Welcome to Genie's Corner. Here, DraftGenie will be providing you with his 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 him on Twitter will know he tends to take a bold and differential approach to the draft game, which has led to many fantasy titles. In these articles there will be 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!
Early Season Reactions
Rashford Season? Sancho Season? Maguire/Ronaldo Done??
United desperately needed that win vs. Liverpool. Not only did they get the result, this is the first time this year United actually looked good offensively...Liverpool should consider themselves lucky the score didn't get out of hand. The likes of Rashford and Eriksen, especially, could have each added another to the tally on Monday night. We can say Sancho's goal was probably the most composed he has been in a United shirt since he's signed. While he didn't offer much else fantasy wise, he definitely looked to be growing in confidence after he got United off to an early lead. The same can be said for Rashford. With fans and community members thinking Antony will come in and send Rashford to the reserves, he had a point to prove, and boy did he prove it. He was immense, taking defenders on, driving into the box, and finally getting some quality shots off. Rashford lives and breathes United, and I really do think he has a fantastic season after this. He was used centrally in the first half, then started to drift to the left when Martial came in. Even if Antony comes in, I expect him to get a ton of starts through the middle and on the left. While I am not completely changing my tune on the United attack, I do have hope the likes of Sancho and Rashford, especially, can start to prove they are among the best EPL wingers in the coming weeks. If you can, try to trade one of them in. As community member @YodaMcLego puts it "Rashford is back to feed your fantasy team points."
Maguire and Ronaldo were shockingly benched, but it was a big statement that paid off. Even when United looked to close up shop, Maguire was not called upon to help in that regard. It will take a big effort on the player's part to get anywhere near the starting XI for the foreseeable future unless there is an injury. Martinez looked miles better without Maguire beside him, and we all know the quality of Varane on his day. Bruno wearing the armband also showed more leadership in this one match than Maguire in his many seasons; a changing of the guard is coming. Speaking of that, Ronaldo barely saw minutes in this game, and when he did his highlight was him on the floor complaining. It's safe to say ETH doesn't see Ronaldo as the focal point of his attack, or even a secondary option. While Ronaldo will still get his starts and his goals, United will be looking to move into an era without the club legend, who is tarnishing his reputation each day. If Ronaldo does stay, I expect him to start all Europe and cup games with maybe 8-10 EPL starts. I would trade out Ronaldo for literally any starting asset with upside of a FWD2/3 level. Maguire....please tell me no one still rosters him?
Arsenal Title Challengers?
Arsenal have had a blinding start to the season and sit alone at the top of the EPL table. They are tied for the most goals scored with 9, and have only conceded 2 goals, both in the 4-2 win against Leicester. Arteta has the boys ticking, but how long will it last? In my opinion, I think this Arsenal attack will do some serious damage this year. Jesus, Martinelli, and Saka will be the biggest benefactors, with Xhaka and Odegaard getting their share of the pie sometimes. Arsenal come up against Fulham, Aston Villa, and Manchester United in the next 3 games. I do think they drop points in the United game with a draw, but should still sit at the top of the EPL table come the end of September.
In terms of fantasy, it will be very difficult to trade in any Arsenal attacker right now, and even their defenders such as Zinchenko won't come easy. If you have an Arsenal asset, I am a big fan of holding them. Odegaard, Xhaka, Saliba and White are the four I would recommend shipping out in trade high scenarios for when the schedule eventually gets more difficult. If Arsenal keep up this form they should consider themselves a lock for top 4, but it's a bit too early to call them title challengers...don't forget just last season after 3 games they sat dead last with an 0-3 record. Still a long way to go.
The "Surprise" Assets
During the draft everyone has their values, but this is a very short-term memory game where 4th rounders can all of a sudden feel like 1st rounders, and 1st rounders make you want to pull your hair out. Yes I'm talking to you, Sterling.
This year, there have been a few assets that have surpassed everyone's expectations. Harrison, Rodrigo, Dean Henderson (!!!), and Gross are the main ones that come to mind. In my most recent trade article, I strongly recommended everyone trades in Harrison and I am still fully on board with that...the dude can ball. If you can somehow get good value for Henderson, I would happily trade him out for a MID/FWD with a high ceiling players such as Trossard, although 1:1 offers probably won't cut it for a goalkeeper. Gross and Rodrigo are tricky ones in my book. On one hand I want to hold and ride this good form, but also worry once this form goes away, either they lose their spot in the XI, or you are stuck starting an asset that was on a very good purple patch, but now is performing at the level of McTominay. I would strongly recommend trading these two out if you can find the right deals.
