The penultimate fixture of the packed festive schedule gets underway at 7.45pm as Arsenal and Chelsea go head-to-head at the Emirates.
For the hosts, Alexis Sanchez has upped his output in recent weeks – after a slow start to the season, last term’s top scoring player in Fantasy Premier League has delivered points in seven of his last 10 league appearances.
That form suggest that the Chilean is likely to pose the main danger to a defence that’s conceded just four times in their previous 11.
Nonetheless, it’s Alexandre Lacazette who is the Gunners’ most captained player for Gameweek 22, handed the armband by 2.02%.
The Frenchman has been a consistent source of points at home, producing a goal or assist in seven of his 10 appearances, but he’s struggled for a cutting edge of late and failed to find the net since Gameweek 15.
A return to form could reignite interest in Lacazette ahead of four kind fixtures (bou CRY swa EVE) in as many Gameweeks.
Despite a run of two goals in the last nine Gameweeks, Chelsea’s Alvaro Morata (3.7%) is the top armband pick for this fixture.
That lack of form means that the Spaniard and team-mate Eden Hazard were among the top five most transferred out players for Gameweek 22, sent packing by 243,000+ and 207,000+ respectively.
Hazard has mustered just a single assist in five yet both he and Morata also have some decent fixtures ahead to arrest their recent declines – over the next five Gameweeks, Antonio Conte’s side host Leicester, Bournemouth and West Brom and also make their way to Brighton and Watford.
Encouragingly for Hazard’s owners, he looks set to return to a central role with the visitors rolling out a 3-5-1-1 formation.
The Gunners, meanwhile, welcome back Mesut Ozil from a minor knee problem, though injuries in defence means that Arsene Wenger is forced to field the likes of Calum Chambers, Rob Holding and Ainsley Maitland-Niles in his starting line-up.
6 years, 5 months agoEarly thoughts here? 0.5 ITB
a) Son > Pogba
b) Son, Naughton > Lanzini, Mustafi (-4)
c) Eriksen, Naughton > Lanzini, Alonso (-4)
Pickford
Otamendi Christensen Mee
Salah Sterling Eriksen Son Lingard
Kane Firmino
Foster Ogbonna DCL Naughton