Instinctive

Liverpool vs. Brighton | Predicted Lineup:

The Wieffer Conundrum Mitigating weaknesses, maximising skillsets

The Wieffer Conundrum

I analyse what Wieffer's best position is, and how to best mitigate players' weaknesses and amplify their strengths.

— Mistimed tackles and a lack of mobility
— A momentum problem
— Systemic influences
— Volume of duels

OUT NOW: instinctive.substack.com/p/the-wieffe... 👈

— Sees the pass early; bends his run into space
— Receives and swivels on the half-turn
— Leverages a stiff arm (whilst still swivelling)
— Triggers his shot early (still swivelling)

That's my CF 💃

Gameweek 14: 15.1k → 9.3k

Brighton’s low block looks really good. Minteh and de Cuyper are dropping back fast enough that even Wieffer/Dunk jump they have sweepers behind. It’s more sustainable than what we’ve seen in the past (phew).

If you’re fit, able to run and run and run, hard to shake off the ball, and good in the air, you’ll get results.

While this may be oversimplified/reductive, Brighton’s ceiling is (sorta) be limited by player retention. Keep top-end talent longer -> get proportionate results.

BUT at least current recruitment is doing a good job of maximising the floor (physicality + set-piece efficiency).

Scouting Yankuba Minteh Brighton's most explosive talent... ever?

SCOUTING YANKUBA MINTEH

In this deep dive, I analyse why I believe Minteh will become one of the best/most explosive wingers in the world:

— Profiling and Usage
— Dribbling Style and Relentless
— Efficiency in 1v1s
— Defensive Movement + Duels

OUT NOW: instinctive.substack.com/p/scouting-y... 👈

Scouting Yankuba Minteh Brighton's most explosive talent... ever?

SCOUTING YANKUBA MINTEH

In this deep dive, I analyse why I believe Minteh will become one of the best/most explosive wingers in the world:

— Profiling and Usage
— Dribbling Style and Relentless
— Efficiency in 1v1s
— Defensive Movement + Duels

OUT NOW: instinctive.substack.com/p/scouting-y... 👈

Brighton vs. West Ham | Predicted Lineup:

As for Danny Welbeck, I think you can assume his minutes to be around 80, but with relatively harsh decay moving forward.

I would throttle his minutes on both sides of a midweek fixture, and a benching in one of those games is almost guaranteed.

I do not expect this to be the case every week, but he should do so occasionally. There are alternatives though, and Hürzeler will ultimately always pick the most physically intense team.

4. Ferdi Kadioğlu was struggling a bit vs. Villa, so there is a chance de Cuyper starts at LB, but I wouldn't read too much into this.

All in all, I do not think things look brilliant for de Cuyper this week, but in the absence of Mitoma he should get a few games at LW.

...could return to the LW spot and you have a more physical midfield, which is something you need vs. West Ham.

But if Georginio is out, and Gruda isn't ready for a successive start, we could see Hinshelwood play as the 10, once again shunting Gómez to CM and de Cuyper to LW.

The thing is, Gómez has also played 174 minutes over those few days and plays an inherently demanding role.

3. Brighton now have a few CM options available.

Let's assume Yasin Ayari is unavailable. Even then, Brighton could feasibly start a pivot of Hinshelwood and Baleba, meaning Gómez...

de Cuyper, on the other hand, has played 174 minutes over the span of two days after not having played a lot of football before that.

2. Hürzeler has said that Diego Gómez playing as a CM benefits de Cuyper when it comes to associations/connections.

1. Hürzeler cited fatigue and set pieces as two main reasons for Brighton's loss to Villa.

Welbeck not coming on for Tzimas shows that he isn't ready for such fixture congestion, but is good for West Ham and, in the absence of Tzimas (potentially Georginio), should mean a floor of ~80 minutes.

Some things to consider if you're looking at de Cuyper/Welbeck in FPL 📝

Actually, how's about 9 AM instead?

My scouting report on Yankuba Minteh will be out tomorrow at 4 PM GMT (instinctive.substack.com).

It's a fun one, as I analyse why I believe Minteh's output will skyrocket [soon].

What using your momentum to get your entire body weight in front of your marker looks like:

65% maybe? And yes

Brighton vs. Aston Villa | Predicted Lineup:

GW 13: 84 points

I may have to extend Minteh's zone of doing stuff to the entire pitch...

Update — It's continued confusingly:

A major reason Brighton's build-up play is controlled yet still unpredictable, is because of the way Mats Wieffer, Jan Paul van Hecke, and Lewis Dunk influence large distances:

Wieffer: Better as a DM in possession, but far better as a RB out of possession (accessing angles).

His current roles let him drift centrally while playing as an RB, meaning he has the whole pitch to access while taking away 50% of his defensive decision-making.

It’s perfect.

My latest scouting report has started off positively:

My new scouting report has started off positively: