Month in Review – February

Welcome to my regular look back at the month’s key Fantasy Premier League (FPL) players. I will also take a look ahead to those with the best fixtures in March, while for members I’ve also supplied my variation on the goals and assists imminent tables to help predict some options for the forthcoming games.

Goalkeepers

This month, the top goalscorer was Fraser Forster (25) of Southampton, who saw three clean sheets from his four games. The Saints have been impressive at the back of late and conceded for the first time in six games when they faced Chelsea last weekend. Watford’s Heurelho Gomes (22) takes second place with a brace of clean sheets and some impressive performances with Arsenal’s Petr Cech (21) narrowly behind in third. Tied for fourth place is Tottenham’s Hugo Lloris and West Ham’s Adrián on 18 points. The two keepers will face each other next in a London derby midweek.

Defence

As the second highest player overall for the month of February, Robert Huth (31) saw a return of two goals and two clean sheets for Leicester. Team-mate Christian Fuchs (22) also impressed for the Foxes and has profited from the bonus points system greatly in recent games. Southampton duo Virgil van Dijk and Jose Fonte returned three clean sheets for 22 points as Southampton continued their impressive defensive displays. Elsewhere, Bournemouth full-back Charlie Daniels returned a pair of assists, a clean sheet and a half dozen bonus points over his four matches. Other full-backs such as Tottenham’s Danny Rose (21) did quite well despite only playing three games, whereas the more premium Seamus Coleman (21) and Branislav Ivanovic (20) managed to get into the twenties for Everton and Chelsea respectively.

Midfield

Arsenal’s Mesut Ozil (32) returns to the scoreboards with a bang after missing last month’s article due to a series of blanks. The attacking midfielder ended up as the highest scoring player for the month with two double figure hauls as he reasserted himself as the Gunners’ main man. West Ham’s Michail Antonio (26) proved to be a more valuable asset than the higher-priced Dimitri Payet (21). Elsewhere in London, Christian Eriksen (26) showed great form for Tottenham, while Chelsea duo Willian (24) and Cesc Fabregas (20) helped the Blues on their long road to recovery. Though somewhat quiet recently, Riyad Mahrez (24) still managed a decent score while other budget-friendly options such as Gylfi Sigurdsson and Jesse Lingard matched their returns for the month for Swansea and Man United respectively. In Merseyside, the Everton trio of Aaron Lennon (23), Ross Barkley (21) and Tom Cleverley (20) scored well with Liverpool’s Roberto Firmino (21) still showing signs of life. Wahbi Khazri (22) made his debut for Sunderland this month and looks to be a valuable player with his set pieces and creative ability.

Attack

There were not many striker options that stood out this month, but those that did were the usual suspects. Jamie Vardy (27) continued his impressive returns to silence the doubters as Leicester’s push for the title continues. London strikers Harry Kane and Diego Costa matched each other with 23 points for Tottenham and Chelsea respectively. West Brom’s Salomon Rondon (22) was perhaps a surprise inclusion after some impressive performances for West Brom. Lastly, we saw Anthony Martial (21) creep back into our thinking only to get injured last week, with many now turning towards a punt on new boy Marcus Rashford who managed a 15-point haul in his debut game against Arsenal.

Returns Imminent

My “Goals Imminent” table takes a look at players that have been unlucky in their goal returns lately, and tries to indicate what players are getting into threatening positions for next Gameweek. Some may be under the radar, and other may be more obvious but what this table shows is how often a player is getting shots away inside the opposition box but failing to score for various reasons.

Likewise for more creative players, I have put together an “Assists Imminent” table in order to gage what players are ‘due’ in terms of assists. It is important to mention that both tables should be viewed together as simply ‘Returns Imminent’ considering a player that is getting very forward may choose to square the ball for an assist instead of taking the shot himself. Likewise for those in the ‘Assists Imminent’ table, it is important to look at creative players with a high number of penalty area touches or shots inside the box that might score.

Chips

The following estimate is taken from a 20,000 sample conducted by FPL Discovery. As we can see, as we reach the halfway point of the season, many of us that still have our chips intact should remain hopeful. Within the top 10,000 many are there, not only because of picking the right players, but because of using their chips. In the latter half of the season when double Gameweeks are announced many of us might see a significant rank jump if all goes according to plan.

Top 10,000

Wildcard – 34.5%

Triple Captain – 46.4%

Bench Boost –     61.1%

All Out Attack – 61.3%

Number of chips played in the top 10,000 on average

0 – 12.5%

1 – 23.4%

2 – 24.8%

3 – 26.9%

4 – 12.4%

Overall

Wildcard – 17.9%

Triple Captain – 35.4%

Bench Boost – 30.3%

All Out Attack – 30.4%

March Preview

With eight clubs having a blank in Gameweek 30, picking out the teams with the most favourable fixtures for March is fairly straightforward. For me, four teams stand out, with a variety of options to choose from to help rake in the points.

Leicester (WBA, wat, NEW, cpl)

I think at this rate there is almost a holy trinity within the Leicester squad for FPL purposes. In defence, Christian Fuchs is a valuable asset. His set piece threat in addition to his high number of bonus points is very appealing. Elsewhere, the dynamic duo of Riyad Mahrez and Jamie Vardy seems essential. Though their returns have somewhat dropped off in terms of what we expected earlier in the season, they have still matched many of other options in the same price range.

Southampton (bou, SUN, sto, LIV)

The Saints have boasted an impressive defensive record over the last month or so, conceding for the first time last week since the return of Fraser Forster. With some favourable fixtures coming up next month, centre-back pairing Jose Fonte and Virgil van Dijk are the main candidates to prosper. In attack, it seems that the points are spread about, but with a recent injury to in-form striker Shane Long, the stage could be set for the FPL favourite of last year, Charlie Austin.

Man City (liv, AVL, nor, MUN)

Though burdened with a hectic schedule, Man City should still have enough in their squad to deliver the goods next month as injuries slowly begin to ease. Despite Kevin De Bruyne still another month or so away from returning, we should really be expecting David Silva to step up and shake off his poor form now. At this stage, Sergio Aguero is at his best and can’t be ignored for the fixtures against Aston Villa and Norwich in particular (should he start in the former). With the return of skipper Vincent Kompany, their defence should also see a massive improvement as the Etihad looks to become a fortress as it was at the beginning of the season.

Swansea (ars, NOR, bou, AVL)

For the Swans, the beginning of March holds a tough task in a trip to the Emirates to face Arsenal. However, their next three games are very favourable, for both defensive and attacking options. Though their FPL options are limited, three certainly stand out as key players. At the back, captain Ashley Williams could easily keep a couple of clean sheets and sneak a few bonus points as he has done in the past. In attack, both Gylfi Sigurdsson and Andre Ayew are the best options. The former has shown some fantastic performances of late, with his ability at set pieces an added prospect. Ayew, though listed as a midfielder has been playing up top lately, and should Swansea capitalise on these kind fixtures, we may see him return to the same goalscoring form he was in when the season began.

Stoke (NEW, che, SOT, wat)

After seemingly finding attacking form again, Mark Hughes’ side looks very threatening recently. In particular, Marko Arnautovic, who returned to the side in Gameweek 27 against Aston Villa with a brace. The other positions seem to be a minefield, with perhaps Xherdan Shaqiri as a creative outlet and source of assists. Question marks still hang over Stoke’s defence, but with the imminent return of skipper Ryan Shawcross, we might expect to see some clean sheets over the month of March. Owners of Jack Butland may find themselves holding onto him for a while to see how the situation develops.