🍿 GW12 - how to get the big points 📈

🚨 The stuff you should know 🚨

⏰ Gameweek 12’s deadline is Saturday 11th November, 11:00 GMT.

🤕 Dan Burn could be out for a few months.

🚑 Maddison picks up ankle knock in GW11.

❤️‍🩹 Saka, Wilson, Dunk and Estupinan injured midweek. 

We’ve ran out of injury-related emojis - Nketiah and Odegaard doubts for Gameweek 12.

👌 Midweek: Haaland and Rashford start, Cash cameos.

Keep reading for some myth-busting stats.

Alright?

Sometimes FPL is great. Your players complete a full 90 mins. Your captain bags a brace. On rare occasions, your goalkeeper might even keep a clean sheet (I’ve never seen it personally but apparently it can happen).

Points rain down and soak into your socks. Squelch squelch. 

But other times, FPL is survival. Longevity. Who can withstand the misery the longest?

Consider us your survival guides. We’re here to help you navigate this uninhabitable terrain; sort of like a less posh, less handsome Bear Grylls.

Find a cosy deer carcass to crawl in and pour yourself a pint of piss (preferably your own): let’s find the hidden watering holes in the barren wasteland of Gameweek 12.

The injury room.

There are enough high-profile players in the injury room to build a very decent 10-a-side team, which is a darn sight more players than Spurs ended up with against Chelsea last weekend.

Up top there’s Callum Wilson, who “felt a tightness in his hamstring” against Dortmund. He’s joined by Eddie Nketiah, who is “racing against the clock” to be fit for Gameweek 12, as is Martin Odegaard.

Joining Odegaard in midfield is James Maddison and Bukayo Saka. Maddison took a knock to the ankle and was subbed just before half-time in Spurs’ completely uneventful game against Chelsea. He’s been withdrawn from the England squad, which is never a good sign.

Meanwhile, Arteta has said he “wants to assume Saka will be okay” after he limped off against Sevilla. Don’t we all, Mikel? 

Our motley crue of casualties is reinforced by a back-four of Dan Burn, Pervis Estupiñan, Lewis Dunk and Peter van de Ven. 

Estupiñan - his triumphant return against Ajax lasted for approximately 12 minutes before he was subbed off with what looked like an aggravation of his previous injury. 

Dunk - subbed at half time against Ajax with a groin problem.

Burn - subbed at half time in Gameweek 11. Likely he’ll be out for a few months.

Van de Ven - likely to be out until January after coming off midway through the Chelsea game.

Completing the lineup is Mark Flekken between the sticks, who, according to Thomas Frank, had a dead leg.

In better news, injury doubts Erling Haaland, Matty Cash and Marcus Rashford all featured in their respective midweek fixtures. Rashford even had the good sense to pick up a red card, ensuring he’ll be fresh for Luton (H).

P.s. here’s an excellent Reddit post that outlines how many minutes the popular FPL assets played in midweek.

What do these injuries mean?

It’s a lot, innit. The fact is, most of these injuries (with the exception of Burn and van de Ven) are either not serious or not yet fully understood. 

So whilst it can be tempting to drive down to the showground and flog them all from the boot of your car, patience is encouraged here. 

Burn is your priority sell if you own him. As for Flekken, Maddison**, Saka et al, give it time. 

Keep an eye on the press conferences, bench them if you need to. There’s an international break after Gameweek 12, and it’s probably not worth losing a transfer (and whatever value you may have accrued in them) if they’re only out for a game.

**Late edit: Maddison is probably the trickiest, because his England withdrawal means he’s almost certainly omitted from Gameweek 12. Assuming you’ll want him back when he’s fit, we’d advise benching him and giving him the international break to recover.

Some myth-busting stats.

There are stubborn ideas in FPL that, once they propagate, are incredibly hard to get rid of. Like Japanese knotweed.

But call us Round Up, because today we’re killing weeds for fun. 

Belief: Everton are crap

Reality: as the Professor masterfully outlined in his Gameweek 12 preview, Everton currently have the 6th-best defence and the 10th-best attack. Not exactly title condensers, but hardly the pushovers they were last season either.

Belief: West Ham are alright defensively 

Reality: in fact, as you can see above, only Sheffield United, Luton and Bournemouth have a worse defence than West Ham.

Belief: Man City attackers are essential if they’re nailed 

Reality: Erling Haaland is cannibalising Man City’s attacking stats. Julian Alvarez - the second most successful Man City attacker - has started every game this season. He has three times less xG (11.5 vs 3.57) than his colleague.

Belief: Nottingham Forest are easy pickings

Reality: Forest have come a long way since last season. Their expected goals allowed is better than Spurs’ so far in this campaign, and nine teams are worse off. 

What are the top managers doing?

It’s worth remembering that a lot of good managers will have two free transfers going in Gameweek 12, and with the international break around the corner, most will be aiming to carry two free transfers across.

If they’ve got Burn, expect the top managers to get rid. Arsenal defenders are popular replacements - indeed, one in particular has received the honour of being picked for the Professor’s team this week.

Those without Burn are still concerned. With injury doubts aplenty, the best managers will take care to ensure their bench is ordered immaculately.

This doesn’t feel like a gameweek ripe for fun punts and risky moves. The strategy is simple: avoid a hit, field 11 players and hope the international break doesn’t wreak more havoc.

The best captain for Gameweek 12.

Another one this week. For us it comes down to the old classic: Haaland vs Salah.

Haaland will probably be the most captained, so like always, it’s a question of where your priorities lie.

There are some decent alternative options out there, including Watkins at home to Fulham, Son away at Wolves or one of the Arsenal boys at home to Burnley. 

But let’s put it this way: would you captain the world’s best striker away at Crystal Palace, Nottingham Forest or Everton? Because they all do better at home than Chelsea. 

The fact he plays last means any disappointment will at least be delayed until Sunday afternoon.

For me (James) it’s Haaland. As you’ll soon see, the Professor disagrees.

The key stats.

Jeremy Doku is obviously excellent, and he only played 10 minutes against Young Boys on Tuesday. Still, he’s returned in just three games this season. Could this be the most-popular-player curse repeating itself?

The Professor’s team.

The Professor is currently making one transfer: Burn out, Gabriel in.

Just 88% from Fantasy Football Hub’s MyTeam this week. Brutal or fair?

Wanna have your team roasted by their ridiculously powerful tech too? Try it for free here.

Other stuff we found interesting.

• Luis Diaz’s dad has been released after being kidnapped 12 days ago.

• Here’s the England squad for the upcoming international break:

• This excellent article about Jeremy Doku’s impact on Pep’s approach.

Right. Ready to score some points? Us neither. Still, we can dream, can’t we?

We’ll check in with you during the international break: make sure you’re coping and all that.

Stay lazy,

The LazyFPL Team.