Gameweek 17 - Genie's Corner and Trade Advice

This article will focus on trade advice that highlights players that are either worth trading in on a low, or trading out on a high. This could involve players who could see their minutes reduced, have a purple patch come to an end, or on the flip side involve players who might be starting to heat up. This article will also feature advice and strategy tips from our very own Draft Genie, and his interesting style of playing the game.

Players To Trade-In

This section will focus on players to target in your trade offers. Usually there are two types of players to trade-in. The ones you "buy low" on, who may be in a poor patch of form, injured, or not seeing consistent minutes with all that about to change. The second is where you "buy high". While that will sound contradictory, these players could be showing no signs of slowing down and are en-route to a breakout season. You want to try and trade-in these players before they become unattainable, even if it involves offering more than what their draft-day or early-season value was.

Diogo Jota (LIV - FWD)

Analysis: It might be one week too late to get Jota for a cut price rate, but I would still make an attempt to bring him in. Jota has proven again and again he deserves to be the starting 9 for Liverpool, and his off the bench performance vs. Fulham shows just why. Jota's biggest competitor to minutes is his injury record. Nunez has been nothing short of horrendous and Jota should walk straight into that XI when fit. I expect his minutes to be managed over this festive period, with Diaz/Nunez getting the odd start up top. As long as Jota stays healthy he can easily return lower FWD1 value over the remainder of the season. It is worth noting that his returns will heavily depend on goals and assists. He currently boasts a horrendous GPPS of 3.1. Bringing him in as a FWD2 though could pay off especially in those games he gets multiple returns.

Liverpool is firmly in the title race, and are currently leading the pack. Adding Jota in will only help this team and the assets around him. Jota is probably the best out and out finisher in this Liverpool squad, and should only improve their attack. While it may be tough to get Jota this week, he is a player I would consistently look to bring in, especially if he is benched in the next few games, or has a poor performance. Again, Nunez serves next to no threat to his minutes unless it is just due to fitness concerns. Jota has started every game he has been available for in the EPL, outside of the Fulham game last weekend.

Trade Offer Value: Jota's value will range quite a decent amount. Many mangers roster both Nunez and Jota, so may be less inclined to give up just one. The best route is to offer a forward that is a consistent starter, and if needed sweeten the deal with a MID4/DEF3 and of course some FAB. Forwards such as: Chris Wood and Semenyo are great places to start, but given the way Semenyo has been ghosting you could probably get back Jota + some solid FAB. I would also offer packages with forwards such as: CHO, or Vardy packaged with Rice, Bruno G, or Rogers.

Alex Iwobi (FUL - MID)

Analysis: Iwobi has been one of the biggest surprises this season, especially to managers who used a mid-late round draft pick on him. He has a current PPS of 12, along with 5 goals and 3 assists in his 16 starts. He is a near lock to go 90 minutes each week, and is one of the most important players on this Fulham team. Iwobi has had two poor games back to back with scores of 1 and 5 vs. Arsenal and Liverpool respectively. Iwobi is not going to continue this poor run of form much longer, especially with Southampton, Bournemouth, and Ipswich as three of the next four games.

It might be hard to trade in Iwobi given many managers are struggling to put together four solid midfielders each week, but maybe a manager will be hoping they can "sell high" before Iwobi continues his 'poor' form. Iwobi should be considered a set and forget MID2 over the rest of the season, barring a serious change in Fulham's play style.

Trade Offer Value: Your best chance to bring in Iwobi, will be offering out two starting midfielders for him. Helping the manager replace him, and adding an extra midfielder to their team that they can use each week. Packaging two of these players would be a solid offer: Tielemans, Damsgaard, Bernardo, Pereira, Cook, Enzo, or Bruno G. Throwing in 10-20 FAB may help finalize the deal if needed, especially with the Jan. window incoming.

Players To Trade-OUT

This section will focus on players that you should be actively trying to trade out over the next week or so. These players could be on course to see a minute reduction or be having a bad season that it seems they can't recover from. A lot of times name value players will feature here, as you will still find managers who believe they can return to their glory days. Each season brings new challenges and as we have seen even the very best assets can fall off a cliff in just a single season (Rashford of 2024). Look to trade out these players before their value becomes so low that you may need to consider dropping them.

