It’s 20 minutes after the Chelsea Everton game just ended and I’m beyond bemused by Carlo’s tactics today, and how long it took him to change anything. Carlo Ancelotti’s side have been a dangerous outfit since he took over on 21st Decmeber, and overseeing the overnight rise of DCL into somewhat a prolific goalscorer cannot be understated.

But for all the great man-management skills the 60 year old possesses having coached the likes of Real, Bayern, Juve and PSG, his return to one of his former clubs, Chelsea, was quite underwhelming typified by a perfomance as laid-back in its approach as the man’s demeanour on the touchline.

Everton went with a 4–4–2, his usual go-to formation. Pickford in goal, ahead of him Sidibe, Keane, Holgate and Digne. Siggy, Gomes, Bernard and Tom Davies in midfield and Calvert-Lewin partnered by Richarlison upfront.

Frankie, rather surprisingly, had Kepa in goal, and Alonso as the left back in a back that also included Rudiger, Zouma and Alonso. Gilmour, who had a man of the match perfomance against Liverpool in the FA Cup, was the anchor in midfield, flanked either side by Barkley and Mount. Giroud formed a front three with Willian and Pedro.

I’m no manager, but there was many aspects of this Chelsea team that Everton should have been looking to exploit:

1. Lampard makes plenty of changes and sometimes that affects continuity
2. Alonso was playing in a back four and at no point during the whole game was he tested defensively
3. A defense that will always concede chances and goals
4. A young Gilmour in midfield

This was a fixture that Everton must have thought they could cause an upset but from the get go, they managed to make Gilmour look like the Scottish Pirlo. Ancelotti’s side insisted in a 4–4–2 shape and also wanted to press. Chelsea had the threat of Giroud upfront for the long ball option but Chelsea, time and again, played from the back. They knew one thing… as long as the bypass the press of Richarlison and DCL, then they have a man to man advantage in midfield. Siggy was playing from the left, which he has done alot under Ancelotti, but he had to cover inside alot because of Willian’s movement.

This tactical naivety from Everton always meant Chelsea had an extra man in midfield and it was no surprise that they conceded twice in 8 minutes. Mount had a nifty turn and shot that went in on Pickford’s near post beating the England stopper. What was fascinating was the origin of this goal…

Mason Mount scored after a 20-pass move and one number pops up all over that graphic: 47.

Richarlison and DCL pressed high. As soon as they got bypassed, Gilmour had acres of space to run into and he featured over and over again because technically, all of Chelsea’s attacks originated from him. It was no surprise he was at the centre of this move with several passes, being allowed to stay on the ball and run into space without being challenged. And yet again, he was instrumental in the second goal after 21 minutes to put Chelsea 2–0 up.

Everton had a chance to make it 2–1 with a glorious one-on-one chance for DCL but his attempted shot was not of someone who had just scored 10 goals in 13 games. A costly miss.

This pattern went on for about 10 more minutes and Carlo finally passed on the message to Tom Davies to switch to a 4–1–3–2 pattern on defense. That created new problems for Everton because the man that played as the 1 anchoring the base of the diamond was Andre Gomes.

Gomes is a tremendous passer, but the job he was asked to do is not something that is in his skillset. Chelsea had Mount and Willian constantly running into the channels on either side of Gomes and Everton were lucky to only be 2–0 down at the break.

What was even more surprising is how flat Everton then came out in the second half. Ancelotti finally decided to bring on Walcott for Bernard and put him on Alonso’s wing to curtail the Spaniard’s forays forward and test him defensively. It was a positive move but then they allowed Willian space to shoot and make it 3 after 51 minutes, then Giroud added a fourth 3 minutes later. The game was over within 9 minutes of the second half.

Everton now have to bounce back and hope this was just a one-off poor perfomance as they strive to finish in the European places.

Ancelotti’s Languid Tactical Approach To Chelsea Game was originally published in upnnunder on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.

The four months since the Warriors lifted their 2nd Larry O’Brien trophy in 3 years signified a crazy off season fueled by rumours leading to trades that happened (or didn’t happen), littering our notifications with storylines to satiate our thirst for some basketball drama… THE NBA IS BACK!

** Update: At time of writing and posting, the opening game hadn’t been played. Gordon Hayward went down with a fractured ankle and will miss significant time. Get well soon bro.

Gordon Hayward signs for the Boston Celtics. Avery Bradley is traded to the Pistons to create cap room…

Kyrie Irving, hands in transfer request, a deal with the Celtics is reported, for Isaiah Thomas and Jae Crowder, but isn’t formally announced...

Drama ensues as the Cavs ask for compensation fearing IT’s injury was worse than initially thought. With the trade in jeopardy, the teams agree he Celts should send the Cavs a second round pick to seal the trade…

Jimmy Butler is traded by the Bulls to the Timberwolves… Bulls buy out Dwyane Wade’s contract...

Phil Jackson is fired by the New York Knicks, Carmelo Anthony’s no-trade clause is waived and then he is traded to OKC…

Paul George is traded to OKC…

The Cavs add Wade to their already deep roster…

It’s no question that the Eastern Conference is bad compared to their counterparts in the West, but the way the teams are run is just bad. So this will be a much shorter preview compared to the West one, I hope.

The Cleveland Cavaliers are The Best, and Deepest team in the East

Call me captain obvious but even as a Celtics fan, there’s no point in arguing which team is the best in this conference. The Cavs lost a major piece in Kyrie Irving, an integral part of that title winning team in 2016, but they still have LeBron and that’s all you need. In turn they got Isaiah Thomas, who is still reeling with bitterness after the trade. When he gets back to full fitness, he can fill a big part of the void left by Kyrie’s 25 points per game.

They also acquired Jae Crowder who is a solid 3 and D player, and could possibly be the most impactful player in the trade especially when it comes to playing the Warriors. Tyron Lue has already stated that Crowder will be starting at the power forward position, Kevin Love mvoing to center and Tristan to the bench. That alone should show how much he value he adds as a two-way player to give LeBron an easier time on the defensive end of the floor.

Until Isaiah Thomas returns from his injury, Derrick Rose will start at point guard and Dwyane Wade for JR Smith. That may well change in future but this might be the deepest and best team to ever play with LeBron James including those during his time in South Beach.The only weakness the Cavs may have right now is complacency due to a lack of motivation from a bad Eastern Conference. They can field two good teams on any given night so I see the regular season being a breeze.

The Rest of the Top 4

Boston Celtics

It was an interesting year last season, when we finished first above the Cavaliers. After a few scares in the playoffs, we managed to get to the Finals where we were steamrolled and the gap was obvious.

Going into the offseason, Jimmy Butler, Paul George and Gordon Hayward were the marquee players whose signatures everyone was after. We got Gordon Hayward, who is a great defender and a good scorer from anywhere on the court. But when Kyrie signed, I was very skeptical, and I still am.

Kyrie is a great player, one that made one of the most clutch shots in NBA history to win a chamionship for a city that hadn’t won anything in 50 years. He’s a great scorer but has never been part of a team that emphasized ball movement as it’s primary offense. Three things ultimately made me comfortable with this trade… he was the best player in the trade… he’s the youngest between him, IT and Jae meaning he still has time to grow… and that he will be coached by one of the best in the league in Brad Stevens.

Speaking of coach Stevens, he will be reunited with the player he coached and narrowly missed a college championship with, Gordon Hayward. Many say he’s not a superstar, and I agree with that, but he is all-rounded and his unselfishness might be what we need to have a balance between him and Kyrie offensively. He’s coming from a Utah team that was all about defense, something he prides himself on.

Obviously our biggest weakness will be the fact that 4 of the 5 starting players are on other teams and we are starting from scratch with the exception of Al Horford. Only 4 players return from last season’s team. Brad Stevens remains our biggest asset but growing pains are inevitable.

Toronto Raptors

Serge Ibaka signed to come back to the Raptors and this time he can start with the team from preseason after being traded for in the middle of last season. The hope is that he can fully integrate into the system that Dwayne Casey implements… he has the tools to be a reliable third option, which is something the Raptors haven’t had the luxury of. When Ibaka joined, there was not much time to develop chemistry. At times in the playoffs he just depending on his shot-blocking ability rather than be part of good team defense. Not his fault, but he’s now developed the familiarity with fellow big man Jonas Valanciunas who needs to keep playing big if the Raptors are to make more noise in the East.

Other than Serge coming back, Kyle Lowry also resigned with the Toronto-based franchise, and he will still get his on the offensive end, but the addition of CJ Miles could add some much needed fluency to their offense. CJ Miles was elite from the 3-point line shooting a very respectable 41.2%. The Raptors were quite poor from deep for a team looking to challenge for the Eastern Conference crown. Something they needed to address.

Which brings us to Demar DeRozan. Clearly, he’s the best player on this team. He was the best scorer from mid-range in the whole NBA last season, and what makes it even more surprising is that he was doing all this despite passing up on alot of 3’s, because honestly, he’s not good from deep. He’s the craftiest mid-range attacking player with excellent footwork (that even Kevin Durant has admitted to studying) and if reports of him working on his 3-point shot is true, then the rest of the league should be worried.

Washington Wizards

One of the main positives from last season was that Bradley Beal finally managed to stay fit throughout the season. He can now build on what was an impressive run all the way to the Conference semis.

John Wall believes his team is the best in the East. Apart from the Cavs, his argument could be valid and this competition of the best of the rest will be fun to watch. The Wizards have a strong backcourt but not much else in terms of a third star.

Otto Porter improved massively and has a high ceiling if anything he showed us last year is to go by. The Wiz matched the huge offer sheet of four-year, $107m from the Nets… a gamble that could pay off considering the lack of wing players on the market, but is still a gamble. They will win a number of games from the greatness of John Wall and marksmanship of Bradley Beal.

Remaining Playoff Spots

Milwaukee Bucks

This is simple… The Bucks go as far as the Greek Freak takes them. Giannis Antetokounmpo has had a meteoric rise in his 4 years in the NBA: from lanky and long prospect from Europe to MVP candidate for the 2017–18 season. He looks to learn from one of the savviest players of his generation in Jason Kidd, that’s now his coach.

Jabari Parker going down last season with a 2nd ACL injury in 3 years, just when Khris Middleton came back was a huge blow to this team. They still managed 48 wins. We all wish that they all get to play together because they still are team futuristic with the length they boast.

This team is a damn nightmare to play against and for them, as has been in recent seasons, consistency, or lack thereof, has threatened to derail their regular seasons. Giannis has been working on his game too, and after seeing what he could do in the post season last year, this team only goes as far as he goes as I said.

They have good veteran leadership in Greg Monroe and Jason Terry. We almost forget that Malcolm Brogdon was actually a rookie last year and he has plenty of room to develop into a more all-rounded conductor. And they not only have one unicorn in Giannis… there’s this other one from South Sudan in Thon Maker.

At 7'1, he has handles and offers not only rim protection but also a usable outside game that’s becoming more common in the NBA with big men. He can start the fastbreak upon grabbing a rebound and also shoot the occasional three. In his sophomore year we can’t expect too much responsibility to be placed on him just yet, but Jason Kidd lets him play in his own skin, allowing him to make mistakes and learn from them.

The Bucks to win over 45 games and seal the 5th spot in the East.

Miami Heat

Upon reading this preview, it shall be obvious how much I value teams that have good coaches as part of their coaching staff. Baketball is like an orchestra and without a good conductor it’s difficult to win, unless you have LeBron. Miami no longer has LeBron, but they have Erik Spoelstra.

In late December this team had a record of 11–30 but finished the regular season with a record of 41–41, barely missing the playoffs. From January 17th to February 10th they went on a 13-game winning streak including wins over the Rockets and Warriors. Coach Spo catalysed that.

Dion Waiters was slowly making more and more appearances in Shaqtin’ A Fool while at OKC than actual basketball highlights. In Miami, he found a coach that embraced his style of play and let him express himself. He formed a partnership with Goran Dragic that was creating plenty of shots for each other and the likes of Wayne Ellington. Dragic is also coming off an impressive win in the FIBA European Championships where he won with Slovenia.

The Heat added Kelly Olynyk, whose perfomances in the playoffs against the Wizards not only showed how capable a role player he is, but may have also helped secure the four-year, $50m contract he signed with the Heat. He does a bit of everything well, but his value will really be seen in spreading the floor and ability to play good team defense, and not being afraid to move out to guard shooting bigs.

Justise Winslow was injured for much of the end of last season and his toughness defensively will be welcome. Rodney McGruder’s defense was immense on the wing and his injury will be a big blow. The key will be defense and they will continue to build on the rim-protection and rebounding of Hassan Whiteside. The Heat should make the playoffs this time around, since the Pacers and Hawks will have fallen off with the losses of PG and Millsap respectively.

Philadelphia 76ers

#TheProcess

After years of tanking and being the perennial takers of the wooden spoon in the East, the 76ers have become very relevant now.

Joel Embiid made his long awaited debut last season after being injured in his first two years of NBA basketball. He seemed to revitalise the fanbase and his brief 31 games cameo not only gave them cause for optimism, they actually learnt how to win. Ben Simmons suffered similar fate after getting injured upon getting drafted last year before playing a game. With the two of them on the court this time around from the onset, it’s exciting times in Philly.

FEDS: Sixers fans came up with this to stand for Fultz, Embiid, Dario and Simmons

They drafted Markelle Fultz, who was probably the best player, by a small margin, in a loaded draft class. JJ Reddick was added in free agency which slightly addressed the problem of outside shooting. Former Celtic, Amir Johnson, shores up the bench and provides old head presence. Dario Saric emerged as one of many bright spots last season, and showed signs of being able to get a stop when needed in crunch time, on top of his passing and shooting.

Ben Simmons is such a good passer that Fultz has no pressure of having to run an offense. The fear is actually Simmons having the ball in his hands too much, but they will figure it out. If I was high about the Nuggets in the West, this is my sleeper team in the East. From obscurity they now have the chance to make the playoffs.

The FEDS are coming.

#TrustTheProcess

Charlotte Hornets

The Michael Jordan-owned team has been a bit of a start and stop over the years. After making the playoffs the year before last with Big Al Jefferson, they slumped all the way to 11th last season, showing no signs of improvement. They actually got worse after Al left.

In what was probably one of the steals of the draft, Charlotte secured the services of Malik Monk, picking him 11th. He was the best shooter in this draft class according to many, and even though he may be a bit undersized for a two-guard, his atheticism should see him thrive in transition. He can be utilized as a secondary playmaker and can be dangerous in the open floor.

The Hornets also acquired the services of 4-time defensive player of the year, Dwight Howard, but that may have meant something if this was 2012. He can still grab rebounds, he’s actually still a good at it. He will give you the odd alley-oop and also score on second chance opportunities. I don’t know what to expect of him after his poor season back home in Atlanta, that only lasted a year. His back remains a concern too. Steve Clifford was on the coaching staff when he was at Orlando so maybe he might channel something deep inside Dwight we can’t see now.

Kemba Walker would love to take this team to the next level but he lacks the supporting cast for it. Walker is pretty much a scoring point guard first, which is why having the selfless Nicolas Batum helps. He’s injured for probably the first two months of the season. His playmaking takes pressure off Kemba. Marco Belinelli can still shoot, and is also a good basketball mind to have on the floor.

That should pretty much make the playoff teams in the East. It’s going to be a snooze fest in most games that involve the Eastern conference teams. In case you still want to stay tuned in, here are some storylines to look out for…

Porzingis is the Captain now

With the departure of Phil Jackson, Carmelo Anthony and Derrick Rose, the New York Knicks have handed the keys to Kristaps Porzingis. He’s the leader of this team and will grow tremendously taking on new responsibilities, with little to no expectations. I’m actually interested to see how he plays alongside Enes Kanter. With this new freedom, KP might be out to show us just how great he can be.

That Brooklyn Pick

The Cavs, in the Kyrie trade, got a draft pick from the Celtics that belongs to the Nets. The pick, though, depends on how poorly or how great the Nets play. If they languish at the bottom then the pick will be a top 5, possibly a top 3 pick… even number 1.

From the moves they’ve made in the offseason I’m not sure, as many people seem to be, that they will stink. They acquired Timofey Mozgov, DeMarre Carroll, Allen Crabbe and DeAngelo Russell. Russell now has the chance to start a fresh and be the focal point of this team’s offense. They are still very young but have good pieces and I believe they will improve and probably get to around 30 wins out of 82. They will not be last in the East, in my opinion.

Miles Turner to break out this season

He showed plenty of promise and heart as they got swept by the Cavs. With Larry Bird gone as the Executive and PG to OKC, Turner will be looking to begin establishing himself as the cornerstone of the franchise. He has good touch for a big man and can shoot from the outside. He will lose many games this year with the team stripped down, but alongside Oladipo he can make the best out of the situation and just ball lights out.

NBA Preview: Eastern Conference was originally published in upnnunder on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.

The four months since the Warriors lifted their 2nd Larry O’Brien trophy in 3 years signified a crazy off season fueled by rumours leading to trades that happened (or didn’t happen), littering our notifications with storylines to satiate our thirst for some basketball drama… THE NBA IS BACK!

OKC GM Sam Presti was involved in two shrewd moves to reward MVP Russell Westbrook by getting Carmelo Anthony and Paul George…

The Timberwolves trading for Jimmy Butler and Taj Gibson to play alongside Karl Anthony Towns And Wiggins…

CP3 moving to the Rockets and how that will work out…

Paul Millsap to the Nuggets, and how he will play alongside Nikola Jokic…

How the Champions, the Warriors, managed to retain their whole team and still add Nick Young and Omri Casspi…

Golden State Still The Team To Beat

Yet again, the Warriors are the golden (pun intended) standard in the West. They not only managed to retain the services of Kevin Durant, who took a pay cut, and the rest of the starting lineup, but also Andre Iguodala, David West and Shaun Livingston. They bring some much needed leadership and productivity off the bench that would have been difficult to replace. Steph Curry finally got the pay day he deserves after years of being underpaid. They increased the depth with Casspi and Young who can both spread the floor. David West’s passing in the post now becomes even more profound with the 3 point shooting coming off the bench. The Warriors also managed to get a steal in the draft by getting Jordan Bell, whose ability to defend for his size will earn him good minutes.

With all that said, the strongest attribute with this team is the natural unselfishness of its superstars which stems from the coaching. Steve Kerr and the coaching staff have created and enhanced a culture of unselfishness that is built around a player that has revolutionized the 3-point shot. Curry could easily jack up 3’s everytime he came up the court, or put KD in a pick and roll but instead, they include alot of player cutting and ball movement that most teams cannot defend, and only a few can slow them down. For that reason, they should easily be the top seed in the West. If they manage to stay healthy, it’s difficult to see anyone challenging them in the West.

The Rest of the Top 4 Seeds

San Antonio Spurs

Throughout the whole post season, the only time I saw the Warriors struggle was when they faced Kawhi Leonard and the San Antonio Spurs. Albeit only for one game, the Warriors were losing to the Spurs until Kawhi got injured. We knew how valuable Kawhi was to the Spurs. His injury not only showed how much they relied on him offensively, it also reiterated how great of a player he actually is. The Spurs brought in Rudy Gay, whom I struggle to see how he fits in. He is a player that puts up unnecessary shots and also has never played in a system like this before.

San Antonio need more production, not to be too reliant on Kawhi, and probably Popovich can find a way to make Rudy Gay a big part of the offense. LaMarcus Aldridge signed a contract extension despite trade rumors too. In the playoffs he seemed to only be comfortable when the ball was thrown to him in the post, perhaps we will see a bit more of that and possibly him starting at centre. Tony Parker looks to be coming back early from his torn quad, but this could be DeJounte Murray’s breakthrough season even after Parker’s return. At the end of the day, this is a well-coached team. I expect them to be the greatest challenge to the Warriors because of Greg Popovich’s system and my pick for MVP this year, Kawhi Leonard.

Oklahoma City Thunder

How do you reward the player that had the most triple doubles in NBA history on his way to the MVP title? Offer him a five-year, $205 million contract, right after you steal Paul George in exchange for Victor Oladipo, Domantas Sabonis, and Carmelo Anthony for Enes Kanter, Doug McDermott and a pick.

That’s a steal if I’ve seen one. Sam Presti, GM of the year, easily.

These two trades elevated this team to a top 3 seed in my opinion, and not only did they address a big problem in getting buckets, but there’s now plenty of shooting and leadership. The Melo trade specifically, helps them alot, because this is a player motivated to not only make up for ‘wasted years’ under Phil Jackson, he has a supporting cast now. He doesn’t have to burden the hopes of a city on his shoulders by himself.

I also really liked the acquisition of Patrick Patterson, who alongside Andre Roberson and PG are three solid defenders that can defend the wing. It’s likely PG will play alot with the bench to give them some scoring punch. Billy Donovan managed to get 47 wins by mainly putting Russ in a position to be great and they should win around 55 games without having to over exert himself this time around. Steven Adams is a great anchor at centre and on most nights, he’ll be getting easy buckets under the rim. Alex Abrines should also have much better numbers this year just from how open he will be.

