EPL GW-7: How Did You Do?

EPL GW-7 was a bit of a disappointment for most of us. Only 24 goals were scored — far fewer than average, and many of the league’s highly-owned heavy-hitters blanked (even Sir Alex was surprised that CR7 sat on Man United’s bench). The result was relatively low scores for most fantasy managers in all formats. For instance, the global average in FPL was only 38 — the lowest of the season.

Let’s have a look at how I fared, and then I’ll also detail how NMA’s top mini-league managers did as well.

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Fantrax NMA-17

David Schinderle

Neither of my keepers kept a clean sheet, but at least Jose Sá collected points for the Wolves’ win. I knew Trent Alexander-Arnold would miss out, but the additional no-shows from Chelsea’s Marcos Alonso and Tottenham’s Japhet Tanganga were a blow.

My attacking corps was also a disappointment, with only Said Benrahma and Mo Salah reaching double digits.

The result was 74 points for the week, ranking me 57th for GW-7 and dropping me to sixth place overall.

Here are GW-7’s top ten performers.

And here the mini-league’s overall top ten.

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Fantrax NMA-11

Without a bench in the 11-man league, I was forced to swallow David De Gea’s measly 0.5 points. And since I decided to hold TAA through his confirmed injury absence, my three defenders together generated only 6 points.

And because my middies and forwards largely mirror my NMA-17 team, my attacking results were poor in NMA-11 as well.

David Schinderle

I ended on a dismal 47.5 points, landing me in 121st place for the round.

The league’s top GW-7 performers are below, the first time this season that nobody cracked three digits. Congrats to editor Jeff for winning the round (he also placed fourth for the week in NMA-17)!

Here are the overall top ten, where as in NMA-17, I find myself in sixth.

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FPL Never Manage Alone “BTB”

My GW-7 returns in Official FPL were lackluster as well. If not for the scoreless draw between Brighton and Arsenal that produced clean sheets for Ben White and Robert Sánchez, my week would have been well below the GW-7 average. Thankfully, I had Liverpool’s Mo Salah for his goal, assist, and three bonus points, and I also got assist points from Bruno Fernandes.

But otherwise none of my squad did much of anything, including my captain, Michail Antonio.

I finished on 47 points, placing me in 302,936th place overall with 456 points.

Here are the blog league’s leaders after seven rounds:

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Next Moves

I dropped Conor Gallagher to buy Kevin De Bruyne in both Fantrax leagues before the barn-door closed. In NMA-17 I’m also evaluating the wisdom of holding Marcos Alonso and Japhet Tanganga who may now be losing starts to Ben Chilwell and Emerson respectively.

I’m also looking to free up cash for fresh blood by dropping Bernardo Silva, Mason Greenwood, and Kai Havertz, who have all underperformed in recent weeks. If the international break is enough time for Christian Pulisic to reclaim his attacking-midfield slot at Chelsea, then his deeply eroded price will be almost irresistible.

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In FPL, now seems like it could be a decent time to wildcard, with fixtures turning favorable for Chelsea, Southampton, Leeds, and Arsenal.

But for the moment I’ll sit tight until we have updated fitness reports at the conclusion of the international break. Fantasy managers know all too well that funds and flexibility are often necessary to react to the spanners that international competition can throw into the works, especially when some travel to (and so must return from) Covid red-zone countries.

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Were you one of our blog leaders this week? Which players came through for you, and which ones hurt your returns? Please join us in the comments and let us know — how did you do?

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