Fantasy Football Tips Gameweek 16

Welcome to Fantasy Football Tips Gameweek 16

Last gameweek was FPL in a nutshell. You’ve done all the research, you’ve got a rough idea of what you want to do, but you just want to try to leave it as late as possible in case there’s any ‘leaks’ that come about on Twitter. Around 11:30am, a tweet gets picked up saying Haaland is starting. “Excellent”, you think, “at least that’s the armband safe. I’ll just wait for anything on Foden and then make my moves”. Then time slows down, slower than waiting for an England player to walk up to the penalty spot. Slower than the wait for any Members of the Government to face any accountability (good evening, Prime Minister).

Then it comes, 20 minutes before the deadline. The news from a reliable source that both Foden and Haaland won’t be starting. Panic as you go to the Fantasy Premier League website in haste turns into sheer disbelief as it’s crashed, with half-a-million other FPL managers trying to do the exact same thing at the same time. That hamster can’t run fast enough in the wheel at FPL towers and, like that, the server goes down – taking our hopes and dreams of any success in the gameweek with us. Still, sitting there looking at “The game is now updating”, knowing you’re playing two players who aren’t even starting – of whom one of them is your captain – and you will again have two free transfers, at the waste of one, you can at least have the comfort that your hopes aren’t high to then be disappointed.

Alas, where there are many red arrows, there are others who are enjoying a green arrow as they kept the faith with the likes of Zaha or Maddison, or they even took a punt on the likes of Alvarez, Gabriel or even Digne. On that note, let’s take a quick look at how last week’s commentators fared:

Init: Ederson (2), Callum Wilson (1), Haaland (5)
Matt: Pickford (3), Trippier (12), Cancelo (-2), Shaw (3), Dunk (1)
OddDane: Foden (1), Rashford (2), Trossard (5), Almiron (8)

So, as it could have unfortunately been predicted before the FPL deadline rolled over, Foden once again didn’t deliver the goods for many managers and OddDane’s prediction – however his picks of Almiron and Trossard were wise. Matt and Init both had a mixed gameweek as Cancelo’s recklessness was outweighed by the heroics we all expect from Trippier, while Haaland did at least pick up five points after Man City’s defence failed to keep a cleansheet. Thanks for that Cancelo.

In the hotseat this gameweek is Swirly – who is looking after defenders and forwards – and Gear, who is picking the goalkeeper and midfielders. Let’s see who their picks are in the last gameweek before we go into the World Cup break.

Goalkeepers

With the World Cup just on the horizon, the picks I present you for goalkeepers and midfielders are all one-week punts.

First up is Aaron Ramsdale, and really, you do not need to look any further than this. Arsenal have conceded the joint fewest in the league (11) and are up against a Wolves team that have scored the least (8). If I were a betting man, I’d wager on a clean sheet and an easy 6 points for your team.

If you are looking for a differential, then Vicente Guaita could be worth your consideration. Only owned by 3.2% of managers, he is up against a Forest team that have only scored 12 goals all season. Granted, Palace can be a little hit and miss, however when Guaita produces some saves, he tends to grab bonus points as well. In gameweeks 11 and 14 he collected 11 and 9 points respectively, and this was without a penalty save in sight.

Defenders

William Saliba now appears in 33.5 per cent of FPL teams, which is no doubt part of the reason why my FPL rank is so dire. That means I’ve not missed out on the six Arsenal clean sheets so far this season, of which a trio have been in the last four gameweeks alone. The £5.3m player is a bonus points magnet, having picked up 12 of his 68 just on that alone.

Whilst Chelsea didn’t exactly prove to be much threat on goal, as a certain Mr Aubameyang revaluates the soundbites he delivers ahead of any future meetings with previous employers, there is comfort in the fact that Gameweek 16’s opposition is the team that has scored the fewest number of goals so far this season – Wolves. It’s no surprise that the West Midlanders are languishing in 19th place, having found the back of the net just eight times since the campaign kicked off. That’s basically one goal every two gameweeks and, with Arsenal’s form the way that it is, I wouldn’t be surprised to see the Gunners come away from Molineux with their seventh clean sheet of the season.

Kieran Trippier is that essential in your FPL team and, it could be argued, has been since the game went live this season, carrying with it all those hopes and dreams of a decent rank come the end. Hopes and dreams that have varying chances of still actually happening, of course! As I mentioned in my appraisal of Saliba, Chelsea seem to be off the boil when it comes to attacking football, with the fewest goals scored out of the top nine sides in the league. Their visit to St James’ Park therefore could see the Magpies cause a real headache, as the fixture doesn’t look to be as much of a foregone conclusion as it would have been in recent years.

That’s all I can say on the guy, really – if you’re one of 36% of FPL managers who still don’t have him, you’re very brave.

