Cianan’s Column: GW19/20: Onwards and (hopefully) upwards

GW18 was a low-scoring one, which, as a silver lining, means it’s unlikely you lost out too majorly to your mini-league rivals. If you’re looking to make up those losses or expand the lead you gained last week, this is the place to be, as we look into the best moves for the next two gameweeks. The first of these gameweeks does occur midweek, so we’ll need to be wary of potential rotation, but I’ll talk about that in due course.

Fixture-wise, the two best teams for GW19 and 20 met last Friday, with Manchester United defeating Newcastle 1-0. The former faces Wolves (H), and then Leeds (A) (followed by Burnley (A)), and the latter has Burnley (A) and then a Crystal Palace side (H) who have lost three on the bounce. Manchester United have the better immediate short-term fixtures, whereas Newcastle have slightly longer-term viability; you need to ensure you don’t take too many punts, as you can quickly find yourself needing to make a lot of moves without the resources to do so, but a successful navigation of the next two gameweeks will undoubtedly involve these two teams.

In terms of transfer targets from these teams, Cunha is an obvious option. Despite his two-pointer last weekend, that was his first blank in the previous four games, and Wolves (H) in GW19 is the best fixture in the league. Plus, he’s still only 10% owned. Thiaw and Hall also seem like pretty straightforward moves. Even if the Toon have had a somewhat shaky defence recently, the fixtures seem too good not to try to take advantage of. Thiaw is better for DEFCON, less likely to be rotated, and is marginally cheaper, whereas Hall has a much greater chance of goal involvement (he looked superb in their 2-0 loss last time out).

I wouldn’t look at Woltemade. Given the return of Wissa, the minutes are likely to be subpar at best. Guimarães is probably the safest of the Newcastle midfielders/attackers, but he’s hardly an enthralling option given he hasn’t hauled since GW15. Still, the fixtures make him a passable asset. Gordon has really high potential, but also suffers from a minutes risk, and has had an incredibly underwhelming season thus far. Despite the potential of their defence, Newcastle’s rotation makes it far more challenging to pinpoint the ideal offensive transfer.

I’m also personally tempted by Dorgu. He costs only £4.1m, is listed as a defender but seems to be playing on the right wing for the Red Devils, and has a goal, assist, and clean sheet in his last two games. Given that he is one yellow card away from suspension and has been subject to rotation in the past, he’s certainly a risk. Yet, he has both attacking and defensive appeal, since he can earn clean sheets even if he isn’t actually playing in defence, and is a major differential, owned by only 3.4% of managers. You’ve got to choose your risks wisely in FPL, but bringing in Dorgu seems astute for several reasons.

Elsewhere, people still seem to be loving Rogers. As I said last week, he’s clearly an electric asset, but I’d wait until at least GW20, when the fixtures turn a corner for Aston Villa. Someone who people oddly aren’t loving, however, is Schade. He netted a monster 20-pointer at the weekend, and yet very little notice has been given to the Brentford midfielder. He’s not a must-have by any means, but as a mid-price point midfielder, he’s reliable if unexciting, like a safer, more dependable Gordon. He’s still owned by only 1.5% of players, demonstrating a surprising lack of knee-jerking from the FPL community. If you want to bring in a midfielder this week and desire reliability, he’s your man.

Rapid recommendations

● If there was a time to back against the Arsenal defence, it’s probably now. Tough fixtures, some injury issues, and a need to alternate players mean that if you want to go with only one or without any Arsenal defenders, this is your chance.
● If you don’t want to go against the Arsenal defence, however, Gabriel seems to be back to full fitness. You can buy him now or later, but everyone will want him by GW22(ish).
● Cherki is clearly an exceptionally talented player. He’ll get randomly benched one week, and it’ll be frustrating (it could even be for City’s midweek game against Sunderland (A)), but if you know that going in, he offers value at his low £6.6m cost.
● 100,000 managers have brought in Semenyo? Now is the time to sell, not buy. Bournemouth’s upcoming fixtures are mortifying.
● Everton defenders offer great value and have a great fixture run. Consider Pickford, Tarkowski, and/or Keane (you’ll find more analysis of these assets here).

The Boar standings

1st: Dwight Club (1131) – managed by Cianan Sheekey
2nd: parths11 (1074) – managed by Parth Malik
3rd: Meganerd FC (1066) – managed by Megan Green