38wks2go

9. Gameweek 8 Preview

The international is over and we have one more break before the end of the year in November! I hope you have rested well and are ready to resume the challenge that is FPL management. The last international break produced disappointing results...especially if you had Liverpool players... I am hoping that now we are aware of the impact these long flights have on our south american and asian players.... we will fare a bit better this time round...
We go over the injuries sustained over the break and look forward to the gameweek and try to pick the better players from each match up! Give it a listen and share your thoughts

Duration:: 29m
Broadcast on:: 17 Oct 2024
Audio Format:: other

Study how you wish to go to rule this game I'll wash it and take training with my fantasy team Go rise to the top, no one can stop me Come make 'em drop Hello everybody and welcome to 38 Weeks ago, the weekly podcast about fantasy football. This is the preview show. Two, game week eight, so let's get into it. If you remember the last international break, we came back with lofty expectations and they were quickly shattered. Pretty much everybody that had traveled underperformed. Remember everybody was like, "Zho, Pedro, Zho, Pedro." And then he went to Brazil, came back. I don't even think he's played since that game week, he came back. I think he played for like two minutes and got injured and that was that. So the most important thing is to know who your internationals are and how far they have come or how far they have traveled. The further they have come from, the less likely they are to feature and the less likely they are to perform. The most important thing about the international game week is that there's a strong possibility of injuries. So what I will do now is go over every team and the injury doubts. And injuries that they have. Let's start with Arsenal. Saka picked up a leg injury during England's match and he's doubtful. He may play, he may not play. We need to hear what Ateta says. But he tends to keep that close to his chest. Kai Havertz didn't play during the international break because he had a knee injury. They say he has 75% chance of playing. So he is better than Saka in terms of his injury situation. Audegard is still out. Zinchenko should be back. Then White still has a groin injury and it should keep him out of this next game but he should be back within two weeks. When it comes to Villa, Konsa has a hamstring injury, pulled out of England. They say he has a 75% chance of coming back. Kamara is injured, has a 50% chance of playing. John McGinn has a hamstring injury that will keep him out of the next game but will be back within the next two. Tyran Wings is almost back. When it comes to Tottenham, Son is still injured. He's back in training but it's uncertain whether he will feature in the next game. Richali Son is back in training but is unlikely to start. Bug Vol got injured. Audegard got injured, has a hamstring injury, is unlikely to start. Martinelli also picked up a knock. It's not clear, it was in the car. If it's not clear what will happen, watch that space. Ganacho did not go for international duty due to some new problems and it isn't clear whether he is back but watch that in case you have him. Mazri is also another player who got injured and it isn't clear whether he will be back. He had hard palpitations so that might be more serious. Harry Maguire is also out. Could be my new and the yellow are also out. So that menu press conference will be interesting because who will play? Vicolenko is out and it's yet to see where he will be, come this weekend. Bernard Johnson picked up a knock playing for Wales. It is not clear whether he will be back but that is something to watch out for. Alison is out for at least a month. Sarsalukic from Fulham also picked up an injury. Wonky Chan, otherwise known as the Korean guy from Wolves got an injury and Ugar tells also sort of picked up an injury. For Bournemouth it's Tyler Adams without. For Brentford Rico Henry is out. Josh De Silva, Aaron Heke, Igo Thiago, Jenson Gustavo Nunez, Wieser and Damsgård. For Brighton, Martinelli, Addingra Van Heke, Shau Pedro, Solimarch, James Milner, George Gino and Webster are out. For Chelsea, Connie Chukwa Mecha, Kalimann and Rhys James are out. For Crystal Palace, Chadriard, Matias Franca, Dukure, Munoz and Watan are out. Apart from Minkalenko, for Everton, Brent White is still out, Hallman, Brozier, Jimmy T and Peltison are out. Carlos Vinicius and Sasa Lukich are out for Fulham. For Ipswich, Kazust, Alhamadi, Luongo and Juan Zebe are out. For Leicester, Patzandaka, Solarich, and Chaudhry are out. Apart from Alison, Kiesa and Havi Elliot are out. For Man City, Bob, RK, KDB and Wardly are out. For Newcastle, Bautmann, Lessells, Wilson, Ithak, Target, Dubravka and Tripier are out. For Nottingham Forest, we have Danilo, Sangare, Hogen