GW 30: Togga Player Picks

Gameweek 30, the final frontier before we venture out into the wilderness of disrupted Gameweeks to come. A few weeks ago, I warned that something wicked would come our way. We can now hear the rapidly approaching train, whistling as it readies for a stop that will unleash all manner of horrors to the fantasy manager’s carefully constructed lineup. The wicked train’s stop, you ask? It’s Gameweek 31.

Please stay tuned to NMA ahead of the 31st match week of this EPL season as we will cover all manner of strategy for all of the most popular fantasy platforms.

On to my Gameweek 30 Togga player picks.

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Goalkeeper

Martin Dubravka (Home to Southampton)

Newcastle new keeper, the Slovakia international Dubravka, has been so much better than the bodies poor Rafa Benitez had to roll out to The Toons goal, it’s not even funny. Admittedly this pick is a gamble as Newcastle haven’t conceded all that many shots on target over the past three games, which means that Dubravka will have to rely on a clean sheet to earn points. Home to Southampton is one of the best bets for a clean sheet this weekend.

If you don’t fancy the gamble, Swansea’s Lukasz Fabianski (Huddersfield away) is always a good choice. Many Togga managers may fancy Chelsea’s Thibaut Courtois home to Crystal Palace. I don’t. Chelsea’s defense has been conceding goals, and Crystal Palace did some attacking damage to The Great Wall of Manchester (David de Gea) on Monday.

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Defenders

James Tarkowski (@ West Ham); Christopher Schindler (Home to Swansea); Alfie Mawson (@ Huddersfield Town); Shane Duffy (@ Everton); Marcos Alonso (Home to Crystal Palace); Craig Dawson (Home to Leicester); Harry Maguire (@ West Brom)

Given the fixtures, I’m in the mood to pick some differential defenders this week. This list contains some of my favorite “Togga hack” defenders such as Duffy (so many aerial duels won!) and Craig Dawson (a huge goal threat), as well as trustworthy players such as Tarkowski and Maguire who tend to do really well and can be picked with confidence against most opponents (never against City however!). If I were to pick four from this list, my current thinking is Alonso, Tarkowski, Maguire and Schindler.

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Midfielders

Riyad Mahrez (@ West Brom); Eden Hazard and/or Willian (Home to Palace); Leroy Sane and/or Kevin De Bruyne (@ Stoke); Christian Eriksen and/or Son Heung-Min (@ Bournemouth); Johann Berg Gudmunsson (@ West Ham)

I’ll certainly be picking a Manchester City player; my preference is for Sane, but we’ll have to see who starts as there might be some rotation risks for the Monday game at Stoke. I will most definitely be picking Wondergoal Mahrez as well as a Chelsea Blue (Hazard is only Togga royalty if he starts on the wings; he’s worthless playing the false nine) and a Spurs midfielder. The only other player I am considering is one of my new favorite Togga players, the Icelandic Gudmunsson.

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Forwards

Mo Salah (@ Manchester United); Glenn Murray (@ Everton); Ashley Barnes (@ West Ham); Christian Benteke (@ Chelsea); Troy Deeney (@ Arsenal); Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang (Home to Watford); Harry Kane (@ Bournemouth); Whomever Start for City at Stoke

This is strange! Look at the fixtures list and tell me if you agree/disagree with me that the away strikers are, like, waaaaaay more tempting than anything the home teams can offer us this weekend!

Salah is always under consideration, even at Old Trafford, as is Harry Kane at Bournemouth. I’m also considering a few scrappy types in good form such as Barnes and Murray. Benteke will always get his Togga points given his uncanny ability to collect phantoms, and he has already netted a goal in 2018. Watford’s Deeney is in great form and has an attractive matchup at capitulating Arsenal. Likewise, Aubameyang has been in decent form and has a chance to be among the goals. Most likely, I’ll pick one of Salah/Kane and whomever of Kun or Gabriel Jesus gets the nod at Stoke (remember that Togga is super flexible with its player locks; you can normally sub a player in/out between squad confirmations and just a few minutes before kick off!)

Given the uncertainty, why don’t we take a poll to see who’s your favorite forward for GW 30? Sound good? Let’s do it!

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And there you have it, one last Togga player pick exercise before we get to do it again for a severely disrupted GW 31 (only 4 matchups will go ahead). Do you agree or disagree with any of my picks? How are you preparing for GW 31 and beyond? Let us know in the comments below!