The obvious concern is how the ball will be shared between PG, Melo and Russ. Russ, on his way to the MVP last year, had the highest usage rate of all time. PG is coming from a team where all offense went through him, and Melo still believes, like I do, that he is a great shooter. And this is where that unselfishness of the Warriors cannot be matched.

Houston Rockets

Threes, threes and more THREES!

In one of the greatest transformations we’ve ever seen, the ball hog that we all knew James Harden to be, somehow became super unselfish and was in a one-on-one battle with Russ for the MVP. He was the anchor in the team that obliterated the record for most attempted and made 3’s in NBA history. His ability to attack the rim and draw fouls is unguardable. We saw his passing hit new heights too.

In similarly dramatic Harden fashion, his end of season capitulation against a Kawhi-less Spurs led to them losing in the Western Conference semifinals.

So Daryl Morey decided to make a move rather than just lay down and watch the Warriors stroll to the Finals yet again… the GM made a move in which he traded Patrick Beverley, Lou Williams, Sam Dekker, Montrezl Harrell, Darrun Hilliard, DeAndre Liggins, Kyle Wiltjer, a protected first-round pick next year and cash considerations. To be fair, the Rockets acquired Hilliard from Detroit and Liggins from Dallas for cash considerations, but what they gave up is still too much for me. They still are a top 4 team in the West, but their bench looks bare without Williams and Dekker. They acquired PJ Tucker, who is supposed to be th LeBron stopper (lol), but his toughness and size will be quite welcome.

Losing Beverley means you don’t have that player who’s going to guard the opposing team’s best guard full court, but CP3 is a solid team defender. Him alongside Harden is hard to predict, and how well they play with each other determines how far they go.

Remaining Playoff Spots

So this is like a best of the rest (amongst good teams), but better than the rest (non-playoff teams). These 3 teams should be breaking into the top 4 in years to come, but just aren’t there yet… or this is where they have fallen to.

Los Angeles Clippers

Blake Griffin is the captain now. The biggest acquisition for the team was probably the logo of the NBA, aka Jerry West who is on board in consultancy role, but that is more long term. For the moment, Patrick Beverley and Danilo Gallinari shore up the Clippers starting lineup. They are much deeper than they have been in years and after losing one of greatest orchestrators at point guard in CP3, Blake will be initiating the offense alot more this time around. DeAndre Jordan anchor the defense with shot blocking and rebounding and Austin Rivers might be the new sixth man after Jamal Crawford’s departure.

As much as things change, I still don’t know if we should expect a different outcome. History suggests Blake will probably miss games this year, and so will Gallinari. Doc Rivers is yet to steer this team past the second round and in no way are they better after losing CP3 and JJ Reddick who are professionals and seasoned veterans. Defensively they could improve but offensively I don’t see much consistency to break into the top 4 seeds in the West.

Minnesota Timberwolves

The Wolves acquired Jimmy Butler in the first blockbuster moves of the offseason, then Taj Gibson and Jeff Teague. They then tried to shore up the bench with former sixth man of the year Jamal Crawford in free agency. They traded away Zach LaVine who was showing great signs of improvement especially his shooting from the arc until his ACL injury mid last season, and Ricky Rubio. Jimmy Butler is a more all-rounded player and a threat from mid range than LaVine, but the one place the Timberwolves didn’t address is perimeter shooting.

Andrew Wiggins had a great year last year, and alongside Karl-Anthony Towns, they time and again offered great scoring output for the T-Wolves for the first 3 quarters or so, and then from then on just couldn’t get stops. Many thought Coach Thibodeau would drastically improve their defense, including myself, but that just became a glaring weakness in the team. He now has two players he coached at the Bulls in Butler and Gibson, and they should improve on that side of the ball.

As great a player as Butler is, he is a ball stopper. Once the ball hits his hands, the offense stagnates. It’s difficult to say that he has embraced ball movement because that’s not him and the Timberwolves don’t have such a culture, but he has the opportunity to elevate Wiggins and KAT, or stunt their growth. He has to find a way to let them shine in this offense and get his after because he is now one of the leaders of the team. I just don’t know how capable he is.

Portland Trail Blazers

Dame D.O.L.L.A. has had a busy offseason. After dropping an album (whose tracks feature on NBA 2K) and launching new kicks with Adidas, the man also known as Damian Lillard looks to lead his side to a fourth consecutive playoff berth, in his sixth year in the league. Alongside his sidekick CJ McCollum, they’ve been languishing around the 7th/8th spot. To make it to the next step, the Jusuf Nurkic of the end of last year needs to come into his own once more.

Nurkic suffered a left leg fibula fracture, and he tried coming back against the Warriors but was nowhere near ready or mobile. He has now lost around 30 lbs., looks fit and very motivated. What he offers offensively is not in question, because he takes a big offensive load off of CJ and Dame. But more importantly he makes them more unpredictable in the plays they run and not just heavily rely on pick and rolls. Dame is now comfortable coming off the ball knowing he won’t be double-teamed every night.

The Blazers looked to have locked in during the preseason on the defensive end more than before. I never look too much into preseason, but sometimes the intent of wanting to change habits is a good sign, especially when it comes to habits on the defensive end. A 91.9 Defensive Rating in preseason, good for 6th best in the NBA, is a big leap from where they were last season.

No one has claimed the power forward spot so Terry Stotts will be experimenting with Al-Farouq Aminu, Noah Vonleh and Meyers Leonard, as they tweak the team. Allen Crabbe is now gone, and Evan Turner should backup the guards abit more. Of all teams in the West, the Blazers are one of few that have the advantage of continuity. By the time some teams get to know their lineups, rotations and develop chemistry in a shorter offseason, Portland have the chance to come out of the gates firing and win early.

Denver Nuggets

My sleeper team in the West. I’m so high on the Nuggets this season that I believe they’ll be hard to beat especially at home simply because of the production of their bigs: Paul Millsap and Nikola Jokic.

Upon starting Jokic in December, this team had the highest offensive output in the NBA. Jameer Nelson, Jokic, Gallinari and Gary Harris shot into the top 25 most improved shooters in the league. Obviously they lost Galo to the Clippers, but Millsap spreads the floor too. Playing at high tempo, and factoring in the high altitude in Denver, they can really outrun teams in their home gym and be formidable at home.

Defensively though, is where there are big issues. They could not defend at the point guard and at the centre position. Millsap is the best defender on this team, but he’s 32. Of all good things they do offensively, they have too many defensive liabilities. They will still cause many teams alot of problems.

Battle for 8th

This could be a striaght shootout between the Pelicans, the Grizzlies and the Jazz.

For the New Orleans Pelicans, they have two of the best big men in the NBA, but still looks very oddly set up in terms of personnel. They added Rajon Rondo, who struggles to stay fit, and Ian Clark from the Warriors. Anthony Davis is a stud but we are yet to see the peak of the partnership with DeMarcus Cousins. The lack of outside shooting from their guards means that they could embrace their big men shooting alot of 3’s as a way spreading the floor. Boogie more or less gets open 3’s since few big men want to leave the paint. They will bemoan a lack of wing players, despite signing Tony Allen who can defend well at the 2 or 3, but cannot shoot to save his life. Where they will find production is yet to be seen.

