After the conclusion of what felt like the longest Fantasy Premier League gameweek in history comes some midweek mania with a full round of matches taking place between Tuesday and Thursday.
Gameweek 21 was an excellent one for i‘s FPL tips with nine of our 11 players scoring five points or more. Differentials like Alfie Doughty (£4.5m), Chris Wood (£4.9m) and gameweek top scorer Diogo Jota (£7.9m) all delivered, as did a couple of returning FPL heroes Kevin De Bruyne (£10.5m) and Ivan Toney (£8m). Here’s hoping for 10 this week.
FPL has given a refreshing shake-up lately due to the absence of several heavy hitters, with Erling Haaland, Son Heung-min and Mohamed Salah among the big names unavailable for duty. Managers have been forced into buying lesser-owned assets and moving the captain’s armband away from the usual suspects which has added a bit of variety into proceedings.
Haaland’s anticipated return from a six-week lay-off threatens to make the captaincy debate redundant again but with Salah nursing a hamstring injury and Son still at the Asian Cup, there remains plenty of scope to snap up differentials at budget-friendly prices in those midfield slots. Plenty of players in that position are making a compelling case for inclusion right now.
i‘s top scorers in Gameweek 21
- Diogo Jota – 19 points vs Bournemouth: In last week’s tips we talked up Jota as Liverpool’s most natural finisher and he duly proved us right with two excellent finishes in their rout on the south coast. An assist for Darwin Nunez too meant he ended up with a huge score.
- Kevin De Bruyne – 12 points vs Newcastle: The brilliant Belgian needed only 25 minutes to register a big haul, scoring a superb equaliser five minutes after coming off the bench before setting up Oscar Bobb to seal a dramatic added-time win.
- Cole Palmer – 10 points vs Fulham: A fifth penalty of the campaign ensured back-to-back double-digit returns for i‘s Fantasy Football newsletter captain. A clean sheet and three bonus points added further gloss to Palmer’s score.
City vs Burnley is obviously the standout fixture of the gameweek but it is not the only one that offers potential for points. Arsenal will hope to build some momentum after thrashing Palace when they head to Nottingham Forest, while a gradually replenishing Spurs are at home against a leaky Brentford. League leaders Liverpool host Chelsea looking to maintain their ominous run of form.
The Gameweek 21 deadline is at 6.15pm on Tuesday 30 January.
This is an extract of i’s Fantasy Premier League tips. Sign up here to receive the newsletter every week this season for our full 11-player team, advice on the best captain and more!
Gameweek 22 fixtures
Tuesday 30 January
Nottingham Forest vs Arsenal (7.30pm)
Fulham vs Everton (7.45pm)
Luton vs Brighton (7.45pm)
Crystal Palace vs Sheffield Utd (8pm)
Aston Villa vs Newcastle (8.15pm)
Wednesday 31 January
Man City vs Burnley (7.30pm)
Spurs vs Brentford (7.30pm)
Liverpool vs Chelsea (8.15pm)
Thursday 1 February
West Ham vs Bournemouth (7.30pm)
Wolves vs Man Utd (8.15pm)
Bernardo Silva (Man City)
Manchester City vs Burnley looks like precisely the type of fixture that you’ll want to have maximum City coverage for and while Kevin De Bruyne and Haaland (fitness permitting, of course) are the obvious superstars to bring in don’t overlook the unassuming Bernardo Silva.
The diminutive Portuguese playmaker has been in excellent form lately combining three goals with an assist in his last five appearances, a total which includes a sublime backheeled finish against Newcastle that got rather lost after De Bruyne’s super-sub antics. Bernardo’s tally of 35 points over that period is six more than Phil Foden has managed and the Englishman is a much more popular FPL pick.
Although a City clean sheet against the Clarets looks pretty promising, our preference would be to triple up on their attack if you can. If you can find a way to crowbar De Bruyne and Haaland into your team – which isn’t impossible with Mo Salah and Son Heung-min currently out of action – Bernardo is the best third option given he is £1.5m cheaper than Foden.
