Hive FPL GW7 Preview - We Will Fight Them on the Pitches… and in the Press Conferences
Welcome back to Hive FPL for game week 7 of the season.
Cast your minds back to 2009 and a post-match interview given by Sir Alex Ferguson in the wake of his United side's 4-3 win in the Manchester derby, in which he coined the term 'Noisy Neighbours' to describe a City side that had recently been bought by the Abu Dhabi United Group and was beginning to make its play as a major force in the English top flight.
It was a brilliant interview, the sort that you rarely get now in any professional sport where media occasions are so heavily choreographed that the chances of someone saying something remotely insightful are somewhere between slim and none.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Hjv10eGTqrw
As soon as he uttered the phrase "sometimes neighbours are noisy", it immediately conjured up images of that annoying family down your road. They've probably got a big car or 2, they probably like to flaunt what wealth they have and they've probably got a load of friends who come round at all hours and do the same.
Ferguson was doing what Winston Churchill had famously been credited with doing during WII - mobilising the English language and sending it into battle.
Churchill faced an enemy with overwhelming military strength and resources. Ferguson, in the twilight years of his United reign, faced a similar kind of challenge (ok it's not war but stick with me), a neighbour whose financial firepower threatened to fundamentally alter the balance of power in English football. City could spend their way into the conversation, but Ferguson wasn't about to let them dictate it.
The 'Noisy Neighbours' jibe was more than a throwaway line. It was a declaration of defiance, a way of belittling a rival whose ambitions were becoming increasingly difficult to ignore. Ferguson understood that football is fought on more than one battlefield. There are the matches themselves, of course, but there is also the psychological contest, the ability to shape the narrative, unsettle an opponent and convince your own side that the old order can endure.
And, remarkably, it did! United went on to win 3 more Premier League titles under Ferguson even after City's takeover, their final triumph coming in 2012/13 with a side that on paper should never have been champions. Money was changing the landscape, but Ferguson's personality, authority and sheer force of will continued to extract extraordinary performances from his team.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LE3Ux23BNLo
Fast forward to the present day and the news cycles have all been about that same noisy neighbour whose 18 year party has just been raided by the police. You'd think it would be the perfect time for a United team to stick the boot in and re-establish their dominance in the city if not the league itself.
But, no! Instead, United continue to churn out poor performance after poor performance and what's worse is that rather than giving the kind of rallying cries that Ferguson did back in 2009, their players are lobbing hand grenades at each other, the manager and the board.
It's utterly shambolic!
Only this United team, which seems to lurch from one disaster to another on a season by season basis, could knock City off at least the back pages of the newspapers.
Enzo Maresca and the City squad must be thrilled! Michael Carrick by contrast looked like a man completely lost during his post-match press conference in Madrid. He is now odds on favourite to be the next manager to lose his job in the Premier League and old rivals Leeds United await him and his team this weekend.
I imagine that the triple captain chip for those who still have it to play will be a popular option this weekend.
City maintained their100% 114% start to the season with a 3-0 win at Anfield last time out and while Ipswich registered their 3rd victory of the season against Fulham, this is a wholly different level of opposition.
What is more, this is an Ipswich team that hasn't managed a clean sheet all season and conceded 5 on their last visit to Manchester.
Haaland has been remarkably consistent so far this year, scoring 6 goals in his last 5 Premier League matches with just the opening day blank against Bournemouth.
As the European matches start to come thick and fast, his minutes will undoubtedly be decreased. In fact, the game against Liverpool was the first time this season that Haaland hasn't played the full 90 minutes and you suspect that he might get hooked early in this game as well following the midweek match against PSG.
Szoboszlai was a very popular pick for GW1 and he rewarded that faith with a goal in the opening game and 2 def con points in GW2. Thereafter, he's gotten nothing more than clean sheet bonuses and a tight hamstring saw him miss the City game while he's likely to be unavailable for GW7 too.
The Hungarian midfielder is still in over 3 million squads at the time of writing and with a price of £6.9 mil that probably doesn't mean that you can't carry him for a couple of weeks while he returns to fitness.