Gibbs White, and Matsells. For Southampton, we have Bazunu, Solimala, Small Bowl, and Ross Stewart. For West Ham, Fulcrug is out. For Wolves, Enzo Gonzalez, Buba Catreure, Sasaka Ladsich, Yasone Mascara, Mepiu, and I've mentioned, Wang Yichan are out. So approaching Game Week 8, for me, means that I have to change what I've been doing. I have been in a recent slump. I got 38 in the two game weeks ago, and then I got 32 in this last game week. So for me, that meant I had to use my wildcard. The problem with my team is that I was entering a situation where my players were not playing, and I therefore want to use this opportunity to pick players who are in form, and players who I believe will be informed for a little bit. So I don't trust my judgment much. Well, I do, but I'm not number one in the world. So I trust number one in the world a little bit better than I do myself. So what I've done is, I've looked at a combination of the top five teams, and tried to get as many of those players into my team, so that I don't get blinded by my own judgment, but incorporate those who are performing better than I am. So to that end, I have brought in Palma, Saka, Brandon Johnson into my team, and Collins from Brantford. Yeah, then hopefully that should help change my fortunes in a positive direction. So in order to get those players, I had to release a lot of expensive defenders that I had. I had Robert Sohn, I had Vadiol, and I have decided to just move off of them for now. I've also got enough of Varyas. He's a bit expensive, and he's not sort of keeping flinch hits anymore. After all, I still have great defense, so I have Gabriel. And yeah, that's my team. You will see it. I still have Holland, and his partners would enroll him in it. I was thinking of bringing Liam de Lapin, but I just decided to go with Raoul, just for now. At the back, in case you're wondering what the rest of my defense looks like, it's just a bunch of four-point-something people. Fige from Leicester, Keen from Everton, Collins from Brantford, Lewis from Manchester City, and then Gabriel. And then my keepers are sunches and cells, but I just saw that cell is not looking so good right now. He might be injured, so I might move to a different keeper, but we will see. So the weekend we'll kick off with Alanda and Derby. Touch numbers is best-hand. Sohn, Richard Anderson and Audubar will be doubtful for this game, and full crew will be doubtful. For the West Ham side. Spurs have been in good form in the last five games, winning four of the five. They lost in a very unfortunate way to Brighton, and I'm sure they'll be looking to correct their ways in this next match. In the last five encounters, West Ham have won twice, drawn twice, and touch number one once. So it looks like West Ham are the favourite side in this encounter. West Ham hammered Ipswich last time out, with Antonio Cudus Bowen and Paqueta scoring, and literally those are the top players. I would recommend from West Ham, and then maybe Sujek because he seems to be performing more consistently this time around. From Spurs, it's very clear. It's Brennan Johnson, Cudus Hevsky, and Solanki. I wouldn't rush to Sohn just yet, because we don't know if he'll play and if he plays for how long, but those are the three are the best. Of course, Madison. So I'll put it in this order. Brennan Johnson, Madison, Solanki, Cudus Hevsky. Moving on to Fulham vs Aston Villa. Fulham lost to Man City last time out, and if you ask me, they should have won that game. If Traore was a better finisher, first of all, he wouldn't be at Fulham. But they would have won this game at least five, three, or five, four, six, four. They were just the better team in terms of chances. That were created in their clear cutness. I've never seen Kyle Walker meet to look so slow in my entire life, but they're not that much or is a different type of beast. In that game, Pereira and Muniz were the gold scorers. Emil Smithrow did not start for tactical reasons, but I believe for Aston Villa, he should be starting. Jimenez had an assist. And when I look at this team, honestly, I think Traore would be a very big wildcat. If he hits, he will hit. But the more likely people are Jimenez, who has had a goal on assisting each of the few games he has started, and Pereira, and then Emil Smithrow. If you want to gamble on the defense, that's also fine. I would suggest Robinson, because he has a potential for assists. And at this point, it seems like nobody's really keeping a clean sheet. So, you might as well get somebody who will at least contribute positive attacking returns. Aston Villa drew last time out with Manu, and it was a weird game. I thought Villa should have done more, but it just went the way it went. Watkins, Morgan Rogers, Bailey are the best attacking threats. Deenya, Consa, and Martinez are the best defensive options from their team. Out of the last five encounters, Aston