Open Thread: GW4

Injuries, Covid, and FIFA - the three specters

I can only imagine this week’s Open Thread is going to get feisty. By my count there are more than two dozen regular FPL draft starters who are going to be absent this weekend. Included in that list are goalkeepers Alisson Becker and Emi Martinez, defenders Davinson Sanchez,

If you’re looking for full breakdowns on Romelu Lukaku and Christian Pulisic’s injuries; updates on Sonny, Booby and the Emis, you can find that in Breaks Over, Back to Work.

If you’re wondering about under-performing stars (and right-backs named Matthew) you can read all about that in Overreaction Wednesday.

If your question is just ‘is Dominic Calvert-Lewin injured’ hop over into Ben Dinnery’s Premier Injuries table because that’s where I’ll send you, directly. We’re here to discuss probabilities, add/drops, Would You Rather, and the like. Benjamin will give you data, I’ll help you decode that and made the right choice for your FPL team.

But we will field injury questions. Just give it a bit of context: Is DCL likely to start and if he does not start would you like Ademola Lookman as an add now, or wait to stream him later?

To which I’d answer: wow for a sample question that’s really confusing. Have you confused Ademola Lookman and Salomón Rondón? Because Salomón Rondón is at Everton and could start in Calvert-Lewin’s place while Lookman is part of the over-crowded Leicester attack. Given that Ayoze Perez is also missing, and appreciating the fine form Lookman displayed in a relegation side with Fulham, I’d much prefer to add him now and would likely start him if he’s in Brendan Rodgers XI to face Manchester City, but only as a MID4. Lookman is just 47% owned right now and if he was at 14 other clubs he would be a mandatory must-add and over 90% owned. But he’s stuck - as are we - with being one additional cog on a wheel attached to a wagon driven by a blind-drunk Brendan Rodgers.

Also, Everton play on Monday, the Foxes on Saturday so you’re really rolling the dice that DCL gets the start if you wait. You do not want to find yourself in a spot where you have to drop an Everton or Burnley regular to stream Rondón regardless of how tempting a home match vs. Burnley may be. Plan ahead on that one and make sure you have a clear second choice behind Calvert-Lewin.

As I always do, if I get questions on Twitter, Slack or elsewhere which have good relevance to the group I’ll post both the question and the answer in the thread below. Open to all, please share far and wide on your socials SMASH THAT BUTTON or whatever…I mean, you’ll have to at least click the button below to leave a question.