The same can't be said of Bruno Fernandes. The United captain has blanked in 5 out of the 6 GWs to date and is costing the 4 million squads he appears in £11.9mil.
So who might be the better options going forward?
In terms of premium midfielders, Bukayo Saka is putting up the kind of numbers that should make FPL managers sit up and take notice. Only Haaland has a higher xG than the Arsenal winger while Saka leads the league in expected fantasy points. Of course the FPL isn't won on xP so you would want him to start putting away chances like this if you're going to drop £9.6mil on the guy.
https://www.youtube.com/shorts/cYanTdgBdds
At the next rung down, Brian Mbeumo is currently out-performing Fernandes and comes in at £4mil cheaper than his United teammate. The former Brentford man has largely been used through the middle this season which is undoubtedly helping him get into those goal scoring areas. He has the highest non-penalty expected goal involvement of any midfielder in the league at the moment. The poor form and uncertainty around the manager do need to be factors you consider on any United purchase at the moment.
Morgan Rogers with 4 goals is the leading scorer from midfield and again is significantly cheaper than his Chelsea teammate Cole Palmer. Palmer has just a single goal this season and 4 assists. You could opt for both but even with Chelsea's free-scoring so far this season that might be like chucking all your eggs in one blue basket, especially with Joao Pedro in most teams too.
If you're looking for some real outsiders, how about Coventry's Jack Rudoni who got on the scoresheet against Newcastle on Monday via the penalty spot and has delivered 12 FPL points from his last 2 matches. The Sky Blues had to play the 3 sides that currently sit in the top 3 spots during their opening 4 games but have since won back to back matches. Rudoni has now dropped in price to £4.9mil but he is ranked 12th amongst midfielders for xGI while he's also managed 36 defensive contributions so far this season.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aX3mzmhkruM
Alternatively, you could take a punt on Forest's Dan Ndoye. 3 goals in 30 Premier League starts is hardly prolific but he does appear to be enjoying life in a counter-attacking Forest side. Both his goals this season have come away from home and in fact his total xG of 1.9 for the season is made up 1.74 xG in his 3 away matches - give him space to run into and he's dangerous!
Ruben Dias (DEF) - Strange to have starting centre-back for the league leaders as a differential but Dias is in just 1.8% of teams at the moment. With a price point of £5.5mil it's difficult to understand why. He's been on the pitch for the full 540mins of City's matches this season. That might change going forward but he is a very experienced and very reassuring figure at the back for this City side.
Tavernier (MID) - Mainly because I can't go more than 2 weeks without writing about him but also because Bournemouth play at home to a struggling Sunderland side. It's a big match for both teams, the Cherries did play in Europe midweek (and won). Tavernier has 3 goals already this season and Bournemouth have a decent run of fixtures coming up.
Cast your minds back to 2009 and a post-match interview given by Sir Alex Ferguson in the wake of his United side's 4-3 win in the Manchester derby, in which he coined the term 'Noisy Neighbours' to describe a City side that had recently been bought by the Abu Dhabi United Group and was beginning to make its play as a major force in the English top flight.
It was a brilliant interview, the sort that you rarely get now in any professional sport where media occasions are so heavily choreographed that the chances of someone saying something remotely insightful are somewhere between slim and none.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Hjv10eGTqrw
As soon as he uttered the phrase "sometimes neighbours are noisy", it immediately conjured up images of that annoying family down your road. They've probably got a big car or 2, they probably like to flaunt what wealth they have and they've probably got a load of friends who come round at all hours and do the same.
Ferguson was doing what Winston Churchill had famously been credited with doing during WII - mobilising the English language and sending it into battle.
Churchill faced an enemy with overwhelming military strength and resources. Ferguson, in the twilight years of his United reign, faced a similar kind of challenge (ok it's not war but stick with me), a neighbour whose financial firepower threatened to fundamentally alter the balance of power in English football. City could spend their way into the conversation, but Ferguson wasn't about to let them dictate it.
The 'Noisy Neighbours' jibe was more than a throwaway line. It was a declaration of defiance, a way of belittling a rival whose ambitions were becoming increasingly difficult to ignore. Ferguson understood that football is fought on more than one battlefield. There are the matches themselves, of course, but there is also the psychological contest, the ability to shape the narrative, unsettle an opponent and convince your own side that the old order can endure.
And, remarkably, it did! United went on to win 3 more Premier League titles under Ferguson even after City's takeover, their final triumph coming in 2012/13 with a side that on paper should never have been champions. Money was changing the landscape, but Ferguson's personality, authority and sheer force of will continued to extract extraordinary performances from his team.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LE3Ux23BNLo
Fast forward to the present day and the news cycles have all been about that same noisy neighbour whose 18 year party has just been raided by the police. You'd think it would be the perfect time for a United team to stick the boot in and re-establish their dominance in the city if not the league itself.
But, no! Instead, United continue to churn out poor performance after poor performance and what's worse is that rather than giving the kind of rallying cries that Ferguson did back in 2009, their players are lobbing hand grenades at each other, the manager and the board.
It's utterly shambolic!
Only this United team, which seems to lurch from one disaster to another on a season by season basis, could knock City off at least the back pages of the newspapers.
Enzo Maresca and the City squad must be thrilled! Michael Carrick by contrast looked like a man completely lost during his post-match press conference in Madrid. He is now odds on favourite to be the next manager to lose his job in the Premier League and old rivals Leeds United await him and his team this weekend.
GW6 Results
Division 1
| Team | Hive Account | Score | Score | Team | Hive Account |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Seskobob | @deniskj | 76 | 63 | Top Boy | @sperosamuel15 |
| Hungry Lions | @gvkanten | 85 | 38 | The Cella's | @blanchy |
| Tengo Rangers | @tengolotodo | 60 | 68 | Hiveheadz | @borran |
| fpl.racibo.pl | @racibo | 52 | 48 | HaaBrunoLand | @earplugs |
| Blue Mooners | @leebennett | 65 | 73 | Likodra FC | @teofilex11 |
| Red Cards of Rohan | @thoth442 | 66 | 73 | Legion fc | @b0s |
| BlockchainFPL H2H | @blockchainfpl | 53 | 49 | Damola's Team | @george-dee |
| Ameerians | @amirtheawesome | 79 | 56 | YAGMAN FC | @Yagman01 |
| Suffragette City | @talesfrmthecrypt | 65 | 67 | Sutter Kane | @suttercane |
| Ping Pong Frimpong | @pingpongfrimpong | 66 | 74 | FC McKane | @mckane |
Division 2
| Team | Hive Account | Score | Score | Team | Hive Account |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Solat | @reservedsingle | 68 | 41 | Working 9 to 5 | @aunt-granny |
| Los Porro Hermanos | @jmehta | 57 | 63 | Gen2shaid | @gentleshaid |
| Garuda XI | @aditya-p | 56 | 45 | Deals on Wheels | @derek-trotter |
| Micheal87 | @Micheal87 | 43 | 65 | FC Uwelang | @uwelang |
| Form Factor | @publioscelta | 62 | 68 | Los Magos del Balón | @el-maestro |
| The Mighty Fc | @Twicejoy-sports | 78 | 38 | The Fantasy Devils | @stranger27 |
| Dani Deuder FDA | @danideuder | 58 | 74 | Tangram | @desro |
| Acid's Team | @acidyo | 57 | 46 | Kingsleyy | @kingsleyy |
| dewabrata | @dewabrata | 69 | 76 | shamzy FC | @shamzy |
| Skander's Team | @skanderh | 54 | 51 | Glasner Half Full? | @Doombot75 |
| Uwabbs battalion | @Uwabbs001 | 74 | 58 | Blank | Blank |
| PChip FC | @livinguktaiwan | 69 | 77 | Blugrana | @ronnie10 |
| Large in the Rear | @chineduokafor | 62 | 45 | Emeka4 | @Emeka4 |
| Mikmai1 | @mikmai | 56 | 58 | Steven's Team | @stevenson7 |
| Hadji | @hadji | 88 | 49 | Dirty Leeds | @dirtyleeds |
| Herbae (Stevelight) | @Herbae | 68 | 56 | Wild XI | @wildlifelover |
| Chocopram | @aaalviarez | 73 | 52 | twicejoy | @twicejoy |
| Stilgar_the_Fremen | @dune69 | 68 | 75 | El equipo de Roberto | @Kraken99 |
| Jambo Villains | @stuartcturnbull | 56 | 4 | Division 1 | @omrys5 |
| Fire Power | @emekaj | 80 | 82 | HB-EVWU75 | @kilvnrex |
| Simcard FC | @akomoajong | 68 | 59 | Corner | @artniche |
| Six and the City | @princekwame | 56 | 46 | HappyBoys | @Happyboy1 |
| Cohlson | @cohlson | 52 | 69 | Top of the Pops | @elvisking |
| Bennett's Boys | @olibennett | 56 | 37 | It's Nice! | @workingdad |
GW7 Fixtures
Division 1
| Team | Hive Account | Team | Hive Account | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sutter Kane | @suttercane | v | Seskobob | @deniskj |
| YAGMAN FC | @Yagman01 | v | FC McKane | @mckane |
| Damola's Team | @george-dee | v | Ping Pong Frimpong | @pingpongfrimpong |
| Legion fc | @b0s | v | Suffragette City | @talesfrmthecrypt |
| Likodra FC | @teofilex11 | v | Ameerians | @amirtheawesome |
| HaaBrunoLand | @earplugs | v | BlockchainFPL H2H | @blockchainfpl |
| Hiveheadz | @borran | v | Red Cards of Rohan | @thoth442 |
| The Cella's | @blanchy | v | Blue Mooners | @leebennett |
| Top Boy | @sperosamuel15 | v | fpl.racibo.pl | @racibo |
| Hungry Lions | @gvkanten | v | Tengo Rangers | @tengolotodo |
Division 2
| Team | Hive Account | Team | Hive Account | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Wild XI | @wildlifelover | v | Working 9 to 5 | @aunt-granny |
| Dirty Leeds | @dirtyleeds | v | twicejoy | @twicejoy |
| Steven's Team | @stevenson7 | v | El equipo de Roberto | @Kraken99 |
| Emeka4 | @Emeka4 | v | Division 1 | @omrys5 |
| Blugrana | @ronnie10 | v | HB-EVWU75 | @kilvnrex |
| Blank | Blank | v | Corner | @artniche |
| Glasner Half Full? | @Doombot75 | v | HappyBoys | @Happyboy1 |
| shamzy FC | @shamzy | v | Top of the Pops | @elvisking |
| Kingsleyy | @kingsleyy | v | It's Nice! | @workingdad |
| Tangram | @desro | v | Bennett's Boys | @olibennett |
| The Fantasy Devils | @stranger27 | v | Cohlson | @cohlson |
| Los Magos del Balón | @el-maestro | v | Six and the City | @princekwame |
| FC Uwelang | @uwelang | v | Simcard FC | @akomoajong |
| Deals on Wheels | @derek-trotter | v | Fire Power | @emekaj |
| Gen2shaid | @gentleshaid | v | Jambo Villains | @stuartcturnbull |
| Solat | @reservedsingle | v | Stilgar_the_Fremen | @dune69 |
| Los Porro Hermanos | @jmehta | v | Chocopram | @aaalviarez |
| Garuda XI | @aditya-p | v | Herbae (Stevelight) | @Herbae |
| Micheal87 | @Micheal87 | v | Hadji | @hadji |
| Form Factor | @publioscelta | v | Mikmai1 | @mikmai |
| The Mighty Fc | @Twicejoy-sports | v | Large in the Rear | @chineduokafor |
| Dani Deuder FDA | @danideuder | v | PChip FC | @livinguktaiwan |
| Acid's Team | @acidyo | v | Uwabbs battalion | @Uwabbs001 |
| dewabrata | @dewabrata | v | Skander's Team | @skanderh |
GW7 Tips
Time to triple up?
Haaland, at home, to Ipswich. You know you want to!I imagine that the triple captain chip for those who still have it to play will be a popular option this weekend.
City maintained their
What is more, this is an Ipswich team that hasn't managed a clean sheet all season and conceded 5 on their last visit to Manchester.
Haaland has been remarkably consistent so far this year, scoring 6 goals in his last 5 Premier League matches with just the opening day blank against Bournemouth.
