How much would Pele have been worth in Fantasy Premier League?
At different points in the game’s short history, Cristiano Ronaldo, Thierry Henry and Robin van Persie all cost 14m, making them the most expensive players ever. Would Pele have usurped that in the 1960s? For his time, certainly. Maybe not if he’d rocked up at Pep Guardiola’s Manchester City in his 80s, but you never know.
Just imagine: Pele and Jimmy Greaves up top, Bobby Moore and Lev Yashin “essential” at the back. Proper fantasy football.
Anyway, Gameweek 17 was a great week for the FPL template. Marcus Rashford got 14 points, Erling Haaland 13, Mo Salah and Kieran Trippier both 12. Budget midfielders Miguel Almiron and Gabriel Martinelli both scored, as did Harry Kane, Ivan Toney and Aleksandar Mitrovic.
The only issue with these players is that everyone has them too. I managed 99 points this week, but didn’t even move one place up my mini-league.
Gameweek 17 top scorers
Goalkeepers
- Sanchez (Brighton), Arrizabalaga (Chelsea) – 9
Defenders
- Ream (Fulham) – 14
- Trippier (Newcastle) – 12
- Mina (Everton) – 11
Midfielders
- Rashford (Man United) – 14
- March (Brighton), Joelinton (Newcastle) – 13
- Salah (Liverpool) – 12
- Odegaard (Arsenal) – 11
Forwards
- Mitrovic (Fulham) – 15
- Haaland (Man City) – 13
- Havertz (Chelsea) – 12
In fact, of the 10 outfield players with more than 30 per cent FPL ownership, only William Saliba, Joao Cancelo and Kevin De Bruyne scored fewer than seven points in the Boxing Day fixtures. While owning these players will mean you don’t fall behind the crowd, it also means that you can’t really rise up the rankings.
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The deadline for Gameweek 18 is 6.15pm on Friday 30 December.
So, for Gameweek 18, here’s 11 players with less than 25 per cent ownership to help you break the template, including two owned by less than 1 per cent of FPL players:
Gameweek 18 fixtures
Friday 30 December
- West Ham vs Brentford
- Liverpool vs Leicester
Saturday 31 December
- Wolves vs Man United
- Man City vs Everton
- Fulham vs Southampton
- Bournemouth vs Crystal Palace
- Newcastle vs Leeds
- Brighton vs Arsenal
Sunday 1 December
- Spurs vs Aston Villa
- Nottingham Forest vs Chelsea
Kepa Arrizabalaga (Chelsea)
With Edouard Mendy still not fully fit, Kepa appears to have made Chelsea’s No 1 spot his own. Comfortable with the ball at his feet and with a penchant for the spectacular, the Spaniard is the sort of keeper that Graham Potter likes.
Kepa has four clean sheets in seven Premier League starts this season and has also picked up five bonus points in that period.
For just £4.5m, the ex-Bilbao stopper is a great option in goal. Chelsea have three solid fixtures against Nottingham Forest, Fulham and Crystal Palace in their next five games, but also face Man City and Liverpool. You can either rotate him with another cheap starter who has good fixtures in those Gameweeks, or stick by Kepa, whose average saves per 90 (four), is only behind David Raya, Bernd Leno and Jordan Pickford among keepers to have started more than five games.
Price: £4.5m Gameweek 17 points: 9 Ownership: 6.3 per cent Gameweek 18 fixture: Nottingham Forest (a)
Andy Robertson (Liverpool)
Although Liverpool’s defence is without a clean sheet in their last five league games, Robertson is top for both chances created (14) and big chances created (four) over the past four gameweeks. The Scot bagged two assists in the last game before the World Cup and then set up Mo Salah’s opener against Aston Villa on Boxing Day.
He is helped by a favourable fixture list for Liverpool, especially the clash against a woeful Leicester side this weekend, with Brentford to come next gameweek. With Reece James out injured again for a month, those needing a replacement for the Chelsea man could do much worse than Robertson.
Price: £6.8m Gameweek 17 points: 8 Ownership: 6.1 per cent Gameweek 18 fixture: Leicester (h)
Matt Doherty (Tottenham)
I can almost hear the collective groan. Doherty has 19 points all season, has only started four games due to injury, and Spurs haven’t kept a clean sheet in the league since Gameweek 11.
Although the ex-Wolves wing-back has suffered from successive injuries, there was a six-game period last season where he racked up two goals and three assists in six league games. In pre-restart friendlies, he scored twice against Motherwell and once against Nice and Peterborough U21s. He then started in the 2-2 draw with Brentford on Boxing Day, creating two chances and taking a shot.
This is a real differential for those looking for a boom or bust option. Doherty’s starting place should be secure and Antonio Conte has worked magic with a series of wing-backs before. Let’s hope that the Irishman is next.
Price: £4.6m Gameweek 17 points: 1 Ownership: 0.5 per cent Gameweek 18 fixture: Aston Villa (h)
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Sven Botman (Newcastle)
With Kieran Trippier currently owned by 66.5 per cent of players, finding a different way into the Newcastle defence can be hard. While I am not advocating picking Botman over Trippier, although the Dutchman is £1.5m cheaper, picking both from a defence which has kept a league-high eight clean sheets is not a bad idea.
