Welcome to Genie's Corner for Gameweek 1! Here, I, (DraftGenie), will be providing you with my thoughts on all things draft! Each segment of Genie's Corner will focus on something specific and relevant to current events in the Draft Fantasy EPL world. Those of you who follow me on Twitter will know I tend to take a bold and differential approach to the draft game, which has led to many fantasy titles. In these articles I will be giving you my unique insights, bold takes, sage advice, and much more throughout the season.
Genie's Corner Gameweek 1
Check out this weekly dive into the mind of our mercurial Fantrax EPL manager and analyst Draft Genie! Each week he provides his thoughts on strategies, players to watch, trades to push for, and much more!
Pre-Season Wrap Up with a view of Gameweek 1
Liverpool Rotation
Liverpool seem like they may be the new Pep-roulette team. Salah aside - we have no idea which attackers will start each week. Gakpo, Jota, Nunez, and Diaz are all battling for 2 attacking spots. Gakpo does have the advantage of being able to play in midfield helping his path to more minutes possibly in a 4-2-3-1 formation. With the assumption that Mac Allister and Szoboszlai will start most games in the midfield, we can assume it will be opponent dependent if Jones/Thiago/Lavia (or other new signing) is needed or if Gakpo can slot in. Gakpo playing in the midfield will allow one or both of Nunez/Jota to be guaranteed a start. Diaz in my opinion will need to hit the ground running. He really can only play the LW for Klopp and the likes of Gakpo and Jota can both adequately take his spot. If you were able to draft a Liverpool attacker I think you will need smart strategy and planning to get the most out of them. Think of it as City attackers, but potentially even more minutes for the off-the-bench group. My recommendation, especially with Liverpool playing a lot on Sunday due to Europa is to pick up a weekly streamer who plays on Sunday. You can easily plug them in if your Liverpool guy doesn't go. Then also comes the debate - do you start them from the bench for their ability to get a goal or more? This will depend on the opponent. Against the likes of Burnley, Luton, Sheffield and potentially even West Ham, I am more than happy to start Liverpool attackers from the bench. There is no reason they can't come on for 30 minutes and get you 10+ points against a tired defence that really isn't EPL standard to begin with. Another good option would be to try and trade in those Liverpool attackers that don't start vs. Chelsea. They will be available for much cheaper as managers panic too fast in this game, and will provide you incredible season-long value! Liverpool are in for a great attacking year, and you will at least want one of their front 3 starters on your roster to maximize your title-winning potential.
Spurs All-Out Attack?
Postecoglou has completely changed the tune at Spurs after Conte's antics. The new manager has Spurs looking like they will shoot as much as possible and try to win 4-2 instead of the 1-0 way. The likes of Maddison, Son, and Kulusevski should be in for big years in their Fantrax scores. Kane staying for some reason is still up in the air but should be confirmed by Saturday latest. If he stays as we saw in their final pre-season outing...Spurs will cook. Maddison is the player Kane has been crying out for ever since Eriksen left. Now that he is here and still in his prime, he will offer Spurs the creativity, and shot-taking ability from the midfield they have been missing for years. With or without Kane I think Spurs will go for the throat every game. With the new signing of Van der Ven, Postecoglou may have the option to play both Porro and Udogie offering even more attack. Expect Spurs to stop looking for "the perfect shot" as we saw under Conte and look to use all 4 of their attackers as much as possible. I want a piece if not more of this Spurs attack. Everyone knows by now I took Maddison at pick 3 overall in the Genie League Division 1, and I see no sign of this being a mistake yet. Maddison was seemingly the focal point of the team in a Bruno-style role with everything going through him. If you can get him on a deal before Sunday I would give almost any player not named Haaland or Bruno to get him in. I'm expecting a Bruno-esque season for the new signing who should give a bump to the likes of Kulu and Son as well.
Nkunku Injury Effect
A huge blow for Pochettino was just confirmed, with Nkunku confirmed out for the first part of the season and rumours circulating saying December or later for a return. For those that drafted him my best recommendation is to either hold or try to get Round 5 value for him if you can. I would rather take that value hit and still get in a decent forward like Antony or Willian as opposed to holding a new signing for 3 months who needs a knee operation.