Now let's talk about the "bad" surprises. We all know my recent frustrations with Sterling. I somehow traded him out in 2 leagues, and I would recommend you do the same. Chelsea's attackers don't ghost enough (bar Mount), and don't score enough to warrant solid fantasy output. Just off the top of my head: Werner, Lukaku, Pulisic, and Ziyech have all had very high potential (Lukaku even more than Sterling), but have given fantasy managers nothing but heartbreaks. I do think Sterling breaks his duck soon, but I am happy to not need to wait around for it. He will be a very goal dependent forward on a team that isn't scoring 4-5 a game, and to make matters worse he doesn't have the best midfielder in the world feeding him dimes anymore.
Luis Diaz and Bruno Fernandes are two other top assets that must be causing frustration. Take out that amazing strike vs. Palace and Diaz has been just about as frustrating as Sterling. Bruno has shown a decent floor, but his ceiling is seriously lacking right now. Personally I still have high hopes for these two, and would try to trade them in on a low if you can. Liverpool look out of sorts right now, and obviously that affects Diaz's output. United showed great fight vs. Liverpool and Bruno was unlucky to not get an assist that game. Both these assets will be fine, so try and get them in for 70-80% of draft day value if you can.
Gameweek 4 Advice
Should you Bench Your Palace Assets?
Palace come up against Manchester City this weekend. Palace have looked very good especially on the attack in the last 2 games, while City have shown they are vulnerable at the back at times after conceding 3 to Newcastle. Palace have a decent record as well against City, and I would back them to get a goal in this one. I am benching any Palace defender, but am more than happy to run out Zaha, Eze, and Olise if they get starts. As @JwillDraft always says "start your studs", and the rule applies here. Palace should get a few set pieces and a few chances to have a go at Ederson, and with the form of Zaha you would like his chances to not only turn Walker inside out, but put one past the City goalie. Schlupp and Ayew could offer decent value as well if they start, but I would turn to other streamers with better matchups with the potential of either a clean sheet or an attacking return here.
Trying to Predict a Clean Sheet
It has been very difficult to predict clean sheets this season. Liverpool haven't kept one, you have United conceding for fun, Chelsea letting Leeds score 3, and City just coming off a very poor defensive display. Brighton right now have the best defense in the league, but even with them, they could very well concede 1-2 against Leeds this weekend. At least for the next few weeks I would strongly recommend playing defenders or goalies who are not clean sheet dependent. Look for the goalies who are making a lot of saves such as De Gea and Meslier. Look for defenders with a solid floor of headers, tackles, or the more attacking fullbacks. Always pay attention to the matchup they are in, because obviously that will help your chance of getting clean sheet points. This week I like the idea of streaming the likes of: Gomez, Zouma, Sanchez, Malacia, and Webster. All of these players are rostered in less than 60% of leagues, offer a decent floor and the potential for either a return or a clean sheet this upcoming weekend.
The Forward Pool has Dried Up
Yes, I am seeing this too. If you are in a 12 team or larger league odds are the starting forwards available in your pool are down to maybe 2-3, if your lucky then 4. You know its bad when Che Adams is the big waiver target of the week! If you are currently only rostering 1-2 starting forwards (as I am myself), you may find yourself a bit worried about an injury or a midweek rotation causing you to struggle to field a solid attack. I can attest as well trading in a forward (even a lower ranked one) is very difficult if any manager has a look at the FA pool. My best recommendation here is to try and think a bit outside the box, and "hold" a forward for that good matchup in GW6, or one that may start to get some minutes based off sub appearances, etc. Bobby Reid, Solanke, Adama, and Wissa are all good options to hold. If you are holding 8 mids and only 2 forwards, despite how lowly these names sound, it is surely worth holding 1-2 of them over an 8th mid of say Hojbjerg or Onana. If all else fails, flip the script and hoard some defenders to play a 5-4-1 formation. Look to get a mini-stack going. Through the FA, I have somehow managed to get a mini-Spurs defensive stack going. Defenders are routinely available, so in a worst-case scenario starting 5 defenders week in, week out isn't a bad plan B if you manage to pick defenders playing teams such as Bournemouth, Everton, or Nottingham Forest.
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