Fantasy Premier League Gameweek 10 – The Gamechangers

BySiddhant Lazar, SportsCafe Editor

10/25/2019

With an average of 37 points, Gameweek 9 was the worst ones so far and that has seen a few FPL bosses to panic with nearly 200,000 wildcards activated. Panicking is always the right move and ahead of the 11pm (IST) Friday night deadline one needs to remember that FPL is a marathon and not a sprint.

Don’t Spur on just yet

Tottenham, Tottenham, Tottenham. Considering their recent fortunes, in the league, and their ability to simply not play well Tottenham have dropped off the face of the earth. And not just in the Premier League but in the minds of FPL managers. And a visit to Liverpool this weekend doesn’t make it any easier but don’t jump off the Spurs train just yet. Yes, they struggled against a rock bottom Watford.

Yes, they struggled against a Brighton team they should have massacred. But this is Tottenham, Son Heung-Min and Harry Kane we’re talking about and few men have been as consistent as the latter two. Son has been arguably their best player and Kane has transformed his role as a centre-forward to dominate the world. He does have two consecutive blanks to his name but then made up for it with a double against Red Star Belgarde and Son, what more could anyone possibly say about the South Korean??

Barring the usual suspects (Salah, Sterling, Mane and KDB) no player has scored more. Of course, there are other options but can anyone even claim to be as locked in as the 9.7m man?? And then there are the fixtures. The Liverpool clash is a concern but after that, they go on a 12 game run with just three BIG SIX teams in their way. Three BIG SIX sides that include, in that order, Manchester United, Chelsea and Liverpool.

No Vardy, no Party

FPL 2015/16 shocked and awed look few have managed since then with a few incredible players finding their way to the spotlight. One man, who has remained just as lethal since then, is Jamie Vardy and given the Englishman’s form right now, it certainly is NO VARDY NO PARTY. To put his numbers into sheer statistics, Vardy has averaged a goal every 113 minutes in the league since Brendan Rodgers signed for the Foxes.

It’s his best ratio under any manager. Then there’s the fact that he’s on a streak with three in his last three games. Then there’s the sheer fact that Vardy has scored 6 goals this season averaging less than 2 shots per 90!! To put that in perspective all four players who’ve scored more goals than the Leicester man has managed a minimum of 2.89 shots per 90 (Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang) with a maximum of 4.86 shots per 90 (Sergio Aguero).

That alone shows just how good Vardy has been in front of goal and with all four players behind him in great form combined with their fixtures, it literally means NO VARDY NO PARTY.

History and Sergio Aguero always repeats itself

Sergio Aguero and consistency are two words that go hand in hand. That’s when the Argentine hasn’t been benched by the always frustrating Pep Guardiola for Gabriel Jesus. But when he plays, Aguero more often than not scores and that’s despite being transformed into more than just a potent lethal finisher. Instead, his transformation into a more Guardiola-esque striker has given the Argentine a chance to get a few assists.

He's averaged 1.78 key passes per game and is an active presence in the build-up to a goal. But this season, Aguero has really hit his stride with six goals in eight games and an xG of 0.83 which means that he averages just less than a goal per game. But what adds fuel to the fire is his history. It’s a clichéd saying but History always repeats itself and when it comes to Aguero more so.

The Argentine has scored six goals in his last four Premier League games against Aston Villa, their next opponents, with five in his last three. Still, want to drop him and replace with Gabriel Jesus or ??

Jack Grealish is a new man

Jack Grealish is a bargain. Yes, you read that right and yes that’s despite Aston Villa’s fixtures, which includes back-to-back games against Manchester City and Liverpool. But one thing that will happen is that Grealish is locked on to start, barring injury or suspension, since he’s one of their best players and since he’s the club captain. But Jack Grealish has just two goals and three assists to his name in 9 games, why would we pick him especially given the fixtures.

Because Grealish, while willing to play anywhere for the team, has been sent to play as a more attacking midfielder of the left where he excels. It’s the perfect spot for someone like the Englishman and it has seen that gain results. Not only is he getting the ball further up the pitch but since the change, Villa have scored seven goals, Grealish got himself two goals and an assist.

But what’s even better is that compared to John McGinn between Gameweek 7-9, Grealish’s numbers for XG, XA, Goal Threat and Chances created have all shot up significantly. So buy early and pay dividends for your decisions??

Seagulls to the rescue

Brighton are underperforming at least that’s what the statistic say and as we all know, the stats are never, ever, ever wrong. Just ask Billy Beane. But Brighton are underperforming and in their biggest area possible, XG (Expected goals per 90). The Seagulls should, theoretically, have scored atleast three more goals than they have to their name and that shows their transformation under new boss Graham Potter.

Last season, they were good, bad and then how-on-earth-did-we-not-get-relegated bad but a change of manager, a few new players and they look like a new team. Neal Maupay has been brilliant both creatively and scoring goals. Pascal Gross has been transformed as a creator with no-one creating more goals from set-plays than the Brighton midfielder. And only Kevin De Bruyne, Trent Alexander-Arnold and Roberto Firmino have created more big chances than the Brighton midfielder.

And then there’s the young Aaron Connolly. There are questions as to how much longer the young Irishman will be in the team but his performances and sheer energy have given him a chance. Oh and did we mention, that all three men just happen to be worth below 6m??

Manchester United set to save the year of the defender

The sheer fact that this has been mentioned has you questioning the sanity of this article, hasn’t it but it’s true. Yes, they may be two points above relegation, and you know what shocked the world a little bit?? The fact that Manchester United have the third-best defensive record in the Premier League and that’s behind only the two league leaders. Nine goals and people keep raving about Sheffield United.

It’s pretty impressive but this is just shocking given the way people have spoken about them. However, while a few FPL managers already have the ferocious tackler Aaron Wan-Bissaka but what about Harry Maguire? Or even Victor Lindelof although Maguire is the better option given that he is a target from set-pieces. But it’s their fixtures that make it that much better.

Over the next eleven matches the only BIG SIX clubs Manchester United face are Tottenham and their city rivals. Then there’s the fact that they battled Liverpool and walked away with their dignity still intact is pretty impressive. Also, the Red Devils have the best xGc (expected goals conceded) this season with no other side doing better.