STUFF THAT MATTERS
📅 Gameweek 17 Deadline:
Saturday, 20 December — 11:00 GMT
Set an alarm. Then set another one. FPL has no mercy 🔔😬
🎮 CHIP CHECK REMINDER
We’re in GW17, which means you’ve got just 3 gameweeks left (including this one) to use any remaining chips.
If your Triple Captain, Free Hit, or Bench Boost is still untouched… keep reading 👀
⚠️ Thiago (Flagged)
Didn’t feature in Brentford’s Carabao Cup squad. Before you start to panic, he hasn’t started in any of the midweek matches for Brentford.
Keith Andrews however confirmed he’s carrying a knock.
Not ruled out, but definitely one to monitor.
🚑 Dewsbury-Hall
His latest Instagram story screams “rehab mode” rather than “back for GW17.” Not looking promising — this one could sideline him for weeks, not days 😬📉
🟢 Szoboszlai (Cautious Optimism)
Some positive news at last 🙌
He’s recovering well and could even be ready for Spurs.
Keyword: could.
Wait for more news before making heroic decisions 🧠⚠️
🚑 Doku (Out for a Bit)
Pep expects him to be out for up to three weeks.
Quote translated from Pep-speak: “Not soon.”
Early January return looks most likely 📉🤕
🩻 Dan Burn (Long-Term Absence)
Broken ribs = up to 6 weeks out.
🔓 Schade (Back in Business)
Suspension served.
Schade is available again — and back on the differential radar 👀✨
🛡️ Saliba (Risk Taken)
He’s back, but Arteta admitted playing him for 90 minutes was a risk vs Wolves.
Worth noting if you’re expecting bulletproof minutes straight away ⚠️
👉 That’s the housekeeping done — now let’s get to the fun stuff: captaincy calls, transfer plays, and chip chaos 😈📊
GAMEWEEK 17 FIXTURES
YELLOW CARD TIME BOMBS
MIDWEEK STUFF
How Did Your FPL Assets Do? 👇
MAN CITY 2-0 BRENTFORD (Carabao Cup) ➡️ Cherki - 1 x ⚽, Savinho - 1 x ⚽, Reijnders - 1 x 🅰️
CARDIFF 1-3 CHELSEA (Carabao Cup) ➡️ Garnacho - 2 x ⚽, Neto - 1 x ⚽, Santos - 1 x 🅰️, Buonanotte - 1 x 🅰️
NEWCASTLE 2-1 FULHAM (Carabao Cup) ➡️ Wissa - 1 x ⚽, Miley - 1 x ⚽, Tonali - 1 x 🅰️; Lukic - 1 x ⚽, Robinson - 1 x 🅰️
CRYSTAL PALACE 2-1 KUPS (Conference) ➡️ Devenny - 1 x ⚽ & 1 x 🅰️, Uche - 1 x ⚽, Mitchell - 1 x 🅰️
Among Other Things…. 👇
O’Reilly, Nico, Cherki all started for City. O’Reilly played 65 minutes, Nico and Cherki were taken off in the 66th minute. Foden came on in the 19th minute for the injured Oscar Bobb, but taken off in the 82nd minute. Gvardiol, Nunes, Bernardo played 25 minutes. Haaland and Dias were unused subs.
Collins, Van den Berg lasted the whole match against City. Schade played 88 minutes.
Garnacho and Joao Pedro came on at the start of the 2nd half against Cardiff. Gusto and Neto played 24 minutes and Chalobah came on in the 84th minute.
Thiaw, Schar, Guimaraes played the whole match against Fulham. Livramento played 14, Barnes played 85, and Wissa played 72 minutes. Woltemade came on in the 72nd minute and Gordon in the 85th minute.
Jimenez and Wilson lasted the whole match against Newcastle.
Glasner made heavy rotations in the Conference League match. Guehi and Mitchell played 26 minutes. Nketiah and Mateta came on in the 77th minute. Richards and Lacroix were unused subs.
