Marc Jobling: Gameweek 8 Team Reveal
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 8, it’s the turn of Marc Jobling to tell us what is happening to his team.
Hi Marc and thanks for the team reveal. How did Gameweek 7 go?
The 56 points brought a rise from 1.86m to 1.32m. I’m on a sequence of either big rises or big falls and this would’ve been even better had Cole Palmer not assisted on the Sunday.
Captaining Erling Haaland over Bukayo Saka turned out to be a bad decision, whilst the double Arsenal defence was another letdown. I hoped for more from Dominic Solanke and Antoine Semenyo but at least Trent Alexander-Arnold and Bryan Mbeumo were able to deliver the goods.
What does your defence look like?
All five defenders have good-looking fixtures so I wouldn’t be upset if, for example, this became Rico Lewis’ rest. Man City will probably concede regardless because that’s what they do.
I narrowly rank Jacob Greaves over Vitalii Mykolenko when their sides meet at Portman Road. He’s no Leif Davis but there’s decent clean sheet potential and he’s a threat from set-pieces.
Meanwhile, what about your midfield and attack?
Not only that, Greaves faces the continually disappointing Dominic Calvert-Lewin – opting for him on Wildcard over Chris Wood was a bad call.
One positive was that I’m able to manage Semenyo’s brief spell of bad fixtures. He’ll be benched, with Morgan Rogers and Luis Diaz starting instead.
Additionally, there’s no problem in starting Mbeumo away at Manchester United. If anything, he’s a captaincy contender, with such strong form and an easy fixture.
So what are your transfer plans for Gameweek 8 and beyond?
I had a thought last week of sacrificing Alexander-Arnold in order to get Palmer. Over the long-term, I like that a Palmer, Saka and Haaland team gives three premiums but still has quality and depth elsewhere. Luis Diaz would also make way, with a defender up to £4.9m coming in.
On the other hand, I might wait another week. Liverpool and Chelsea face each other and I may as well put faith in the better team. Roll the transfer and have three for Gameweek 9, unless something major develops.
Finally, what about captaincy?
Haaland has been a real disappointment of late but he’s still the league leader for goals, attempts and shots on target. Plus, he gets a go at last-placed Wolves – the same side he scored past four times in May. That’s eight in four meetings against them.
Combine that with doubts over Saka’s fitness, the Norwegian is trusted once more.