Firstly let's review GW30 briefly.
Gameweek Points: 45
Gameweek Rank: 4,485,538
Overall Rank: 253,361
I went into 30 with high hopes, but it ended up being a washout. There was a tiny bit of bad luck given Grealish, Cancelo, Bale and Antonio got just 37 minutes between them. That was a big chunk of my potential gone. With Son just getting 45 minutes too I was really flagging.
Kane turned out to be the best captain option, but I was happy enough with the 5 from Fernandes. I never go into gameweeks feeling greedy with the captaincy. As long as I get something it goes down as a win. So I think the problem lies with the rest of my team..
..hence my wildcard this week
I updated my wildcard draft on Tuesday and haven't changed it since. It's currently about an hour 'til deadline and I'm trying to squeeze in all the podcasts and team news just in case I'm making any big mistakes.
Other than that though it's all pretty settled.
I feel like I'm doing my own thing. I imagine it'll be quite different to most wildcards this week. Meaning it'll no doubt make or break my end to the season -- either I'll get a nice boost from the differentials and start climbing again, or I'll sink like a stone as I miss out on not owning key players.
Salah and Jota being my primary worries.
(how things are looking)
I'll start with the keepers. I'm spending 10.5m combined, which is a lot, but it seems like a nice way to keep invested in City without worrying about rotation. When Sánchez comes in for the blank GW33 he's got Sheffield United, so that's a decent little substitution.
The two Wolves players should be good differentials too. They're definitely both a punt. I wouldn't be surprised to get five blanks in a row, especially with Neto. However, those five fixtures are unbelievable on paper. So coupled with the price I'm happy to go with it.
Wolves play tonight, so I could be regretting this wildcard after the first game 😱 Hopefully not though.
As noted above the Liverpool picks could be the major difference. Opting for three defenders over Jota and/or Salah is a big, big risk. In many ways I'm returning to type and going back to the philosophy I had at the start of the season. Trent and Robbo offer huge potential in comparison to most defenders at other clubs (unfulfilled potential of course this season, but still huge potential). Whereas in midfield there are other big hitting options. I'd probably have to lose Son or Fernandes to bring in Salah. So I'm essentially hoping Son + Robertson gets me more than Salah + [a cheaper defender].
Though it's still possible I may make this move to get Salah for the last four games, when the Spurs fixtures tail off a bit.
Lingard and Iheanacho aren't players I would normally go for, but I'm copying the crowd and the form somewhat with these picks. I'm hoping they'll do well, but I'm not as emotionally invested the same way I am with the other picks. Funny how these things work.
Finally, Danny Ings is the big detour from the crowd. Especially with me captaining him. Not owning Salah means there isn't an obvious captain choice for me this week, so it seems like a good opportunity to roll the dice a little. I think he looked sharp too in the last game.
Also Southampton should have a double at some point, so I like the idea of holding him for that. When I started looking at the wildcard options one of the things that stood out was the lack of attackers. With Antonio injured that's heightened further, so Ings could maybe step up and be one of the big scorers.
This does mean I'll have Son, Kane and Ings all blanking in GW33. I'll have a decent full playing eleven though with the rest. So I could hold all three. Do the hokey-cokey with one, or if Spurs don't impress just ditch Son altogether.
Right, anyway, that's enough typing (well done if you've stuck around this far). Time to see what the gameweek gives us.
Overall Points: 1868
Overall Rank: 253,361