Villa have won four of them. So they are clearly the favored option in this fixture. Ipswich versus Everton. Ipswich, up until last week, had been looking like they were just on the cusp of getting a victory. And then they were promptly hammered by West Ham. The hammers hammered them anyway. Everton, on the other hand, have been okay. They beat Crystal Palace, and then they drew with Newcastle. Gordon missed a penalty, they were fortunate, but they kept the clean sheet. Pickford is back. We're just waiting for Brentway to be back. And then we will be confident in this validity. This is a perfect game for both of them. I believe this is a winnable game for both of these teams. Liam DeLab, if Davis, Hutchinson, are the three players I would recommend from Ipswich, but only really get one. And that is DeLab. From Everton, you're really only getting Dominique Overglueen, Dwight McNeil. And maybe in the eye, their defense is not yet there, and they will be better once they get their people back. But for now, temporarily forget that they have defenders. So don't be tempted by Pickford. Manchester United versus Brentford. As you had a little earlier, Manchester United have a bunch of injuries. So much so it will be interesting to see who starts in this game. Their form has been poor of late, and on the other hand, Brentford have been in great form of late, scoring in like four of their games in under two minutes. Their head-to-head, they was Manu, with Brentford winning one, drawing one and losing three. But with recent form, I would believe that it would sway to Brentford. And if you believe that, Bomo should be your first option from this team. Then maybe Collins was a defender, and maybe Kavalu or Norgaard. At this point, Manchester United will just put the 11 that are available. If you believe that they will be good, I struggle to recommend the players from this team. But Fernandez, Rushford and Onana, it will be a tough one for them. Apart from the game where they scored three against Southampton, in the Premier League, they have been really struggling to score goals. They have barely gotten five goals so far. And therefore, you're more likely to get a result from their defense. Then they're orphans. But given that they have something missing players, it's a gamble. Moving on to Newcastle vs Brighton. Newcastle have been piling up injuries slowly, but surely, especially in the forward line. And a lot of responsibility has fallen onto the hands of Anthony Cordon, who cracked last time against Everton by missing the penalty. But to be fair, he probably shouldn't have been the one taking the penalty against his former club. Especially, he'd been there since he was 11. I think that was just too much for him. He should be okay in this game, alongside with Harvey Barnes. After that, either Jolynton or Gamarise would be a good option for you. Brighton, on the other hand, had quite an entertaining game last time out. Coming back from Tunil to defeat, the Spurs 3-2. Minte, Eugenio and Welbeck were the scorers. Eugenio Rutter picked up a knock and he would be doubtful for this fixture. I would encourage you to choose Welbeck, Minte or Mitoma. Don't count on Brighton defence. However, this is the kind of game which could just be Neil Neil, you know? Looking at their first five fixtures, or rather their last five fixtures, against each other, it seems like both sides tend to score. Newcastle have won two, Brighton have won one and they have drawn two. So it's an evenly matched game. So it would be hard to call. Southampton was his Leicester. Southampton were nice last time out when they played against the fellow relegation rival. They should have beaten Ipswich if it wasn't for Mossy's last minute goal. So I believe they will be very competitive in this fixture. However, I believe Leicester have returned an adjusted world to the Premier League. I am even so confident in them that I am placing one of the defenders' fires as my starting defender in this fixture. Southampton scored first against Arsenal. It wasn't good enough and they lost 3-1. Now, if you're going to choose a Southampton player, I think you really have maybe 3-2 if I'm honest two players. Dibbling and Archer. I can't see why you'd get more than one, but those are the two I'd recommend. If you're going to Leicester, Jimmy Vardy is always an option. I have brought in one another because I believe he will be good in this fixture. And if you're looking for somebody at the back, I would get fired. Leicester did beat ball mouth last time out and they looked good. Another quiet sneaky good player from that team you could get is James Justin. He has been good over the last two to three games, getting really good attacking returns. Ball mouth versus Arsenal. When looking at their recent history, Arsenal have been on top of ball mouth for the longest time. They are the better team by however you want to measure