EPL EPL SC 2025/26

[Maybe Tomorrow]

Scored 73 last week.

Currently 6/73 without even using my C yet.

This game is mental at times. So so so random.

 

[SELFCONFESDAFLNERD]

Scored 73 last week.

Currently 6/73 without even using my C yet.

This game is mental at times. So so so random.

Flashbacks to when Palmer scored 4 goals in a half and 52 points. Captain palmer surpassed 100

As you said it's definitely random at times

 

[MrChristo]

The old "fine margins", that's for sure.
[Also a good reminder not to rage-trade season long assets].

Bruno had a goal denied by one of the best saves that I've ever seen. Just one example.
Kudus gets a huge deflation from a shot which could go anywhere...

Obviously the 38 game season goes a fair way to balancing that kind of stuff out, but definitely can be frustrating week to week.

Speaking of, rookie mistake by me left Caisedo's 16 on the bench. Again!
I was so busy flipping between him and Cucurella (which ironically did not make any difference at all), I completely missed the fact that Bowen was unlikely to do much.

So, I'm back having thoughts about ditching Grealish for a loop.
I'm warming to the idea that a long term Mid loop will allow me to change up formations most weeks if the least likely Mid flops.

An ominous 6/66...
...Or 7/82 and ~11 mil in the bank if I loop!

Good luck all.

 

[UnknownPlayer]

Yea Bruno was a bit frustrating. I captained him over Haaland.

I don't feel too bad about that decision given Bruno pumped out 10 in pure base

Arsenal is my loop gk so I had to VC Xavi (who played exceptionally well for his 3 points lol).

Now I'm anti sweating Haaland even though he's in my team haha.

 

[MrChristo]

And, nothing says luck/variance/fine margins like the Brighton game.

Verbruggen owners hold tough for a good stretch of games and a ball bounces off his back for Wolves only goal and banks a -1.

 

[Maybe Tomorrow]

Regained all the places I lost last week after doing no trades lol

 

[SELFCONFESDAFLNERD]

117 (Haaland)

Gvardiol and Munoz huge for me. My forwards, not so much.

I have Haaland, Salah & Watkins. The last two were terrible.

Went up to about 6100 overall

 

[SELFCONFESDAFLNERD]

Early thoughts

Porro > van Hecke
Watkins > Saka

 

[UnknownPlayer]

Rose 180 places into the top 1k

Probably won't do any trades next week.

 

[SELFCONFESDAFLNERD]

Early thoughts

Porro > van Hecke
Watkins > Saka

View attachment 2447554

Or if i really want to target the fixtures i can boost and get this.

Chelsea have an easy run until round 13 (Cucurella in)
Newcastle have an easy run until round 12 & again from 14-16 (Woltemade in)
Arsenal have an easy run until round 12 (Saka in)

Cucurella, Woltemade & Saka in for Porro, Salah & Watkins.

It feels wrong to cut both Salah & Watkins after holding for so long but they just arent returning and i think ive just got to cut my losses. The main issue is they dont even look like scoring, Villa are terrible and Liverpool are yet to really click, plus they have other assets that are outshining Salah so i think its better to try and jump on a couple 'proven' forwards with good upcoming fixtures!

 

[UnknownPlayer]

Or if i really want to target the fixtures i can boost and get this.

Chelsea have an easy run until round 13 (Cucurella in)
Newcastle have an easy run until round 12 & again from 14-16 (Woltemade in)
Arsenal have an easy run until round 12 (Saka in)

Cucurella, Woltemade & Saka in for Porro, Salah & Watkins.

It feels wrong to cut both Salah & Watkins after holding for so long but they just arent returning and i think ive just got to cut my losses. The main issue is they dont even look like scoring, Villa are terrible and Liverpool are yet to really click, plus they have other assets that are outshining Salah so i think its better to try and jump on a couple 'proven' forwards with good upcoming fixtures!

View attachment 2447566

I have a similar conundrum in regards cutting Salah

He had that one throwback game in the champions league that showed he can still produce the goods when he wants to.

