The talking points right now seem to be the following:
- captains not performing
- chip strategy for GW 31 onwards
- what’s going on with Salah?
Salah still has the highest points total in the game by some margin, but that’s five blanks in his last six and Liverpool are looking somewhat fatigued and insipid up front.
Thankfully for Liverpool owners, they’re out of the FA Cup. So after Burnley next week, they have a mid-week clash with Bayern Munich the following Wednesday, followed by an away game versus the awful Fulham on Sunday, but then a massive two-week break until they play Spurs.
That said, Liverpool’s remaining four away fixtures (Fulham, Southampton, Cardiff and Newcastle) look a darn sight more appealing than the five they have just contested (trips to both Manchester clubs and a Merseyside derby among them). I’ve seen on some of the discussion boards that lots of people are now questioning having so much money tied up in Salah. I don’t hold Salah myself, but if I did then I’d definitely keep him. He’s too good not to get some significant scores in those remaining fixtures.
What of captaincy performances? I’m not sure what to say on this front as I’ve been awful at picking captains this year. Certainly glad not to have captained Pogba this week. That would have been painful. Aguero and Sterling didn’t perform. Hazard only 6 against Fulham. Salah as discussed. Anyone who captained Jiminez at the w/e – well played. Wolves are so mercurial that this daring move deserved some rewards.
Will Aguero play next weekend btw? He’s knackered according to Pep and he’ll have a mid-week game in the CL after Watford. He’s amazing at home but he could be rested here IMO.
Chip strategy. The thinking seems to be that you’re either playing your free hit in 31 or 32. This is then followed by wild cards and bench boosts where available. Unless some managers make a significant move soon then it looks like the winner will come from the Top 5.
Amongst our Top 5 it looks like James Moss (1st), myself (3rd) and Tracey Webb (4th) are FH in 31 whereas Drew Mark (2nd) and Richard Myles (5th) are FH in 32. All have full chips intact except Drew who has used his 2nd WC. What will work?
I wasn’t happy with loading up on players who will play in 31 and 33 hence I decided to FH in 31. Liverpool are good for 31 and we all have them. Chelsea are viable too but they’re so up and down. If Hazard or Higuain do well then great but it’s something of a punt. Many of the others are questionaable though.
The major issue this strategy creates, however, is that of a potential hole for 33. It’s going to depend upon what happens with the FA Cup of course so I’m going to wait and see and maybe deploy my WC for 33 onwards. I’m wary of falling into the trap and putting too many double game-weekers together at the expense of missing out on other good single game-weekers.
But, for sure, the different chip strategies could account for some big shifts by the time we get to the end of the season. Here’s the Top 10 after game week 29:
