With Fantasy Premier League (FPL) live for 2024/25, we’re welcoming back our team of Hall of Famers and guest writers. Here, Pras discusses his changing Gameweek 1 plans following Oscar Bobb’s injury.
It’s not been an ideal final week for me. I had settled on a ‘Wildcard in Gameweek 4’ strategy that relied on a few short-term picks before the longer-term overhaul. But after the Oscar Bobb (£5.0m) injury, for better or worse, I have had a U-turn.
My current draft goes back to a targeted five-week window (before a Wildcard in Gameweek 6) that sees me targeting the four teams right at the top of the Season Ticker:
Having seen a bit of Liverpool under Arne Slot, I do feel that the team isn’t starting from zero. They have the same set of players who know how to play a system and should do well in three great home games and an away tie to newly promoted Ipswich Town.
Similarly, the kindly priced Fulham picks can be largely benched in Gameweek 1 but are then quite playable for the next two games against Leicester City and Ipswich. Another two home games follow.
Newcastle have a great home game to start, against Southampton, but I do worry that three of the next four are away – albeit against easier opposition.
The two teams that I have avoided all together are Tottenham Hotspur and Arsenal. This doesn’t mean I don’t think they will do well. I’m simply playing the fixtures and hoping that Arsenal’s three away games versus Aston Villa, Spurs and Manchester City don’t yield as many goals and clean sheets. Similarly, for Spurs after their first two fixtures, the match-ups against Newcastle and Arsenal aren’t that easy.
CURRENT GAMEWEEK 1 TEAM
On the basis of above, this is where I have landed at the moment:
