Fantasy Premier League: Staff Roundtable - Gameweek 15

December 3, 2021

The RotoBaller Soccer staff gathers around the penalty box for their weekly FPL roundtable discussion. This week, the team discusses 11 questions for Gameweek 15 of the 2021-22 Fantasy Premier League season.

Welcome to Gameweek 15,  Rotoballers! This season, we are expanding our soccer coverage to include the great game of Fantasy Premier League. So, if you are a seasoned veteran, or a rookie navigating your first campaign, we will set you right as we look to acquire those weekend-making green arrows and avoid the doom and gloom of a red arrow.

In Gameweek 15, the action kicks off at 7:30 am Eastern on Saturday, Dec. 4, between Aston Villa and Chelsea. Therefore, our lineups will lock at 6 am Eastern, and then we strap ourselves in for 10 games of FPL magic across three days. The weekend highlights include several potential upsets as Wolves host Liverpool, Watford welcome Man City, and Crystal Palace travel to Man United.

Also, be sure to check out the rest of our excellent soccer coverage as the team gets you all set for every English Premier League and UEFA Champions League slate from a DFS perspective.

RotoBaller FPL Staff Roundtable - Gameweek 15

The Staff Roundtable is an attempt to get you inside the mind of our FPL staff. Our top soccer writers - Euan Leith, Jamie Steed, Phil Goyette, and Brandon Wampler - will answer questions each Gameweek to give you an idea of how they view the games. So without further ado, let's kick off Gameweek 15!

How did Gameweek 14 go?

• Euan Leith: I lost the plot about an hour before lineup lock and took a -4 for Callum Wilson and Ilkay Gundogan. One worked out, and one did not—still, 59 points and a red arrow for the Leithal Weapons. 
• Jamie Steed: With two players still to go, 45 points so decent (average is 41). I am hoping for my Arsenal duo to push me over the edge.
• Phil Goyette: 70 points, green arrow, should land in the top 50k overall.
• Brandon Wampler: Yet another bad week with City letting me down along with Gallagher in a decent spot
  

Who is your favorite differential pick at Captain?

• Euan Leith: Spurs have had a great run of fixtures, but Harry Kane isn't getting it done. So he's out. Son grabbed a goal, but I've set my eyes on defense. Sergio Reguilon has two clean sheets, a goal, an assist, and four bonus points in the last three games. He seems nailed in for new manager Antonio Conte, and they welcome Norwich on Sunday.
• Jamie Steed: Ollie Watkins. Leicester's defense is bad and has just conceded four goals against Watford and Southampton on the back of three against Chelsea. Watkins has a goal in each of his last three home games.
• Phil Goyette: If you are fortunate enough to have Son fitted into your current team, he's a worthy captaincy option against Norwich in GW15
• Brandon Wampler: Mahrez could be a great differential pick, and the same goes with Bruno.

Which goalkeeper is keeping a clean sheet?

• Euan Leith: Aaron Ramsdale for Arsenal. His Monday night foe, Everton, got one on the board against Liverpool, but it was their first tally in four games. Ramsdale has kept a clean sheet in three of his last five outings. 
• Jamie Steed:  Allison. I try to lean away from the obvious, but Wolves have just five goals in their seven home games and just scored once in their last four games in total. Liverpool has two clean sheets in their last three games (conceding just once).
• Phil Goyette: Hugo Lloris. Tottenham has a strong 45% CS% odds at home against Norwich.
• Brandon Wampler: Alisson needs to bounce back after conceding last week with a clean sheet against Wolves.

Andy Robertson has three assists in his last two games. Any chance you'll pivot to him over TAA in the coming weeks?

• Euan Leith: Not right now, but possibly when Salah and Mane go off to the Africa Cup of Nations in a month. In January, Robertson could be the third leg of a Liverpool triple-up with Trent Alexander-Arnold and Diogo Jota. 
• Jamie Steed: If I need to save £1m for another change, then yes. But I'd rather keep Alexander-Arnold. We see players score big points in clusters then cool off before, and although Robertson will still score well, he had just one assist before this spell.
• Phil Goyette: I don't think it's worth taking TAA out of your lineup to save the £ with Robertson. If Robbo were priced lower, then it would be a very interesting thought.
• Brandon Wampler: I will continue to ride TAA for the time being for consistency.

In Gameweek 14, we saw the importance of having a playing bench. So who are your second and third subs right now? 

• Euan Leith: Norwich's Brandon Williams and Wolves striker Hee-Chan Hwang keep the seats warm right now. 
• Jamie Steed: Raul Jimenez and Ben Johnson will be occupying those spots this weekend.
• Phil Goyette: Arsenal's Ben White and Southampton's Michael Obafemi. I think your 3rd bench spot can be a 'dead spot' where you save some £££.
• Brandon Wampler: At the time of writing, I have Tomiyasu, Lowton, and Callum Wilson

Thomas Tuchel and Pep Guardiola are beginning to play with our heads with their squad rotations. If you HAD to roster one Chelsea and one City player through the busy Christmas period, who would they be?

