We scored slightly above average in Matchweek 9 after our bargain hunting exploits, with our total of 721 points this season being good enough for 262nd in the world.
Looking ahead to MW10, it’s a difficult selection to make given the lack of ‘kind’ fixtures for teams. The top two in both WSL and WSL2 are facing each other, and there is also plenty of midweek action, all of which makes it tough to decide which players to pick.
That uncertainty has meant plenty of changes for many managers and a lot of variety in the players being chosen. For our team this week, eight of them have under 10% ownership at the time of writing. It could also be a very important week to keep an eye on starting line-ups and make mid-matchweek substitutions.
The team lines up in a 5-3-2 and unlike last week, it uses every penny in our £100m budget.
Starting XI
Phallon Tullis-Joyce (Manchester United) £5.5m
For Saturday’s goalkeeper, we’re going for Phallon Tullis-Joyce. The American is the most transferred-in GK in the game for this matchweek, and with good reason. Man Utd have kept clean sheets in three of their last five WSL matches, and there’s a decent chance of them making it four in six against Palace on Saturday.
Maya Le Tissier (Manchester United) £6.0m
Another defensive pick at Man Utd, and it’s the captain. Le Tissier scored seven points in each of MW8 and MW9. On top of a potential clean sheet this weekend, she ranks highly in defensive action points and is also a penalty-taker, provising an unusual goal threat for a defender.
Hanna Lundkvist (Manchester United) £5.0m
The Swede has scored 18 points across the last two matchweeks and is the only Man Utd player to register more than one assist in the WSL this season. At just 1% selection, she is both a good pick and an excellent differential.
Katie McCabe (Chelsea) £6.5m
After being kept on the bench against BK Häcken in midweek, McCabe is likely to start on Saturday. Any Chelsea or Man City player is going to be quite high-risk, but as the game is happening on Saturday, we can bench any players that don’t earn us the kind of points we expect.
Ellie Carpenter (Chelsea) £7.0m
Unlike her Irish teammate, Carpenter played a full 90 in Sweden midweek. However, given her importance to this Chelsea side and the magnitude of this fixture, I’m expecting Bompastor to still play her at right wing-back. It may be Chelsea’s toughest fixture of the season so far, but Carpenter is the highest-scoring defender in the game and able to score points at either end of the pitch, so she still warrants the £7.0m price tag.
Natalia Ramos (Liverpool) £5.0m
Liverpool aren’t on a good run of form but there’s still good reason to select Ramos in MW10. Their underlying numbers show that they are the most underperforming team in the WSL – six points and five league positions worse off than they should be according to expected goals differentials.
The Spaniard is listed in the game as a defender, meaning she benefits from potential clean sheet points. However, she’s being played as an attacking midfielder in Gareth Taylor’s side, and therefore finds herself in good positions on the pitch to add to the four goal involvements she already has this season.
Lauren Hemp (Manchester City) £8.0m
Of players with more than one league appearance, Hemp is the player with the highest average points per game (10.4). She has also earned 19 points across her last two fixtures. Similarly to McCabe and Carpenter, Hemp is playing on Saturday. Therefore, if she doesn’t perform well in fantasy, we can bench her and bring in other players for Sunday.
Olivia Holdt (Tottenham Hotspur) £7.5m
With 24 points in her last two matches and a home fixture this weekend, Holdt is one of the best options in the game this matchweek. So far this week, Holdt’s transferred in/out ratio is 19:1, making her one of the most sought after players in the game. The only sticking point is that her opponent this weekend, Everton, have only conceded ten goals in nine matches so far this season.
Signe Gaupset (Tottenham Hotspur) £6.0m
Gaupset is another great option from Spurs this week. Eighteen points in her last two matches is slightly lower than Holdt, but still very good. And given she is £1.5m cheaper, if you can’t afford the Dane, then there’s another fantastic Scandi pick available.
