In Gameweek 16, the Fantasy Premier League (FPL) managers were handed a transfer bonanza.
Everyone has had their free transfer fee increased to five, regardless of what they had during Gameweek.
Managers don’t have to use all their free transfers this week, but predictably it hasn’t stopped the flurry of activity.
Being here six ways you can approach the Gameweek 16 transfer top-up.
‘MINI-WILDCARD’ IN GAMEWEEK 16
Firstly, you can use your five free transfers in Gameweek 16 to play a mini Wildcardremoving the dead wood and bringing in players with favorable fixture runs.
For planning purposes, here is the schedule sorted by difficulty in Gameweeks 16-22, covering the entire AFCON.
Brentford And Fulham start favorable stretches in Gameweek 16, while Arsenal have the best match this weekend: at home against Wolverhampton Wanderers.
Injured or fallen out of favor players love Cody Agat (£7.5 million) and Muhammad Salah (£14.0 million) can also be settled.
USE ONE PER WEEK TO THINK SHORT TERM OR ADDRESS WEAKNESSES
Of course, you don’t have to use all your free transfers in Gameweek 16.
If your team is already in a good place, four transfers can be saved for future Gameweeks and used when necessary.
They will certainly be put into use during the hectic festive period, which regularly brings congestion and player rotation.
The additional transfers give you more flexibility to deal with this situation, along with any injuries or suspensions that may arise.
You can still use one free transfer each week to address the weakest point in your squad, or even keep one spot open to think short-term.
For example, you could take with you Declan Rice (£7.1m) for the home game against Wolves in Gameweek 16, which saw him progress to Rayan Cherki (£6.4 million) for Manchester City’s Gameweek 17 match with West Ham United. Cherki could then become Dominik Szoboszlai (£6.6m) for Liverpool’s Gameweek 18 hosting of Wolves. And so on, and so on.
This short-term, aggressive style of play is not something we normally have the luxury of in the FPL, but five free transfers can allow us to do so.
Stock up on players for a bank boost
For those who haven’t played the chip yet: you can use the extra transfers to prepare for a Bench Boost.
Gameweek 18 is appealing as this is the only remaining round where Burnley, Leeds United and Sunderland all play decent games.
Moreover, it is a good week for budget midfielders such as Granit Xhaka (£5.2 million), Kiernan Dewsbury Hall (£5.1 million) and Jos Koning (£4.5 million).
Gameweek 18 is obviously a post-Christmas round, so the usual caveats apply, namely rotation/minute management and lack of team news.
INCREASE TEAM VALUE
As of Monday, December 8 at 9:30 PM, we have passed the six million mark in transfers. We’re barely two days past the Gameweek 15 deadline.
FPL managers have failed to help themselves with all the available freedoms, which have gone quickly.
With five days to go until the 1.30pm GMT deadline on Saturday, we’re on track to crush the total number of transfers in recent weeks:
| Game week | Transfers |
|---|---|
| Gw10 | 14,380,415 |
| gw1 | 10,882,725 |
| GW12 | 13,914,718 |
| GW13 | 16,415,537 |
| GW14 | 9,442,288 |
| GW15 | 11,765,293 |
| GW16 (so far) | 6,015,917 |
As a result, we are seeing an excessive amount of price increases.
Take a look at this Gameweek compared to the first two days of previous rounds – we’ve even covered Gameweek 14 so far, when there was a quick turnaround in deadlines and managers had to move quickly to make their move:
| Game week | Number of price increases in the first two days |
|---|---|
| Gw10 | 5 |
| gw1 | 8 |
| GW12 | 6 |
| GW13 | 5 |
| GW14 | 11 |
| GW15 | 6 |
| GW16 (so far) | 12 |
So, make one or three transfers to increase team value, or stop the bleeding, is one play here.
If you have a Gameweek 16 Wildcard, even better; trade to your heart’s content and try to play the market. After you do this, you can still use five free transfers in Gameweek 17.
For reference, here are the players that are close to a price increase according to the leading price forecaster from LiveFPL…
ORDER THE SOFA FOR CHRISTMAS
Even if you are not on the bank boost, getting the replacements into shape for the upcoming match rush is something to consider.
Whether it be unexpected absences, such as Daniel Munoz‘s (£6.1m) on Sunday or a surprise benching like Salah’s in Gameweek 13, this is the time of year when we typically see the most disruption to team formations.
Gameweeks 18-21 look particularly ripe for rotation, with teams competing in four Premier League matches in less than two weeks:
Now is a good time to make sure you have reliable banking options if you need them during the hectic winter months.
That may mean dumping an injured person Sean Longstaff (£4.9 million) or rarely used Josh Acheampong (£3.9 million), for example in favor of a Xhaka, a Dewsbury-Hall or a Maxime Esteve (£3.9 million).
PLAY A CHIP IN GAMEWEEK 16
Finally, there are a fair number of managers who can still use a Free Hit or Wildcard.
Indeed, we’ll probably see quite a few Free Hits in Gameweek 16.
Why a free hit? Perhaps you are well invested in the assets of Crystal Palace and Manchester City and, for just one week, want to reduce your representation of these clubs when they meet at Selhurst Park.
You might also want to bet Arsenal big for their home game against Wolves, but you might not fancy a triple-up for the tougher games ahead.
The same goes for in-form Aston Villa and their trip to West Ham United, which precedes some tougher clashes.
Play a free hit in Gameweek 16 (you only have until Gameweek 19 to use it) so this is a feasible route.
Just like Gameweek 16 Wildcarders, you will again have five free transfers at your disposal from Gameweek 17 onwards.
Let us know below how you play the free transfers!
#ways #FPL #Gameweek #transfer #topup