I don't know what to do

 

[Plugger35]

Finished up on 90 with Haaland captain.

Not having Semenyo while having Salah and Pedro doing SFA again hurt, I'll have to look at trading at least one or both of them.

 

[SELFCONFESDAFLNERD]

I have a similar conundrum in regards cutting Salah

He had that one throwback game in the champions league that showed he can still produce the goods when he wants to.

I don't know what to do

Yeah, it is not an easy decision because like you said he did recently show how good he can be. The counter point which I will emphasise is his stats are terrible this season.

He is way down in the league for expected goals and assists and honestly if not for a couple late game returns he would objectively have had an awful season. Now I know you can't just exclude the late returns when analysing but it should be considered that he took so long to get involved in games.

Also, he just doesn't look great anymore. What is slightly significant too is that he didn't really finish last season in the EPL that well. That alone wasn't enough to dissuade me from picking him initially but now after a decent sample size this season, I think it is more indicative of a decent downward trend.

Now even after saying that, at 9mil is it definitely worth selling him? My answer is that he is far from a definite sell but I like the sideways options for him so I'll jump off.

I think I've definitely stressed that it's not an easy decision but nevertheless one I am pretty sure I will be making.

 

[Maybe Tomorrow]

I have Stach and Diouf who are probably maxxed.

Thinking Stach to Rice. Unsure on Diouf, possibly De Cuyper?

Also have Sanchez who I think I need to hold until he gains some value again. Should have traded him to Raya a few weeks ago sigh.

A bit tempted to trade Pedro to Sesko, he's starting to get into gear now, but LIV away this week isn't ideal.

 

[MrChristo]

Or if i really want to target the fixtures i can boost and get this.

Chelsea have an easy run until round 13 (Cucurella in)
Newcastle have an easy run until round 12 & again from 14-16 (Woltemade in)
Arsenal have an easy run until round 12 (Saka in)

Cucurella, Woltemade & Saka in for Porro, Salah & Watkins.

It feels wrong to cut both Salah & Watkins after holding for so long but they just arent returning and i think ive just got to cut my losses. The main issue is they dont even look like scoring, Villa are terrible and Liverpool are yet to really click, plus they have other assets that are outshining Salah so i think its better to try and jump on a couple 'proven' forwards with good upcoming fixtures!

View attachment 2447566

Just a friendly reminder that Chelsea have kept 2 clean sheets away from home since Christmas 2024.

Some of the upcoming games look easy (Burnley, maybe?), but they only have 3 home games in their next 8.
(I have had Cucurella from the get-go but I may consider moving him on soon-ish).

Watkins definitely has to go.
Woltemade is a good shout.
Saka is interesting, not 100% sure I can trust his body, but history says that he's a keeper.
Semenyo can't keep this up, but will he be any cheaper? If I don't jump now I might get left behind.

I did sell Grealish, bit of a shame, but he won't get a goal like that probably ever again. (Munoz with the assist!)

Another week heading in the right direction.
And another boring weekend ahead.

 

[MrChristo]

Yeah, it is not an easy decision because like you said he did recently show how good he can be. The counter point which I will emphasise is his stats are terrible this season.

He is way down in the league for expected goals and assists and honestly if not for a couple late game returns he would objectively have had an awful season. Now I know you can't just exclude the late returns when analysing but it should be considered that he took so long to get involved in games.

It's not even that he was "involved" late.
The Bournemouth D should have easily cleared his late goal in week 1 but stood and looked at each other.
The Burnley penalty was from a random arm as someone turned their back on a cross with about a minute to play.

He's playing wider and isn't running with the ball anywhere near as much as previously. Is it a new striker set-up?
I certainly didn't expect this much of a drop off.
His worst season in this 'game' was 10.2 average (2022/23) and his stats are way down on that.
He'll probably still have the odd 30 point game tho, which will mess with our heads.

