Fantasy Premier League managers had a pretty weird time in Gameweek 18. There is no time to dwell on it though with the next deadline in a couple of day’s time. Let’s look ahead to the Boxing Day Fixtures.
There are 3 standout fixtures this week. Tottenham vs Bournemouth is one that should excite FPL managers the most. Spurs thrashed Everton 6-2 away from home on Sunday and will be expected to win at home this week. Even though Bournemouth won on Saturday their recent form has been dismal. One would expect a comfortable win for Spurs. Harry Kane should be one of the strongest contenders for the armband this week. Son Heung-min had a blinder at Goodison and is always a goal threat. He could be an excellent option as well. The South Korean will leave for the Asian Cup after the Man United game on January 13 but is available for the festive period. Dele Alli will probably miss out this week though after being forced off at halftime.
Liverpool have a great home fixture against Newcastle. The only worry is their next game against Arsenal. Klopp might decide to rotate heavily against Newcastle. Salah is playing well and if he starts, should do very well indeed. This could be a match for Xherdan Shaqiri though. He did not come on against Wolves and should be fresh.
Man United players are in vogue again after Mourinho’s dismissal. Paul Pogba, Marcus Rashford, Anthony Martial, and Jesse Lingard all did well in the 5-1 win at Cardiff. With back to back home games against Huddersfield and Bournemouth coming up, one should consider bringing one or two Utd players in. Probably Martial or Rashford have better potential to score big.
Man City shockingly lost at home to Crystal Palace on Saturday. One would expect them to bounce back against Leicester this week. Raheem Sterling could have a good game but will he start? With Aguero and Kevin De Bruyne back, Pep now has many options at his disposal. As Mahrez did not start against Palace, he might get a start this round. So, Sterling and Leroy Sané are in danger. One would expect Sergio Aguero to start this one.
Wolves are travelling to Fulham for the early kickoff on Boxing day. Fulham need the three points and this could play right into the hands of Wolves. The likes of Matt Doherty and Jonathan Castro Otto could do very well in the counter attacks. Raúl Jiménez could profit from those.
Southampton have won back to back games and are in the new manager honeymoon period. They could make it a hattrick of wins against West Ham. The Hammers lost at home on Saturday but were in good form before. This could be a high-scoring game so the West Ham attacking assets could do well. From Southampton, Danny Ings is probably the best bet. The only worry with him is his fitness. Some cheap options are also available from the Saints at the back with Matt Targett, Jan Bednarek, and Maya Yoshida all starting the last two games. Nathan Redmond is playing really well under the new manager so if you are in the market for a 5.2 unit midfielder, he could be your guy.
Picks of the week
- Harry Kane (12.5)
- Son Heung-min (8.5)
- Anthony Martial (7.4)
- Marcus Rashford (7.0)
- Sergio Agüero (11.2)
- Mohamed Salah (13.2)
- Xherdan Shaqiri (7.1)
- Matt Doherty (5.2)
- Danny Ings (5.6)
- Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang (11.5)