Should You Really Take a Hit for Gabriel? (GW20 Preview)

📅 Gameweek 20 Deadline:
Saturday, 3 December — 11:00 GMT
Yes, the first of the new year is an early deadline, zero mercy. Blink and it’s gone ⏳👀

🎰 Chip Reset Alert
All chips are back.
Triple Captain. Bench Boost. Free Hit. Wildcard.
Everyone’s got the same toys now… how you use them is the fun (and pain) 😈

🟨 Yellow Card Threshold Update
Threshold jumps from 5 ➡️ 10 yellows.
Translation: your 4YC players can breathe again 😮‍💨
No suspensions now until they hit 10 by GW32.

🔵 Chelsea Chaos
Enzo Maresca OUT.
New manager bounce? New rotation roulette? New FPL headaches?
All of the above 🤹‍♂️

🚫 Suspended
• Caicedo
• Xavi Simons

🏥 Injury Ward (Grab a Coffee ☕)
🔴 Rice – Knee injury, missed Villa. Arteta says he should be back once swelling settles. Monitor closely 👀
🔵 Keane – Missed Forest. Moyes: “Let’s see over the next few days.” ⏳
🟡 Esteve – Started, lasted 15 mins. Parker admitted it was rushed. Not ideal 😬
🚑 Cullen – Season over. Brutal blow ❌
🔴 Todibo – Groin issue, hooked at HT.
🔵 Minteh – Subbed at 58’. Scan pending. Anxiety pending 😰
🔴 Onana – Off at HT with an injury.
⚪ Will Hughes – Hamstring injury, subbed at 57’.
⚪ Tete – Hamstring injury, likely out vs Liverpool 🚑
🟢 Bornauw – Late sub, possibly just cramps 🤞
🔵 Savinho – Injured after 51’. Pep: “It doesn’t look good.” Uh-oh 😬
🔵 Nico González – Also off injured.
🟢 Doku – Back! Replaced Savinho, played 39 mins ⚡
🟢 Rodri – Back too, replaced Nico and played the second half 🧠

🔵 Chelsea Assets
New manager pending = peak chaos. Minutes could flip overnight, roles could vanish by halftime. Add City (A) next and suddenly ignoring Chelsea feels… peaceful 🧘‍♂️
Fixtures after that? Delicious. For now: watchlist, not wishlist.

🧱 Gabriel
Welcome back, king 👑
15 points on return, price flying from 6.2 ➡️ 6.4 faster than a Gabriel bullet header. Fixtures aren’t dreamy till GW21, but unless it costs you a hit — just buy him. You’ll need him anyway… and his price will rise.

🔵 Keane
Own him? Relax. Even if he misses Burnley, Wolves (H) and Leeds (H) are coming. No fires to put out here 🔥❌

🔴 Dorgu
Classic hold-not-buy. Two okay fixtures… then absolute horror movies 🎬😬
Hold till GW21 if you’re already in. New buyers? Look elsewhere

🔵 Garner
Need cash? Need an enabler? Need DefCon dopamine?
At 5.0m, Garner is quietly cooking 🍳
Everton fixtures are decent and his DefCon numbers are elite. Boring pick. Great pick.

🟣 Rogers
Nailed? Yes. Fixtures? Fine. Exciting? Meh.
Personally, I’d rather gamble on Gordon or lock in Schade for value. But if you value sleep over upside — Rogers won’t hurt you 😴

🔵 Minteh
Injured… before Burnley. That one stings 💔
Wait for fitness news. If he’s ruled out? Easy sell, no emotions.

🟡 Semenyo
If he goes to City — goodbye FPL relevance 👋🎲
If he stays for a few weeks — Arsenal (H) + Liverpool (A) incoming.
Either way: sell and move on.

⚒️ Kudus
Brave pick territory 🧠🔥
Form is awful. Returns are rare. BUT… cheap, on corners, took a penalty in Europe, and fixtures are very tempting.
High risk. High eyebrow-raising potential.