Gordon Hayward may have left the Utah Jazz, and many a time when the best player on the team leaves, breaking the team up and rebuilding is the default option. Utah rarely depended on Hayward to take that many shots in the first place. They were a grind team that whose offense came in the half court and barely scored 95 points per game… but they kept winning games. They still have their defensive player of the year candidate in the Stifle Tower, Rudy Gobert, and coach Snyder will not look to veer too much off of what made them so successful last year. George Hill left and they got Ricky Rubio who isn’t as experienced as the veteran, but Hill was on the treatment table more than he was on the court… despite his influence on it. If Rodney Hood can get some consistency in his outings, they will still be a tough team to beat. Joe Ingles too will have more shots this time around and if he can replicate his efficiency of last year, they are in the playoff race.

Moving on to Memphis, the Grizzlies look like a team that may not make the playoffs but compeletely ruling them out would be very disrepectful to Mike Conley and Marc Gasol. The pair have proven time and again that they can play, but they just lack the supporting cast to make a serious run deep into the playoffs. Chandler Parsons contract remains one of the worst in the league, made that much worse by the fact that he will never be fit. They decided not to resign Zach Randolph and Tony Allen left the team too. That doesn’t mean they will not be a tough team to play against with their grind mentality.

Teams to Watch

The Lakers have Lonzo Ball who will look to recreate the ‘magic’ of old Lakers teams with his ability to run the break. They will be a very exciting young transition team. Despite the Lonzo hype, I believe they have another rookie in Kyle Kuzma who might be the best rookie on the team.

Dallas’ own Mavericks have a lot of veteran influence led by Coach Carlisle and Dirk Nowitzki, but the rookie Dennis Smith Jr will be flying out of the gym with his hops. It’s unclear whether they will build around him and Wes Matthews and Harrison Barnes moving forward. He is an excitement machine and even though coach Carlisle hasn’t been known to be a fan of working with younger players, Dennis Smith Jr might just win him over.

The Kings have the Lonzo slayer in DeAaron Fox. They have added veteran presence in George Hill, Vince Carter and Zach Randolph that should guide this young core in their NBA journey. Fox alongside Willie Cauley-Stein and Buddy Hield should make for interesting viewing as they hit full rebuild mode.

NBA Preview: Western Conference was originally published in upnnunder on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.

So it’s been a couple of gameweeks since my last post. Both gameweeks had minor setbacks but we still looking good.

In GW6 Benjamin Mendy came in with hopes of a clean sheet against Crystal Palace, but he got injured and was taken off after 28 min having received a yellow card. Despite losing him, I still got a decent points tally of 75 points, mainly from Aguero’s heroics as captain.

The following week I brought in Phil Jones for Mendy, doubling up on United defenders, Bailly being the other. On Thursday evening, he was declared as doubtful for the game, then Sergio Aguero was involved in an unfortunate accident in Amsterdam and was ruled out. I quickly brought in Morata, taking a -4 hit.

Jones ended up playing, and getting a clean sheet, but Bailly wasn’t on the United team sheet. Morata’s game didn’t last long either: he injured his hamstring in the loss to Man City, 30 min in.

Mendy’s injury turned out to be an ACL tear, which means at least 6 months out, and Aguero broke a rib. Aguero is already back in contention, 4 weeks earlier than expected. As for Mendy, he’s been solid for the Cityzens on that left wing and he’ll be missed. Get well soon Sir.

Wildcard Time

The beauty of a wildcard is that once it’s activated, you can tranfer players in and out at will. The only catch is if you remove a player whose value went up while he was on your team, if you bring him back, you bring him in at the new price. Taking advantage of that, at the beginning of last week I brought in players that I knew would go up by GW8. If they were worth keeping, I would keep them. If not, I would just remove them, hopefully getting a gain in points, and hoping whomever I wanted hadn’t gone up.

Ultimately, only Jesus went up by 0.2, which means I get that 0.1 extra in the bank. And after tinkering with the team over and over again, here’s my new team that I confimed Saturday morning…

Defense

In goal, I decided to swap Ben Foster with Swansea’s Lukasz Fabianski. Swansea have kinder fixtures and have shown some resilience defensively away from home.

Arsenal have kept clean sheets in their last 4 games but face trickier fixtures including the next 2 away from home. Sead Kolasinac’s attacking potential and the return of Mesut Ozil, is the reason I decided to keep him instead of Monreal or Rob Holding. His runs and Ozil’s ability to pick a pass make him an attacking threat down that left side. Shkodran Mustafi faces a spell on the sidelines and Holding will get alot of playing time the next few gameweeks.

Harry Maguire has 33 points in the first 7 gameweeks, despite facing Arsenal, United, Chelsea and Liverpool during that period. He is a set-piece threat and his next 4 fixtures should also mean some defensive returns.

Cedric Soares just edged Virgil Van Dijk because of his price tag, his ability going forward should not be in question though. Despite Southampton’s less than prolific record in front of goal, he could get an assist somewhere. 3 home games in the next 4, there’s a possibilty of some clean sheets.

Chelsea’s Marcos Alonso is another new addition to my defense. Conte’s team normally bounce back well and they face Palace and Bournemouth away, sandwiched by a home fixture to Watford. The loss of Ngolo Kante to a hamstring injury means he doesn’t get the cover he normally relies on from the French midfielder, but the return of Hazard allows him more freedom to cause some havoc down that left flank.

Midfield

When Morata went down to a hamstring injury against the Cityzens, Antonio Conte decided to bring on Willian, pushing Eden Hazard up top. Conte isn’t afraid to play the Belgian behind the striker or as the striker. Him playing further forward, favourable fixtures and the fact that he scored a brace for Belgium during the international break, it’s time to make an impact as he nears full fitness.

Rotation and many attacking options is a real headache with the Man City team. My way into the Etihad juggernaut is through Raheem Sterling, who has finished 90 minutes in his last 4 games. He is also consistently being played in the no 10 role and quite frankly, it was difficult to choose between him, David Silva and Sane. And this wildcard has allowed me to set up this team in a way that I’m only 2 substitutions from bringing back Aguero.

Carroll and Eriksen retain their places in my team and so does Pascal Gross. The amount of chances Gross creates and the fact that he’s on set-piece duties means he just got the edge over his teammate Brighton Solly March.

Attack

Harry Kane is a no-brainer up front and it’s good to see his value go up by £0.4m since getting him. Gabriel Jesus was also another no-brainer last week until news broke that Aguero might be back sooner than we all expected. Jesus will probably start but Pep hinted Aguero might play a part this weekend. Jesus is coming back from international duty having played both games for Brazil and scoring twice. Later in the week, City play in the Champions League against Napoli, and Pep wouldn’t risk Aguero too soon (I think). Jesus is likely to start but beyond the Stoke game, it’s difficult to predict how Pep sets up.

