It's a busy old week on Hive FPL! No sooner has GW13 completed than we are diving straight into GW14.

As predicted, the weekend saw a lot managers using their triple captain chip on Haaland at home to Leeds. Unfortunately for the record numbers of FPL players who did so, they were left disappointed by the big striker blanking in a game that saw City score 3 times.

By contrast, those who opted to free hit instead were generally rewarded for backing the likes of Brentford's forward line and Villa's defenders.

In Hive FPL alone, the 3 top point scorers for GW13, Suffragette City (71 points), Skander and Red Cards of Rohan (both 63 points) all used their Free Hit chip to good effect and all made sizable gains in the Classic League on the sides above and around them.

The 2 main challenges to consider for GW14 are...

Squad rotation

With a full midweek fixture list in the EPL following on from European fixtures last week for 9 Premier League clubs then rotation seems inevitable.

It really is a bit of a lottery as to who is going to be rested, when and to what extend? i.e. do they come off the bench for 20 mins at the end which is generally what you don't want as an FPL manager.

Having a squad with a bit of depth to it will undoubtedly help as to will looking at the clubs and positions that leave managers with little choice but to stick with playing their assets over extended periods.

That can often mean looking at the smaller teams who simply don't have the resources to rotate regardless of whether they want to or not. We'll examine a few of them in more detail below.

AFCON and the 5 free transfers

If you weren't already aware, FPL announced at the beginning of the season that all FPL teams will be bumped up to the maximum 5 free transfers during GW16 to facilitate managers changing out players who are due to take part in AFCON which cuts across GW17 to GW22.

To get the full impact of this, it'd be worthwhile not carrying over a significant number of free transfers in GW16 and therefore, if you haven't done so already, think about how you might use those transfers in the next couple of GWs.

A quick look at the top 50 teams in the Hive FPL shows that 11 of those sides are carrying 3 or more free transfers into GW14. That means they can make quite substantial changes to their sides over the coming weeks without incurring a points penalty.

At the same time, you should never make a transfer just for the sake of making a transfer!

Division 1

GW13 Results

Team	Hive Account	Score	Score	Team	Hive Account
Steve Herbae	@herbae	59	31	Hungry Lions	@gvkanten
Hiveheadz	@borran	53	32	Jungle squad	@george-dee
nonzy fc	@nonsowrites	28	25	Hijos del VAR	@aaalviarez
samostically	@samostically	32	47	@blockchainFPL H2H	@blockchainfpl
Vickoly FC	@vickoly	46	42	Likodra FC	@teofilex11
Shamzy FC	@Shamzy	47	32	YAGMAN FC	@yagman01
FC McKane	@mckane	32	29	Legion fc	@b0s
Cunha Do Sum' 4 Mee	@deniskj	43	54	Spero FC	@sperosamuel15
Red Cards of Rohan	@thoth442	63	63	Skander	@skanderh
Suffragette City	@talesfrmthecrypt	71	37	Formidable Milano�	@damolexy

GW14 Fixtures

Team	Hive Account		Team	Hive Account
Hungry Lions	@gvkanten	v	Suffragette City	@talesfrmthecrypt
Formidable Milano�	@damolexy	v	Red Cards of Rohan	@thoth442
Skander	@skanderh	v	Cunha Do Sum' 4 Mee	@deniskj
Spero FC	@sperosamuel15	v	FC McKane	@mckane
Legion fc	@b0s	v	Shamzy FC	@Shamzy
YAGMAN FC	@yagman01	v	Vickoly FC	@vickoly
Likodra FC	@teofilex11	v	samostically	@samostically
@blockchainFPL H2H	@blockchainfpl	v	nonzy fc	@nonsowrites
Hijos del VAR	@aaalviarez	v	Hiveheadz	@borran
Jungle squad	@george-dee	v	Steve Herbae	@herbae