🎯 Bowen
Minutes nailed. Fixtures excellent. xG vs Brighton (0.70) was his best this season.
Right now? Best forward pick outside Haaland.

⚡ Ekitike
Fulham (A) = fine. Arsenal (A) = pain.
But Burnley (H) in GW22 is waiting 👀
Hold till then, reassess later.


😏 Up next: Captaincy chaos 🧢, chip dilemmas 🎰, spicy differentials 🌶️, and the team reveal where I overthink everything one last time…
Don’t go anywhere.

🤖 Haaland (vs Chelsea, H)
Yes, it’s Chelsea. Yes, it’s still Haaland.
They’ve shipped 6 goals in the last 5 but their xGA is ugly, and they’re basically inviting shots like it’s an open house 🏠🎯
Oh — and Caicedo is suspended.
At home. With that ceiling.
This is comfort-food captaincy 🍔

🎯 Saka (vs Bournemouth, A)
Bournemouth have conceded 11 goals in 5 and rank among the worst for xGA lately 📉
They’re also a set-piece disaster, which is great news when Saka’s on corners and indirect free kicks 🎯
Very solid. Very logical. Slightly less explosive than Haaland.

⚖️ Verdict
Give it to Haaland.
He’s simply more likely to explode — and honestly, what are the odds of three blanks in a row?
Exactly. Don’t test fate 😬

🧠🔥 Brave (Borderline Unhinged) Option: Gabriel
Yes. That Gabriel.
Bournemouth are dreadful at defending set pieces.
Arsenal love set pieces.
Gabriel is a set piece.
Is it madness? Absolutely.
Is there logic hiding in the chaos? Also yes 👀🧱

Yes, all your chips are shiny and available again ✨
No, this is not the time to press buttons like you’re playing FIFA at 3am 😅

Think of chips like hot sauce 🌶️
A little = elite.
Too much = pain, regret, and tweets you’ll delete later.

🃏 Wildcard in GW20? Let’s talk.

I’ve seen a lot of managers pulling the WC trigger already — and honestly… I think it’s premature 😬

Here’s why patience might save your season:

🌍 AFCON chaos
Key players are off on international duty. Waiting for a few returns could save you from a very expensive headache.

🔵 Chelsea uncertainty
New manager loading… ⏳
And with their fixtures turning tasty soon 🍽️, it makes sense to wait, watch, and identify the new Gala XI before committing.

🚑 Injured premiums
Munoz. Bruno. Isak.
They’re out, not irrelevant. And they’re definitely not cheap. You’ll want flexibility when they’re back.

🔄 January transfer madness
New signings = old assets suddenly useless.
And every winter window gifts us at least one “why didn’t I wait?” moment.

🛑 The Rule of Thumb

If your team is functional — do not touch the Wildcard.
If your team makes you physically sigh every time you open the app… then yes, we may proceed 🧠➡️🧨

If it really is that bad, here’s a draft Wildcard team to steady the ship 👇

Remember:
Chips don’t win FPL in January.
Timing does.

48 points 📈
Not exactly FPL folklore, but enough to drag my rank from 83.7K → 58.6K.
Progress is progress. We take those. Always.

Here’s how the squad looked before touching anything 👇

🩹 Minteh injured right before Burnley.
I protected him for weeks.
For this fixture.
This one hurt. Deeply 😭

But no time for tears — because bigger fish awaited 🐟
Yes. Gabriel.

Decision time:
➡️ Sell Timber
➡️ Or finally end the VVD experiment

Here’s the final squad 👇

I chose violence… for my own team.
❌ VVD OUT
✅ Gabriel IN

And wow — what an upgrade.
I’d been searching for a reason to sell VVD for weeks, and Gabriel kicked the door down and said “say less.”
Let’s be honest… owning VVD this season?
Not fun. Not vibes. No returns. 😮‍💨

🧠 Formation Watch
Currently lined up 5-3-2, with Minteh & Wilson on the bench.
That could change depending on Minteh’s fitness update…
And yes, part of me is tempted play Wilson vs Liverpool at home 🎲👀