A hip injury meant Jamie Vardy didn’t play for England, but he is fully recovered. After a difficult first 7 fixtures, similar to Maguire’s, he should up his attacking output against West Brom (H), Swansea (A), Everton (H) and Stoke (A), for the Foxes. The only thing he needs to stop doing is kicking his penalties straight through the middle.

For the last attacking spot, Luis Mato Sanmartín gets the nod. Also known as Joselu, I thought he has been wasteful in front of goal for Newcastle despite scoring twice. His underlying statistics as described on Fantasy Football Scout was of some interest to me though…

Costing just 5.5, the Newcastle striker’s average of 20.8 minutes per attempt is more frequent than premium picks such as Morata (23.4) and almost on a par with Aguero and Lukaku (both 20.3).

Although he only started for the first time in Gameweek 3, the summer signing sits fifth among forwards for shots in the box, while only Kane and Lukaku have bettered his 11 attempts on target.

FPL GW 8: Wildcard after International; Break was originally published in upnnunder on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.

Going into week 5, I made a decision to drop Lukaku for Kane, who faced Swansea. I went on to captain Kane and little did we know van der Hoorn and Fernandez would look like Chiellini and Bonucci in the middle of the Swans’ defense to force a goalless draw away at Wembley.

On the other hand, Aguero who completely obliterated Watford, but was my vice captain. All in all, I still managed a tally of 66 points, 8 points above the average points for game week 5, so not too bad.

Gmaeweek 5 transfers

Romelu Lukaku made way for Harry Kane, and the other change was Willian off for Pascal Gross. Gross and Aaron Mooy sort of play the similar cheap role in midfield. The combination of both might be worth it if I decide to rotate the two, but still remains a risky midfield rotation formula going forward.

If I decide to keep both of them, I might look to invest in Alonso in defense. He goes for a lot. He is the most expensive FPL defender, but after doing some analysis of his output compared to some of the £7.0m – £9.0m midfielders, he’s a much better investment in the long run. He’s definitely in my thoughts.

Gameweek 6 Lineup

Going into game week 6, I made one change to the team. Ryan Bertrand’s run in the team comes to an end as Benjamin Mendy comes in for the Southampton man.

Ben Mee makes it into the team with a favourable home fixture against Huddersfield. He has taken the most shots of any defender and is both a prospect going forward and keeping it tight at the back.

Mendy lines up against a Palace team that’s yet to score or keep a clean sheet this season. Roy Hodgson will be looking to make this team tough to beat first before they can start focusing on their attack, similar to what he did with Fulham years back. Let’s see if he can hold off a rampant City attack that’s scoring for fun lately. Bailly and Kolasinac, the no-brainer selections in the team, carry on in defense.

Eriksen, Gross and Mkhitaryan continue in the middle. Aaron Mooy has a less favourable fixture away to Burnley and he stays on the bench alongside Tom Carroll.

With the Champions’ League coming up, the likes of Mkhitaryan and Aguero would be doubts but they are both bang in form. Aguero, is particularly of more concern as he has been dropped before a CL game this season. The fact that he didn’t play in midweek in the Carabao Cup, he’s sure to start and is a solid option for captain.

The other man that is in contention for captain is Harry Kane. Spurs will want to bounce back after a disappointing draw at home to Swansea. He goes up against Chicharito (and the Hammers), who continues to disappoint but I’ve decided to give him one last chance before making a decision on whether to keep him.

This is a London derby and Kane is yet to score away at West Ham in his career. Man City beat Palace 5–0 in this fixture last year and a repeat of that scoreline is looking more likely. That captain’s armband is leaning towards Aguero at them moment. Still have a few hours to decide.

Good luck folks!

FPL GW 6: Who to captain, Aguero or Kane? was originally published in upnnunder on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.

In my quest to create a gap with a 8-point hit, I ended up making my first blunder of the season… I took out Firmino for Aguero and boy, did I regret that move.

Gameweek 3 Review

Firmino went on to assist twice and score one against my beleagured Gunners. I took a hit in taking him out meaning I missed out on his tally of 12 and an extra 4 for the transfer… a 16 point swing.

Kolasinac was inexplicably left on the bench by Wenger, and that allowed Suttner to at least add 7 points to my abysmal points tally of 31. I had captained Aguero who ended up giving me a grand total of 2 points, but Lukaku didn’t do much either after missing a penalty and garnering 0 points. A bit of luck went my way in that sense, after majority of managers captained him in my leagues.

3 clean sheets from Bailly, Ryan Bertrand and Suttner gave me 19 points across the backline and gave the score a better look. Mkhitaryan was the other transfer in and his assist meant he was the 4th and last person to earn Arap Mooy some more points.

Chicharito came in for Gabbiadini after an impressive outing in gameweek 2, but he fired blanks this time around… so did Gabbiadini. No loss there. Eriksen and Willian both had 3 points and with Hazard back, it might be time to reconsider the Brazilian in my midfield.

Gameweek 4 Preview

The big risk of taking out Firmino, Gabbiadini and KDB didn’t pay off last week and led to a net points loss. With that in mind, I have to stick by these troops to see how they take me after the international break.

Foster faces a Brighton team that’s on the up but are yet to score all season.

The defense features Bailly and Bertrand who have made my team all season. Suttner comes into the team in favour of Burnley’s Ben Mee who also has a home fixture, as I’ve decided to go with a back 3. Wenger deciding to play Kolasinac out of position or not play him altogether means I could start with him as my first sub. The sale of Ox to Liverpool means he could start as left wing back, where we’d all want him to play.

My budget midfield option in Tom Carroll has a first start of the season and will hopefully be playing alongside Swansea’s new signing Renato Sanches. Mkhitaryan is a no-brainer and with the Champions League in mind, he could share his time on the pitch with Juan Mata, but his form makes him difficult to drop.

Eriksen and Willian complete my midfield, both playing away from home against Everton and Leicester respectively. Eriksen played very well for Denmark and scored a beauty on international duty (rhyming accidentally).

Upfront, last GW’s front 3 of Lukaku, Chicharito and Aguero lead the line again. Lukaku scored for Belgium and after his poor showing last time out, he has a chance to redeem himself against an improving Stoke side. Chicharito plays his and West Ham’s first game at home. A tap-in in the 6 yard box would do the team well as captain. He plays on Monday, and I have alot to look forward to on a Monday night.

In the game of the weekend, Liverpool play Man City and I don’t think Pep can afford to leave out the Argentine Aguero. Kun started on the bench last time out v Bournemouth. After Jesus’ perfomance for Brazil coupled with a midweek Champions League encounter in Holland against Feyenoord, he could still be benched Guardiola, but not by me.

FPL: Looking Ahead to GW4 was originally published in upnnunder on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.

My plan to have 2 FT (free transfers) by the international break now is out of the window. An injury in gameweek 1 was key in determining whether I’d have made it all the way through to gameweek 3 with the same squad. Zaha got injured, I transferred him out.

I’ve made 3 changes to the team, resulting in a 8-point hit. I was against a hit this early, or ever. but imminent changes in player prices, both current and those in my watchlist, meant a change was coming. Having a solid first 2 gameweeks softened the blow, but a hit still a hit.

