Gameweek 9 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.

Erling Haaland (MCI - FWD)

Analysis: Haaland has failed to score in his last 3 games after scoring 10 goals in his first 5 games. Surely this "drought" is about to come to an end. Haaland is also coming off his lowest score of the season (2.5 points), and has had single digits in two of his last three games. This is likely the cheapest he will be, barring a serious injury. We know Haaland will basically be a lock for the Golden Boot once again while City should be a contender for the EPL title right up until the final gameweek. Haaland is on a team that should also score the most EPL goals. Their chief creator De Bruyne is back in full training, and his return is only going to help Haaland. While it will be tough to get him, especially given the friendly schedule, this may be your only shot at rostering him. Just a few weeks ago he was untouchable, but now there is a glimmer of hope of a trade.

City are about to play Saints and Bournemouth in the next two gameweeks - two teams that can ship plenty of goals. Expect Haaland to get back on track soon. The hope for you will be that the manager rostering Haaland isn't a fan of him (there are many of those out there), and only drafted him because of insane value (him falling to pick 4-6 or something). Those managers will be a lot more likely to hear out an offer. If a Haaland manager has also lost their last 2-3 games, then they will probably be willing to listen to potential bids.

Trade Offer Value: Getting Haaland will require giving up two maybe even three top players in an offer. I am talking about including your first round pick (although not Salah, Saka, or Palmer) in an offer for him. Having said that, I would still offer out Salah 1:1 for Haaland to see what that can do for you or even Salah + a MID5. Otherwise a package could look something like: Eze + Jackson + Kulusevski/Garnacho/Cunha. An offer like this has a very good chance of being considered for Haaland + a player just about streamer level. Be warned though bringing in Haaland will mean you need to be even more active on the waiver wire, and make sure you are doing extra research on your pickups to make up the lost points from this deal.

Vigil Van Dijk (LIV - DEF)

Analysis: Liverpool currently have the best defence in the league, conceding just three goals in their first 8 games. Van Dijk has been incredible both in real life and fantasy, sitting at 12 PPS and just over 9 ghosts per start. With the added upside of attacking returns, largely from set pieces, and a clean sheet bonus, he has proven he will be a set and forget DEF1 this season with potential of being the top overall defender if Liverpool keep up this defensive masterclass. While Van Dijk is yet to get an attacking return this season, we know he will, as he nicked at least 4 in each of his past three campaigns.

Most managers would prefer to roster the more "exciting" wingbacks in Trent and Porro, but the consistency and guarantee Van Dijk offers can help you win a title. Having just got 4 points last gameweek, and an upcoming matchup vs. Arsenal, could now be the best time to bring in VVD? Liverpool do have a mixed schedule in the next month, but I don't really see this affecting Van Dijk. It will take a strong package to bring him in given how reliable he has been, but he is definitely not untouchable.

Trade Offer Value: I'd first start by offering one of the following defenders: Robinson, Gvardiol, Dalot, or Magalhaes packaged with 15 FAB and a MID5 such as Kovacic for Van Dijk. You could also try combining a lower tier defender such as Munoz with a better mid such as Cook for Van Dijk depending on the manager's needs. Always try to throw in FAB to get the deal done.

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.

Declan Rice (ARS - MID)

Analysis: Rice has been very poor this season in fantasy. Sitting at just under 5 PPS, yet to have a return, and a red card....it has not been a great start to the season for the Arsenal midfielder. His season high score of 9.75 came in the win vs the Saints, and he just had another 9 point ghosting effort this past week. I'm not too keen on keeping Rice on my roster (if I had him). It seems he will offer little to no attacking upside this season, and his "floor" potential seems very spotty and replaceable for solid CBs or other CDMs week to week like Onana, Cook, and Casemiro.

I am all about upside, and Rice just doesn't fit the mould of an asset I want to roster. While he definitely isn't droppable given his name value, and the team he is on, I am not hopeful for a massive improvement. Merino could even start occupying a more advanced role, pushing Rice back to his more natural 6 role as cover for the back 4 and further denting his fantasy prospects. Rice is crucial to Arsenal challenging for the title this season, but keeping him in the hope that he suddenly reverts to his form last season could be detrimental to your fantasy title hopes. While it may be tough to get full draft value back for Rice (seeing him have gone in the 2nd-3rd rounds), at least you can get a player with a higher week to week ceiling that can help your team put up those massive scores.

Trade Offer Value: I would offer out Rice before Merino really starts to outscore him, which is more than possible. Look to bring in a lesser name with more week to week upside. Players such as: Grealish, Andreas Pereira, and Ndiaye would be great places to start. You should be able to get these deals over the line with some added FAB or a DEF3 sweetener.