Division 2

GW13 Results

Team	Hive Account	Score	Score	Team	Hive Account
Mighty Fc	@twicejoy	42	35	adewalehafis	@adewaleopeyemi63
Funwarriors	@Jmis101	40	51	ARFANTASY FC	@arfa
K Empire Balls	@kenechukwu97	27	37	Matz Sels Seashells	@doombot75
Teamkoko	@myanmarkoko	28	24	HappyBoys FC	@happyboy1
Eh, No, Ah, Meh.	@stuartcturnbull	29	45	Garuda XI	@aditya-p
Pepzerbi	@pepzerbi	47	26	gentleshaid	@gentleshaid
Uwabbs FC	@uwabbs001	34	37	The Cellas	@blanchy
Deals on Wheels	@derek-trotter	37	19	WIKE BOYS	@gone-hive
Kingsleyy	@kingsleyy	17	59	Bennett's Boys	@olibennett
Jeremie Ping Pong	@pingpongfrimpong	21	44	Rys FC	@omrys5
Könttyrät FC	@pvmihalache	44	26	PHOENIX FC	@kelvinpeters
valchiz Fc	@valchiz	41	33	Micheal Fc	@micheal87
Hadji	@hadji	32	31	Rubilu	@rubilu
Emeka4	@emeka4	49	10	SportsNerd	@saif-ul-wahab
Kelsco FC	@kilvnrex	32	49	Tangram	@desro
Queen dynasty	@princess-dara	51	49	Hasaaland	@earplugs
Itachi FC	@justfavour	34	40	Holohive	@acidyo
Dapomola Fc	@dapomolaaaa	45	55	Stevenson Fc	@Stevenson7
Blugrana	@ronnie10	28	26	Wongi	@wongi
Top 10k?	@elvisking	20	37	Corkscrew	@deraaa
Sutter Kane	@suttercane	39	13	Show Not Tel	@jmehta
hamzamusic	@Hamza-art	21	39	Chrisamuda FC	@hive-world
The People's XV	@publioscelta	37	30	Magical McFizzy	@mcfizzy
Amirirans	@amirtheawesome1	34	68	Working 9 to 5	@aunt-granny
Fire Power	@emekaj	46	40	Los Magos del Balón	@el-maestro
Krake99	@kraken99	16	39	Murima	@youngvic
Cygnus FC	@donjaun	58	38	Sportin	@depar
Akatsuki	@seki1	21	34	Noobmaster69	@workingdad
Bankai	@belemo	34	33	ThtHive	@tht
Six and the City	@princekwame	50	30	racibo	@racibo
Tengo Rangers	@tengolotodo	32	45	Newton Heath RFC	@samirich
Corner	@artniche	24	42	Large in the Rear	@chineduokafor
Blue Mooners	@leebennett	60	33	TheVulcAns⚓️	@the9thcreator

GW14 Fixtures

Team	Hive Account		Team	Hive Account
Emeka4	@emeka4	v	Mighty Fc	@twicejoy
Kelsco FC	@kilvnrex	v	Hadji	@hadji
Queen dynasty	@princess-dara	v	valchiz Fc	@valchiz
Itachi FC	@justfavour	v	Könttyrät FC	@pvmihalache
Dapomola Fc	@dapomolaaaa	v	Jeremie Ping Pong	@pingpongfrimpong
Blugrana	@ronnie10	v	Kingsleyy	@kingsleyy
Top 10k?	@elvisking	v	Deals on Wheels	@derek-trotter
Sutter Kane	@suttercane	v	Uwabbs FC	@uwabbs001
hamzamusic	@Hamza-art	v	Pepzerbi	@pepzerbi
The People's XV	@publioscelta	v	Eh, No, Ah, Meh.	@stuartcturnbull
Amirirans	@amirtheawesome1	v	Teamkoko	@myanmarkoko
Fire Power	@emekaj	v	K Empire Balls	@kenechukwu97
Krake99	@kraken99	v	Funwarriors	@Jmis101
Cygnus FC	@donjaun	v	adewalehafis	@adewaleopeyemi63
Akatsuki	@seki1	v	ARFANTASY FC	@arfa
Bankai	@belemo	v	Matz Sels Seashells	@doombot75
Six and the City	@princekwame	v	HappyBoys FC	@happyboy1
Tengo Rangers	@tengolotodo	v	Garuda XI	@aditya-p
Corner	@artniche	v	gentleshaid	@gentleshaid
Blue Mooners	@leebennett	v	The Cellas	@blanchy
TheVulcAns⚓️	@the9thcreator	v	WIKE BOYS	@gone-hive
Large in the Rear	@chineduokafor	v	Bennett's Boys	@olibennett
Newton Heath RFC	@samirich	v	Rys FC	@omrys5
racibo	@racibo	v	PHOENIX FC	@kelvinpeters
ThtHive	@tht	v	Micheal Fc	@micheal87
Noobmaster69	@workingdad	v	Rubilu	@rubilu
Sportin	@depar	v	SportsNerd	@saif-ul-wahab
Murima	@youngvic	v	Tangram	@desro
Los Magos del Balón	@el-maestro	v	Hasaaland	@earplugs
Working 9 to 5	@aunt-granny	v	Holohive	@acidyo
Magical McFizzy	@mcfizzy	v	Stevenson Fc	@Stevenson7
Chrisamuda FC	@hive-world	v	Wongi	@wongi
Show Not Tel	@jmehta	v	Corkscrew	@deraaa