it. Their form, their recent head to head, it's just looking like ball mouth have no chance given by the stats in this fixture. However, Arsenal have potentially very many people missing out. Saka is doubtful, Havat is doubtful. Matinelli is doubtful. Don't get me wrong, they still have plenty in their time. And you've seen that since Otter got left, I'm just wondering how many players are enough to derail them a bit. Is this a number? The thing is, Ateta keeps his cards close to his chest. So we actually won't know who will be playing for real until kickoff. If Saka, Havats are back in time, they will start and it should be, I don't say routine victory, but the results should go in their favor. If everyone is fit, Saka, Havats are your top two options and then ProSAD. If Saka and Havats do not play, then it would have to be ProSAD as your first choice. And then maybe lead on the defenders. The one that you like is the right answer, although I'll probably go with Cabrio. On the Bournemouth side, this is not a game to bank on their defense. Cementio, Private, Tavernier are your best hopes for any form of returns in this fixture. Bournemouth were bitten by Leicester last time out, so I'm not sure that their confidence will be high, going from losing to Leicester, going to play the second best team in England. Arsenal beat Southampton last time out and they should continue from strength to strength. Wolves versus Manchester City, that will be the Sunday game. Now Wolves have been in poor form. To be fair to them, they have heard maybe the toughest opening fixtures of the Premier League compared to any other team. And after their next fixture, which is Brighton, things will get easier for them. They have been unable to defend. We have spoken about how losing Kilman has been detrimental to their defense. Then Moscara got injured. They've also lost NATO, which mixed harder for them to hold the ball, which means they're easier to attack and also they're not so good going forward. Having said that, Strandlassen, Aitneri and Kune are literally the only three players that you should consider from this team until somebody else shows up. From the Manchester City side, Haland, if he's in your team, should be the one. If he's not in your team, you should look into Savigno, Relish looks to have been picking up form and maybe Foden. The marquee game of the weekend will see Chelsea take on Liverpool. Apart from the very last game, the most recent encounter, which was four-one in favor of Liverpool, this encounter has generated one, two, three, four, five, six draws in the last eight fixtures. And that goes to show that this is a tight game. However, these are two new managers, Slott and Mariska. Will they open a new chapter into this rivalry? Now, Liverpool have many players coming in from far. However, Salah was sent home early and this extra few days might help him be extra prepared for the day. As for the South Americans, it'll be touch and go and I'm sure one of them will not start. And by that, it's probably Dias who may not start. But it's a big game, so it'll probably be him and Jota starting. But with Slott, he started this unpredictable rotation. Robertson and Dias did not start the last game. The game before that, Jota did not start. So he's trying to keep them fresh. I mean, they're challenging on many fronts. So maybe that's about it. But this sort of roulette is making Dias not look like such a great option because now it could be Gakapo and Nune's who play this game. We just simply do not know. Alysson is injured, Kia says injured, Elliot is injured. Which means that in goal Kalaher, if that's how you say it, will be starting. Jarrus only started the previous game because Kalaher was unavailable. Through sickness, he seems to be well now. He played for his country in International Game Week. And so he will be now the de facto number one. So if you're thinking it's Jarrus, it won't be. On the Chelsea side, Kukurea and Fofana are suspended. Which means that Liverpool will have maybe an easier time playing their defense. However, Chelsea have such a deep squad. It's probably going to be Vega who will play and make a difference. It will be interesting to see who plays in defense. I can't really tell you who that will be right now. But nobody's really entering this game thinking of Liverpool Chelsea. Ooh, ooh, let me get into Chelsea defense now. You're probably looking into their attackers. And as we have known for a while, it should be Palma, now Nicholas Jackson. The thing also with Nicholas Jackson is even better to do recommend him. It is possible that he will get suspended for the brawl that happened against Nottingham Forest. As of yet, it is now as day. I have not had anything and he's still available to play. So choose him. Him, Palma, and probably Duncan Kukure. Because my trick is injured. He may not play, but let's wait and see. But Palma and Nicholas