Chris Wood (NFO - FWD)

Analysis: Wood has picked up where he left off last season with 5 goals in his first 8 games. Forest are also looking really solid this season and now sit in the top 8. However, Wood's ghosts - at just 5.5 per start - still leave a lot to be desired sitting. While I do think Wood will have reliable FWD2 upsid , I just don't think he will continue to score at this rate. The next two games for Forest are really friendly (Leicester and West Ham), but after that their schedule becomes much tougher.

While holding him for Leicester and West Ham could seem like a good idea, using that schedule as a selling point could get you much higher value than you would get in two weeks, even if he does score in at least one of his next fixtures. Wood was drafted in the double digit rounds by many managers, and selling him now, whether 1:1 or in a larger package, could see your team get a significant attacking upgrade. If no one is interested in Wood....then continue to hold and hope for the best.

Trade Offer Value: I would offer out Wood in a larger package targeting attackers such as Cunha, Johnson, and Adama. All three of these players should be possible if you package Wood with a midfielder such as Rogers, Trossard, or Ferdi. Johnson is a bit lower in value for me so I think Wood + Ferdi is a better start as opposed to Wood + Rogers. If you need to go up to players such as Iwobi or Szobo that is okay with me as well, mainly for Adama and Cunha. While Wood isn't too far off those three other forwards, I think the gap will grow as the season progresses.

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.

Are They The Real Deal??

There have been quite a few surprises this season, and these players seem like they may just continue this fine form for the next 30 gameweeks. As we know, sometimes things can change in an instant, but new seasons bring new surprises. Here I will discuss a few players that have been surprisingly good these first 8 gameweeks and whether I think they can continue. I will also list some potential trade targets to trade them out for, or players to offer to bring them in.

• Nathan Collins (BRE - D) - Collins is currently a top 5 defender. He has 4 attacking returns but no clean sheets. He boasts an impressive 9.8 ghosts per start. For now it seems like he will continue his fine form and Brentford do have a very good schedule until the festive period.

  • TRADE IN - Offer out assets such as Mazraoui, Mitchell, and even Robertson for him.

    
    

• Facundo Buonanotte (LEI - M) - The former Brighton midfielder has seemingly found his stride with Leicester. He is an integral part of their attack, but Leicester are a prime relegation candidate with the way they are set up. He should be good in the next few friendly fixtures but could struggle with the team as a whole in a few weeks when the schedule turns.

  • TRADE OUT - Perfect sell high candidate. Given three solid performances in a row you can aim for bigger under-performing names such as Gibbs-White and Grealish.

    
    

• Danny Welbeck (BHA - F) - Welbeck is making it impossible to drop him. But I just don't believe he can keep this up. Eventually the Brighton attack will be too crowded or age will catch up. If you can't trade out, just keep riding till the wheels fall off.

  • TRADE OUT - Aim to package Welbeck with a MID3 for an underperforming but upside FWD like Solanke.

    
    

• Iliman Ndiaye (EVE - F) - I'm liking what the eye test shows with Ndiaye. He brings new non one-dimensional life to a dull Everton team. No matter how bad they are, he offers a solid floor for a FWD3 with upside.

  • TRADE IN - Maybe you can still get him cheap given he's on Everton/he may have just been picked up. Offer out "bigger names" such as Minteh and Strand-Larsen for him.

    
    

• Adama Traore (FUL - F) - Who could possibly hate on this ghost point magnet? He seems to have locked down the RW role and Fulham have a nice schedule. A good buy low after the last performance was impacted by the Fulham red card.

  • TRADE IN - Offer out Rashford, DCL, and Sancho for him. Throw in a MID4/DEF3 if needed.

    
    

• Mario Lemina (WOL - M) - Lemina is a tricky one to predict. He looks like he could be a good MID4 with occasional upside but I would not be surprised to see him regress. Wolves have a great upcoming schedule so he is worth sending out an offer for.

  • TRADE IN - Offer out bigger names such as MacAllister, Kovacic, and Smith-Rowe + 5 FAB to start.

    
    

• Noni Madueke (CHE - M) - Madueke was always one who just needed minutes to do something great. He is cooking at Chelsea. Can you play on the (real) fear that he may be benched for Neto/Felix/Nkunku after a Chelsea loss? He is looking like a MID1 this season if he keeps this up.

  • TRADE IN - Offering out players like Tavernier, Bernardo or Andreas with a FWD3 like Jimenez should get this done.

    
    

• Ibrahima Konate (LIV - D) - Yes, I was wrong about Quansah. As long as Konate is fit, he will continue to cook. Top 5 defender ROS more than likely. Try to buy low after that poor score vs. Chelsea.

  • TRADE IN - Offer out fellow defender Robertson for him. Other options: Maghalaes and Gvardiol.

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