Bunny Shaw (Manchester City) £12.5m
Saturday’s visit to Stamford Bridge will likely be Man City’s toughest league fixture of the season. For any other player, that could be a reason not to pick them. However, this is Bunny Shaw. In her last two matches against Chelsea, she has scored 3 goals, including the winner in the FA Cup semi-final, so who’s to say she won’t get on the scoresheet again this weekend?
Viviane Asseyi (West Ham) £8.0m
Asseyi is the only player in our starting XI who is playing on Sunday. The Hammers host Charlton this weekend, and given the poor form of the Addicks, West Ham players are looking like good picks. The French forward has 49 points this season, at least 13 more than any other West Ham player, which averages out to 5.4pts per match. With recent high returns and a kind upcoming fixture, Asseyi is an obvious pick.
The Bench
Akane Okuma (Aston Villa) £4.5m
Sunday’s goalkeeper is yet to keep a clean sheet this season and is facing the current runner-up in the WSL’s golden boot race, but hear me out. Okuma has 49 points this season, just one fewer than the top GK in the game. Despite conceding at least one goal in each game, she has earned 16 points from saves, 9 from bonus points and 8 from defensive actions. Birmingham will likely keep Okuma busy on Sunday, so she’ll either get points for those defensive metrics or a clean sheet. You never know, maybe even both.
Chantelle Boye-Hlorkah (Nottingham Forest) £7.5m
If it wasn’t for the sheer number of Saturday players we have in the squad this week, Boye-Hlorkah would’ve made our XI. Realistically, we won’t have a big haul from all ten of our outfield starters, and the Forest midfielder will be the first sub to come on for any low scorers. She’s averaging 7.9 points per match this season, and hosting a Leicester side that hasn’t won a game or kept a clean sheet in over two months.
Amber Hughes (Wolves) £5.0m
On Sunday, Wolves host a Durham side that have lost all of their WSL2 games this season, conceding an average of 3.43 goals per match. Hughes is Wolves’ standout player and one of the best fantasy assets in WSL2 with 46 points this season — an average of 6.6 per match, and 18 more than any of her teammates.
Océane Hurtré (Birmingham City) £6.0m
Hurtré has the third most fantasy points in the game this season. She’s a player who will score points regardless of the opponent, averaging 9.0 points per match despite Birmingham only winning once. Similarly to Boye-Hlorkah and Hughes, I’m expecting that the French winger will be in our XI come Sunday morning, but it’s worth keeping her on the bench to start, until we know which of Saturday’s players earn the fewest points.
Captaincy choices
Saturday’s captain is incredibly difficult to pick. You could make an argument to pick Carpenter, Hemp, Le Tissier, Tullis-Joyce or Holdt. However, in times of uncertainty, it’s often best to stick to an option that rarely lets you down, and that’s why Bunny Shaw is getting my armband on Saturday.
If Shaw gets at least seven points on Saturday, then she’ll keep the captaincy. If not, there are more good options on Sunday too, but my pick is Viviane Asseyi.
Set-and-forget
Given the number of picks on Saturday, I’d implore you not to set-and-forget this week. I’m expecting this could be the most important matchweek of the season so far for making substitutions and captaincy changes.
But if you really haven’t got the time to make changes to your team on Sunday morning, then go with this: Asseyi as captain, then set your bench in this order: Tullis-Joyce, McCabe, Gaupset, Ramos.
Differentials
These are the players that can give you the edge; the ones that most people have not noticed. Here are my top picks per position, with less than 5% ownership:
GK: 0% - Constance Picaud (West Ham)
Defender: 1% - Hanna Lundkvist (Manchester United)
Midfielder: 4% - Chantelle Boye-Hlorkah (Nottingham Forest)
Forward: 3% - Amber Hughes (Wolves)
Three of these picks are also in the main squad, so you already know the reasoning behind them. The extra pick is Constance Picaud. Off the back of a 5-0 loss last weekend, you may think it’s an odd pick. However, that was against a very strong Man City side, and this weekend the Hammers will be hosting Charlton.
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