Keep scrolling — things only get spicier from here. If this newsletter were a kebab, you’re still at the first bite. 🌯🔥😎
PLAYER FORM
TEAM FORM
DEFCON MONSTERS
SAVE MERCHANTS
TRANSFER PLAYBOOK
This is where FPL dreams are made… and usually destroyed 😅
Here’s the GW17 guide to who to buy, hold, avoid, or quietly ignore 👇
🚫 Avoid Chelsea Assets (For Now)
I’d stay away. Not because they’re bad — but because their time is coming.
Just not now.
Think of it as preheating the oven. We’re not baking yet 🍞😌
🟢 O’Reilly (Minutes Looks Good Now)
Aït-Nouri is off to AFCON, which makes O’Reilly’s minutes much safer.
Next two fixtures are tasty 🍽️
After that? Mixed.
Attacking returns are always possible, but don’t expect DefCon heroics 📊⚠️
🔥 Harry Wilson (Welcome to the Mainstream)
If you owned him in GW16 — congratulations, you lived the dream 👏
Next two fixtures are excellent.
But…
➡️ He’s no longer a differential
➡️ His price has risen
➡️ Fixtures turn after GW18
Plenty of free transfers? Go for it.
Playing 3-5-2 or 4-5-1 long-term? Be ready with an exit plan 🚪
On a GW17 Free Hit or as an enabler? Solid pick.
🤔 Selling Saka? Relax.
Not this week. Not even close.
Yes, Arsenal play 5 matches in ~16 days, so rotation could become a thing later.
But for now? Hold. Enjoy. Reassess later.
Selling him now would be self-sabotage 😅💣
🎯 Schade (Sneaky Differential)
Nice fixtures, decent minutes, low ownership.
Perfect if you’re feeling spicy — especially on a Free Hit 🌶️
Not essential, but definitely interesting 👀
🟡 Rogers (Short-Term Temptation)
United at home? Not bad.
Chelsea and Arsenal away after that? Very bad.
Fine for a GW17 Free Hit, but not a long-term buy for now.
Circle back after GW19 🕒
⚖️ Semenyo (The Grey Zone)
Right in the don’t-buy-don’t-sell category.
Works as a one-week punt or Free Hit option.
Fixtures worsen after GW17 and he’s on 4 yellows — tread carefully 🟨⚠️
💡 Cunha (Thinking Ahead Pick)
I actually prefer Cunha long-term over Semenyo.
Villa (A) isn’t ideal, but the next four are very playable.
With Mbeumo off to AFCON, minutes look safe — and he’s United’s biggest attacking threat right now 🔥
🎲 Cherki (Pep Roulette Special)
Minutes are always the problem with City — and Cherki is no exception 🎰
But with Marmoush at AFCON and Doku injured, his path to starts looks clearer.
Still… this is Pep. Predicting his XI is like predicting London weather ☁️🌧️
Gut feeling? Cherki starts until Doku returns.
🎯 Bowen (One-Week Wait)
Nailed minutes. Lovely fixtures after GW17.
Definitely on the watchlist — just not the move this week ⏳
💪 Calvert-Lewin (Quietly Cooking)
Four straight attacking returns in “bad” fixtures.
Under £6.0m, decent minutes, and interesting if you’re eyeing a Bench Boost.
Fixtures aren’t pretty… but neither were the teams he just scored against 😏
🚨 Woltemade (Exit Alert)
Wissa is back. Played 72 minutes against Fulham in the Carabao Cup and scored.
That’s a huge red flag 🚩
If you own Woltemade, it’s time to start planning your escape.
👉 Stick around — Captaincy calls, chip strategy, differentials, and my GW17 team reveal are coming up next 😈📊
CAPTAINCY BREAKDOWN
This feels like the week you should play it safe..
Here’s how GW17 stacks up 👇
👑 Haaland (vs West Ham, H)
West Ham’s defence has been very generous: 32 goals conceded in 16, including 9 in the last 5.
Haaland just punished non-believers last week against a much tougher defence — and now he gets an even softer test.
This is the classic “don’t overthink it” captain. Safe. Boring. Ruthlessly effective 🤖⚽
🔥 Foden (Form Merchant Mode)
He’s absolutely on one.
7 goal contributions in his last 5 matches, looking like the most confident player on the pitch every time City play.
