Fantasy Premier League: Erling Haaland on bench? Captain Mohamed Salah? Hong Kong football commentator Lau Shun-man’s Gameweek 33 tips
- Managers have much to ponder with injuries piling up and top stars potentially being rested amid big Champions League ties
- Lau explains tactics, his best and worst rankings and why this season he is battling to avoid an all-time low
Fantasy Premier League’s Gameweek 32 was full of talking points, a total of 35 goals went in over the weekend.
Manchester City’s Phil Foden, the previous week’s hat-trick hero, was dropped, while Aston Villa’s Ollie Watkins recovered from a hamstring injury to score two in a thrilling 3-3 draw with Brentford.
Heading into Gameweek 33, managers have plenty to mull over, such as whether to include City players as Pep Guardiola could again spin the rotation wheel following their midweek match in Madrid, and how to prepare for the coming Double Gameweek.
This week, Hong Kong football commentator and long-time FPL manager Lau Shun-man shared his tips on how to approach the coming fixtures.
Lau, 46, delved into the world of football commentary in 2001 and covers the Bundesliga and the Hong Kong Premier League. He has also talked Hong Kong homes through Champions League finals and World Cups.
How are you doing this season?
“My performance [in FPL] is so bad so far this season,” Lau said. “My best ranking was 121 in the world in the 2016-17 season and my worst ranking was 389,033 in 2008-09.
“My current ranking this season is 522,750, so my target is to avoid a career low this season. Wish me good luck!”
Lau generally approaches the game with a “midterm plan”, which he said means devising his approach for the season six weeks at a time.
Another tactic he adopts is to try to play his chips close to each other.
“For example, in early March, I already decided to use my Wildcard in Gameweek 28, Free Hit in Gameweek 34 and Bench Boost in Gameweek 37.”
He added that approaching the season like this allows him to build a team with free transfers for Gameweek 37.
“Of course, this practice may not guarantee big success, but it usually pays off.”
How do you decide who to bring in?
“Mainly the form of players and fixtures, and I like to take more risks in the second half of the season.
“For example, in the coming Double Gameweeks 34 and 37, I will try to choose as many players with two matches as possible.”
Which players are you looking to bring in this week?
“I’m quite happy with the starting XI this week, but I have two plans now.
“I might sell Ross Barkley [Luton] for Alejandro Garnacho [Manchester United] but I am not sure if I would start him, as it’s mainly for the Bench Boost in Double Gameweek 37.
“Another plan is to sell Alfie Doughty [Luton] for Axel Disasi [Chelsea], but I don’t have enough money so, I may need to take a four-point hit.”
Why has it gone so wrong this season?
“One of the biggest risks I have taken was in Double Gameweek 28.
“It sounds crazy to buy three Luton and three Bournemouth players at the same time, and unfortunately the returns were just OK.”
Lau added that he made a lot of bad decisions throughout the season, like not having Arsenal defenders.
“The average number of goals per game in the Premier League is extremely high this season and teams rarely get clean sheets.
“Only Arsenal’s defenders get a lot of clean sheets, but unfortunately I didn’t have Ben White, William Saliba and Gabriel.”
