The Elite XI: Team Reveal feature allows Fix Premium Plus members exclusive access to the greatest Fantasy Premier League (FPL) managers. The combined Elite XI boasts an extraordinary 18 x Top 1k, 61 x Top 5k, and 80 x Top 10k finishes. Offering real-time tracking data, push notifications and detailed insight into manager's strategies, the Elite XI is unlike any other team reveal.
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This weekly article will take you deep into the mindset of the world's best FPL managers, allowing you to match your playing style to individual members of the Elite XI and use their incredible insight to help inform your own FPL decisions.
Like the (almost) 1 million managers who brought in Dominic Solanke (£6.8m) this Gameweek, Craig will be wondering if he can count on his 6-point return after FPL took the unorthodox step of keeping Gameweek 17 ‘open’. This step, presumably, is to give them operational flexibility while they decide on how to deal with the points from the abandoned Bournemouth v Luton fixture, in the wake of Luton’s captain, Tom Lockyer (£4.3m), suffering a cardiac arrest on the pitch.
Assuming things stay as they are, Craig has had a solid Gameweek which sees him tantalizingly close to the Top 100k. This is following an incredible run which has seen him earn 10 green arrows in the last 12 Gameweeks, boosting him from 2.3m in Gameweek 5, to 156k as things currently stand.
Five out of five defensive returns will have pleased Craig, especially from differential picks such as Martin Dubravka (£4.2m) owned by just 7.4% of managers, and Benoît Badiashile (£4.4m) who is owned by 0.1%! In true Elite XI fashion, Craig still feels he could be doing better:
Despite most of my players bringing some returns to the party, I did lose ground on most people around me. It’s felt this way for a few weeks. It seems: mainly green arrows but repeatedly missed opportunities to make more ground: 100k before Christmas has always been the goal, but I really should be there by now. It would be easy to blame Darwin (and believe me, I do). However, I’ve been too timid on the transfer front, preferring to keep assets who can cover my ass in Gameweek 18.
Looking ahead, there are a few issues Craig would like to sort out. First and foremost is Moussa Diaby (£6.7m) who, after a solid run at the beginning of the season, appears to have fallen out of favour with Unai Emery, his last full 90 minutes being back in Gameweek 11 when he blanked against Nottingham Forest.
Gordon and Palmer [to replace Diaby] are standout options and would still be standout options, even if their price was 25% or more. There’s a temptation to look elsewhere, especially as Palmer is on 4 yellow cards, but there’s no greater differential than actual points and – worrisome suspension aside – I’m backing Palmer to be the player to be the one who brings home the bacon. The other two candidates for moves were Ødegaard and Richarlison, but both of them have question marks for me: I’m not yet sure Arsenal have sufficient attacking threat to double up on their attack, and there remains – at least for me – the suspicion that Richarlison is more likely to disappoint than to reward, even at number 9 in the Spurs attack.
Pep Guardiola’s comments around the injury to Erling Haaland (£13.9m) may have left the door open for a potential – albeit unlikely – return in Gameweek 17, but they were not sufficient for Craig to keep hold of the Norweigian striker, especially since Manchester City have no fixture in Gameweek 18. With £7.5m in the bank, Craig has the flexibility to reverse this decision should Haaland become available soon.
All the moves being considered, of course, depend on when we can expect Haaland to be fit, and we’re going to have to wait a wee while for news on that front. In the meantime, pending the midweek Carabou Cup games, it’ll be Diaby & Archer (or Darwin) to Palmer and Watkins.
If you would like to keep up-to-date with Craig's moves, then head over to the Elite XI: Team Reveal area and sign up to his push notifications – this will allow you to track his moves in real-time and stay one step ahead of your mini-league rivals.
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