Why FPL managers will look at West Ham assets
In BGWs 31 and 33 West Ham are one of the teams that have games and decent fixtures. I have West Ham assets in my FPL team to cover the blanks and was a bit too quick on the trigger in hindsight, but the fixtures over the period are favourable, confidence is good at present and form turned enough since the Liverpool game and the 1-1 in GW25. The least favourable being Man city in the gameweek just gone, although as Man city had played Sunday and 120 mins of football, plus an injury to Fernandinho there was reason for hope, a 1-0 loss was on the one hand okay as it’s City but still a bit disappointing not to get a point in the end.
Fixtures up to GW 33
GW29 (H) Newcastle
GW30 (A) Cardiff
GW31 (H) Huddersfield
GW32(H) Everton
GW33(A) Chelsea
There are goals, FPL points and with 3 home games I would now consider 2 West Ham players, a lot of that choice may be dictated by chip strategy. But looking at the above West Ham are at Home to Huddersfield so there’s CS and goal potential in GW 31 alone
My chip strategy will be the chunky chip as per @PlanetFPLPod
FH32, WC34, BB34, TC TBC
The top 3 Picks and my reasons
GK Fabianski £4.7
MID Felipe Anderson £7.2
MID Snodgrass £5.0
The first is Fabianski, the 3rd highest owned GK as I write at 16.8%, save points if not CS, he is 2nd for GK bonus (13 BPS) behind Etheridge of Cardiff. He is such a good keeper for a club such as us, keeping us in the game so many times with big saves, so compensates for our leaky defence at times, I am of the opinion from 29-33 he will get 2 CS maybe more, especially if Balbuena is back in the side.
Anderson up next, he had a poor game by his standards against Fulham and has struggled for goals of late, the threat or intent is still there, I do think he is due a rest so I hope this is before the blanks and may well come against Newcastle. He has adapted well in his first season in the Prem and has been probably the best attacking player to date with goals and assist potential.
I was all set on Arnie even after the city game at first, but am going for a slight risky option and budget friendly player instead in Snodgrass. He carries some risk of rotation, in the middle 3 we have Rice and Noble who both start most games, and with Nasri and Lanzini out he was fairly safe there, Antonio is playing well on the right and Anderson unless injured or rested will play on the left. His versatility and hard work are what gives him an advantage for a place as he can play in any of the midfield positions and was rested V Man city. He takes most corners so has that threat and his price in FPL is 5.0 so is a good enabler as well anyway.
Others considered but not made the cut
Antonio – Mid 6.8 has done really well to get back to previous seasons form and is the form pick in FPL PPG. I find him at risk of some rotation and with Anderson not a lot more at his price point I’m not sure he is worth it, but as a differential could reward you, I’d target the home games more if you go this route
Arnie would be in my top 3 if he was starting, he was due to play against city a good performance there may have seen him keep out Hernandez. If Arnie starts V Newcastle scores and plays well then I think he is worth the risk for the blanks so wait and see is my advice, thee would be a lot of second guessing on him as a pick right now.
Nasri/ Lanzini, I have put these together as I think they will share minutes as Lanzini has been out for so long it’s going to be 2 to 3 weeks before I see him playing more than 60 mins so they cancel each other out, again one to monitor as once fully fit Lanzini could be starting more games but you may find his minutes managed somewhat for some time yet Pellegrini has said he was a key part of Arnie’s success last year.
Summary
One thing to consider is that West Ham are known for the inconsistency and are unpredictable as a team, as a supporter I know this only too well. It’s important to note that the supporters are far more behind the team and club in general this season, that has been evidenced by the reaction and increased support when we go a goal down. Finally one to watch is Ben Johnson as he is a 2 footed primarily right back but could get in the side on the left if Creswell’s injury is worse than feared but not sure he is FPL material
Any questions I will always try to answer and give my supporter based opinion/ Knowledge to help in FPL. You can tweet me @FplAddict123