It’s the last gameweek before this World Cup break – let’s have a bit of fun! Spurs may not exactly be great at keeping clean sheets, however their summer signing Ivan Perisic does carry with him a goal threat that is ranked ninth out of all defenders. With Son unfortunately out of action through injury, there is theoretically the chance for the 33-year-old to step forward and bring his own style of attacking football nearer in position to the South Korean’s place.

The number 14 is up against a Leeds team that has conceded nine in the last four, and I’m sure Antonio Conte would be looking for his side to put the last four games that have resulted in just three points firmly to bed.

My fourth and final defender selection for this gameweek’s virtual team is an old FPL favourite, who hasn’t so far gone anywhere near his previous heroics. Trent Alexander-Arnold has a pricetag that would bring with it a level of expectation within midfielders and forwards. However, as a defender, he really needs to bringing in the points for £7.2m. After 15 gameweeks, there is just one goal, one assist and two clean sheets to his name – very much off the pace of what was managed over the last season: a pair of goals, a dozen assists and an impressive 18 clean sheets.

So, why am I suggesting the number 66? Well, this week’s opposition is Southampton, who travel to Anfield without a manager (at the time of writing, at least). Of course, many thought Liverpool would blow Leeds to one side, but Summerville and co had other ideas. The Saints have conceded 16 in the last five visits there – and that was with a ‘permanent’ manager in place – and, what’s more, haven’t scored any in that time either. Just like Conte, Klopp will be looking to go into this break on a high and Southampton’s current predicament, along with their record in L4 gives just that opportunity.

Midfielders

So, if you haven’t already got him (and I myself am guilty of this), get in Kevin De Bruyne. The man is on fire and is the games highest scoring midfielder. 7, 10, 8, 6, 2, 9, 11, 7, these are his last 8 gameweeks. He is at home against Brentford, need I say more?

Some bloke called Mohamed Salah has a home game against a Southampton team who are a bit of a mess. They’ve just been battered by Newcastle and have no manager. Most importantly, Salah has just rediscovered a bit of form. 22 points in the last two game weeks indicate that he might be worth putting back into your side immediately.

Here is a differential pick for you. Dejan Kulusevski is now back from injury and looked good when he come on against Liverpool. Only 3.8% of managers still have him (did I hear ghost teams?), so he really could do a job getting you up the ranks. Up against a Leeds side who have conceded 22 times already this season and I see no reason why Spurs will not add to that tally this weekend.

Looking for a cheaper option, then Leandro Trossard could be your man. He has returned in his last 3 games, with 7 goals and 3 assists so far this season. Playing Aston Villa (who knows which version will show up?), there is a 50% chance they’ll be rubbish and concede a bucket load. For those looking for an even cheaper option, then cast your gaze to teammate Pascal Groß. He has 5 goals and 2 assists so far and that represents a fair return on investment for those that opted for Groß at the start of the season. He may just do the same for you this last week.

Forwards

Elephant in the room out the way… Erling Haaland. Will he play? Won’t he? Is Pep going to keep messing about FPL managers with his cryptic messages? Well, we can all answer the final question with a resounding yes, however Brentford at home is a certain fixture you would have him in your team for, at the very least.

Right, now we’ve got that out the way, let’s look at someone who is the opposite end of the price spectrum: Dominic Solanke. Will he regularly and reliably score goals? No, that’s why he’s only £5.7m. Does he stand a good chance of bagging some more points against Everton, adding to the three goals and four assists already achieved this campaign? Absolutely. Sorry, those will be the last of the questions in this section!

Having shown themselves to briefly be a formidable force with a victory over Crystal Palace and a draw against Fulham, the Toffees unfortunately came back to reality with a bump when they hosted Leicester at Goodison Park. This has been further compounded by a 4-1 humbling in the EFL Cup by… you guessed it… Bournemouth. Solanke missed that fixture and so will no doubt be looking to help recreate the same in the Premier League tie this weekend.

It’s the last gameweek before we get those unlimited transfers – go on, take a punt on the budget friendly striker!

With 11 goals and two more set up for his colleagues, Harry Kane is Mr Reliable in a time when nothing else in FPL seems to make much sense. That said, he’s in just 25.6% of FPL sides which is a pretty low percentage for a player who has such great statistics behind him. The pricetag of £11.6m will, of course, contribute towards that. However, when it comes to points – where there’s a will, there’s a way to fit him in your squad!

As previously mentioned with his teammate Perisic, Spurs will be looking to end this first part of the campaign on a high and Leeds and their defensive frailties carry an ideal opportunity. Kane has scored twice and assisted another two against Leeds, as the Londoners look forward to hosting a team they have not lost against at home since 2001 – scoring 13 in the six games since.

Thanks for reading Fantasy Football Tips Gameweek 16. This article was written by Gear and Swirly

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