FPL Ferris

Moving into the midfielders, my preferred set up is to focus on budget midfielders who offer a ton of value. I'll dedicate a separate section to this in it's entirety.

My very basic advice is to prioritize the defenders at the top of this table with the most goal threat.

It's not rocket science.

The way that I view the defensive position is perhaps more conservative than others, but this has largely rewarded me this season.

Players such as Pedro Porro, Rico Lewis, Gvardiol (to a lesser extent), Digne are all major avoids. Here is the OPTA xGC for the halfway point of the season.

Id like to spend a little time discussing the goalkeeper position which has rewarded the bold.

Players such as Jordan Pickford, Mats Selz have considerably more points, at a lower price than even David Raya.

These are "Defense First" football clubs and should be seriously considered.

As we reach the halfway point of the season we have a considerable amount of data amassed, but we do not need more than our eyes to see that Mo Salah is a world class players and is absolutely ESSENTIAL. #FPL #LFC #Salah

Happy new year to everyone! I hope it is a good one. I'd like to spend some time discussing my thoughts on the wildcard part 2 chip in #FPL

#Newcastle predicted lineup #FPL

Dubravka
Tino Schar Burn Hall
Bruno Tonali Willock
Murphy Isak Gordon

Newcastle lack of European football this year means they have the ability of entering today's match with few minutes concerns. Trippier dropped for injury, Joelington 5 YC suspension.

Brentford have displayed fantastic overall home form and are the best scoring home team in the premier League. They've slowed down a bit recently, as injuries have disrupted their side.

Despite this, they may never find a better time to play Liverpool or City, with the festive period = fatigue

The inclusion of Sancho vs Neto is a toss up essentially. Madueke is expected to return to the side, with Maresca clearly pushing him to reach his top levels.

Ispwich displayed great defensive resilience vs Arsenal, so it's unlikely to see major shifts in defense, a clean sheet imperative.

#Palmer is a player I predict to start from the bench. Joao Felix has found it hard to find minutes, as Maresca has made it clear that Neto and Sancho are his preferred wingers, with Felix playing understudy to Palmer in the 10.

One would suspect this is the match where he gets his opportunity.

This lineup may come as a surprise to most, with Palmer dropped from the side. Ongoing rumblings in the #Chelsea fanbase and media sphere have begun, as late substitutions vs Fulham and Everton led to questions if Maresca is displaying enough trust in his squad.

#FPL predicted lineup

#Chelsea

Jorgensen
Gusto Tosin Colwill Cucu
Caicedo Enzo
Sancho Felix Madueke
Nkunku

Admiteddly, as a Chelsea fan, the lack of rotation has begun to become a frustration to many Chelsea fans, with late substitutions vs Fulham and Everton leading to dropped points.

#FPL predicted lineup.

#Liverpool

Allison
Trent Gomez VVD Tsimikas
Mac Allister Gravenberch Jones
Diaz Jota Salah

Arne Slot has been relatively easy to predict this season as he looks to put a vice grip on his significant title lead. Jones coming in for suspended Szoboslai. Robbo rested.

It's another week where De Bruyne will likely be building up fitness with Pep thinking likely longer term with the champions league run in mind. It's been a stop start season for De Bruyne who only played 15 minutes against Everton Thursday.

Foden has really struggled to find form, let's see.

#FPL predicted lineups as we approach the deadline!

Manchester City

Ortega
Gvardiol Ake Akanji Lewis
Kovacic Bernardo
Doku Foden Savinho
Haaland

Citys injury problems persist with continuous issues in defense. Gvardiol/Lewis being the only asset worth picking due to decent XGI threat

I'm going Isak.

Great question. It really depends on how much risk you want to run with the lower table teams offering some crazy upside due to the "5 place" bonus.

I'm feeling that in order to drive my rank, it will be Thomas Frank of Brentford. This will be for the start of the New year, Sou A, MCI H, LIV H

Great work focal

This will likely be my time to use the wildcard, but you really never know with FPL. Here's to hoping my team can avoid injuries and I can bank enough free transfers by then.

Best of luck to everyone who read!

This leaves a budget of 3.7m in the transfer budget. With the new year around the corner, I plan on using the Manager chip ASAP as it requires you to spend up to 1.5m.

Following the 3 GW's of my assistant manager, we will be nearing a Saka return, with February projected for his return date.

The bench includes many issues. Fabianski with a head injury means my 4.0m GK is no longer earning points. Greaves is reintroduced to the team, but in a 5 back formation, let's see if that sticks. Van den Berg still injured. Wissa makes up my final attacker, but is benched facing Arsenal.

#Rogers makes up the final asset and has been a mainstay since gameweek one. He continues to impress. He is likely going to cost 7-7.5m next year, so don't feel you missed the train if you end up buying at 5.4m as opposed to the 5m original price. I sense he could be a future penalty taker too.

#Isak is the focal point of this Newcastle team. He's getting back to his best form, but frankly, I believe he still has more to prove. I am expecting a mega haul, and possible hat trick, as the United team is low on morale, and Newcastle, frankly we're unlucky to only score 3 vs Villa.

#Newcastle assets include the double up of Murphy and Isak. #Murphy was my differential pick for Saka's injury. He's unbelievable value at 5m. It's clear Eddie Howe is a big fan, as he's continued to earn good minutes despite Harvey Barnes electric form. This is also to help fit Gordon at LW.

#Chelsea assets include Enzo, Palmer, and Jackson. Rotation with this Chelsea team would make sense, and there is genuine fear of that, particularly for Jackson. Nkunku has been linked with a January move however, so it is possible he isn't used from the start. Enzo and Palmer expected to start

#Salah owners have been killing me over the past weeks, as I've tried to play a differential with the armband. He's an easy captaincy option, however, I'm too far deep and need to see Palmer and Isak haul to make up for previous errors on my part.

#Liverpool triple up includes Trent, Joe Gomez, and Mo Salah.
Similar to Timber, I made the move for Gomez even though he's a notorious goal/assist avoider. He offers great value at 4.9m, but he's an avoid with Konate nearing return to training. Trent will do well to increase attacking returns

#Arsenal defenders are an absolute essential. Following the news on injury to Ben White, I made it a priority to sign Timber who is still a fantastic price at 5.7m. He offers some threat from set pieces, and often is often an integral part of build up play, offering good bonus point potential.

#Gameweek19

After a tricky 3 day turnaround, I'm sticking with players who I believe are too integral to their respective teams to be dropped.

Details on picks to follow.

What champions league game are you tuning into?

Manchester City have to end a drought.
Arsenal vs Sporting Europa League rematch.
Bayern vs PSG interesting with the managerial changes.