low risk and only 1m of your budget allocated given you have to spend 4.5m minimum there, but this graphic from Alex Vollo underlines how good his defcon numbers are.
- 12 required in a game for +2 points, and he averages more defcons per 90 than last season's best mid in the league Anderson.
- Of course still a question mark over if he can sustain the numbers in the Premier League, but he seriously is a baller. Good ball carrying, very physical.
- Do not sleep on defcon picks as unglamorous as they are they add up.
- Anderson quietly went about his business last season for 5.5m and ended up on 180 points which is mad for 5.5m.
- Van den Berg out for 2 months. Ajer for 4.5m looks a tidy option, good defcons and 1m cheaper than Collins!
- Should we own Thiago then for 8m?
- It's a huge price jump and a tall ask to replicate last year's numbers, if he does then 8m is good value, he's not currently in my GW1 draft.
- There's players like Joao Pedro and Calvert-Lewin for cheaper that could provide more points per million early on.
BRIGHTON
- Brighton kept two clean sheets in their final two pre-season games.
- Hinshelwood looking very threatening continuing to take up promising positions like last season.
- Vuskovic is a huge aerial threat, over his career has averaged a goal every 4 games albeit a different league still only a teenager so not very comparable but the numbers leap off the page compared to others his age.
- Defcon monster.
- Vuskovic was the only Brighton player to hit defcon, with 10 that match.
- Gross took corners both left and right side, plus a direct free kick shot.
- I'm a little conflicted by him, he's 35 now, they play in a Europa qualifier this Thursday, then Sunday, then Thursday again, then Sunday again.
- Plus you've got Minteh and Mitoma out, plus Gomez spotted limping down the tunnel and rumours he left the stadium limping.
- But there really is so many routes to points, corners both side, free kicks and penalties.
- Perhaps Boscagli and Vuskovic will be the CB pairing, or Struijk and one of those two, he was absent from the squad last match.
- Some are arguing Vuskovic will be eased in or used in Europa initially - could be a slight risk there.
- He's the real deal though, elite signing from Brighton. He will be great in FPL.
CHELSEA
- The single most in form player in pre-season is Joao Pedro with a whopping 8 goals 2 assists.
- The theory was with a full summer off he'll be raring to go and well rested, he's looked electric.
- The same theory hasn't landed for Palmer though who has only 1 assist and looking like an avoid for 9.5m.
- Some players joined up late following the World Cup, Rogers and James didn't play a minute until their final match.
- Palestra has looked electric in wingback in pre-season, extremely attacking. 5.5m is a lot to pay though, he's on the watchlist.
- If Colwill can stay injury free he's got potential for 5m.
- 6m for Lacroix is steep and he was priced in based on last season's defcon numbers which may not continue at Chelsea to the same degree.
- The same applies to other CBs like Senesi who have moved and something to keep in mind.
COVENTRY
- Coventry's appeal is mostly restricted to their defenders, and Rushworth as well if you're on bench boost GW2.
- With that Hull home game in the second gameweek.
- Van Ewijk and Thomas the two stand outs.
- New signing Amenda probably partners Thomas in CB.
- Van Ewijk produced good attacking numbers in the Championship, but whether he can replicate that in the Prem remains to be seen.
- I prefer the CBs since they're likelier to get defcon than a fullback is to get an assist.
- Haji Wright was their top scorer last season, has a reported injury which made Simms look an interesting option for BB2 at only 5m, scored against Monaco in their final game.
- They've now reportedly signed Awoniyi so back to the drawing board and basically avoid everyone except the defensive assets for now.
- Rudoni is highly rated but still working his way back from injury.
- Grimes is a 5m mid so if you're really stretched he might work, Yirenkyi as well but he's a new signing.
CRYSTAL PALACE
- It looks like Munoz could be set to leave Palace this window, Mingueza joined this window.
- Mateta hasn't played a single minute so avoid.
- Franca has 4 goals in pre-season but he won't start.
- Canvot produced some of the best defcon numbers in the league last season, among defenders only Senesi and Hill could better hit 64% hit rate and those both were at Bournemouth, Senesi's gone to Spurs. He's an interesting one for 5m.
EVERTON
- How have Everton got on? After a slow start to life in the Premier League last season I'm backing Barry to have a much better year.
- He grew as the season went on, and has looked really impressive in their friendlies, good link up play, 3 goals 1 assist.
- Only 5.5m with Palace home GW1 so he's nice for the bench boost, you could just bench him until GW5 for Ipswich.
- Barry won a pen which he took himself despite Ndiaye on the pitch.
- So there was some concern that Ndiaye is off pens, but they actually won 2 further pens in later games and Ndiaye took them both.
- 6m is steep for Tarkowski, he does still have potential to be worth it though.
- 3 assists from Dewsbury-Hall who has been getting advanced plenty still. Has played in every single game.