Jackson should be your first two choices. The last match of the game equals C Nottingham Forest take on Crystal Palace. Nottingham Forest have been sneaky good this season. I thought they would struggle, but they have been much better than I had anticipated. I'm not sure what has changed, but they have been better defensively. If you saw Sells and Martinez for Chelsea go at it at the end, they made incredible saves in their Forest Chelsea game. And that has given me confidence to choose Sells as my keeper. Wood, Morgan Gibbs White is doubtful, so I wouldn't recommend him with confidence. But Wood and Hudson Adouye are your best options going forward. On the back you have Ola Ina, El Greco, Neliekovich. Sorry, Milenkovich, those should be your best options at the back. Also Sells of course. Now they are playing Crystal Palace. It's very painful to watch Crystal Palace right now. They seem to have an idea of what they want to do. They're just seeming capable of executing it. As he is not strong enough on his own, and when you see what Solise is doing in the Bundesliga, you can see that he really does deserve to be playing at Bayern Munich. Crystal Palace really had a gem. And Keche is no Oles, but maybe something will come about. But for now they are the most disappointing team so far over the season. Compared to what I thought they would be, and where they are, and how they are playing. If you are choosing a Crystal Palace player, of course Matata, Eze, and maybe Gay. Or Henderson their keeper. If you're looking at their defense, but don't get into their defense right now. Matata and Eze, but just don't get into Crystal Palace right now. Especially if you have options elsewhere. Now I'm just going to look at the fixture difficulty rating. Over the next 5 weeks, Arsenal have Bonnoth, Liverpool, Newcastle, Chelsea, Nottingham Forest. If you're looking to get out of Arsenal defenders, this is it. This is the time. Aston Villa have Fulham, Bonnmouth, Tottenham, Liverpool, Crystal Palace. So it's not as difficult as Arsenal's, but it's not easy either. Bonnmouth have Aston Villa Manchester City, then Brentford and Brighton. Don't get their defense. Brentford have Manchester United, Ipswich, Fulham, Bonnmouth, Everton. Boomo all the way. I'm just here wondering how I can get Boomo into my wildcard team. Brighton have Newcastle, Wolves, Liverpool, Manchester City and Bonnmouth. Wow, their money is going to be in for a really tough test. Chelsea have Liverpool, Newcastle, Manchester United, Arsenal and Leicester. Goodness, those are a tough bunch of fixtures. Liverpool, Arsenal, I mean. Crystal Palace have Nottingham, Spurs, Wolves, Fulham, Villa. all-rennable games and all-usable games. Everton have Ipswich, Fulham, Southampton, West Ham, Brentford. These are all-rennable games for them. Fulham have Villa, Everton, Brentford, Crystal Palace, Wolves. This could be a good time to get into Fulham. Ipswich have Everton, Brentford, Leicester, Spurs, Man United. There's nothing like an easy fix to list for Ipswich right now, so they'll just take whatever comes. Leicester have Southampton, Forest, Ipswich, Man United, Chelsea, so it increases in difficulty. But it's OK. Liverpool have Chelsea, then Arsenal, then Brighton, then Aston Villa, then Southampton. That's a bunch of tough fixtures. So far it seems like the top teams have tough fixtures coming up. It might be time to look a bit lower on the table. Having said that, Man City have Wolves, Southampton, Pournemouth, Brighton and Tottenham. Man United have Brentford, West Ham, Chelsea, Leicester, Ipswich. In theory, these are all easy games, but Man United have been unconvincing so far. But this would be a good stretch too. Remedy that. Newcastle have Brighton, Chelsea, Arsenal, Forest, West Ham. These are all tricks to fix just for them. Forest have Crystal Palace, Leicester, West Ham, Newcastle, Arsenal. So it just increases in difficulty gradually. Southampton have Leicester City, Everton, Wolves and Liverpool. Those are tough fixtures. Spurs have West Ham, Crystal Palace, Aston Villa, Ipswich and Man City. In theory, they should win three out of those five games. West Ham have Spurs, Man United, Forest, Everton and Newcastle. It's a bit of a mixed bag. I could see them winning a lot of these games, but I could see them losing two or three of them. Wolves have Manchester City, which will be a difficult game for them. Then they have Brighton, which will be less difficult than Crystal Palace, Southampton and Fulham, which are all winnable games for Wolves. So after the Man City game, it might be time to start looking at Aiknuri, Kunja and Strandlassa. And with that, I hope I've helped create more options and given you ideas of what's coming as to plan as to how to choose your players. Outside that, I hope you've rested well over this international break. Business resumes on Saturday. See you on the pitch. Bye.