Header 1GW14 Player Picks and Tips

Here are our tips and picks for GW14 of the season...

Chasing the soft targets (again)

As recommended last week, it's becoming apparent that there are a couple of easier fixtures for teams against the bottom 2 in the Premier League.

GW13 saw Brentford and Villa benefit from that and while GW14 has Wolves and Burnley both playing at home, they still look good sides to bet against at the moment.

Forest will be desperate for a win against Wolves. While it's difficult to single out an attacking option for points, especially with MGW an injury doubt, you can bank on Elliot Anderson for a steady return.

Not only does Anderson lead the way for midfielders with Defcon points this season but he's also 4th best for key passes

The England midfielder leads the way for Defcon points this season and takes a significant proportion of Forest's set-pieces. He's delivered 28 points in the last 4 GWs and it feels like he is full of confidence given his elevation within the national team even though he's plying his trade at a club fighting relegation.

Palace visit Turf Moor and as such, Mateta feels like a player to either target or keep faith with. As noted above, if squad rotation is a risk then target teams and positions where there appear to be few other viable options.

Palace do have Nketiah but the former Arsenal man hasn't started a Premier League game all season. With Sarr almost certainly out injured, it'd be a big risk for Palace to start a game without their 2 most potent goal threats.

Home fixtures for Arsenal and United

I'd expect that GW14 will see a lot more variation when it comes to captaincy picks. That in part will be due to a number of managers getting their fingers burned with Haaland at the weekend but also because City haven't looked that potent away from home this season.

By contrast, Arsenal and United both play at home against weaker opposition and you'd back their attacking players to put some points on the board.

On that basis, you'd expect that the performances of Saka, Fernandes and Mbeumo will be key to deciding who the big movers are in GW14.

Mbeumo's stats vs West Ham

Mbeumo has 4 goals and an assist in 7 appearances versus West Ham. None of those goals came from the spot and more generally he's taken on a whopping 29 shots versus the Hammers in those games suggesting he'll been in with a decent chance of improving his record on Thursday if he keeps pulling the trigger.

By contrast, Bruno has just 2 assists in 11 prior Premier League meetings with West Ham but that may represent United's struggles more generally against that opposition in recent seasons (they've lost 4 of their last 5 encounters).

It's a similar story for Saka who does have a goal and 4 assists against Brentford but none from the last 3 games that these sides have met with the Bees proving a tough nut for Arsenal to crack at the Emirates in recent seasons.

Roll the dice on Liverpool defenders

In the normal course of events you'd be looking at the fixture list below and not wondering whether you should have a Liverpool defender but how many you should include in your FPL side.

Liverpool's next 5 matches

However, even though Liverpool achieved a win to nil at the weekend, it's difficult to ignore the fact that they shipped 10 goals in the 3 games prior to that.

On one hand, their paucity of options in central defence does mean that the likes of VVD and Konate are almost guaranteed to continue to start as they have done in the 13 game prior to this week.

In fact, despite Liverpool's struggles at the back, Van Djik is 1 of just 16 outfield players to have played every single minute in the league this season.

Equally, ownership of the pair has plummeted in recent weeks with Konate now dropping in price to £5.4mil making him a potentially effective differential given he is in just 3% of teams at present.

On the other hand, they are still expensive players, playing for a side that has conceded 20 goals this season. Only the bottom 5 teams in the league at present have a worse record in 25/26.

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Who are you picking in GW14?