Maybe Tomorrow Diouf has 3 decent looking home games (plus Leeds away) in his next 4, but Brighton's next 7 at home looks pretty tasty too.

 

[Dazza the Viking]

103 pts
5773 overall

I think I’m going to trade Salah out

 

[SELFCONFESDAFLNERD]

I call this tactic, load the defence! I could happily keep this defence for an extended period. Gyokeres & Watkins are weak points but both have the potential to get returns. At those price points, there isnt too much downside.

Midfield is weak too but Grealish will be back for round 9 and beyond. No rush to move King/Rodri on, will see how the chips fall.

 

[MrChristo]

It'll take some self control to ride the bumps, but good luck!

I've pretty much committed to playing 3 and maybe 4 Defenders (at least in the medium term), but 5 will definitely come with some highs and lows.

I thought I'd look into Semenyo. And fair to say that one thing absolutely stood out...

Touches, passes, shots (plus all the baseline stuff) is all very similar to last year, but he's taking better shots.

Expected goals are up by ~50%...
...BUT...
Blocked shots last season: 45.
So far this season: 2!!
(Right on about 1/5 minutes played, so well and truly unders!!)

So while yes, better shots, I'm going to say it's impossible to suggest that he'll only have 10 blocked for a season.

The other interesting thing is that he's actually down on CC and so 3 assists from just 10 CC (0 BC) is massively overperforming.

It's hardly breaking news that he won't average 15ppg all season!...but the guessing game becomes what do we think he'll average from here?

[Don't want to sway anyone, but I think 10 ppg from here is even slightly generous. Whether that's a bet that I'm willing to take, don't know yet! ]

It definitely makes Saka and Woltemade worth looking at tho.

I have no idea how Arsenal will look from week to week. None. Did not expect Saka to play 90 minutes v. West Ham!

Newcastle haven't really looked like scoring away from home tho.
Leeds, Villa, BM. All ok defensively, but hardly brick walls.
Only scored 1 at home to Wolves...
I guess the 'good' news is that he's involved!...but with 4 of their next 6 away and Man City being one of the home games...
Not sure I'm that brave either.

(Just as an aside, I'm FH'ing in FPL and Mateta is in for sure. I reckon he'll do some damage this week).

Urgh, maybe playing only 2 up front is an option...

 

[SELFCONFESDAFLNERD]

It'll take some self control to ride the bumps, but good luck!

I've pretty much committed to playing 3 and maybe 4 Defenders (at least in the medium term), but 5 will definitely come with some highs and lows.

I thought I'd look into Semenyo. And fair to say that one thing absolutely stood out...

Touches, passes, shots (plus all the baseline stuff) is all very similar to last year, but he's taking better shots.

Expected goals are up by ~50%...
...BUT...
Blocked shots last season: 45.
So far this season: 2!!
(Right on about 1/5 minutes played, so well and truly unders!!)

So while yes, better shots, I'm going to say it's impossible to suggest that he'll only have 10 blocked for a season.

The other interesting thing is that he's actually down on CC and so 3 assists from just 10 CC (0 BC) is massively overperforming.

It's hardly breaking news that he won't average 15ppg all season!...but the guessing game becomes what do we think he'll average from here?

[Don't want to sway anyone, but I think 10 ppg from here is even slightly generous. Whether that's a bet that I'm willing to take, don't know yet! ]

It definitely makes Saka and Woltemade worth looking at tho.

I have no idea how Arsenal will look from week to week. None. Did not expect Saka to play 90 minutes v. West Ham!

Newcastle haven't really looked like scoring away from home tho.
Leeds, Villa, BM. All ok defensively, but hardly brick walls.
Only scored 1 at home to Wolves...
I guess the 'good' news is that he's involved!...but with 4 of their next 6 away and Man City being one of the home games...
Not sure I'm that brave either.

(Just as an aside, I'm FH'ing in FPL and Mateta is in for sure. I reckon he'll do some damage this week).

Urgh, maybe playing only 2 up front is an option...