Price: £6.5m Points: 89 Gameweek 22 fixture: Burnley (h)
Emerson Palmieri (West Ham)
If you already have Alphonse Areola in goal it is probably unlikely you’ll want to buy someone else from the West Ham backline. However, if you don’t have Areola and are looking to make a defender transfer Emerson Palmieri could be a smart pick-up after flying under the radar in recent gameweeks.
Emerson has dislodged the long-serving Aaron Cresswell as David Moyes’ first-choice left-back this season, starting in 19 of West Ham’s 21 Premier League fixtures and has caught the eye recently by recording defensive returns in four of his last five matches.
Admittedly, the Italian international’s attacking threat is rather limited, consisting of no goals and two assists so far, but his defensive qualities are very much appreciated by FPL’s bonus points system. West Ham have kept five clean sheets so far with Emerson earning bonus points in three of those shutouts.
Price: £4.6m Points: 55 Gameweek 22 fixture: Bournemouth (h)
Eberechi Eze (Crystal Palace)
It would be fair to say that Crystal Palace are going through a bit of an identity crisis right now with supporters becoming increasingly disillusioned with the club’s direction of travel under owner Steve Parish and manager Roy Hodgson. The Eagles have a five-point cushion from the drop zone but Tuesday’s game against Sheffield United has the feel of a must-win. It could be curtains for Hodgson if they don’t.
In Hodgson’s defence, he has barely been able to play his two best players Eberechi Eze and Michael Olise in tandem this season due to their respective injury issues. The pair have started just three Premier League games together and been on the pitch at the same time for only 269 minutes. Olise’s latest hamstring injury means the onus again falls on Eze.
Eze had a frustrating time of it as Palace were thumped by Arsenal but looked by far their most likely goalscorer on the day with four shots on goal, of which two were on target. He scored in his previous match at Selhurst Park, a 3-1 win over Brentford, and could be a shrewd fourth or fifth-choice midfielder in the coming weeks with Palace’s fixtures taking a turn for the better.
Price: £6m Points: 51 Gameweek 22 fixture: Sheffield Utd (h)
Richarlison (Spurs)
Against the odds, Richarlison has emerged as not only one of the most in-form players in FPL but also a leading captaincy contender in a gameweek that features a Man City home game against a relegation candidate. Nobody could have foreseen the Brazilian’s transformation in fortunes, but credit to him for salvaging a Spurs career that looked in danger of ending before it had even really begun.
There are two main factors behind Richarlison’s renaissance: the first is that he has had a sustained run in the team in his favoured position as a centre-forward for the first time since signing from Everton and the second is that he finally had surgery on a troublesome groin injury that had inhibited him for too long. He has looked a totally different player since returning to action.
Over the past six gameweeks, Richarlison is top of the pile for both goals (with six) and points (49) in the FPL charts. The imminent return of James Maddison from an ankle injury should boost Richarlison’s prospects further given the creativity he possesses and he could be on penalty-taking duty too in Son’s absence.
Price: £7m Points: 81 Gameweek 22 fixture: Brentford (h)
Alexander Isak (Newcastle)
Newcastle are on a wretched run of form having lost six of their previous seven league matches and rumours linking their best players elsewhere to comply with Financial Fair Play regulations have further soured the mood around St James’ Park. It’s perhaps the smallest crumb of comfort imaginable, but at least Alexander Isak is scoring.
The Swede has netted in three successive matches including a sublime curling effort in Newcastle’s most recent loss against City and is playing with the sort of energy and confidence that has escaped too many of his teammates. That run of form explains why Isak, at the time of writing, is the second-most bought forward heading into Gameweek 22.
Understandably, Toney leads the way in that chart as his ownership is extremely low at the moment which makes him a very nice differential option. However, Newcastle have a more appealing run of matches coming up than Brentford. They face Aston Villa next in what should be an open end-to-end affair, before taking on Luton, Nottingham Forest and Bournemouth. A turning point in their season, perhaps?
Price: £7.6m Points: 78 Gameweek 22 fixture: Aston Villa (a)
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