Fantasy Football Tips Gameweek 21

Welcome to Fantasy Football Tips Gameweek 21

We hope everyone had a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year; may all our arrows in 2024 be green.

Well from the feast of three game weeks over a thirteen-day period, we go to a famine of just two game weeks throughout the whole of January due to the FA Cup 3rd and 4th Rounds and a Winter break scheduled over a two-week period during game week 21!!!

There is further disruption to our squads due to players missing for the African Cup of Nations (13th January 24 – 11th February 24) and the Asia Cup (12th January 24 – 10th February 24).

One final point to note…game week 21 deadline is now this FRIDAY 12th January 23 as the Burnley v Luton game has been rescheduled from the following Monday.

Goalkeeper

Ederson (5.5) vs Newcastle (a) – Smash

(Photo by Robbie Jay Barratt – AMA/Getty Images)

If you are looking for a goalkeeper it might be time for Ederson. Unless you are on a WC I must admit you will probably have bigger priorities but is it Ederson time. Manchester City kept their first clean sheet in 10 games after 4 clean sheets in their first 10 games, so this could be a return to defensive form. The data suggests they have been unlucky not to have more clean sheets this season having an xGC of 18.04 (second best) and just 21 goals conceded all season (third best). Ultimately we are now approaching the business side of the season where historically City kick on in terms of results so now might be the time for Ederson. The fixtures are good struggling Newcastle (A), Burnley (A), Brentford (A), Everton (H), Chelsea (H) and Bournemouth (A) in the next six City also now have a full fit squad to choose from which will have an impact on results and rotation so why not go with the most nailed on City defensive coverage that’s Ederson.

Defender

Malo Gusto (4.2) v Fulham – Smash(H)

(Photo by Richard Sellers/Sportsphoto/Allstar via Getty Images)

Everyone loves a bargain cheap defender in FPL and Malo Gusto is very much that and more. Regarded by many Chelsea fans as one of the best Boehly signings, granted this does not say much as Chelsea sit 10th in the league but we digress. Reece James has had hamstring surgery and has been ruled out till April, it’s possible we barely see him for the rest of the season which makes Gusto very much nailed. Gusto has in Premier League and FA cup 4 assists in just 10 starts for Chelsea. He is very much an attacking defender that has come close to scoring on numerous occasions so is due a goal.

Chelsea have had a poor season so far but have recently started to string a few wins together and have mixed upcoming fixtures Fulham (H), Liverpool (A), Wolves (H), Palace (A), Man City (A) and Spurs (H). At just 4.2 Gusto is cheap enough to just bench for the trickier fixtures, he’s not at a price where you are obliged to play him every week. Defensively Chelsea are 8th for xGC at 29.3 and have 4 clean sheets in the league 2 less than Liverpool who have the most with just 6.

Midfielders

Kevin De Bruyne (10.2) v Newcastle (a) – Smash

(Photo by James Gill – Danehouse/Getty Images)

HES BACK!!!! Kevin De Bruyne (10.2) returned to play the last 30 mins in the FA cup win over Huddersfield with an assist and we now have one of the best we have ever seen in the Premier League back from injury. We all know about Kevin, 183, 196, 141, 251 are his overall points tallies in the last four seasons. With Haaland due to return imminently the champions are looking very strong again as we approach the business section of the season. As stated in the Ederson section the The fixtures are good, struggling Newcastle (A), Burnley (A), Brentford (A), Everton (H), Chelsea (H) and Bournemouth (A) in the next six.

However despite all the excitement of one of our favourite FPL players returning there is cause for concern. Is it too soon, we might not see Kevin De Bruyne start straight away. He’s not played all season due to a serious hamstring injury and with Foden and Alvarez doing very well in the Belgian’s absence there has to be a fear that Pep takes his time and eases him in the next few weeks. Fortune favours the brave is the high risk worth the potentially high reward I will leave that for you to decide.

Diogo Jota (7.8) v Bournemouth (a) – Jamie Mc

(Photo by Andrew Powell/Liverpool FC via Getty Images)

There will be no “Mo Salah! Mo Salah! Mo Salah! Running down the wing. Who do we transfer in for The Egyptian King”?

I present for your consideration; Diogo Jota – £7.8m with only 3.0% ownership & 57 points in the game this season.

I acknowledge that Jota has very much had a stop / start kind of season due to injury where he missed five games and suspension where he missed one game. Furthermore, Jota has only played the full 90 minutes once this season.

So why should you consider transferring in Jota this game week I hear you ask…. well, there is a big gaping hole in the Liverpool forward line with Mo’s absence. Jota has still managed to score five goals and supply four assists this season despite his limited minutes with four of his goals & three of his assists at Anfield but only one goal & one assist away from home.

Liverpool have a decent run of fixtures Bournemouth (A), Chelsea (H), Arsenal (A), Burnley (H), Brentford (A) & Luton (H) by the time worse-case scenario Salah returns from AFCON and gets back up to speed.

Jota has already had a £0.1m price increase this game week and is currently sitting at a lowly 6.7% (147,918 further transfers required) in FPL Statistics.
At the time of writing, 205,717 managers have transferred Jota into their squad with 23,234 managers deciding to now go without.

A word of caution….some managers will play the game on a week to week basis but us “expert” managers forward plan. It should be noted that the EFL Cup Final is played in game week 26.

Liverpool / Chelsea / Fulham are still involved in Semi Finals over the next few weeks with whoever the finalists are game week 26 fixture being postponed (Chelsea v Spurs / Liverpool v Luton / Manchester United v Fulham). Care should be taken with players already in our squad or any proposed transfers from these teams into our squad over the next few game weeks.

Forward

Ivan Toney (7.9) v Forest (H) – Rosco

While many of us are naturally focussing on midfield transfers, and for those who sold him, the potential return of Erling Haaland, Ivan Toney may not be front of mind. Returning from an 8-month ban, Toney’s readiness for full EPL matches remains uncertain. Brentford’s recent form, missing key players like Mbeumo and Wissa, and upcoming fixtures against Spurs, Liverpool, and Man City add to the hesitation.

However, the absence of those key players and that shaky form surely means regardless of full-match fitness, Toney will likely feature and most likely start against Forest in GW21. And what of those challenging fixtures? Well, Toney has a history of scoring against the top teams. Last season, he scored against both City and Spurs, and when on the pitch he contributed over 50% of Brentford’s goals. They need him back ASAP.

Although Toney has been training and playing in closed-door matches since September, it may take him a while to reach peak form. His recent hat-trick against Southampton U23s has sparked interest, with over 37k managers bringing him in this game week. Too soon? That’s the old risk vs reward conundrum we play week in and week out in FPL.

Speculation surrounds Toney’s future at Brentford, with a potential move to Arsenal or Chelsea mooted (if you believe everything you read in the daily rags), but surely such a move would only serve to enhance his appeal?

At Brentford, he’s their talisman, on penalties, and, when fit, is guaranteed to play 90 most weeks. The key questions around how quickly he returns to his best and whether he’ll stay with Brentford amid those transfer rumours could be superfluous if he’s back in the goals this weekend. If I were a betting man (sorry I couldn’t resist) I’d say he’s odds on (I know, I know) to find the back of the net and then we’ll all be trying to squeeze him in before his price goes through the roof.

Thanks for reading Fantasy Football Tips Gameweek 21. This article was written by Jamie Mc, Rosco and Smash.

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