Newcastle just need a bit of quality, Barcelona are there for the taking. Surely we see at least two of Gordon, Woltemade and Wissa soon?

FH33 / WC35 / BB36 is a viable strategy, just a little behind WC32 / BB33/ FH34. However it does require patience and some saved transfers till GW32 when you find out which of LIV / MCI you need to dump, and which to stock up on as in BGW34, LIV have CRY(H) and MCI have BUR(A) - one will play.

Interestingly Talha Nadeem also thinks that West Ham making the semis would result in their GW34 moving to midweek of that gameweek, and that the same would apply to Leeds. That would llikely leave us with 3 blank games in GW34 and 6 teams doubling in GW33

I think having two tight looking QF's makes it very difficult to navigate 33/34 without chips but not impossible as at least 1 FPL friendly team will have a fixture. You'd basically need to roll till 31, the point at which we know who plays, and then start optimising, but will require compromises.

A back of the envelope calculation gives a ~23% chance of a FA Cup QF draw that keeps the 4 "big" teams apart.

Draw is going to be critical for forward planning tonight. A S'oton v Port Vale match up will give us only 3 blank games in 34, Ben Crellin has also brought up the possibility that West Ham going through might not lead to a blank.

Well, if MCI-CRY goes back in to GW31 it's not going to be because of both going out of the FA Cup in the L16. We're heading to the scenario of 8 blanking teams in GW34 and 8 doubling in GW33, it's now going to take lower league teams causing upsets to prevent that.

That was their chance!

Looks offside 😬

GW29 62pts OR 1.8K➡️2.0K Small red arrow in a week I rolled, got captaincy wrong and didn't have any of Semenyo, JP or Timber is a lucky escape. Garner bench jam for the second week in a row bailed me out. Should get a lot of information this week so the rolled FT should payoff in the run up to BGW31

The Stonks guy was offside

That's really rough for anyone relying on Munoz tonight.

Let's see if there are any overnight changes to DEFCON bonuses. Bruno, Rice and Palmer all ended up 1 short.

We're getting ever closer to Villa dropping out of the top 5, just a 3 point cushion now. With their form though, would you still back them for the Europa League?

Amazing!

Happily take a blank for Haaland (C) when Arsenal extend their lead by 2 points on a night Man City were probably favoured by ~0.5pts. Just keep ticking the games off one by one.

Joelinton had his Weetabix this morning.

Absolutely disgusting that someone gets 3 points for assisting that Saka goal 😂

Early goal line clearance from Gabriel after Raya passes it straight to Baleba who chips it over him.

Autosubs coming in for Wilson

It will be interesting to hear the rational behind the Robert Sanchez benching - is it a one off (eg illness or disciplinary), the start of a job share or something permanent.

Haaland and Rice start but no O'Reilly, WIlson or Saliba in the squads tonight. There's going to be plenty of bench jam to go around this week!

You can tell there is a bit of tension hanging in the air over the team selections tonight as we haven't had the usual "Haaland hasn't made the trip to the City Ground" jokes

Just watch all the popular doubts play and blank (or cameo) now that almost everyone has a good score sitting at 1st sub.

Btw Just in case I cock up the rest of the season, thought I'd capture for posterity this week as my points score is greater than my rank!

GW29 FT ♻️ OR 1.8K Really tough week for everyone with flags and captaincy. My gut is Haaland and Rice start but maybe not Wilson - would be shocked if I end up playing with 10. Haaland (C) is a little defensive, but I think Ekitike and Bruno EO should still be <100%. Big week of info coming up!

Might just be talking myself into Haaland (c) 😬 If Bruno or even Ekitike were at home, I wouldn't consider it, but of the 3 he has the biggest upside - if he starts!

Am I remembering correctly, but the last time Rice was a doubt like this was in GW20, and he ended up with a 17pt haul that many missed but some bench-jammed into? Is history about to repeat itself 🤨

The team news pressers from Pep, SIlva and Arteta.

I will risk starting Haaland, but will not captain him. At this stage of the season, when every point is crucial in a title chase, you can't rule out the scenario of him coming off the bench if they desperately need a goal. I'm willing to take that risk on a starting slot, but not with captaincy.

It may very well end up that the unpredictable player availability of GW29 ends up being up more stressful than the predictable blanks of BGW31.

GW28 95 - 4 = 91pts OR 4.2K➡️1.8K A good week, got some luck with VC Bruno and Garner autosub, but good returns from Wilson, Ekitike and VVD too. Despite taking a hit to eliminate my 2 dead spots, already find myself needing one of Rice, Haaland or Wilson to show otherwise will need to use my FT.

FWIW I think the livefpl ranks are still updating with all the subs and C changes.

More stressful than it should have been, especially when Gary Neville started suggesting that the injury-time goal was onside. That was probably our second most difficult game remaining, so a big hurdle cleared.

Is the Andefcon streak really over?

So returns for Wilson, Dango, Schade and Tavernier; only Rayan blanked from the popular budget mids everyone was choosing between.

Solly March back in the squad

No Andersen in the squad. I think he was one of the top autosubs for Haaland too, so there are going to be some going to 2nd bench this GW.

No clue what I'll do if Haaland is out for a couple of weeks, as I already have Ekitke and Thiago. I could wait a week and see how the FA Cup unfolds and how the chances for a blank change. Maybe, if I have to move, someone like DCL/Raul/Evanilson for fixtures, JP/Bowen for form, Sesko a punt?

Rodon completely switched off there, should have been an easy clearance.

So Haaland does miss out.. Bruno VC➡️C Garner bench➡️lineup A little bench jam, and luckily coming in the week I upgraded my dead spots so I get Garner coming in.

With returns already from Tav, Dango and Schade, no pressure on Wilson to deliver too 😅

Part 2 of "let's see what you could have won" coming up. Think I would have gone Dango if BRE had 3 home games out of 4 instead of 3 away. They, and Dango, have a definite drop off away from home. With Schade you also have to have faith in his minutes going straight back up to starter level.

As someone who just bought Hill, I'm somewhat relieved that stonewall penalty for a push by Jimenez wasn't given 😅

This part 1 of "let's see what you could have won" with Rayan and Tav. I really liked the BOU fixtures - aside from 31 when you really need them. Plus minutes uncertainty, in different ways for each, nagging away with players coming back and a quick turnaround.

A differential mid I was very tempted by was Gordon. He's playing up front a lot, good fixtures, on pens and whilst the output hasn't been great in the PL the underlying numbers have been good. What ultimately put me off is the busy schedule for the teams in Europe and his high risk of rotation.

With those transfers, I guess I've merged with the template again after a couple months wandering off in my own direction.

GW28 OR 4.2K Palmer➡️Wilson Guiu➡️Thiago Clyne➡️Hill -4pt hit Haaland (C) Bruno (VC) Mukiele injury meant I went aggressive to take a hit as otherwise only had 3 active DEF. Went for Wilson ahead of Dango as 3/4 BRE fixtures are away and didn't want to double up. Skipped Rayan due to minutes risk.

The UCL draw has made me think about rotation risk in GW30, especially for Man City, Chelsea, Newcastle and Spurs. Things look a little more straightforward for Arsenal and Liverpool. Interestingly, that week has CHE v NEW and LIV v TOT.

GW31 deadline is 3 weeks away; it would be annoying to have another blank to cover that week.