GW 2 Points	52
GW 2 Rank	15.32 lacs
Overall rank after GW 2	24.00 lacs – up from 32.22 lacs

52 points in GW 3 turned out to be a solid score, compared to the average of 43. It is in game weeks like this when the average is on the lower side, one has a solid chance of making improvements in the rank. Although I only managed 52 points, it led to an increase of around 8 lakhs in overall rank, decent improvement to 24 lakhs, but there is a long way to go. I am targeting steady increase in ranks and hopefully the approach to have a couple of differentials along with few high ownership players should pay off.

Review of last game week’s performance:

Positives

• Mason Mount – He featured as one of the biggest negatives in my GW 2 review, but was still part of my possible wildcard team for GW 3, only because I believe Chelsea have attacking potential but could not think of any other option to include in my squad. And it finally worked – persisting with him went in my favour for GW 3, with Mount returning 12 points, when a lot of other high ownership players failed to deliver.
• Consistent scores all across – Calvert Lewin, Trent Alexander Arnold, Wilson, Mane all chipped in with returns for my team, allowing me to post a decent 52 in a relatively low scoring GW.

Negatives

• Playing with 10 men – Yet again, I had no goalkeeper playing but it was a calculated risk that I took and hence I am okay with it
• Martial – 2 continuous blanks have left me in a spot. I hope Martial comes good in the future, because at this point in time I plan to continue with him.
• Bench – My bench is still bit of a problem for me, with players catching Covid, something that can’t be planned for in advance, I need a solid bench that will feature every match. Thankfully Stephens started for Burnley and it seems he will be a starter under Dyche, so one spot is sorted. Need to find a way to get in at least one more starter into my team.

Near-Misses

• Ings continues to punish me with 20 points in 2 GWs since I took him out. It would have been a 16 point swing had I not swapped him out for Martial, not to forget -4 I had taken, thus 20 points difference in total.
• Son was someone I was trying to get in my squad, but could not accommodate him last week. He got injured and was replaced at half time, hence in hindsight it turned out fine for me.

Team for GW 4

Some of the issues I need to address with my time:

• Sadio Mane – Mane was supposed to be my counter to Salah, with a lower ownership and potential for higher scores, but as we found out yesterday he has tested positive for Covid and is out for this game week. Thankfully with the international break coming, he might not be be out for too long, but can I afford to go in with another key player out of my team? I doubt. Potential options below:
  • Keep Mane – In all likelihood, will only be out for 1 GW, and once he is back I would ideally want him in my team.
  • Change to Salah – The most obvious choice, will help me keep Liverpool coverage and also cover for Salah’s high ownership. The downside, he is 12.2 M and potentially other players could provide a better return this GW.
  • Change to Sterling – This is a gamble pick I thinking of. City play Leeds United, who are looking to play exciting football, but that leaves them vulnerable at the back and Sterling could be a perfect candidate to exploit this vulnerability with Aguero and Jesus out. However this will mean I will have 3 city midfielders in my team and if they collectively fail, this could turn out to be a bad game week for me.
  • Change to any other – Aubameyang is a potential option, but with Arsenal playing Sheffield United, I am not sure he is the best choice. I could get in Bruno or Rashford in as well, but with Martial already in my team and United not in the peak form, I am not so sure.
• Goalkeeper – No playing goalkeeper in my team. Ideally, I do not want to take a hit for a Goalkeeper in my team, thus I am exploring the option of going with 10 players for this game week again, post this I plan to wildcard.
• Bench – 2 of my bench players will not be playing, and with a possibility of few other players missing (Ben Davies could miss out with Reguilon now integrated in the Spurs team), I need to strengthen my bench.

Transfers

1. Mane —> Sterling

Not a straight forward choice, many would choose to take Salah in this position, however I am taking a punt on Sterling this week against Leeds. Salah is playing away to Aston Villa, who seem to have had a decent start in the league. Also Salah played mid week so I am hoping that Salah doesn’t go ballastic this game week. Sterling’s presence will mean triple Man City presence, however with Wildcard in the plans after this game week I am up for this gamble. I am tempted with the risk vs reward ratio on this one, let’s hope this goes my way.

2. Gibbs —> Digne

I had 2.1M in the bank after Mane to Sterling and need to sort of my week bench. Everton is playing Brighton and they are in good form, so is Digne, While I am cognizant of the hit, I feel getting Digne in might just prove to be worth it.

Captain Pick

Manchester City vs Leeds is an exciting fixture from an attacking point of view and could see a lot of goals in the match. I have 3 city midfielders and Kevin De Bruyne is the best option according to me. He is on penalties and is the creative force in the team. City will be looking to bounce back from the defeat against Leicester and this could be a good opportunity for De Bruyne to shine through.

Team for GW 4

Hope you enjoyed reading, best of luck for Game week 4 everyone!