It does give me a chance to move towards my plan to have five "top six" defenders at the back though. I think I'll make the actual transfers a little closer to the deadline just in case any late news comes in, but I've got my plans laid out already. (I'll post a screenshot of my team line-up at the bottom of the article when it's all done and dusted.)*
The transfers I'll be making are;
Watford's Troy Deeney out for his £4.5m teammate Isaac Success
and then;
Arsenal's Sokratis out, for Chelsea's David Luiz.
(My GW10 transfers for a minus 4 hit)
The removal of Sokratis is a little bit heartbreaking in a way, I've become a bit attached to him. He's back to full fitness now and played in last night's Europa League game, so there's a chance he could play this weekend. Though it's most likely it'll be Mustafi and Holding at the back once again. It would have been nice to have stuck it out to see him actually earn me some points, but to have left him in another week would've meant risking not having eleven players on the pitch for the second time in a row. So David Luiz seems like a sensible replacement.
The transfer in of Isaac Success is more of an enabler to allow me to make the changes to my first team that I need to make. He's pretty much just a bench option really. My main reasons for choosing him ahead of other options are as follows;
a) his price - £4.5m means I can reallocate £1.5m more to my defence.
b) he's played a part in every Watford game this season, so hopefully he's guaranteed a point off the bench if and when he's needed.
c) he started in gameweek 9, so if Deeney's injury troubles continue he could get more game time over the next few weeks.
Hopefully these changes will help get my season back on track. As for the rest of my team there are a few things of note. Firstly, I'm having to double up on Newcastle again. This is obviously a bit of a gamble, but I still feel that Newcastle have been unlucky this season. Both with their run of fixtures, and with their run of luck.
Last week's game against Brighton was a classic example. They were beaten 1-0 and suffered the wrath of the pundits once again. However, their performance wasn't actually that bad from what I saw, and they dominated the ball and the chances in the game. So I think they're due some luck. Southampton away might not be a bad place for them to start turning things around.
There are also doubts over Hazard of course, but I'll probably captain him anyway.** Likewise Gündogan remains on the injury table. I've been trying to hang on to him as I think he fits my plans going forward quite well. Plus with the way Man City rotate I wouldn't be surprised to see him straight back in for a game once he's fit. So it might be a little premature taking him out. Hopefully he'll be back sooner rather than later.
My team line-up for GW10;
(click to enlarge)
*So transfers made. All set. I've left Gündogan in the starting line-up just on the off chance that he does start, unlikely though it is. Failing that Success should come in. I was gonna have Success behind Tomkins on my bench, but given that Success started last week and Crystal Palace have a tough game against Arsenal it seems like a decent sort of gamble to take.
**With the doubts over Hazard I've decided to un-captain him and look elsewhere. At the time of writing I have it on Robertson (!), which is a slightly unconventional move. He's such a reliable grabber of bonus points though and has a great chance of a clean sheet at home to Cardiff, so it seems like a reasonable shout. My one fear being that he could be dropped what with it being the sort of tie where Klopp should feel comfortable resting players. Hopefully that won't be the case. Firmino is my go to back-up if that does happen.
After last week's shambles they'll probably both be dropped xD Hopefully all goes well though.
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