As the European matches start to come thick and fast, his minutes will undoubtedly be decreased. In fact, the game against Liverpool was the first time this season that Haaland hasn't played the full 90 minutes and you suspect that he might get hooked early in this game as well following the midweek match against PSG.
The midfield conundrum
As the season progresses, there will be few managers who aren't left regretting some early season buys and at the moment it feels like midfield is the area where the greatest amount of head scratching is taking place.Szoboszlai was a very popular pick for GW1 and he rewarded that faith with a goal in the opening game and 2 def con points in GW2. Thereafter, he's gotten nothing more than clean sheet bonuses and a tight hamstring saw him miss the City game while he's likely to be unavailable for GW7 too.
The Hungarian midfielder is still in over 3 million squads at the time of writing and with a price of £6.9 mil that probably doesn't mean that you can't carry him for a couple of weeks while he returns to fitness.
The same can't be said of Bruno Fernandes. The United captain has blanked in 5 out of the 6 GWs to date and is costing the 4 million squads he appears in £11.9mil.
So who might be the better options going forward?
In terms of premium midfielders, Bukayo Saka is putting up the kind of numbers that should make FPL managers sit up and take notice. Only Haaland has a higher xG than the Arsenal winger while Saka leads the league in expected fantasy points. Of course the FPL isn't won on xP so you would want him to start putting away chances like this if you're going to drop £9.6mil on the guy.
https://www.youtube.com/shorts/cYanTdgBdds
At the next rung down, Brian Mbeumo is currently out-performing Fernandes and comes in at £4mil cheaper than his United teammate. The former Brentford man has largely been used through the middle this season which is undoubtedly helping him get into those goal scoring areas. He has the highest non-penalty expected goal involvement of any midfielder in the league at the moment. The poor form and uncertainty around the manager do need to be factors you consider on any United purchase at the moment.
Morgan Rogers with 4 goals is the leading scorer from midfield and again is significantly cheaper than his Chelsea teammate Cole Palmer. Palmer has just a single goal this season and 4 assists. You could opt for both but even with Chelsea's free-scoring so far this season that might be like chucking all your eggs in one blue basket, especially with Joao Pedro in most teams too.
If you're looking for some real outsiders, how about Coventry's Jack Rudoni who got on the scoresheet against Newcastle on Monday via the penalty spot and has delivered 12 FPL points from his last 2 matches. The Sky Blues had to play the 3 sides that currently sit in the top 3 spots during their opening 4 games but have since won back to back matches. Rudoni has now dropped in price to £4.9mil but he is ranked 12th amongst midfielders for xGI while he's also managed 36 defensive contributions so far this season.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aX3mzmhkruM
Alternatively, you could take a punt on Forest's Dan Ndoye. 3 goals in 30 Premier League starts is hardly prolific but he does appear to be enjoying life in a counter-attacking Forest side. Both his goals this season have come away from home and in fact his total xG of 1.9 for the season is made up 1.74 xG in his 3 away matches - give him space to run into and he's dangerous!
Differentials for GW7
Solanke (FWD) - With Haaland and Joao Pedro pretty much nailed on as FPL picks at the moment, the only question is who is your number 3 forward. Solanke was a popular option early season but has now decreased in both ownership (1%) and price (£5.8mil). He did get a goal on Saturday and perhaps most interestingly he captained Spurs in Van de Ven's absence. Does Zerbi see him as the solution to Spurs woes in front of goal or perhaps more importantly, do you?Ruben Dias (DEF) - Strange to have starting centre-back for the league leaders as a differential but Dias is in just 1.8% of teams at the moment. With a price point of £5.5mil it's difficult to understand why. He's been on the pitch for the full 540mins of City's matches this season. That might change going forward but he is a very experienced and very reassuring figure at the back for this City side.
Tavernier (MID) - Mainly because I can't go more than 2 weeks without writing about him but also because Bournemouth play at home to a struggling Sunderland side. It's a big match for both teams, the Cherries did play in Europe midweek (and won). Tavernier has 3 goals already this season and Bournemouth have a decent run of fixtures coming up.