Over nine million people live in London currently. There are 13 football league clubs situated within the capital city’s boundaries. Six of those teams are in the Premier League for the 2021/22 campaign. That means a lot of loyalties will be tested in FPL week in, week out. However, there’s no room for sentiment in fantasy football.
FPL Teams Taking Shape
With the first few gameweeks of the Premier League now completed, many FPL managers are seeing their selections taking some shape. Most will have built their ‘first elevens’ around the usual stars who may be considered ‘must-have’. Such players include Liverpool’s Mohamed Salah, Manchester United’s Bruno Fernandes, and Spurs’ Harry Kane.
Cristiano Ronaldo sensationally returned to Old Trafford ahead of the transfer deadline and has been given a 12.5 million starting price-tag in FPL. Thousands, if not millions, of players will be rejigging their selections to fit the Portuguese legend in somehow.
Ronaldo may be a nailed-on starter for Ole Gunnar Solskjær’s side every week but that won’t be the case for every player in the game. Your best bet is to check the expected lineups Premier League ahead of each gameweek deadline. After having a look, you can then make informed decisions about your transfers, starting eleven, and the order you have your substitutes in.
Football in London
After wildly varying degrees of success in their opening games, Spurs and Arsenal bookend the league table. The Gunners have lost their opening three games, leaving them bottom of the pile after their worst start to a season since 1954.
Arsenal faced a tough opening fixture list, meeting both Chelsea and Manchester City in their first three outings. What will really gall the Arsenal fans is the sight of their north London rivals Spurs sitting top of the table after a very solid start under new boss Nuno Espírito Santo.
London players are lighting up the FPL already too. Spurs’ Hugo Lloris is the early pace-setter among the goalkeepers with three consecutive clean sheets. Marcos Alonso of Chelsea is the highest scoring defender so far while West Ham’s Michail Antonio is the top-scoring forward and best FPL player overall. Saïd Benrahma is another one of The Hammers to impress so far with two goals and two assists in three games.
Thomas Tuchel and David Moyes are enjoying life at Chelsea and West Ham respectively. Both managers have their teams playing an expansive style of football that is particularly easy-on-they-eye. The goals are flowing, especially in West Ham United’s case.
Newly-promoted Brentford will be delighted with their start to life in the top flight under Thomas Frank. The Bees are undefeated after three games and beat Arsenal 2-0 in their first match.
Crystal Palace are still finding their feet under Patrick Vieira with two points earned so far. Interestingly, they have not travelled outside of London yet. They lost at Chelsea before drawing at home to Brentford and away to West Ham.
Injured FPL Players
With players on their international break at the moment, Premier League fans everywhere will be hoping their players return unscathed from duty. FPL managers have to keep a close eye on all injuries and developments around fitness too.
There are sites that provide up-to-the-minute information and they must be used whenever possible. You will learn which ones are the most trustworthy and up-to-date with their information and go from there.
You should also consider match fitness when looking at players returning from long-term injuries. They won’t be just thrust back into the starting eleven immediately. It’s more likely they will make some substitute appearances first to gradually get their fitness levels back to the level needed to start a game.
Suspended Players in FPL
As well as injuries, those dreaded yellow and red cards lead to players missing out on fixtures too. If a Premier League player accumulates five yellow cards in the first half of the season, they will miss the next game. This rule continues for the next five yellows, and so on for the season.
If a Premier League player is sent off in a game after a second yellow card, he will miss one match through suspension. The same punishment applies for a player who gets a straight red card for a professional foul. Any form of dissent leading to a red card normally comes with a two-match ban. If someone is sent off for what is deemed to be violent conduct, they will be suspended for three games, maybe more.
The official FPL site is probably the best source of information when it comes to player suspensions and who is or is not available. Be sure to check it each week before setting your team.
A Lot to Consider
FPL really has grown to be the thinking person’s game. And rightly so. We all love a good strategy challenge. Of course, some luck is involved over the course of a season but, in the end, the cream always rises to the top!