- Norgaard hasn't so avoid him for 5m, might be a good enabler later.
- Garner had a good year, 53% success rate with defcons among the best in the entire league but he's had surgery, maybe he'll be available for 5.9m later after a price drop.
- Some rumoured transfer interest in Ndiaye, if he stays then he looks great for 6m.
- Don't be phased by last year's numbers, he missed 5 games at AFCON, and is capable of scoring more than he did.
FULHAM
- Fulham ended pre-season with a 1 - 0 win, Gonzalo Garcia comes in at 6m arriving from Real Madrid having played under Arbeloa.
- Fulham's opening fixtures are rough, with Chelsea, Liverpool, Man Utd in the opening 5.
- But look at that fixture swing from GW6, they play all 3 promoted teams in a row.
- I guarantee you many will be all over them for that run in GW6, which is also a wildcard window given it's the big international break and there's some other fixture swings too.
- Iwobi with 2G 2A has impressed, only 5.5m.
HULL
- Not much to report on with Hull, they are basically complete avoids.
- McBurnie for 5.5m could be handy if you're on BB2 but they are massive favourites to go straight back down so it's hard to see where the best picks will be, when we've got 4m defenders from Ipswich and Coventry.
IPSWICH
- Ipswich have been busy and made lots of signings.
- The Brazilian striker Emersonn arriving and has 3 goal involvements, Davis the stand out performer with a brace and 2 further assists.
- Something worth noting is that O'Neill has been using O'Shea in right back, with Diop and Greaves in CB, that will reduce his defcon potential.
- O'Shea did actually score a curler top bins in their final game, didn't know he had that in his locker.
- It's got me wondering if Diop or Davis are the best 4m defenders to own.
- Diop very highly owned though so he could be prone to an early price fall if they concede in the opening 3 which is very possible.
- You might have spotted Florentino's name on that midfielders defcon list earlier, he had a 56% hit rate when starting at Burnley, Ipswich have signed him, only 5m.
- Very low attacking potential though.
- Walle Egeli is my favourite of the 4.5m forwards, he won't be nailed but has a good chance of starting GW1 and should get occasional starts and cameos. Has 2 assists as well.
LEEDS
- I've been so impressed by Leeds, they've made smart recruitments, have a really well rounded squad.
- Trafford and Muharemovic immediately look like top class signings.
- Muharemovic's defcon numbers are elite, he could be this year's Senesi along with Vuskovic.
- Scored a ridiculous bicycle goal as well which was very unexpected, didn't think he had that in his locker either!
- You'll see him spraying very long balls in games, it'll lead to the odd assist or pre-assist.
- Loads of good options, Rodon is 4.5m and will start the season in CB playing in the back 3.
- Bornauw set to leave, Elvedi arriving but Leeds fans not predicting Rodon to lose his spot.
- It could happen much later if they have some bad results and he switches to a back 4, or if he picks up an injury then he might have to fight for a way back in.
- Rodon's got an interesting new role in the current system, he's been pushing to wing back and then Bogle goes RW.
- Sometimes further than Bogle, getting so far advanced. Might be pre-season tinkering but he did it a bit end of last season.
- Led to a cracking quote after their final friendly, 4 - 0 win over Augsburg where Farke called him Joe Salah.
LIVERPOOL
- Liverpool's attackers are very popular, only Bruno is higher owned than Szobo among mids, and Wirtz has been playing as a 10 just behind Isak in pre-season with 2 goals.
- For 7.5m he's got huge potential, and they face Newcastle GW1 who have lost so many key players plus now Joelinton is out injured.
- It's a valid strategy to double up with Szobo and Wirtz.
- Isak will be an incredible pick if he can get back to form and I see no reason why he can't.
- Given Ekitike's out for the rest of the year I could see his minutes being managed and some early subs, so I like the two mids more.
- Jacquet was really impressive in Liverpool’s final game, scoring. Araujo has joined on loan as backup, Gomez injured for the start of the season.
- Kerkez of course earned a move to Liverpool after playing very well under Iraola at Bournemouth, who is now Liverpool manager so I like him for 5.5m.
MANCHESTER UNITED
- Mbeumo is Man Utd's most in form player with 4 goal involvements.
- Sesko has been out which has seen Mbeumo actually playing up top as well, scored against PSG!
- I prefer him to Cunha.
- Mbeumo registered 17.2 xGI last season, Cunha 10.3 so it wasn't even close in that respect but Dorgu's been playing Cunha's position as well, and where does Rashford fit in?
- Man Utd have the best two opening fixtures so some are opting for a triple up which is valid.
- Maguire scored vs AC Milan in their final game off a Bruno corner, he's the new target on those set pieces.
- But they lost 4 - 2 in that final game, Amorim's AC Milan by the way!