• Euan Leith: I was curled up in the fetal position when I saw the respective lineups in GW14. My first taste of the Tuchel rotation and Pep roulette was not fun. However, I think Joao Cancelo and Antonio Rudiger are the must-haves at the moment. Both managers run them out there every game, and their attacking contributions are frequent enough that stomaching the odd 2-point blank won't hurt in the long run. 
• Jamie Steed: I've been banging the Bernardo Silva drum for weeks, and he's just completed his ninth consecutive 90 minutes in the league (with four goals, one assist, and four clean sheets in that stretch). I expect Romelu Lukaku to get a solid run of games in the coming weeks. Still, I'd lean towards Jorginho, given his price tag (£5.8m), his penalty-taking role, and he's played more minutes than any Chelsea midfielder (third-most on the team). Edouard Mendy is also a safe pick.
• Phil Goyette: I went through this calculus at the start of the season and determined that João Cancelo and Rüdiger were the best respective options from each team. The managers just really trust each of those guys. I'm sticking to that plan.
• Brandon Wampler: I would 100% roster Lukaku and Mahrez/Jesus.

Which highly-rostered player will blank?

• Euan Leith: The West Ham duo of Michail Antonio and Said Benrahma continue to produce blanks. They face Chelsea, Burnley, and Arsenal in the next three. I'm not touching them until Gameweek 18 at this point. 
• Jamie Steed: Hee-Chan Hwang from Wolves is the eighth highest rostered striker, hasn't scored a goal in his last five games, and now faces Liverpool. Hard to see him ending his drought.
• Phil Goyette: Conor Gallagher (28 TSB%) on the road against Manchester United. He's going through a cold snap, and I wouldn't even be surprised if he gets rested on the weekend.
• Brandon Wampler: I could see Ronaldo blanking against the Eagles after a brace at midweek.

Are you making one, two, or rolling your free transfer?

• Euan Leith: I may have to delete the FPL app to halt my tinkering before lineup lock. I am determined to roll this transfer over and have two Free Transfers for the next gameweek. 
• Jamie Steed: Just one. I'd have rather not made one and kept it for next week, but I've had to replace injured players over the last fortnight, with Ben Chilwell being replaced this week.
• Phil Goyette: I have 2 FTs, and my wildcard is still available. I'll use 1 or 2 FTs, depending on the injury news Friday.
• Brandon Wampler: I will be making two transfers this week.

Who will FPL managers be transferring IN the next gameweek?

• Euan Leith: If Emil Smith Rowe has another attacking return and Conor Gallagher blanks, I can see a lot of managers making the switch to the Arsenal youngster. 
• Jamie Steed: James Maddison. Two goals and two assists in his last two games will make him the most popular addition. But it seems to be a classic case of chasing points, and he's got a so-so run of games coming up before Liverpool and Manchester City straight after Christmas Day.
• Phil Goyette: Cristiano Ronaldo. The squad might get reinvigorated with the new manager, and the upcoming fixtures are tasty.
• Brandon Wampler: If managers don't have the likes of Lukaku, Ronaldo, Bruno, Maddison, they will be focusing on that group at a bare minimum.

Who will FPL managers be transferring OUT next gameweek?

• Euan Leith: Brighton's Shane Duffy still sports a 20.2 TSB%, despite collecting four points in the last six gameweeks. I understand he's cheap (£4.2m), but you can do better than him as a fifth defender at this stage of the season. 
• Jamie Steed: Ben Foster is the most rostered goalkeeper but is expected to miss the next six weeks. Allan Saint-Maximin is the fifth most rostered striker, has just one goal and one assist in his last eight games, and after this weekend, is lined up to face Leicester, Liverpool, and both Manchester teams in his next four games.
• Phil Goyette: West Ham's Michail Antonio will continue to drop. This is totally fine, as he's going to be a great player to get back into your squad for GW16 onward.
• Brandon Wampler: Any Spurs players and possibly a few City players as well.

What's your bold prediction for this week?

• Euan Leith: Sergio Reguilon outscores Harry Kane for the third consecutive gameweek.
• Jamie Steed: Newcastle United should get their first league win of the season, Southampton will add to Brighton's woes, and Aston Villa will continue their resurgence against Leicester City. Callum Wilson, Che Adams, and Ollie Watkins all score in those games.
• Phil Goyette: Bruno Fernandes is the highest-scoring player in GW15.
• Brandon Wampler: Now that Rangnick is finally at Old Trafford, his Red Devils will win 4-1 against Palace, whose defense is struggling as of late

Is there a question you would like to have answered every week? Hit us up on Twitter @RotoBaller. We would love to hear your feedback and ideas!