Luis Diaz (LIV - FWD)

Analysis: This kind of goes hand in hand with the Jota return. While I think Diaz will be preferred over Gakpo, I think we will see a lot more rotation and of course early substitutions with the two. Diaz has only scored double digit points once since October. It has been a rough time for him in recent months, and it might just be time to abandon ship. What was an incredible start to the season may have just been a purple patch. Diaz should only really be considered a FWD2 over the rest of the season, given the rotation risk and of course current poor form.

As discussed above, I think Jota back will help Liverpool attackers, but I don't think it will be enough to warrant Diaz being a set and forget FWD1. I am also not confident starting him off the bench so I would definitely look to sell him on for a more consistent starting FWD. I would take a slight value hit if it meant more secure minutes, especially over the next few gameweeks. If you can't get an offer you are happy with hope he starts and does well vs. Spurs, then .

Trade Offer Value: I would offer out Diaz + 20ish FAB for these FWDs 1:1: Cunha, Jackson, Isak, and Kai. I am also looking at: Semenyo and Joao Pedro but would try and get a +1 back with them such as a midfielder like Szobo.

Bruno Guimaraes (NEW - MID)

Analysis: None of us at TDS were high on Bruno G during draft season, and nothing has really changed there. With double digit hauls in two of his last three games, now is definitely the time to sell. If you look at his ghost point production, he isn't exactly lighting it up with 5.9 gPPS. Take away these random returns and he is no better than your average streamer, he might actually be worse. Last season he finished with 7 goals and 8 assists. He currently sits at 1G and 3A and I do not expect him to get to double digit returns again this season.

Managers may be interested with Newcastle's form improving, and Bruno G being a solid asset last season. I don't expect double digit production to be a common thing with him, so I would definitely do what I can to trade him out ASAP.

Trade Offer Value: I would offer out Bruno G for midfielders like: Cook, Enzo, and Lemina. As these players don't have the name value of Bruno G, you may be able to get a deal through given they would have been FA pickups.

Strategy Section

This section will highlight some of my unique strategies I use in Fantrax, and how you can apply them to your own style. I will look to discuss trends I am seeing in leagues, or tactics that I may shift to, that will better my chances of winning my league. A lot of these strategies could involve a high-risk high-reward approach, or be tactics I see my fellow managers using that I will be advocating against.

January Window Advice

Analysis: Just on the other side of the festive period, is the January transfer window. This means the rumour mill should start swirling any day now. As we have seen in the past the mid-season window doesn't bring in season changing assets very often. Of course there will be the one offs, such as Bruno Fernandes, but outside of that, not many assets will make or break your season. In fact, we will more likely than not see, a chunk of FAB spent on a player, that player be poor, and managers continue to hold him just because they spent FAB. So how should you go about the January transfer window? Below I'll list a few tidbits of advice.

• Sell the majority of your FAB - Everyone knows this is a favourite of mine. I like to sell FAB for assets that I know I can trust. If you can sell 75% of your FAB for an asset that you can use in your starting XI more often than not I would look to do that. In the 2nd half of the season to me FAB's biggest value comes in double and blank gameweeks, so saving just a bit of FAB for that is the best route of action.

  
  

• Pickup any new signings that "fall through the cracks" - Every season there tends to be a random January signing that goes for less than 5 FAB, or even becomes an FA pickup that ends up being a usable asset. Adam Wharton of last year comes to mind. I remember grabbing him on a free on a hunch in two leagues, and he ended up being a solid MID4-5 to finish the season. Look to punt on random incomings like that who could get a role in their team's XI, that may not be a big name. Especially in the mid-table clubs, this could be where the points are.

  
  

• "Zag" while everyone "Zigs" - This is another strategy I like to use, especially as someone with no FAB. The January window will have everyone focused on grabbing new signings with each waiver run, or even pre-stashing DGW assets for the following month or so. Another strategy you can use is just simply ignoring all that and focusing on week to week matchups. I already mentioned a few weeks ago, how winning each gameweek becomes more and more crucial. So instead of planning for 6 gameweeks away, look to pickup those assets with friendly fixtures in the next 2 weeks. A lot of time these players get overlooked with the business of transfers and DGWs. More on double gameweeks in a future article.

  
  

• Don't trade for new signings - I'll keep this one short. Even if a new signing has a EPL debut of 25+ points I would highly advise against trading them in. These performances are from a tiny sample size, and more often than not you will regret your trade. Punting on them for cheap is very different, than giving up assets that you rely on each week to help get you through the gameweek.

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