FPL Tips GW12

Welcome to FPL Tips GW12

Goalkeepers

With the final International Break of the year now over, we all move full steam ahead into a run of nine game weeks, with the feast of the Christmas/New Year schedule until we reach the famine of the 3rd Round of the FA Cup on Saturday 11th January 25.

The goalkeeping position is a position that us fantasy managers do not want to spend too much money on and is very much a “set and forget.” Most managers will have a £4.5m and non-playing £4.0m goalkeeping duo or perhaps two rotating £4.5m goalkeepers depending on the fixtures of that particular game week. There has been eleven game weeks so far this season totalling 110 games with the 220 teams accounting for only forty-five clean sheets (20%) during the course of the season.

To briefly summarise, Manchester United’s Andre Onana (£5.1m) leads the way with five clean sheets this season. The Liverpool combo of Alisson Becker (£5.4m) and Caoimhin Kelleher (£4.5m) have six clean sheets between them. Nottingham Forest’s Matz Sels (£4.7m) also has four clean sheets this season. Finally, three goalkeepers have three clean sheets each, namely David Raya (£5.6m), Jordon Pickford (£4.9m) and Nick Pope (£5.0m). There is a bundle of goalkeepers with two clean sheets so far this season.

So, if you are on a wildcard, have a transfer to burn or fed up with Mark Flekken in your team then which goalkeepers should you be considering?

Emi Martinez (£5.0m & 13.1% ownership) – Admittedly, World Cup winner Martinez has had a disappointing season to date with only one clean sheet to his name so far this season. Martinez has played every minute of this season. With thirty-two points, Martinez is 10th place for all goalkeepers. Martinez has saved one penalty, amassed twenty-seven saves resulting in six saves points and two bonus points in one game week. Villa have decent fixtures over the next five game weeks against Crystal Palace (H), Chelsea (A), Brentford (H), Southampton (H), Nottingham Forest (A).

Nick Pope (£5.0m & 7.0% ownership) – As mentioned above, Nick Pope has earned three clean sheets this season. With fixtures against West Ham United (H), Crystal Palace (A), Liverpool (H), Brentford (A), Leicester City (H) over the next five game weeks then Pope will be praying he can add to his clean sheet numbers. With forty-three points, Pope currently sits in fifth place for all goalkeepers. Pope has forty-two saves to his name which has gained ten save points. Pope has only two bonus points this season from one game week. When Pope is fit then he plays every minute of every game week.

David Raya (£5.6m & 28.7% ownership) – Raya is the most expensive and most owned goalkeeper in the game. Raya has had a mixed start to the season. With three clean sheets from the first four game weeks then Raya was looking like defending his golden gloves title with ease. Arsenal have conceded a goal in each of the last seven game weeks. As a double Arsenal defence holder, I have felt the pain on each and every one of these occasions. Raya currently sits in sixth place for all goalkeepers with forty-two points. Raya has thirty-four saves to his name which has gained eight save points. Raya has six bonus points this season from three game weeks. Raya is now very much the Gunners number one goalkeeper and has played every minute of the season. Arsenal fixtures are ok with Nottingham Forest (H), West Ham United (A), Manchester United (H), Fulham (A), Everton (H) all on the horizon. According to FPL Statistics, Raya is at the time of writing -97.9% with a further 1,484 transfers out for a £0.1m price decrease.

Alisson Becker (£5.4m) & Caoimhin Kelleher (£4.5m) – Top of the Premier League; Liverpool very much now looks like the team to beat. With six clean sheets; the most clean sheets of any team in the league this season spread across Becker with four and Kelleher with two. Becker is still orange flagged with an injury so we are not too sure when he will be fit. Kelleher may remain in the team and looking to add to his clean sheet numbers with fixtures against Southampton (A), Manchester City (H), Newcastle United (A), Everton (A), Fulham (H) over the next five game weeks. The quick turn-around between games over the hectic schedule may see Kelleher keep his place a while longer whilst Becker is eased back into the team from his injury. If you have Kelleher in your squad then a playing alternative goalkeeper is recommended as once Becker is fit, then he will play.

