Fantasy Football: Hiscox’s Bernardo Gomes Q&A

Gameweek 11 (GW11) begins tomorrow (9 November 2024) at 15.00, when eight teams face off against each other.

You have until 13:30 to make any last transfers for this week, but before that, we thought we’d speak to Hiscox Europe’s head of data Bernardo Gomes, a new top 10 entrant in this year’s Insurance Times Fantasy Football League.

Gomes currently sits in joint third, seven points behind Insurance Times deputy editor Yiannis Kotoulas and 19 points between RSA’s apprentice trading underwriter Hayden Williams.

1. Congratulations on being in the top 10 for GW10, how do you rate your chances of staying there for the season?

There is always an element of luck in FPL, but after a good start it is all about trying and not to be too clever.

I hope to stay there for a long time, especially because that would mean I am also beating my friends and colleagues in my other mini-leagues.

2. What are the key decisions to make ahead of GW11?

The Haaland versus no Haaland decision is always in the back of my mind. I have started the season with him, but I am without him since my GW4 wildcard.

So far, so good, but we all know Haaland.

Apart from that, this GW is about deciding whether to bank another transfer, ahead of the international break. I am currently on three free transfers banked and the are some interesting fixture swings from GW12 onwards. Those free transfers will be quite useful to attack the fixtures with a ‘mini wildcard’.

3. Who would you call out as an under-rated player for everyone’s Fantasy squad?

Wolves players, such as Cunha, Strand Larsen and Aït-Nouri. They had a very difficult scheduling to start the season, but I like their attacking football and believe there are points there in the upcoming GWs. They are still not highly owned, with most seeing around 10% ownership or less.

4. Who or what would you like to call out in the insurance industry?

I would like to call out the work done by a Hiscox colleague of mine, who is part of La Froggies Family, which supports disadvantaged children in South Africa. It represents the human values of Hiscox quite well.