Fantasy Premier League: Strategic Transfers and Chip Usage Analysis

Key Quotes

"so let's start with captaincy for this week and it's pretty straightforward it's just erling haaland as it usually is when he has a good home fixture and west ham at home is a good fixture defensively they've just been poor for most of this season and the underlying numbers haven't really improved under new you know so if you've got haaland he's the default captain there's not really too many reasons to go against him this week i don't think"

Andy, the podcast host, argues that Erling Haaland is the default captaincy choice for the current gameweek due to a favorable home fixture against West Ham. He highlights that West Ham's defensive performance has been poor, and their underlying metrics have not improved, making Haaland a strong candidate for captaincy.

"if you do want to go different or you just don't own haaland foden is definitely a great option as well exactly the same fixture really good minutes we will see the team that man city put out tonight in the carabao cup but i'm expecting even foden to be rested in that and even if he isn't he's going to play against west ham the minutes just look really good right now so he's a good alternative"

Andy explains that Phil Foden is a strong alternative captaincy option if a manager does not own Haaland or wishes to choose a different player. He notes that Foden is expected to receive good minutes, even potentially being rested in a cup match, and will face West Ham, making him a viable choice.

"the only thing i can recommend is getting to a transfer planner like the one on fantasy football hub and just go through the next three weeks and see where your team looks the worst like for me i've already used my chips so obviously i've planned my transfers a little bit differently but this week i kind of look okay i wouldn't say i need a free hit this week so 18 or 19 are going to be worse teams so i need to use mine in 18 or 19 and that's basically what i would recommend you do"

Andy advises listeners to utilize a transfer planner, such as the one on Fantasy Football Hub, to assess their team's weaknesses over the next three gameweeks. He suggests that this planning is crucial for deciding the optimal time to use chips like the Free Hit, recommending that if the current week looks strong, the chip might be better saved for gameweeks 18 or 19.

"i wish i had like a set of rules this is when you're aggressive this is when you're not fpl doesn't really work like that like week to week your feelings about a move can change and it does sound really wishy washy and i wish i had a better way to put it but sometimes it is just a feeling about a transfer if you've hesitated at any point about making this move it probably tells me you shouldn't necessarily be aggressive this time and maybe saving that transfer for next week might allow you to be aggressive in a different way right or not even aggressive maybe it just lets you handle a suspension or an injury a little bit better"

Andy discusses the difficulty of providing definitive rules for aggressive transfers in Fantasy Premier League, stating that it often comes down to a feeling or intuition about a move. He suggests that hesitation about a transfer might indicate it's not the right time to be aggressive, and saving the transfer could provide more flexibility for future situations like suspensions or injuries.

"so is it reasonable to sell saka for foden and taking into account the next eight fixtures for both of them short answer is yes it's absolutely reasonable and for some teams it may make sense to make that move longer answer it feels weird to say yes it's reasonable because last week in game week 16 i made three free transfers to get foden specifically so that i didn't have to sell saka in game week 17 so i still really like him as a short to medium to maybe even long term pick and i don't really want to sell him but i did think about it"

Andy states that it is reasonable to consider selling Bukayo Saka for Phil Foden, especially when looking at their upcoming fixtures. He acknowledges that while he personally made moves to keep Saka, the idea of selling him for Foden is a valid consideration for some teams, particularly due to potential money freeing up and captaincy considerations.

"so is it worth changing squad structure if i still have bench boosts left for example getting someone like bowen or calvert lewin or should i just play mark gearing which is quite an interesting question after we've just spoken about maybe going 4 5 1 this again is one of those answers where it kind of just comes down to gut feeling i'm pretty sure if i had bench boosts left i would not just play gearing he's a one pointer at best you would think and he might not even get on the pitch it's just wrong to bench boost with three players i just don't think i could do it"

Andy expresses his strong opinion that it is not advisable to use the Bench Boost chip with a player like Mark Guéhi, who is considered a low-scoring option and might not even play. He believes that if a manager still has the Bench Boost chip available, they should adjust their squad structure to include more reliable players, rather than settling for a player like Guéhi.