Botman is a sure starter with a good chance of picking up six points week-in, week-out. The ex-Lille centre-back also picks up the occasional bonus point, with four to his name so far. With a solid schedule included ties against Leeds, Crystal Palace, West Ham and Bournemouth on the horizon, Botman could be a dependable permanent bargain at the back.
Price: £4.4m Gameweek 17 points: 6 Ownership: 3.9 per cent Gameweek 18 fixture: Leeds (h)
Phil Foden (Man City)
Foden seems like a good option every week until he’s not on the teamsheet. With seven goals and three assists from 11 league starts, the 22-year-old has been prolific when given the opportunity, but is constantly vying for a starting berth with Jack Grealish and sometimes Julian Alvarez.
But having been benched for Gameweek 17, there’s as good a chance as any that Foden will start against relegation-threatened Everton on New Year’s Eve. The England man is an explosive option with a great fixture for those looking to break the template.
Price: £8.3m Gameweek 17 points: 1 Ownership: 18.2 per cent Gameweek 18 fixture: Everton (h)
Mason Mount (Chelsea)
With his goal and 10-point haul against Bournemouth, Mount became only the second player to score or assist 50 Premier League goals before his 25th birthday. The young star can blow hot and cold, but a visit to Nottingham Forest on the back of a confidently taken finish against Bournemouth could be the perfect opportunity for him to explode into form.
That was Mount’s third double-digit haul in nine league games under Graham Potter and the midfielder has started every game of Potter’s tenure. With most of Chelsea’s attacking players misfiring, Mount is a beacon of stability and potential easy source of FPL points.
Price: £7.5m Gameweek 17 points: 10 Ownership: 7.5 per cent Gameweek 18 fixture: Nottingham Forest (a)
Andreas Pereira (Fulham)
Pereira is something of a template pick, but less than 25 per cent of managers own him. On most set-pieces and with two goals and four assists this season already, Pereira is the cheapest attacking pick which still guarantees a steady stream of points.
He picked up 0.71xGI (expected goal involvements) and created six chances in Gameweek 17 without scoring or assisting. Fulham host a leaky Southampton side who have not yet settled under Nathan Jones. They then have a Double Gameweek 19, facing Leicester and Chelsea as the only team to double that week. For the next two weeks, Pereira is top FPL option.
Price: 4.6m Gameweek 17 points: 3 Ownership: 24.1 per cent Gameweek 18 fixture: Southampton (h)
Martin Odegaard (Arsenal)
Costing £0.3m less than Gabriel Martinelli, Odegaard has actually outscored the young Brazilian by three points so far this season. With two goals and two assists in his last two games, the Norwegian maestro is in spectacular form for the table-topping Gunners.
Odegaard created five chances and two big chances against West Ham on Boxing Day and is a cheaper alternative, or addition, to both Martinelli and Saka, without taking up a valuable forward spot like Eddie Nketiah would.
Price: £6.4m Gameweek 17 points: 11 Ownership: 18 per cent Gameweek 18 fixture: Brighton (a)
Said Benrahma (West Ham)
Sixteenth in the league having scored just 13 goals in 16 games, not wanting to invest in a West Ham attacker is understandable. However, since returning to fitness, Benrahma has three goals in five starts and is on penalties for the Hammers.
Owned by less than 1 per cent of all players and with fixtures against Brentford, Leeds, Wolves and Everton in his next four, Benrahma could be the ultimate budget midfield differential for those looking to shoot up the rankings.
Price: £5.6m Gameweek 17 points: 7 Ownership: 0.9 per cent Gameweek 18 fixture: Brentford (h)
Darwin Nunez (Liverpool)
Darwin Nunez’ critics will say that he cannot finish, but that seems pretty harsh to a player who has five Premier League goals from eight starts in his debut season. In Gameweek 17, Nunez had four shots on target, 12 touches in the penalty area and racked up 1.16xG without scoring.
Liverpool now host a Leicester side who capitulated 3-0 to Newcastle on Boxing Day and who look shaky throughout. Liverpool, meanwhile, look dangerous and Nunez should continue to get plenty of great opportunities. While he will have games like his last one where he cannot quite finish, Nunez is an explosive, high-upside option against a poor defence in Gameweek 18.
Price: 9m Gameweek 17 points: 2 Ownership: 16.9 per cent Gameweek 18 fixture: Leicester (h)
Aleksandar Mitrovic (Fulham)
Mitrovic was a doubt to start in Gameweek 17 and then scored the most points of any player. He got a goal and two assists, took four shots on target and created two big chances, taking him to 10 Premier League goals in 13 games this season.
As with Pereira, Fulham now have a prime fixture against Southampton before a double gameweek against Leicester and Chelsea. Although Mitrovic is only one yellow card away from a one-match suspension, he is still an almost essential option for Gameweek 18.
Price: 6.9m Gameweek 17 points: 15 Ownership: 22.6 per cent Gameweek 18 fixture: Southampton (h)
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