FPL Gameweek 12
I began the week with little hope of victory. With a 28 points deduction before a ball was even kicked, the odds were against me. But somehow someway, I emerged triumphant. For the second time this season I have forgotten to press the wildcard button when making an influx of changes to my team, resulting in 40 points being trimmed from my overall score. Its ramifications have not been dire given it has only hampered 2 GW’s, so my confidence remains unyielding. A special note to blue bandits- thank you for your generosity, it is much appreciated! To the high level statistics, the average points scored in the league this week was 66, which was slightly above the average across all FPL players at 64. Comparing last week’s average fixture differential (10 points), this increased to 13 points, in large part due to the 34, 29 & 25 point-margined fixtures upwardly skewing the data. 9/18 of the games were decided by single digits (unchanged from last week), whilst the remaining 9/18 fixtures had a 15+ points differential, and 6 fixtures by 20+ points. There were also no draws across the 18 games this week.
Notable mentions:
Fixtures of the week: For the ‘Upset of the Week’ I thought CK would succumb to his second consecutive upset against ChaBALRS, but whilst it was closely contested he won by 6 points in their high scoring bout. The difference came with the 0 point returns from Colwill & Lamptey for ChaBALRS as the no-shows from his bench provided no support. It might be time for the use of his wildcard as the injuries across his squad may hamper him further if he doesn’t remedy this soon. For the ‘Neck and Neck’ tie between Undisputed vs All or nothing V3 I was correct on two fronts: the first being it was a tight contest, the second being Undisputed’s narrow margin of victory, however the points differential was 3 instead of 1 (my prediction). To be fair the gap was slightly bigger as Undisputed was deducted 4 points for an extra transfer, yet this had minimal impact on the result given the introductions of Kudus and Doku contributed 1 point combined to his team. Onto the ‘Goals Galore’ game it was the second highest scoring fixture of the week (155 in total), with Agueroooooooo topping the league with 88 points. Her inclusion of Tsimikas and Salah as captain made all the difference as aside from those two there was very little to separate the teams.
Top scorer: As mentioned above Agueroooooooo took this one, with CK a close second at 85 points. He could’ve been our second 100 point performance of the week but he left Tsimikas on the bench.
Blooper: I’m sorry blue bandits but this goes to you for obvious reasons. You’ve top scored in the league on two occasions so I’m in no position to judge you, but this was a week to forget by all reckonings.
Unlucky: Yessirree FC must feel hard doneby as his 21 points loss saw him drop 8 places to 13th. This is the single largest drop in a GW this season, yet there have certainly been wider margins of victory. At the top end of the table one loss can derail any progress being made, so it’s a shame he had to learn this harsh reality. A notable mention goes to Mainoo Shoes who lost by 1 point, but as we’ve said before if you score below the average there is no room for complaints!
Making Moves: The victor of Mainoo Shoes, IamJoseMurinho climbed up 7 places after his below average, 1 point win. The shape of the league is quite interesting- one lost by 21 and dropped 8 places, another won by 1 point and rose 7 places, whilst there was only 11 points between their scores. If that was too many numbers for you the bottom line is this: benefits of winning > consequences of losing. At the other end of the spectrum we have already discussed Yessirree FC’s demise.
Looking forward to GW 13, here are my predictions below:
Upset of the week: I believe the fixture between Vibes FC vs Benniehanas may provide the shock of the week as I think the host will marginally win this one. Whilst they are placed 26th & 8th, Vibes has enough firepower to post a high score, whilst Benniehanas is suffering with a host of injuries. The use of his wildcard could provide a spanner in the works (if it is available), but I think this has upset written all over it.
Neck and neck: StomachRumbles vs ETHstateofmindS2 looks like the closest match up as they have identical records, are placed 15th and 16, and are only separated by 13 points this season. I think ETH wins this one as his team looks slightly more balanced and with greater options available.
Goals galore: A Shaw Thing vs Sweet Potatoes FC should be an absolute cracker, but I have been disappointed before with this category. The host has scored the most points this season (768), whilst Sweet Potatoes has the highest GW score this season (103), so it has all the ingredients for a good one. With Man City - Liverpool the 12:30pm Saturday kickoff at the Etihad expect goals at the plenty.
With this being the final international break of 2023, rest up and review your teams as the season truly begins in December…… #wildcardready
Until next time,
To a simpler life;