Covid is continuing to cause plenty of disruption to the Premier League campaign following Sunday’s news that Everton vs Leicester has been consigned to the TBC area of the league’s fixture list.
That announcement will have been a blow to Fantasy Premier League managers who acquired Everton assets on the eve of the transfer deadline in the expectation that they would play twice this week. Leicester’s mounting absentee list put paid to that.
Frustrating as yet another postponement is to FPL managers, it did serve as a reminder to expect the unexpected during this uncertain period, heading into the biggest double gameweek of the season so far. At the time of writing, eight clubs are scheduled to play two matches in Gameweek 22: they are Brentford, Brighton, Burnley, Chelsea, Leicester, Manchester United, Tottenham and Watford.
Whenever a double gameweek rolls around, the obvious play is to target players with two fixtures rather than one with your transfers and/or chips, like the second wildcard or free hit. That remains the case this week, but managers should avoid racking up expensive points hits if they can help it given the volatility of the schedule.
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Even if there wasn’t a high probability of matches being called off, it would be fair to say that this isn’t the most exciting double gameweek in recent memory. Neither Manchester City or Liverpool play twice and the teams that do are either in poor form (Burnley, Manchester United, Watford), have at least one extremely difficult fixture (Brentford, Brighton, Chelsea), or have a number of key players unavailable due to Covid, injury or participation at the Africa Cup of Nations (Leicester, Spurs).
Watford arguably have the best pair of the games on paper (against Burnley and Newcastle), but the Hornets have lost nine of their previous 10 matches in all competitions. As a rule of thumb, don’t discard excellent single gameweek players like Joao Cancelo, Jarrod Bowen or Diogo Jota, to cram an inferior player with two matches into your team.
Here is our Gameweek 22 team, which is subject to change should any fixtures get pulled from the calendar.
David de Gea (Man Utd)
Manchester United haven’t pulled up any trees under Ralf Rangnick and have been fortunate that David de Gea has been in top form. De Gea has made 21 saves in five matches since Rangnick took charge, which is good news for FPL managers as a goalkeeper earns a point every time they make three saves in a game. Despite being overworked lately, he’s kept two clean sheets and conceded just three times in his past five matches.
Price: £5.2m Points: 76 Gameweek 22 fixture(s): Aston Villa (a), Brentford (a)
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With Ben Chilwell out for the season, Marcos Alonso has the left wing-back slot at Chelsea nailed down… at least until the club signs someone else. Although the Spain international hasn’t been at his best since regaining his place, he has provided FPL returns in four of his last six games. Alonso offered a reminder of the attacking threat he provides against Liverpool, attempting four shots and two key passes.
Price: £5.7m Points: 71 Gameweek 22 fixture(s): Man City (a), Brighton (a)
Sergio Reguilon (Spurs)
Another Spanish full-back with two matches this gameweek is Tottenham’s Sergio Reguilon, who sat out Sunday’s 3-1 win against Morecambe. Reguilon has passed the eye test and has good underlying stats since being pushed into a more advanced wing-back role under Antonio Conte. Since the Italian’s first game in charge, Reguilon has had eight shots and created nine chances in eight appearances.
Price: £5.4m Points: 76 Gameweek 22 fixture(s): Arsenal (h), Leicester (a)
Trent Alexander-Arnold (Liverpool)
Trent Alexander-Arnold is currently yellow flagged on FPL after missing the FA Cup victory against Shrewsbury Town due to a suspected positive Covid test. Should he be given the all-clear for this weekend, he is worth picking ahead of any other defender in the game despite having only one fixture. If Alexander-Arnold is ruled out, consider one of the Brighton full-backs Marc Cucurella (£5.1m) or Tariq Lamptey (£4.5m) instead.
Price: £8.4m Points: 132 Gameweek 22 fixture: Brentford (h)
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Lucas Moura has been one of Tottenham’s most consistent performers since Conte was appointed and will have an even bigger role in the side while Son Heung-min is unavailable. The Brazilian has scored four goals in his last eight games in all competitions and has amassed 30 FPL points in his previous four Premier League starts.
Price: £6.5m Points: 58 Gameweek 22 fixture(s): Arsenal (h), Leicester (a)
James Maddison (Leicester)
Proceed with caution when it comes to Leicester players. According to premierinjuries.com, Brendan Rodgers is currently without 16 first-teamers due to Covid, injuries or the Africa Cup of Nations, which is why the game against Everton was called off. If the Foxes do play twice, James Maddison is the obvious player to own, considering he has managed four double-digit scores in his last six games.
Price: £6.9m Points: 69 Gameweek 22 fixture(s): Burnley (a), Spurs (h)
Diogo Jota (Liverpool)
With Mo Salah and Sadio Mane both at the Africa Cup of Nations, the onus falls on Diogo Jota to score the goals for Liverpool while the pair are away. Only three midfielders have amassed more FPL points than Jota this season, while the Portuguese is second only to Salah for goals scored with 10. Brentford haven’t kept a clean sheet away from home since Gameweek 5 and conceded at least two goals in each of their last five matches on the road.
Price: 8.2m Points: 101 Gameweek 22 fixture: Brentford (h)
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Mason Mount (Chelsea)
Chelsea have two tricky away fixtures against Manchester City and Brighton and need a couple of victories if they are to keep their faltering title hopes alive. If Thomas Tuchel’s side are to overcome City on their own patch, they will need Mason Mount to be at his best. The playmaker ranks top among Chelsea’s squad for FPL points (95), goals (seven) and assists (six).
Price: £7.7m Points: 95 Gameweek 22 fixture(s): Man City (a), Brighton (a)
Leandro Trossard (Brighton)
Following a run of 11 league games without a win, Brighton have got themselves back on track recently, winning two and drawing one of their last three games. Leandro Trossard set them on their way against Brentford on Boxing Day with a well-taken finish and could be a great differential for the double gameweek with an ownership of under two per cent.
Price: £6.1m Points: 70 Gameweek 22 fixture(s): Crystal Palace (h), Chelsea (h)
Josh King (Watford)
With question marks over Emmanuel Dennis’ fitness, Josh King offers a safe route into Watford’s attack for a couple of promising matches against fellow strugglers Newcastle and Burnley. The Norwegian has gone five games without a goal, but rather surprisingly ranks third among all forwards for expected goals this season, behind only Cristiano Ronaldo and Michail Antonio.
Price: £5.8m Points: 63 Gameweek 22 fixture(s): Newcastle (a), Burnley (a)
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Harry Kane (Spurs)
Harry Kane will be without the assistance of Son for a few weeks as the South Korean is sidelined due to a calf injury. Nevertheless, Kane is the obvious premium player to buy this week given his record against both of Tottenham’s upcoming opponents. Kane has scored more times against Leicester (17) than any other club in his career and has 11 goals in 16 games in north London derbies.
Price: £12.2m Points: 53 Gameweek 22 fixture(s): Arsenal (h), Leicester (a)
from Fantasy Football – inews.co.uk https://ift.tt/3GiedRI
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