FPL Wrapped - International Break

International Break… right up there as two of the worst words to have next to one another. Let’s talk Gameweek 4, our teams and all the usual good stuff.

Table of Contents

• Harry's Team

• Ross's Team

• Oscar's Team

• Harry's Captaincy Rankings

• Experts Transfers

• Clean Sheet Odds

So it sadly does look like Sarr is going to be out which makes my Gameweek 4 team look below par. However, I still do not think it will force me to play the wildcard this early. This is mainly down to not thinking we have enough information to actually pick a robust wildcard for the long term. The season has started off very turbulently and I just don’t think enough has been solidified to play this chip.

Now I could also consider a free hit given I don’t have any Crystal Palace if Sarr is out, only Salah from Liverpool and no Arsenal. However, I tend to want to free hit when I expect my team to look much better after this bad week which I don’t think it will do I conclude the free hit won’t fix my issues.

So I plan to either make 1 transfer or take an early -4 to fix a couple of issues. This would be removing Sarr and upgrading a defender to bring in someone like Munoz or Lacroix into my defence.

Theo most likely scenario is is Agbadou to Lacroix and Sarr to Grealish or Kudus although downgrading to Paqueta or Dewsbury-Hall is also a consideration.

Captaincy

1. Salah vs BUR (a) - I think Salah being top is fairly self explanatory even with the form he has shown over the first 3 weeks. The most reliable option at Liverpool particularly when it comes to minutes with Isak joining and champions league starting midweek.

2. Haaland vs MUN (H) - Manchester United have probably looked slightly better this season compared to last but it definitely has not elevated them defensively. Conceding two against Burnley last week and now going up against a Manchester City team and Haaland who has a pretty good record against them.

3. As it’s early international break I’m going to list a few options in the number 3 spot to consider. If you don’t own Mo Salah I do expect Gakpo, Ekitike and even Wirtz to start who should get chances against Burnley. If Cole Palmer is back available for Brentford away he has to be right up there as well. Finally Mateta at home to Sunderland. With the injuries they have Mateta will have to score some goals if Palace are going to continue to perform.

Hello everyone! I hope you are having a wonderful international break.

I am actually really happy with my team as things stand, which is usually not a good sign… but I think the fixtures line up quite well this week for the likes of Wirtz and Kudus, and very happy to already have 2 Palace players in place in Richards and Mateta.

The only 3 players which probably don’t look ideal on paper for GW4 are Williams, Bruno, and Reijnders. Bruno and Reijnders though I am happy enough with. As much as I can see the Manchester derby being a low scoring affair, you never know.

So, really, the transfer which makes the most sense this week, if I am to make one, is to sell Williams or Diouf for Munoz. I am tempted to make this move as I would love to own Munoz, but then again I would not be surprised if Palace concede against a very decent looking Sunderland team, and an extra week of info and 2 free transfers could be massive. For example, if Semenyo looks excellent again, I might want to do Reijnders to Semenyo instead. Or, even sell Watkins to Isak in GW5!

I am probably about 50% likely to roll, 40% likely to make the move of Diouf/Williams to Munoz, and 10% likely to make another move.

The international break could throw numerous other issues my way though, so I’m not worrying too much right now about my exact plans.

Having sold Palmer before the break I do at least have a third slot available after Guiu’s return, so I’m considering selling Watkins for Joao Pedro or Mateta. Originally I had planned to sell Rogers for Sarr though he has a rumoured hamstring injury and I won’t take any chances if he’s even a doubt for GW4, which is a shame because SUN (H) is such an amazing fixture. There are no Sarr alternatives I like more than Rogers. So the question is whether to roll with the Villa double up for two more gameweeks and get that BUR (A) fixture in GW5 out of them, or make a move like Watkins to Joao Pedro/Mateta. The Delap injury has only added to Joao Pedro’s appeal as well, though I still expect early subs. Villa have made a few signings at the end of the transfer window in Sancho + Elliott particularly, so I’m now leaning towards rolling. I'm hoping Gakpo is safe for a few more gameweeks following Isak’s arrival at Liverpool, and ideally it’s Ekitike vs Isak primarily. If that’s how things play out then I think Gakpo could be extremely underrated, but right now he is a risky pick with that uncertainty. Salah captain, Gyokeres vice captain.

This week’s winner scored 17 points after wildcarding, from a rank of 2.4K, down to 520K. Ouch.