Jose Sa (£4.3m & 1.7% ownership) & Sam Johnstone (£4.4m & 0.4% ownership) – If you are a RAN or a Cunha owner then you will be well aware of Wolves nice run of fixtures. Fixtures over the next five game weeks of Fulham (A), Bournemouth (H), Everton (A), West Ham United (A), Ipswich Town (H) could see a Wolves goalkeeper earn a clean sheet or two. Sa & Johnstone have been sharing the goalkeeping duties with Sa starting the first two game weeks and playing the last four game weeks with Johnstone playing five game weeks in between. Sa did play last game week when Wolves gained their first clean sheet of the season. Regardless of who plays then save points will no doubt be plentiful with both players slightly cheaper than the £4.5m template goalkeeper. In saying that the uncertainly of who could be keeping goal might be too much of a risk unless you have another playing goalkeeper in your squad.

The goalkeeping position is not a sexy pick and with clean sheets harder and harder to come by then it is perfectly understandable why we all overlook the position which allows us to invest more money elsewhere in our squad.

Defenders

And suddenly, the dust has settled, the int’l break is done and we’re on again. Now let’s see what are we writing, ah, well, I have the dubious honor of providing tips for defenders. Dubious because, well, this year the defenders have about as many clean sheets as Terry’s and Giggs’ collective conscience – that is to say, not a lot…

Personally I still favor fixtures and clean sheet odds for picking that backline, so let’s have a quick look. I’d probably rate them in the order of Arsenal (v Forest), Liverpool (v Saints), Newcastle (v Hammers), Villains (v Eagles), ManU (v Ipswich) and Ful/Che/City sort of in the running after that.

From Arsenal you know the options and Gabriel (6.1) would probably be my choice with the distant hope of a goal. Timber (5.5) could be a “budget” option, have seen him expected to start but hey… who knows with Mikel. Yeah, don’t be stingy here I’d say…

The Liverpool lads you know and with Trent rumored out, I’d take my bets on Konaté (5.4) to save a few quids. Virgil (6.3), for the connoisseur in you. Liverpool’s defensive powers are probably amongst the best and, well, the Saints’ attacking prowess is… err… Yeah, let’s move on.

From the Toon, I’d say Hall (4.4) is good value for money and has been playing well recently. Of course, Hammers can always show up for a goal or two, lately that’s mostly in their own end though – those black and white stripes should do well (and that’s not just the Rosco in me speaking, though I can hear his faint cheers in the distance already…!).

From the Villains, I present to you, the villainous villain of them all, the infamous, mister Digne (4.7). Choose at your own peril, this is FPL after all, muwhahaha! And whilst on the topic of devious devils, let’s round off with the red ones…

Dalot (5.2) supposedly speaks the language of the new manager and is visiting Ipswich, who are no walkovers, but still should be a decent fixture for ManU. Jump on the new manager bounce? Well, with him being Ruben Amorim I’d say why the hell not!?

Good luck! and remember, whomever you choose… There will probably be another who’s proven to be the better one instead 😉

Midfielders

49.9%. At the time of writing, Mo Salah featured in just 49.9% of teams. Now, there’s no right or wrong way to play FPL but, if you don’t own the Egyptian King you’re certainly making things hard on yourself.

There’s a strong case to be made that Salah is the FPL GOAT. Since joining Liverpool, he averages 249pts across his seven full seasons. This season, he’s well on track to beat his average. He’s currently the highest scorer by 23pts, thanks to eight goals and six assists. Crucially, when it comes to captaincy, he has seven double digit hauls from his 11 games. Unsurprisingly, his stats are impressive but there’s no need for me to go into those given the above numbers.

Liverpool are playing a completely different style of football under Slot and this sees them taking a more measured approach in games. This means that at times they’re not as exciting to watch but they have still scored 21 goals this season, just two behind the highest scorers, Spurs. Salah, as he always has been, is the fulcrum of the attack and therefore I see no reason for his returns to slow. If you don’t own him, change that. Sooner rather than later.