Yeah Semenyo will come back down to earth at some stage but the numbers are good and while what he is doing is unsustainable, behind Haaland he looks the best forward. Its debatable whether he is worth bringing in t his current price but i wouldnt be surprised if he averaged 11.5-12.5 from now on. That is obviously a bit of a drop from 15 but i do think around 12 ppg from now is sustainable.

Ive looked at both Saka & Woltemade and while i think both are decent at their current prices, they dont jump out at me as must haves. Like you mentioned, Newcastle havent really been attacking that well and while Woltemade is making the most of somewhat limited opportunities, there is no certainty that continues. The fixtures are fairly good and at that price i wouldnt tell anyone not to pick him but ive personally gone for Gyokeres as a cheaper option.

As for Saka, he is always an injury risk with the way he throws himself into contests but he is a good asset at a very reasonable price. Not sure he stays on penalties but he is always an assist and goal threat from open play. Minutes may not be perfect but he can do a lot of damage in 70-75 minutes anyway. Not ruling out him playing 90 in certain games too. If i had more $ in the bank i would go Saka but i dont so ill give him a miss. I would say, as good as he is, he isnt really the type to get 3-4 returns and score 30+ He can do it, and i can see him scoring 20s but i dont think he is as goal hungry as someone like Semenyo. Good pick though for sure. If he does well this round i will probably look to find the funds to upgrade Watkins to him.

 

[MrChristo]

Saka averaged 12.2 in games of over 70 minutes last season...
...but scored just 1 goal (0 assists) in 9 games after his injury lay off.

Funny year. Usually we're spoilt for choice up Forward, now we're trying to pluck someone who might av. 10+.

Also, Salah just scored 2 goals...

 

[SELFCONFESDAFLNERD]

Lots of experimenting and now thinking i may keep Salah for the moment.

With Palmer out for another 3-4 weeks at least i think Enzo Fernandes is a great option. Chelsea also have great fixtures.

So im doing Pedro Porro, Grealish & Watkins > Cucurella, E.Fernandes & Gyokeres

Definitely playing the fixtures as Arsenal & Chelsea have a great run coming up.

I didnt really want to trade Grealish but i think its worth it to get Fernandes in.

So now im hoping for a big performance from Salah against Man U.

Eze was also on my radar but went Enzo instead

 

[vsberlina]

Mbeumo and Cunha did well last season in non top sides.
Mbeumo avg was 11.7, which was the 3rd best avg overall.
So let's assume that Semenyo can match those heights.
Mbeumo scored 446 pts. So far, Semenyo has scored 109.
So if he was to score another 337 pts in the next 31 GWs, he'd avg 10.9.
If I was full premium and money wasn't an issue, I'd get him.
But I think money is still relevant, so probably a pass for me.
Those that got him last week won't be complaining, but there's lots of GWs to go.
Whether opportunity costs present themselves, time will tell.

 

[MrChristo]

Spot on, I reckon.

(To probably go full circle here)...
...I can't see a Mid that I trust/desperately want (*) so I think I will stick with 3x Forwards.

100% agree with those numbers, but I'm really struggling to convince myself about anyone else.

Mbeumo himself could be an option.
He won't reach the heights of last season (massively over-performed), but has averaged right around 9 ppg in the 2 seasons prior with similar numbers.

A bit like Salah, he's not dribbling as much as in the past, but somehow still getting dispossessed more! So he's probably a bit less than 1 ppg down on the baseline stuff, but does have a good run of games do the goals and assists could come...

There's absolutely a world where I could see myself buying Salah this week too...

I just can't bring myself to trust any Arsenal players. Eze would be my pick I think if I had to, but so many players who can play so many roles...

(*) Just a word of caution that Enzo F just withdrew from the Argentina squad with knee "inflammation", but I suspect it's a good excuse to head back to London asap.

 

[Maybe Tomorrow]

Still looking to go Diouf to van Heckie and Stach to someone.

Rice the obvious option. Minteh interests me as a POD. Probably a bit overpriced though. Consistent scoring this season though.