By Enitan Abdultawab

Ahead of game week eight (8) and, most importantly, mouthwatering fixtures this week, FPL managers should be ready to set up their team and make necessary transfers.

As expected, managers have had to deal with a lot of issues ranging from injuries, underperformances, and personal preferences. It will get more complicated now that top players are returning from tiring European fixtures to face teams rested well in the midweek.

The deadline for this week’s team management is 11am, Saturday, 7th October.

AI team

Ahead of this week’s quest, AI has released its traditional first XI for this week. AI canvasses for a team set-up by taking into consideration their past performances and their chances of performing against the opposition(s) they will be playing against.

Below is Fantasy League Hub’s AI team;

GK: Brennan Johnstone
GK: Matt Turner
DEF: Matty Cash
DEF : Pedro Porro
DEF: Dan Burn
DEF: Reece Burke
DEF: Issa Kabore
MID: Mohammad Salah
MID: Bruno Fernandes
MID: Bryan Mbuemo
MID: Son Heung Min
MID: Moussa Diaby
FWD: Erling Haaland
FWD: Oliver Watkins
FWD: Cameron Archer

Tips

AI’s wildcard team comes out so well.

Manchester City play away to Arsenal this week and you might not need to throw away Erling Haaland or Julian Alvarez. In case you are unsure, you can get in Son for this week at the position.

Manchester United still have Bruno Fernandes and Casemiro clicking and that might help you. You can include an Almiron too given his run of form.

At the moment, Chelsea seem redeemed. You might keep Jackson on the bench or look for a Thiago Silva.

For defensive confidence, you can look into Saliba, Schar, and maybe Trippier, too.

Don’t neglect Salah yet . Keep him in your team but you can avoid him a captaincy.

Some managers do not always cherish the idea of including Manchester City players because of Guardiola’s tweaky formation. However, Erling Haaland and Ruben Dias are sure starters against Arsenal.

Work out your permutations well and review your predictions. Check out for injured and suspended players. Most importantly, ensure you do not set two players who will face each other.

Wildcard

As the season draws closer into more serious heat, you can start preparing your wildcard or use it(if you want it).

Here’s an AI wildcard prediction for a 3-5-2 formation;

GK: Pickford (EVE)
GK: Johnstone (CRY)
DEF: Burn (NEW)
DEF: Schär (NEW)
DEF: Cash (AVL)
DEF: Burke (LUT)
DEF: Kaboré (LUT)
MID: Eze (CRY)
MID: B. Fernandes (MUN)
MID: Maddison (TOT)
MID: Salah (LIV)
MID: Son (TOT)
FWD: Haaland (MCI)
FWD: Alvarez (MCI)
FWD: Archer

Goodluck!