Community Team Reveal Gameweek 25 – FPL Shake n Bake

Each Gameweek brings an FPL community team reveal. As a result, that person gives insight into their transfers, captaincy and future plans.

Ahead of Gameweek 25, it’s the turn of FPL Shake n Bake (Brett) to tell us what he is doing to his team.

Hi Brett and thanks for the team reveal. So how did Gameweek 24 go?

I didn’t even reach the average score this week, limping to 43 points and an 80k red arrow down to 281k. It was a bunch of ones and twos all around, with only Bukayo Saka, Harry Kane and Marcus Rashford (to my detriment, thanks to his effective ownership) getting any sort of return.

By moving early to bring in Craig Dawson ahead of Double Gameweek 25, I dropped Ben White to my bench. It resulted in an extra point which, in a low-scoring week, actually feels like a success!

What does your defence look like?

I currently have Kepa Arrizabalaga, backed up by Danny Ward in goal, with Dawson, White, Kieran Trippier, Benoit Badiashile and Nathan Patterson as my defence. I’ve held onto Patterson with this week in mind but his fitness concerns, combined with Sean Dyche’s love for Seamus Coleman, appear to have put a halt to those plans. As a result, I may end up replacing him.

Meanwhile, what about your midfield and attack?

In midfield, I have the aforementioned Saka and Rashford, joined by Leon Bailey, Kaoru Mitoma and Kevin De Bruyne. I was always planning to bench Mitoma this week and luckily had him for a couple of double-digit hauls in Gameweeks 21 and 22.

Whilst it feels wrong to sell De Bruyne ahead of facing Bournemouth, if his illness persists, it’ll be a simple swap to Mohamed Salah.

So what are your transfer plans for Gameweek 25 and beyond?

I’ve been planning for this Gameweek for a while, with players like Dawson and Bailey arriving over the last few weeks. Therefore De Bruyne to Salah seems to be the ideal transfer this week and one I can do without a hit.

Elsewhere, I need to decide on any other moves. Double Gameweks have flattered to deceive so far this season (Marcus Rashford aside), so I need to decide if taking a hit is worthwhile.

Trent Alexander-Arnold is the one I really want. Although Liverpool’s defence doesn’t look great, the fixtures look prime for at least one clean sheet and Trent can always deliver attacking returns. The main consideration is that I would need to sell Trippier, who I have lots of value tied up in. It couldn’t be a straight switch either, as an extra £0.2m needs freeing up.

An eight-point hit seems excessive. Therefore, I could instead get Andrew Robertson’s similar explosive potential or just take my chances with Patterson and avoid a hit altogether. Of course, Robertson has an able understudy in Kostas Tsimikas, so rotation could be an issue.

I’m slightly concerned about only having one Man City asset versus Bournemouth but can’t see a viable, trustworthy asset without selling someone like Rashford. I’m not prepared to do that!

Finally, what about captaincy?

Like most, the decision comes down to two right-wingers – Saka and Salah – but it’s the Arsenal man that I’m trusting. Excellent for me all season, he has two matches I can see him excelling in.

Leicester are third for big chances conceded over their last six games (17), plus Everton’s improvement under Dyche has mainly occurred at Goodison Park. I can see it being a very different game to the recent reverse fixture, with Arsenal keen to right their wrongs from that defeat.