The injury news may have Chelsea dip into the transfer market for an attacking mid or wing option to give them another option. As of now Jackson is almost a guaranteed starter but has a huge hole in the creative department. He will need to do a lot of work to create opportunities for himself, but with a guarantee of minutes, he should offer good value to those who drafted him as a FWD2-3. The likes of Mudryk and Sterling should benefit with more guaranteed wing minutes even if there is a lack of production. Madueke will be in the mix soon and youngster Maatsen may even get the odd start. Now Pochettino needs to find a longer-term solution to this injury, so trading in one of these assets could offer you tremendous upside. Chelsea have a really good schedule after this Liverpool game, and if you can get one of their attackers for slightly cheaper or their draft day value I would definitely make that trade. Look to give up players with less upside but more stability such as Casemiro, Rice, Rodri, Pinnock etc... I still expect Chelsea to perform much better than last season, especially with that early schedule but it could be a few weeks before Poch properly finds a solution to this injury blow.
The End of West Ham?
West Ham are looking like prime contenders to be relegated. They have had a horrid preseason, lost their best players, lost striker depth, and Paqueta is also rumoured to be leaving. They haven't done anything in the transfer market yet despite being linked to players such as Maguire, McTominay and Ward-Prowse. Moyes and the board seem to be at a standstill regarding transfers and there is no sign of intention in this club. Without improvement or a Rice replacement, this club is destined to be relegated. Drafting West Ham assets shouldn't have been the worst idea, but the closer we get to the season the more worried I get for this club. Bowen is their top asset and should still offer lower-end MID1 value especially if he gets some sets with the likes of Zouma, and Antonio still about. Paqueta leaving would really show the lack of ambition for this club, with the need for a striker, a few midfielders, and some defenders. I am not saying to avoid all West Ham assets, but other than Bowen and maybe Paqueta don't really have high expectations other than streamer level. With Ings most likely starting the season up top, they really only have him, Antonio and Mubama to rotate through. The first two are injury-prone, and Mubama is a very young talent who may need time to find his feet. I think any of these three who start are worth a punt vs. Bournemouth but unless they have a solid outing they are an easy drop or "trade out" target.
Ryan Giles and David Brooks for Gameweek 1?
These two names have been on my tweets quite a lot in recent days. Brooks featured in a decent amount of my articles including the Way too early hidden gems. He was a target of mine all summer and had a great preseason. Giles' late arrival to Luton meant he didn't get a chance to feature in any articles, but now is his time to feature! I have high hopes for these guys.
Brooks should be one of the focal points for Bournemouth to start the year, especially with Tavernier out for a while. Brooks should get a good chunk of set pieces giving him a good floor, and his preseason goal-scoring should give him the confidence needed to start the season hot. Bournemouth have a lot of attacking options this year, but I expect Brooks to beat out Traore and Christie to the 10 role or an advanced 8 role in a 4-3-3. Brooks will struggle to go 90 after a long battle with cancer but should be able to get his match fitness there within a few weeks. I expect him to offer consistent MID3 value every time he starts, and against a weak West Ham, he is a must-start. Pick him up off your wire if he is there.
Ryan Giles is a new signing for Luton and should be their starting LWB within the first game or two over Doughty. Giles was brought in and immediately thrown into the first team in their strong preseason XI and split squad games. Giles took nearly every set piece and was the focal point of their attack every game. The play basically went through Giles and became cross and inshallah to their strikers. Giles will rack up a crazy amount of ghost points if Luton continue this way. The best part of this is he is listed as a midfielder so cannot lose points when Luton concede multiple goals. Giles is one that may need a few weeks of patience if he doesn't start week 1, he has a blank week 2 and should be in the XI week 3. You may be able to get him off your waiver wire before the Chelsea game if he doesn't start this weekend. My best recommendation would be to grab him now wait for lineups and see if you can afford to hold as opposed to dropping. If he subs in at 45' and shows his ghosting potential he could be a top waiver wire target the following week.
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