- Bruno missed a pen, that's two missed in a row now and 3 of his last 7 converted which is crazy.
MANCHESTER CITY
- Man City have had a very short pre-season, which is typical for them and not new.
- Semenyo has been the stand out with 5 assists, could still make a mockery of 8.5m this season.
- He'll play a lot of 90 minutes.
- One thing we'll have to see is what's different under Maresca compared to Pep, wingers could be used more as creators rather than direct goalscorers, that's what we've seen lots of in the pre-season games but that isn't to say they'll never score, of course they will.
- The tactical set up could be tailor made for Haaland to thrive though and he's by far the most owned player in the game despite also being the most expensive player in FPL history!
- O'Reilly, Anderson, Haaland all in the starting 11 in the Community Shield.
- As we were saying at the start of the article Man City was so poor, Arsenal looked so much sharper, a step ahead, more incisive.
- It's only one game and it doesn't necessarily mean anything of course.
- Guehi was benched with Dias and Gvardiol the CB pairing, Doku off at half time with a potential injury as well.
- Haaland only got a 53 minute run out, you'll feel better if you're on a no Haaland draft.
- If you have Haaland and Bruno who's your captain for GW1?
NEWCASTLE
- Newcastle have some differentials that could turn out great like Wissa, Barnes, Thiaw but they are really in a rebuild right now having lost so many key players, Bruno G, Gordon, Tonali.
- Their fixtures are actually pretty great after the first couple gameweeks but Thiaw is the only one that's tempting right now given his aerial threat and defcon potential.
NOTTINGHAM FOREST
- It's been a great pre-season for Igor Jesus who has found the back of the net 4 times.
- Gibbs-White is the main man and everything runs through him, despite the 8m price tag he will be a good pick over the season, on pens plus set pieces.
- Wood when starting could be ahead in the pecking order, he scored a pen in the final friendly with Gibbs-White not on the pitch.
- One thing to mention is that Igor Jesus is much more effective playing as a 10, which was his role when he was banging them in this pre-season, then Wood got injured and he had to go up top where he was less effective, Wood made it back for the final game so he could still be fantastic.
- Forest fans are crying for a new striker, and of course Awoniyi has gone to Coventry so maybe it will happen.
- Ranking the 6m forwards I'd go Calvert-Lewin, Igor Jesus, Brobbey. They're all decent picks though.
- Williams could benefit from Glasner's arrival, we saw how good Munoz was over the years.
- He takes corners on one side as well, and has always done pretty well for baseline bonus so he's often got a good shot at earning bonus points, and his defcon numbers are great for a wingback.
- Given they've also tweaked the rules of BPS in a way that benefits fullbacks and wingbacks he could be great for 5m.
SUNDERLAND
- Hume has been playing right wing in pre-season and has even scored twice, despite being a 4.5m defender.
- He's not first choice in any particular position is the thing going against him, but Le Bris loves him and will just fit him in the team wherever.
- Something worth flagging up is that Meunier missed their final friendly which saw Talbi in RW and Hume back in RB.
- If Meunier looks fine for GW1 then Hume is a fun pick assuming he'll play RW against Ipswich plus they've got Fulham home in GW2. I'm less sure currently.
- Sunderland are set to start the season without Mukiele and Alderete so clean sheet potential is reduced, O'Nien is 4m and probably starts in CB but he's such a short term pick I'd avoid.
- Le Fee isn't the one getting in to dangerous positions that often, but does have some set piece and pen duties.
- Ballard the target on set pieces.
TOTTENHAM
- Solanke has picked up an injury so 6m Richarlison has led the line and has 3 goals, has played in every game.
- Tonali could be good for 5.5m but I prefer others like Gross and Sangare.
- Van Hecke hit defcon in their final game vs Hoffenheim with exactly 10, only defender who did.
- Spence has joined Inter so Pedro Porro looks good to go from GW1 and one to consider for 5.5m going under the radar.
- Yes Spurs were terrible for most of last season, but after De Zerbi came in they were top in the league for expected goals conceded from then to end of season, and that was with a threadbare squad, they've changed the spine of the team with Van Hecke, Senesi, Fernandes, Tonali arriving, and most business to be done before the window closes.
FORM PLAYERS
Finishing with a quick summary of the most in form players from pre-season:
- Joao Pedro is miles ahead with 10 goal involvements.
- Tzolis: 7 involvements (1 goal, 6 assists)
- Buendia: 6 involvements
- Calvert-Lewin: 5 involvements
- Semenyo: 5 involvements
- Igor Jesus: 4 involvements
- Thiago: 4 involvements
- Mbeumo: 4 involvements
- Barry: 4 involvements
- Schade: 4 involvements
- Davis: 4 involvements
Thanks for reading if you made it this far (and didn’t skip to the end). 😄
Neel Plays FPL retweeted
Ajer is now set to start the season at CB for Brentford, with Van den Berg reportedly out injured for months.