Kevin De Bruyne is the first casualty. His value of £10.0m, two blanks in a row and the firepower of the City attack resulted in bringing in Henrikh Mkhitaryan. The United midfielder already has 4 assists, takes set-pieces and more importantly has been given the right to roam behind Lukaku. He could be subject to rotation once the Champions League starts, but his link up play and ability to produce attempted assists means it will be difficult to drop him.

It’s only a matter of time before the Man City juggernaut starts rolling. KDB’s exit means the route to the City attack for my team is now through Sergio Aguero. Once they went down to 10 men against Everton, Aguero passed up on an easy opportunity, but almost bagged an assist. Gabriel Jesus was taken off at halftime and Aguero led the line himself showing he might still be the main man at the Etihad. In his two games, he has created 6 chances, only 2nd to David Silva’s 9 for City. He has scored one goal and is highly involved in the attacking third. He replaces Firmino.

Manolo Gabbiadini, despite scoring against West Ham, is out for the man that bagged a brace against his team… Chicharito. The Mexican was very lively in leading the 10 men of the Hammers. Gabbiadini remains a solid attacker and fluid in his interplay with the midfield, but he rarely makes the 60 min mark with Austin and Shane Long lurking. Penalty duties are also not assured to be the Italian’s, a source for goals for a team that doesn’t score many. For the ‘Little Pea’, he faces Newcastle away and then Huddersfield at home. I back him to get some points in that period.

Gameweek 3 Lineup

Plenty of Premier League teams will have played their Carabao Cup fixtures (EFL Cup) by matchday 3.

Ben Foster continues in goal at home to Stoke as they try to begin the Premier League season with 3 clean sheets in a row.

Arsenal face a tricky fixture against Liverpool, which has always led to plenty of goals and no clean sheets for either, in recent seasons. Sead Kolasinac might not start this game after the return of Laurent Koscielny from suspension. But if he does, hopefully he starts at wingback, in place of Hector Bellerin, and Ox moves to the right wing back position.

Bailly remains in the middle of my defense as he too seeks a third consecutive clean sheet, this time against Leicester who have scored 4 so far. This should be a sterner test compared to West Ham and Swansea.

Bertrand is away at Huddersfield and I honestly don’t know what to expect from the Saints in their first away game of the season under a new manager and against a promoted team that’s full of confidence having won 2/2 and conceded none.

Everton played a tough fixture on Monday night against Man City. On Thursday, they play Hadjuk Split in Croatia in their second leg of the Europa League qualifier, then travel back to London to face Chelsea in the PL 3 days later. Willian is in against the potentially lethargic Toffees. This could possibly be one of his last games as a sure starter with the return to fitness of Pedro and Eden Hazard.

Christian Eriksen and Henrikh Mkhitaryan have home fixtures against Burnley and Leicester respectively. Both players have a chance to add to their impressive starts to the new season. Aaron Mooy is in for the home fixture against Southampton.

Sergio Aguero plays Bournemouth, and Man City will be looking for a good response after their spirited fight back to draw against Everton. Chicharito will spearhead the Hammers’ attack once more against an average looking Newcastle team that are yet to keep a clean sheet or score. His brace last week has led to him being the most transferred in player, with just over 320,000 transfers.

Romelu Lukaku’ takes up the third forward position and having scored 4 in the last 5 against the 2016 PL Champions, he is the front runner for captain.

FPL GW 3 Preview: Points Hit and KDB Out was originally published in upnnunder on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.

With an average of 44 points in gameweek 2, anything above that score would have done well for me. I drafted in Aaron Mooy for the stricken Wilfried Zaha and his perfomance alongside Eric Bailly’s, contributed 25 points to my gameweek 2 score of 67 points.

Goalkeeper

One of my two late changes on Saturday afternoon was placing Ben Foster in goal for Rob Elliot. With two members of Newcastle’s back four out injured in game week 1, and Huddersfield impressive start, Foster seemed the better option. He came away with a clean sheet at Burnley and 6 points.

Defense

First match of the weekend, and Bailly came up big for Man United in their 4–0 romp of Swansea. I had earlier anticipated this to be a close game in our gameweek 2 review, so was the case until the introduction of Marouane Fellaini and Anthony Martial. Bailly got the breakthrough goal, minutes before halftime. Despite Paul Pogba’s 2 assists and a goal, all 3 bonus points went to the Ivory Coast defender by a solitary BPS point.

Sead Kolasinac was part of an Arsenal team that lost 1–0 at Stoke and no returns for the Gunners defender. He started at left centre back one more time despite the return of Shkodran Mustafi and couldn’t influence the game like he did a week earlier against Leicester. He managed 2 points.

The Saints, despite the 3–2 win against West Ham, were uncharacteristically all over the place at the back. Despite going 2–0 up against the 10 men of West Ham, Chicharito showed great finishing and alertness to level it up with a brace. Ryan Bertrand wasn’t involved in any goals, but managed to get a yellow card, earning him a solitary point.

Midfield

My whole midfield didn't play until Sunday. First up was Aaron Mooy who showed great composure to curl in after a neat one-two at the edge of the box. That was the only goal of the game, and he managed 2 bonus points, behind Christopher Schindler (11 clearances, 1 blocked shot, 5 interceptions and 5 tackles). A solid perfomance at the heart of the defense.

Christian Eriksen and Willian played against each other in the last game of the day. Willian was impressive in counter attack and hit the post before being brought off for Pedro. Pedro, minutes later, provided the pass that led to Alonso’s second, the game winner. Willian came off before Spur’s goal, so at least he got that extra point for the clean sheet.

Eriksen on the other hand, got an assist, through a Michy Batshuayi own goal. Eriksen has now managed to score points 2 gameweeks in a row, and his ability to get off shots, quality passing and pinpoint delivery means he will always be among the points and potentially bonus points. He got 2 bonus points in this game, a total of 7 points.

Kevin De Bruyne blanked a second week running, scoring 2 points. It was a bit of a difficult game after City went a man down before halftime. He was frustrating to watch especially when he had chances to score, always laying off for a teammate or looking for a pass. And at £10.0m, patience is running thin considering the firepower Man City have up front. At one point they had both Silvas (Bernado and David), Aguero, KDB and Sterling despite being 10 men. KDB was forced to fall deep as the likes of Danilo and Fernandinho made those runs into the box.

Forwards

My worries with Romelu Lukaku were clear against Swansea. He bagged a late goal to at least give some points as captain. For Everton, he drifted in and out of games away from home. Against Swansea he had fewer touches compared to the West Ham home game a week earlier, managed 2 shots (1 on target) and 11 passes with an accuracy of 61%. His overall play away from the Theatre of Dreams is something to monitor over the next few weeks. The second of my late changes, was to captain Lukaku instead of Firmino.

Manolo Gabbiadini scored a goal to finally open his account for the season, and also hit the post. Southampton later on, won a penalty and it was surprising to see Dusan Tadic step up ahead of the Italian to nervously slot in via the keeper to make it 2–0. 7 points from Manolo wasn’t bad and did much better than Firmino, who had a total of 2 points against Crystal Palace. Liverpool’s squad rotation after the Champion’s League qualifier probably playing a part.