Some of us make transfer decisions based on form, others on fixtures. Presently, Brentford’s Bryan Mbeumo is probably ticking both boxes. In terms of form, he’s got five goals and an assist in his last seven games to bring his tally to the season eight goals and an assist. In terms of fixtures, their next three games are against Everton, Leicester &; Villa. Bizarrely, the Everton game will be the toughest, but Leicester and Villa have shipped a combined 23 goals over the past six gameweeks.
Mbeumo has been extremely consistent this season, blanking just twice in 11 games and is clearly Brentford’s talisman. With the departure of Ivan Toney in the summer, Mbeumo is now the designated penalty taker and, so far, he’s as devastating from the spot as Toney before him.

To listen to some Arsenal fans, you’d swear they’re the first team to ever suffer from a few injuries or suspensions! Their injury crisis is starting to ease and aside from the visit of a potentially rejuvenated United in GW14, they’ve got a superb run of fixtures through to 2025. So, if you’ve dumped their assets, perhaps it’s time to jump back on. Bukayo Saka is the obvious choice. Much like his teammates, his form has dropped off of late but over the course of the season he is the 6th highest scoring player with three goals, seven assists and 10 bonus points. Despite this, you’ll be buying Saka in the hope that his returns increase, and he scores at a rate similar to last season. The return of Martin Odegaard coupled with their upcoming fixtures should see him score at such a rate.

In Ruben Amorim, have United finally found their successor to Alex Ferguson? Only time will tell. He is potentially the most exciting managerial appointment they’ve made since Fergie left. However, it remains to be seen how the current crop of players will fit into Amorim’s favoured system, 3-4-3. I’ll admit that I didn’t watch a lot of Sporting Lisbon so I’ve no idea which of the current players are likely to thrive. One player that certainly interests me is Bruno Fernandes. In recent weeks he’s shown glimpses of what he’s capable of, with 27pts across gameweeks 10 & 11. If Amorim can get United to play like a team capable of finishing top 4 then Bruno could yet prove a bargain at just £8.4m.

Forwards

Despite beating both Arsenal & City, Bournemouth’s assets continue to be largely overlooked. Antoine Semenyo has grabbed the majority of the FPL headlines and features in 10.2% of teams. However, perhaps it is time we turned our attentions to record signing Evanilson, who joined from Porto in the Summer. The Brazilian endured a tough start to life on the South coast, missing a penalty against Chelsea in GW4. However, he’s recently started to find his feet and is beginning to justify his £40m price tag. Over the past six gameweeks he has four goals, an assist and nine bonus points. In fact, he’s the 5th highest scoring player in that time period and is priced at just £5.9m. For those of you already on the hunt for a differential Evanilson is your man, as currently he features in just 1.6% of teams. It’s also worth noting that Bournemouth have a great run of fixtures through to the end of the year.

Wolves have had what can only be described as a shocking start to the season, picking up their first win in GW11. Despite this, they have a couple of reasonably popular FPL assets, one of whom is Matheus Cunha. With three goals, two assists and 10 bonus points he has outscored the aforementioned Evanilson by one point over the past six gameweeks. In that same period he ranks 5th, amongst forwards, for goal attempts and, impressively, he’s first for big chances created. At £6.8m, he’s a little more expensive than Evanilson and isn’t quite the differential, featuring in 10.1% of teams. Just like Bournemouth though, Wolves have a great run of fixtures over the coming weeks. That is, if a team 2nd from bottom in the league can have a great run of fixtures!!

My final pick this week is Newcastle’s Alexander Isak. The Swede had a reasonable start to the season, claiming a goal and an assist in the opening three gameweeks. A broken toe saw him miss a number of games and his season stalled. With three goals and an assist in his last three games he has certainly reignited his season. Having only picked up two points from five games, Newcastle’s season looked in danger of being over before it really started, but back-to-back wins over Arsenal & Forest have seen them find their form. Aside from the visit of Liverpool in GW14 they have a decent run through to Christmas and given their recent resurgence, Isak could well prove a good source of points.

Thanks for reading FPL Tips GW12. This article was written by JamieMc, OddDane and Kop.

Follow @FantasyFooty247

VOTE ON THIS WEEK’S CAPTAIN POLL

FPL FIXTURE TRACKER

Both leagues will be shut to new entrants as of 01/01/25.