Fantasy Premier League – Price rise and price fall after gameweek 1
Bandwagon (noun): Used in reference to an activity or a cause that is currently fashionable or popular and attracting increasing support.
This is the definition of the bandwagon given by the Oxford Dictionary. The bandwagon effect is a phenomenon that can be seen in our everyday lives, right from fashion to food to politics to entertainment etc. And it plays a huge role for the fantasy football managers around the world. Here, FPL managers simply buy certain players because other managers are buying them, regardless of their own beliefs and research. What does this lead to? Change in the price of the players.
Here we look at important names from the very first set of price changes of the FPL season 2018/19 and analyze how good or bad it may turn out for you if you jump on the bandwagon and get this set of new players or drop a set of non-performers from game week 1.
Price Rise
These are the set of players that returned big points in the very first game week and that has resulted in huge Transfer Ins (TI) for them.
Aaron Wan-Bissaka (£4.1million) – Crystal Palace
The 20-year-old right-back got 12 points in GW1 where he returned his owners with a clean sheet, an assist and 3 bonus points. But it’s such a shame that over 300k managers had him on their bench. He is the most nailed on starter among defenders at this price range and has attracted 221,462 new managers this week already. But the only problem with this is that his next match is against an in-form Liverpool side. If you want to bring him in now, maybe it’s time you bank that free transfer (FT) for a week and use 2 FT next week.
Benjamin Mendy (£6.1million) – Manchester City
Another defender leads the Bandwagon express. With his mind-boggling return of 15 points in City’s opening game of the season, Mendy has been brought in by 220,512 new managers. Now, this is interesting as City’s next 3 fixtures are Huddersfield, Wolves and Newcastle, all three where City are more than capable of producing a cricket score.
Mendy’s heat map against Arsenal showed that he played more of a left-winger than a left-back and if he continues to be so heavily involved in City’s attacks, he becomes the numero uno target for anyone bringing in a defender for GW2.
Luke Shaw (£5.1million) – Manchester United
Shaw is yet another full-back to make the list as he scored the winner against Leicester City at Old Trafford. The left-back’s first goal in professional football awarded his managers with 11 points. But there is a risk involved here as Ashley Young, if fit enough, can get the nod ahead of Shaw for the next game. If not, owning Shaw is a no-brainer as United have a very favorable fixture list ahead of them.
Paul Pogba (£8.1million) – Manchester United
Pogba, the world cup winner took the penalty to score the first goal of the season in the Premier League. And it was enough for 193,066 of his new owners to get him into their GW2 teams. Pogba looked sharp against Leicester and should be one of the first names on the teamsheet for Mourinho. If he maintains his form, he can prove to be a bargain at this price range.
Sadio Mane (£9.6million) – Liverpool
Mane stole all the headlines (along with the FPL points) from Salah when he scored the brace against West Ham United. The midfielder got 16 points for his 2 goals. More than 239k managers have transferred him into their teams and it might not be such a bad idea to double up on Liverpool’s attack. With the fixtures ahead, Mane has the potential to run riot in the FPL universe.
Richarlison (£6.6million) – Everton
The Brazilian looked like a possessed man who wanted to repay the faith of his manager Marco Silva. His two goals, one from a set-piece and another a beautiful finish were enough to reward his owners with 14 points.
Everton under Silva look very dangerous going forward and Richarlison seems to be at the heart of things for the Toffees. The decision by more than 173k managers to bring him in might give instant returns as Everton face Southampton, Bournemouth, Huddersfield and West Ham in their next 4 matches in the Premier League.
Ruben Neves (£5.1million) – Wolves
The darling of FPL managers at the moment, Neves is the most ‘transferred in’ player of the week with a whopping 279,132 TI for Gameweek 2. The Portuguese scored a peach of a free-kick and provided an assist to earn 12 points. But one should move with caution towards him as he still plays in a deeper midfield position and might not get a set-piece goal every game.
Price Drops
Unexpected benching or lack of returns from these players have left their managers frustrated and many of them are not in a mood to bear with them for another game week.
Heung Min Son (£8.4million) – Tottenham Hotspur
The South Korean was expected to start the game due to the late returns of Alli and Kane but Pochettino had other ideas. He started the English duo and Son had to warm the bench. Since then, more than 150k managers have ousted the Korean out of their teams.
This is the right choice as he has already left England to participate in the Asian Games 2018 with his country and it’s high time to use those funds elsewhere.
Kevin De Bruyne (£10.0illion) – Manchester City
One of the earliest and the biggest casualties of injuries this season is Kevin De Bruyne. He was the most nailed on midfielder in City’s rotating roulette as he played 3070 minutes last season, much more than any other City midfielder or attacker. As expectedly, he came on against Arsenal as a late sub but recent news of his knee injury has sent the FPL world into a meltdown.
Read More: 5 must-have players in your FPL teams including Arsenal and Manchester United superstars
More than 250k managers have transferred him out already and have utilized the funds elsewhere. The real losers of this injury are the 27000 managers that brought him in before today for GW2 thinking that the Belgian would be back to his best for the Cityzens. It is highly advisable to get rid of him as soon as possible before an imminent price drop comes and you lose 0.1 million.