FPL GW 2 Review: Bailed out by Eric was originally published in upnnunder on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.

Gameweek 1 was a good one, with 88 points and my captain coming through. Going into gameweek 2, Zaha’s injury has forced a slight rejig so as not to incur that price drop.

My initial plan was to just place Zaha on my bench and trust in the squad. I was confident I had selected a team capable of going at least the first 7–8 weeks, barring any injuries. I kept checking www.fplstatistics.com hoping I could go into match day with a free transfer. He was falling like a rock. A price drop was imminent, so I had to make a move early if I’m to have enough cash and free transfers for Ozil in 2 gameweeks’ time.

I made a shortlist of potential players to be drafted in and first off was Atsu. The Newcastle wide man, at £5.0m, was lively against Spurs despite being 10 men. With fixtures against Huddersfield, West Ham, Swansea and Stoke too, he would make me very flexible in team selection. His end product is abit wanting but he could get a few points during that run.

Brunt is now a midfielder in FPL, which is abit of a downer. West Brom players are a set-piece threat, and Brunt’s quality deliveries could slot in well over the next 4 gameweeks as Zaha’s replacement.

Hudersfield’s Aaron Mooy, at £5.5m, was who I settled on. Not only does he take corners and the occasional free kick, he’s surprised me in that he’s a bit more of a roamer than sitting behind the striker. The threat of being a provider from open play, Huddersfield’s morale boosting PL debut win and his £5.5m price tag, he is the one to take over from Zaha.

Gameweek 2 Lineup

Ben Foster continues in goal over Rob Elliot who faces a tough game against Huddersfield. Newcastle won this fixture in the Championship 3–1, but Huddersfield have bought well and after that win over Crystal Palace, they’ll be brimming with confidence.

Bailly, Kolasinac and Bertrand keep their places in the team with favourable fixtures for United and Southampton, and potential attacking returns for SeaKol against Stoke.

Eriksen was impressive against Newcastle and he is a no-brainer in the team. Chelsea have plenty of injury and suspension woes having lost Cesc Fabregas and Cahill to red cards against Burnley; Bakayoko still not match fit and Hazard back in training but not ready yet. David Luiz might have to play in midfield alongside Ngolo Kante and we may see a formation change by Conte. Factoring in those Chelsea uncertainties, I think Eriksen and Spurs have the advantage going into this game. Chelsea also have had two bad outings at Wembley, Spurs stutter at Wembley, this will be interesting.

I thought of dropping Willian for Ben Mee, but the Brazilian has a tendency of showing up against Spurs, and at Wembley. Chelsea will want to come back strong after last week’s surprise loss to Burnley. With Hazard and Pedro soon to come back, this is his time to stake a claim for a place in that Chelsea front 3.

Kevin De Bruyne has another chance to get off the mark against Everton after firing blanks last time out. Manolo Gabbiadini has less room for error for me, because a striker like Vokes looks better value for money, and is £1.0m cheaper. He starts at home to Bilic’s West Ham.

Aaron Mooy comes straight in to the team in place of Zaha for his fixture against Newcastle. Romelu Lukaku and Roberto Firmino start up front. Firmino plays a very shifty Palace team that looks far from settled under new manager Frank De Boer, whereas Lukaku plays Swansea, who are solid defensively under Paul Clement, but United should have too much firepower. I think Lukaku gets the armband once more.

FPL GW 2 Preview: Zaha Replacement and Gameweek 2 Lineup was originally published in upnnunder on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.

As hesitant as I was having Lukaku in my squad, common sense prevailed and ended up having him as captain. Safe to say that that paid off. Besides Lukaku, clean sheets were a source for points, Eriksen came through as well as I managed a decent points tally of 88 points in gameweek 1.

Defense Starting Strong

The West Brom defense pretty much shut up shop after Ahmed Hegazi’s header as the Baggies won by the odd goal against Bournemouth. Ben Foster got me those clean sheet points. After a disappointing previous season defensively (by Tony Pulis’ mean standards), it’s good to see them get a clean sheet, and typically score from a set-piece. Speaking of Hegazi, the Egyptian has been transferred in over 200,000 times by managers. Considering starting duo of Jonny Evans and Gareth McAuley are still out, in the short term, Hegazi might sound a good idea… but with an international break coming up, chances are at least one of those 2 will be fit soon, and Hegazi should be settling for a place on the bench. Man City have had a bid for Evans rejected, it’ll be interesting to see if they improve it and if he stays at West Brom.

Eric Bailly managed to get a clean sheet as Man United weren’t really tested by a Chicharito-led West Ham attack. I’m still convincing myself that downgrading to him from Antonio Valencia was worth it. Valencia’s £6.5m value seems a bit too expensive if you consider other fullbacks that could offer a more attacking threat than him over the course of the season.

Sead Kolasinac continues to impress by the positions he finds himself in. The man is a tank, yet he covers every blade of grass effortlessly. He started at left centre-back, but assisted a goal for Danny Welbeck after being the furthest man forward after a Lacazette’s miskick. If the Gunners can tighten at the back and stop conceding stupid goals, SeaKol might be in for a memorable FPL season.

Perhaps one of the more interesting displays on the opening weekend was Ryan Bertrand’s for the Saints. Saints’ defense will keep clean sheets, and that’s just more appeal for Bertrand’s owners. He was also good going forward and was on set-piece duties. There was more surprises all over the league when it came to set-pieces: Van Aanholt took Palace’s corners, Trent Alexander-Arnold took Liverpool’s (even scored a freekick in midweek against Hoffenheim) and Xhaka for Arsenal.

Midfield

Christian Eriksen’s 12-point haul helped Spurs to a casual 2–0 win over a beleagured Newcastle. He provided 2 assists and had the most shots on target, more than Harry Kane. He is keeping his place in the squad.

Kevin De Bruyne is in a midfield with plenty of fire power, but it’s still disappointing when he blanks. It’s still too early to panic but at £10m, some production in the next 2 gameweeks will be crucial in determining his place in the squad.

Zaha was well-marshalled by the Huddersfield outfit and lived off scraps in their 3–0 home loss to the promoted team. Zaha was only one behind to Jay Rodriguez and Eriksen in shots on target with 2. He injured his knee and has been ruled out for 4 weeks.

Chelsea’s game showed much promise until Cahill’s red card early on in the game changed everything. Willian still managed to look lively as he took it upon himself to be the creative spark with 10 men. Alvaro Morata’s introduction and goal gave Willian an assist, and despite the circumstances, we’ll take the points.

Forwards

Manolo Gabbiadini had the unfortunate stat of having the most shots off target this weekend, and not registering even a single one on target. At least he’s shooting, so let’s see how he does this gameweek.

Romelu Lukaku was the toast of FPL, being the most selected and most captained player on FPL. He came through for all of us, scoring 2 goals and getting all 3 bonus points.

Roberto Firmino is now on penalty duties as we had mentioned last week, and he was quick to get off the mark from the penalty spot. minutes later his chip turned out to be a good pass for Mo Salah who scored. He also got an assist against Hoffenheim in midweek, so he’s looking good so far.

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