FPL GW19 Preview
Merry Christmas everyone, a huge thank you to everyone who reads the article and gets in touch with comments and questions.
The last couple of Gameweeks have seen plenty of postponement disruption and this week is no different. Two games so far have been called off: Liverpool v Leeds and Wolves v Watford.
Those of us with Salah, Alexander-Arnold and Jota have some huge decisions as far as team selection and Captaincy goes. Watford’s forward duo King and Dennis will also leave FPL managers light up front.
With games due to be played on the 26th and 27th, we are still a long way away from the games, so more postponements may yet be made.
The best way forward is to hold off on any transfers as long as possible. As it stands the Deadline is 13:30 on Boxing Day, for the 3pm fixtures. Remembering the Aston Villa V Burnley game was called off a little over two hours before kick off, the wait could be vital.
There is good news, as the FPL powers that be have given every FPL manager an additional Free Hit Chip. A Free Hit Chip allows you to have unlimited transfers for one week, with your team reverting back the following Gameweek. So if you have not used yours yet you will have 2 to use from Gameweek 20, and if you have used yours already, you will have another from Gameweeek 20. There is one drawback, as the Chips cannot be used in consecutive weeks. There is potential talk of Double Gameweeks in 21 and 22, so we would not be able to use the Chips in both weeks.
Putting 2 and 2 together with all this information we could consider the possibility of using a Free Hit Chip this Gameweek. It would get you 12 playing players minimum, however, with so many potential Double Gameweeks coming up the points potential in Double Gameweeks is far higher than patching up your team to get 11 playing players from a reduced round of games.
As for this week, I won’t recommend selling any Liverpool assets due to this blank Gameweek. You will want them back the following week. Arsenal away to Norwich and Man Utd away to Newcastle are the standout fixtures, with Arsenal providing plenty of FPL options across the pitch, with Ramsdale in goal, Tomiyasu and Tierney in defence, Saka, Martinelli, Odegaard in midfield and Lacazette up front. Smith Rowe seems to have lost his place for the moment. Man Utd offer less options, with De Gea in goal and Ronaldo up front being the standouts, with uncertainty over the starting defenders and Rashford and Sancho being too pricey for too little output so far.
As for Captaincy without Liverpool assets, you might as well throw a dart at a dartboard. An Arsenal player seems most logical, as the Man Utd game is the furthest away, being the only game on Monday.
With it being Christmas Eve, Christmas Day and Boxing Day ahead, it may be difficult to keep track of any news of postponements. As always, I’ll update the Twitter feed where this article is posted as and when I hear the news.
Again, Merry Christmas, and I’ll see you on the other side.
Deadline this week is Sunday 26th December, 11:00m.
Remember, it isn’t too late to join the Official And He Takes That Chance FPL league, simply click on the link below.
fantasy.premierleague.com/leagues/auto-join/ut6b0t
Denny Ledger
Twitter: denny_ledger