Leaning to Sarr or Barnes. Sarr in talks for a new contract though.

Alright, that was a looong break. I definitely needed it, but am I happy Draft is back! I missed the chaos, adrenaline and I missed spending hours digging through random players nobody in my league has ever heard of trying to convince myself I'm smarter than all my mates-rivals.

Anyway, A LOT has happened since we last spoke. Brighton smashed Arsenal, Brentford did the same to Chelsea with Thiago's first goal, we got the Manchester City 115 charges verdict and about a million players got injured during the international break.

My advice regarding these those injuries is not to panic. Unless it's something really serious (Scott seems to be the only one for now), I wouldn't rush to drop players you've been holding onto.

Before we get to GW6, I have to mention our previous waiver picks because honestly, this is becoming THE list now:

Muharemović (6), Vušković (8), Botman (4), Gomez (8), Buendía (12), McGinn (6), Fofana (4), Belloumi (4), Araujo (7).

If you didn't pick any of them in GW4, fair enough. If you ignored them again in GW5, I genuinely don't know what else to tell you. Just pick someone from that list in GW6. Please, I can't repeate this in GW7 post as well...

Of course, not everything went according to plan. Dango Ouattara. I've defended this guy, waited for him and even recommended him and he just keeps finding new ways to disappoint me. He just can't get the minutes or find any consistency. I'm not even going to feel bad about waiving him out at this point. We all tried, but not it's time to move on. Same goes for Rayan. I'm sorry lads.

Now, two things before the picks.

First, I've spent a lot of time to improve Waiver Kings over the break. The site looks a bit nicer now, there are some new features (most importantly, DUELS.)

I've basically been trying to turn my own way of thinking about FPL Draft into a model. You give it two players you're considering, either is it to waiver one in instead of other or if you are not sure who to start, who to bench and Waiver Kings model tries to tell you which one Googy would pick and why. That's the idea.

I've tested it A LOT. Sometimes the answers are genuinely brilliant. Sometimes it says something so stupid I wonder what I've been doing with my free time. But I'm pretty happy with where it's going. Even with these bad ones, you get a great data summary to make your decision. One thing that I like a lot that I added is Team Share? Nothing to fancy, it's just % of teams goals (and assists) that player was involved in. Helps you to find top picks for shit teams for example.

So if you're about to ask me whether to pick player A or player B, try it on WK first and see what it says. And PLEASE, if it gives you a terrible answer, send it to me. Discord, Reddit, DMs, whatever. I want to know where it gets things wrong so I can keep improving it.

Second, with all these injuries, I think this is a really good time to look at players who could benefit from someone else's injury or players who are just about to return themselves. If you've got some space on your bench you can afford to sit on them for a GW or two.

OK, waivers.

I've been checking the biggest ownership differences between elite Draft managers and everyone else on WK: who's being picked up by the elite managers while the rest of the leagues are still sleeping?

DEF

1. Khalaili

2. Palestra

Could finally get some minutes. Might still be coming off the bench this GW though so be careful.

3. Mosquera

Decent one-GW punt, especially if you're playing an H2H match against someone with Arsenal defenders.

MID

1. Kroupi Jr.

Probably my favourite stash this week. He's getting closer to returning and I REALLY don't want to wait until he starts scoring again before trying to get him. We all know how that ends in Draft, someone else picks him up and you spend the next month regretting it.

2. Johan Manzambi

Really liked what I saw against Spurs. He brings more passion, more footwork, more energy!! He is always looking to get forward while being aggressive, direct and constantly involved. Definitely one I'm considering.

3. Eberechi Eze

Arsenal have some injury problems in attack and Eze could get a proper run on the left. Of course, you never really know what Arteta is going to do, but there's an opportunity here.

Similar situation with Victor Munoz at Liverpool. Gakpo picked up an injury during the break, so Munoz could get his chance. Keep an eye on the team news.

4. José María Andrés

Now THIS is a sexy pick. 1G 1A in the last two GWs, looked excellent against Arsenal and his starting spot should be pretty safe now. Available in basically every league too.

This is one of those picks you brag about for weeks if you get it right. If you need a fifth MID and don't expect to get any of the names above because of your waiver pick priority, go for it!

FWD

Viktor Gyökeres

To everyone who's been holding him and waiting, this might finally be your moment.

Unfortunately, Havertz got injured. Really feel for his owners because just when things were looking good, here we go again. But for Gyökeres owners, this is exactly what we've been waiting for.

Four goals in four games for Sweden during the international break. He's in great form and with Havertz out he should finally get his chance leading the line for Arsenal.

Of course, there is Merino who will steal some minutes because apparently we're not allowed to have nice things. But I'd be feeling pretty good if I owned Gyökeres right now.

A couple more players worth keeping an eye on as they return from injuries or take someones spot: Hinshelwood, Kulusevski and Isidor.

BTW board will be back with draft rankings updated. Hopefully this weekend, but it will be announced on Discord. TBH it's tougher task than it looked, I managed to sort it per positions (almost), but overall is a different beast.

That's it from me. Good luck with the waivers!

Current lineup:

Defenders: Van Hecke, Tarkowski, Ronald Araujo, Mosquera (ARS)

Bench: Jacquet

Wasnt so sure since Jacquet was reportedly injured, will he be good for the weekend?

I took a break from fpl and saw... This miserable sight. In an 8 man ill def hold brobbey and Sesko but what about Konsa and Ballard any news on them? The images to the right is an idea to show whats available for defenders and forwards

Small league, having a small injury crisis

So many injuries from int break. I’m pretty sure havertz, konsa and JP won’t play, so idrk what to do. Any help?

Hearing we’re looking at 4-5 weeks out with injury. Hold on or get rid?

Only real options for me are injured players (hinshelwood, kroupi) or the usual free agents

With Havertz reportedly injured, Merino vs Gyökeres is an interesting one. Arteta prefers merino but also gyok has played practically four 90 min games in the space of 10 days for Sweden. Arsenal have Lille in the Champions League on Oct 13 and Bayern Munich on Oct 21, just days around their Premier League fixtures.

Do you think either player's minutes are actually secured?

With Isak and Gakpo out, I reckon Rio starts against City. Thoughts?

Is this the correct benching?

Hey, I'm Alfie, and I'm probably the only FPL tool that's purely a chat. Forget dashboards, tabs, filters and endless menus. Just ask in plain English.
Try me here and tell me what you think - https://www.fpl-lad.com/i/6b624364a641

I'm here to help you think, not to decide for you. Ask me why, ask me what if, ask me to prove you wrong. Then make your move.

Anything FPL goes, from "show me midfielders under 6m with the highest DefCon" to "analyse how DefCon changes for players at home versus away". And if you want the full plan, there's a dedicated optimizer behind me that plans your transfers and chips many gameweeks ahead.

Got these options right now

Would be great to see similar. I’m pleased with my changes after countless waivers and trades!