Welcome to Genie's Corner for Gameweek 10! 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
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!
Buy Low Players
Below is a list of a few underperforming players who I think will turn it around sooner rather than later - players you should be looking to trade in. After that, I discuss how to go about trying to trade them in, as well as any potential risks regarding these players.
Genie's Buy Low Targets:
1. Bruno Fernandes
2. Luis Sinisterra
3. Andrew Robertson
4. Darwin Nunez/Diogo Jota/Luis Diaz
5. Trent Alexander Arnold
6. Daniel Podence
7. Martin Odegaard
8. Ivan Toney
9. Reece James
10. James Ward-Prowse
Why These Players
All of these players currently fall into a category of underperforming what I personally expect from them. Some a lot more than others as well. For the most part are all "bigger names" that would have been taken in the first 3-4 rounds of a draft with the potential exceptions of Sinisterra and Podence. Trent, Bruno, Diaz, and potentially Nunez/Robertson were all first round players in most 12 team leagues this summer. But they have seriously underperformed expectations. With the exception of the odd game, these players have put up near "streamer" numbers. Bruno, Trent, and Diaz each only have 2 performances of 10+ points this season, and have even seen quite a few performances under 7 points. That is wildly disappointing for three "near sure thing" first round players. I have confidence that all three will turn it around, but that doesn't mean they will reach the lofty heights we had in mind pre-draft. They are simply at the point where they are too good to keep scoring this poorly, and their teams should only get better and more consistent.
On this list you will also find players that managers are probably losing patience with either due to missed games, taking up too much time on their bench, or just too many poor scores in a row. Sinisterra, Robertson, Jota, Toney, and Reece can all be name dropped here. Sinisterra being suspended and probably losing quite a few managers their gameweek with his -2 might invoke some panic trades. Robertson/Jota have been injured or benched for a decent chunk of the season, and unless said manager is a Liverpool fan they might be looking to move them on. Toney has been great this season except for the last 2 games, add in a tougher 3 game spell, and you might be able to get him for 85% of what he's worth if his manager thinks his "in form purple patch" is over....and if itisn't, he will still be a FWD1 this season. Reece James has single digit outings in his last 2 games, but is still going to be near set and forget for Graham Potter. The man can ball, especially when Chelsea play a back 3. He has every chance to be the top scoring defender on any given week. I would arguably even consider offering Trent out for him.
Last but not least, we come to Podence, Ward-Prowse, and Odegaard. I think these three have been reliable and have offered some gameweek winning value. But they haven't done enough to force a manager to overvalue them. I do think all 3 will improve, especially Podence under a new manager, and Ward-Prowse when Ralph eventually gets the boot. Odegaard has struggled in tougher matchups, but we know he can put up the big numbers against anyone, so he is worth looking at after the Liverpool game, or before it if you can get him for 70-80% of his actual value.
Strategies to Trade Them In
Trading in some of these players may be a bit easier than other, but the strategy should be the same. Trade higher performing players who are about to enter a tougher run of games, or that are having a "rarer" purple patch. It will be tough to tell which players are in a purple patch, and which ones are just going to have a great season. Players with recent performances that I really think won't last include: Almiron, Xhaka, Daka, Firmino, and Che Adams. While there's almost no chance you can get Bruno or Trent for any combination of those players, adding them in as a sweetener is not a bad idea, and could tempt the manager of the underperforming player.
Another strategy might be offering another "big name" underperforming player you may not believe will turn it around, or that has looked almost hopeless to do so. Two names stick out here for me in Mason Mount and Riyad Mahrez. Both have looked extremely poor this season to put it nicely, and Mahrez isn't even getting starts. Another manager may be tempted to take these types of players on given they haven't had any frustrations with them yet. Packaging Mount/Mahrez with an over-perfoming player or two could potentially get you a deal with Ward-Prowse, or Odegaard. FAB is another tactic to add in here - always always throw in FAB as a "get the deal done" type sweetener when you feel a trade is close, especially if it will let you bring in a player you believe is about to turn a corner. Don't let a measly 10-20 FAB you probably would waste on Kovacic and Botman stop you from getting a deal over the line to bring in someone with the upside of Trent.
Gameweek 10 Advice
Crystal Palace
We are approaching the glorious "easy run" for a team sitting just above the relegation zone. Yes, Crystal Palace are shockingly currently in an early season relegation battle, but I don't expect that to last. Viera finally has a fully healthy attack, and they can consider themselves a bit unlucky to not get a point or three vs. Chelsea. Andersen returning this weekend would be a massive boost to help them keep some clean sheets. In short, trade in/pick up assets from this squads. Everyone with this app probably has tried to bring in Zaha before this run, but let's consider him near impossible unless you extremely overpay. You could target a few more of the "under the radar" assets. Jordan Ayew has to be #1 on this list and can probably be picked up in most leagues given he is only 22% rostered, but probably can also be traded in for a few FAB or a defender with an easy game this weekend. He has scored 10+ points in his last 2 games and seems that he will be a mainstay in this XI. Olise, Eze, Andersen are all strong targets as well, but you might have to pay slightly over their current value. I wouldn't recommend doing that for Eze, but for Olise and Andersen I don't mind. Crystal Palace don't play a "top 6" club until 2023....avoid these assets at your own risk.
United vs. Everton
United are coming off a horrible defeat, while Everton are riding high after 3 very strong performances vs. Liverpool, West Ham, and Southampton. This is a game to probably avoid starting any Everton defenders other than Tarkowski and Pickford. United still scored 3 vs. City, and will be looking to really make amends for that performance. Starting United defenders is a great move if you are looking for a DEF3 to stream with all but Dalot probably on your Free Agency. I can't see Everton scoring more than 1 if even that. While this game can easily finish 0-0 or 1-1, I really think United bounce back here. In terms of United attackers, this is a late game, so have backups/cover. There is every chance Martial replaces Sancho in the XI this weekend if he is deemed fit enough. Rashford has been the far better player this season, so should get the LW spot over Sancho, with Martial through the center and in-form Antony on the right. Despite a poor outing vs. City, Bruno will start and will be looking to get himself another goal. I don't recommend benching your United assets here, but if you roster Sancho, have a backup ready to go just in case.
Aston Villa vs. Nottingham Forest
A prime relegation battle in this one. Two teams struggling for consistency this season, and both managers surely on the chopping block. Cooper probably closer to the sack, and this Forest defence is one of the worst in the Prem, just letting in goals for fun no matter what sort of backline they put out there. We should consider this a must-win for Villa and manager Stevie G; a loss to a team looking this poor will surely hurt his chances of keeping the manager role more than a few weeks. No matter how poor Villa's form is, how bad they look, I cannot stress this enough - DO NOT START ANY NOTTINGHAM FOREST DEFENDERS!!!! For starters, this is the final game of the gameweek, so we don't know who will start (even Neco isn't safe anymore), and unless Villa really don't show up, I can't see a Forest clean sheet. This goes for most of their attackers as well, the only Forest players I would consider starting are Johnson and Gibbs-White. And even then I am a bit hesitant. For Villa, if you don't start your attackers vs. Forest, just drop them to FA and stop wasting a roster spot. I would even go as far as saying I'm happy starting any Villa asset (less so their CBs unless I need to), but every Villa asset has the chance of 10+ this weekend. If they fail you, drop them all, last chance saloon.
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