If you’re feeling brave (or chasing rank), there’s a genuine argument that current-form Foden > anyone right now 😎📈
🎯 Semenyo (The Temptation Pick)
Want a defence worse than West Ham’s? Step forward Burnley.
Second-worst defence in the league and joint-worst away from home.
Semenyo finally returned last week vs United — his first in ages — which is exactly how captaincy traps are born 😈⚠️
🧠 Verdict
You can get fancy.
You can get clever.
But you probably shouldn’t.
Just captain Haaland. 👑🔒
DIFFERENTIALS
CHIP ROULETTE
If you’ve used them all up, good, this part doesn’t concern you.
If you have some left, read this carefully 👇
🔥 Triple Captain (The Obvious One)
Yes, it’s Haaland.
Yes, again.
And yes… this might actually be the week.
City face one of the worst defences in the league, at home, and I’ve been banging the drum for a GW17 Haaland TC for weeks now.
Nothing has changed.
If you still have the Triple Captain chip, don’t overthink it — strap it to Haaland and enjoy the ride 👑🚀
🃏 Free Hit (GW17 Looks Tasty)
Out of the remaining gameweeks, GW17 screams Free Hit.
If you’re playing it, load up on teams with plum fixtures:
🍒 Bournemouth vs Burnley (H)
🔵 Brighton vs Sunderland (H)
💙 Man City vs West Ham (H)
🐝 Brentford vs Wolves (A)
🔴 Arsenal vs Everton (A)
Here is the FH team I’d play if I still had it 👇
🤔 TC and FH Still Available?
➡️ TC in GW17
➡️ FH in GW19
GW19 has juicy fixtures for United, Liverpool, Newcastle, West Ham, and City, making it perfect for a squad reset.
Yes, you could TC Haaland in GW19…
But here’s the catch 👀
West Ham (GW17) = leaky defence + Etihad
Sunderland (GW19) = only 7 goals conceded in 8 home games
Same robot. Very different walls 🤖🧱
🎁 TC, FH & BB All Untouched?
First of all — impressive discipline 🫡
Here’s the cleanest path:
🔹 GW17 – Triple Captain
🔹 GW18 – Bench Boost
🔹 GW19 – Free Hit
🪑 Bench Boost Headache? I Got You.
If you’re running a 3-5-2, finding a cheap forward who actually plays is pain 😭
Two budget-friendly ideas for GW18:
⚽ Calvert-Lewin — £5.7m, Sunderland (A), minutes look good
⚽ Barry — £5.7m, Burnley (A), quietly starting regularly
Cheap. Playable. Capable of returns.
That’s all Bench Boost really asks for ✌️
TEAM REVEAL
Let’s start with the good vibes 😌
GW16 was a dream — 92 points, a chunky green arrow, and the kind of week that makes you briefly believe you’re good at this game 📈💚
Here’s how my squad is lining up for GW17 👇
One small confession 🤏
That GW16 score came at a cost… all my free transfers were used. Painful? A little.
Worth it? Absolutely.
The plan was simple: build a squad strong enough to roll transfers in GW17 (and maybe GW18) — and honestly, I’m happy with how it looks. No panic buys. No sideways moves.
So yes… I’m rolling the transfer 🛑➡️🎟️
Bench headache? Oh, absolutely.
Right now, Hincapié is warming the bench while VVD and VDB start.
I’ve got Timber, so Arsenal’s defence is covered 🛡️
I benched VVD last week… and benching a premium defender two weeks in a row feels illegal 🚓
Benching VDB vs Wolves feels even worse 😬
The Thiago Situation:
He’s flagged, which adds spice I didn’t ask for 🌶️
If he’s ruled out, shifting to a 4-5-1 suddenly makes life much easier.
Until then? We wait. We refresh. We stress.
Captaincy?
No drama. No overthinking.
Haaland gets the armband.
Sign it. Stamp it. Move on 🧢🔥
Want to know what I actually end up doing?
You’ll find out in the GW17 Review newsletter — where we count the points, judge the decisions, and pretend the bad ones were “variance” 😎📊
Till then may your arrows be green and your punts be powerful.
See you on the other side. 💚⚽🔥