He achieved defcon in 67% of games when playing at CB last season - averaging 9.5 defcons per 90.
Decent fixtures in the first 3, and is less than 1% owned.
Neel Plays FPL retweeted
This FPL team probably shouldn't be possible.
✅ Haaland
✅ Fernandes
✅ Palmer
✅ Semenyo
✅ Arsenal defender
✅ Double Man United
✅ Starting GK
...£0.5m in the bank 🤯
Neel Plays FPL retweeted
Blank and Double GW schedule:
🔥DGW33 🔒
- 2 fix for BOU, BHA, BUR, CHE, LEE, MCI
❄️BGW34🔒
- 0 fix for BOU, BHA, BUR, CHE, LEE, MCI
🔥DGW36❓
- almost certainly 2 fix for MCI
- very likely 2 fix for CRY
- slim chance of 2 fix for BOU
🔥DGW37❓
- slim chance of 2 fix for CRY
- slimmer chance of 2 fix for MCI
❄️BGW37❓
- slim chance of 0 fix for BOU
So in GWs 36+37, we'll either get:
- MCI & CRY Double in GW36 (around 90% likely)
- MCI & BOU Double in GW36, CRY Double in GW37 and BOU Blank in GW37
- MCI & CRY Double in GW37
Neel Plays FPL retweeted
If you go from Ekitike to Woltemade in 21 to Joao Pedro in 23 then back to Thiago from 28-30, your second striker fixture run would be Wolves, Leeds, Fulham, Leeds, Wolves, Palace, West Ham, Wolves, Leeds, Burnley, Burnley, Bournemouth, Wolves. Could go wrong but looks wonderful.
Neel Plays FPL retweeted
Gameweek 10 wildcard active 💥 😍
Show me a better team 🖼️ 🔥
Triple Palace 🦅
Triple Arsenal 🧱
Triple Bournemouth 🍒
Time to gain rank 📈🙌
#FPLCommunity #fpl #FantasyFootball
Neel Plays FPL retweeted
🚨🚨 My weekly differentials post is out 🚨🚨
Top 3 differentials (under 10% TSB) for #GW06 in every position
GK:
🥇 Donnarumma 5.6m (6.2%)
🥈 Pope 5.0m (6.5%)
🥉 Petrović 4.5m (5.1%)
Def:
🥇 Tarkowski 5.5m (7.6%)
🥈 Gvardiol 5.8m (4.1%)
🥉 Romero 5.1m (7.2%)
Mid:
🥇 Foden 8.0m (3.9%)
🥈 Saka 9.85m (4.2%)
🥉 Xavi Simons 7.1m (3.8%)
FW:
🥇 Larsen 6.4m (1.5%)
🥈 Evanilson 7.0m (3.2%)
🥉 Isidor 5.5m (1.9%)
#FPL #FPLCommunity
Please bookmark, like and REPOST this tweet if you find it useful
Neel Plays FPL retweeted
🌍 243rd In The World: My Current Draft🌍
I am ranked inside the top 250 FPL managers across the last five seasons, with three finishes inside the Top 10k and two finishes inside the Top 2k 🥇
This season, I’m trying to break into the top 1000 for the first time, and thus the draft that I’m hoping will help me do it👇🧵
Ederson has more assists (3) in the PL this season than:
- Gundogan
- Grealish
- Foden
- Luis Diaz
- Diogo Jota
- Emile Smith Rowe
- Every United player (bar Bruno and Amad)
- Every Southampton player
- Every Ipswich player
Insane
#ederson
#MCINEW
#PL
#PremierLeague
Neel Plays FPL retweeted
ASSISTANT MANAGER CHIP MEGA THREAD
- Safe, Risky or Both? ⚠️
- Who To Pick? 🤔
- Data On Table Bonus 📊
- Managers To Target 🎯
- Best Time To Activate 🕰️
- The Secret Strategy 🤫
- Slot vs Moyes DGW24 🥊
- What Will The Majority Do? 👨✈️
- My Own Conclusions ✍️
🧵
Neel Plays FPL retweeted
GAMEWEEK 6 PREVIEW - Thread
💎 Rest for the Robot? Big opportunity!
💎 Havertz vs Raya
💎 Wildcard 6 Draft
💎 Gvardiol & Lewis
💎 Luis Diaz & Bournemouth
💎 Fixture Analysis
They are going at it again…🧵
Neel Plays FPL retweeted
WILDCARD THREAD - GAMEWEEK 6 🧵
Everything you need to know in one thread 👇
📌 Fixture runs to target
📌 Locked players
📌 Premiums to consider
📌 Budget rotations/enablers
📌 2 wildcard drafts
#FPL #FPLCOMMUNITY
