The Digest – Gameweek 23

Our coverage of Gameweek 23 concludes this evening as we take a look at the key player, the team and the talking point to draw our attention from the latest round of matches.

Marko Arnautovic continues to profit from his recent move up front for West Ham. Liverpool put four past Manchester City in their first match without Philippe Coutinho, while the steady firming up of the Fantasy Premier League (FPL) template squad appears to have accelerated, urging us to seek out alternatives.

The Player

Marko Arnautovic more than atoned for a disappointing double Gameweek 22.

After shrugging off a hamstring niggle, the Austrian delivered a goal and two assists in West Ham’s 4-1 win at Huddersfield to end Gameweek 23 as the top scoring player on 16 points.

That proved a chastening experience for the 114,000 owners who chose to part company before the Hammers’ head-to-head with David Wagner’s side.

Prior to his Gameweek 22 encounters with West Brom and Spurs, Arnautovic was one of the hottest properties around – having netted five times in as many appearances over Gameweek 16-20, he was drafted in by over 368,000 FPL managers.

But injury ruled him out of the trip to Wembley, leaving him with just five points over Gameweek 22, thanks to an assist for Andy Carroll’s late winner against the Baggies.

As evidenced on Saturday, Arnautovic’s out-of-position potential under David Moyes grows steadily by the Gameweek.

The underlying statistics also back up his claim.

Since netting his first of the season against Chelsea in Gameweek 16, he’s ranked fifth for both shots in the box (16) and efforts on target (nine) among midfielders.

Arnautovic has fired six goals across that stretch – that’s equal to Mohamed Salah and second only to Harry Kane’s 10.

With a home encounter against Bournemouth up next, he leads the way for new owners – over 146,000 have already recruited him since Saturday’s deadline.

The short-term schedule continues to smile kindly – over the next six, West Ham also host Crystal Palace and Watford and travel to Brighton and Swansea.

At the cost of just 7.0 in FPL, Arnautovic’s current form suggests that he could even remain a key figure in our squads when the fixtures turn against Moyes’ men in Gameweek 30.

And judging by his manager’s recent comments, we can expect the Austrian to remain in his new central role from this point onwards:

“When you play out wide, you might not get enough of the ball, so I actually think that we’ve given him a chance to get on the ball, to get more of the ball.
“He’s a big man to get the ball off as well, he’s got speed, he’s got power, so we’re trying to give him the ball as often as we can.

The Team

If there were fears over their Fantasy potential in light of Philippe Coutinho’s switch to Barcelona, Liverpool took a huge stride towards putting them to rest on Sunday afternoon.

A 4-3 win over Man City ended the league leaders’ unbeaten start to the domestic season and hands Jurgen Klopp’s men momentum ahead of a very encouraging run-in to 2017/18.

Indeed, between now and the end of the campaign, the Reds face just three of the current top eight sides – at home to Spurs in Gameweek 26, along with trips to Manchester United and Chelsea in Gameweeks 30 and 37 respectively.

From front to back, investment in Klopp’s side looks a wise move.

Salah’s goal and assist against Pep Guardiola’s team – his tenth double-figure haul of the campaign – was matched by Roberto Firmino, who climbed to second behind Kane in the FPL forward standings.

And Sadio Mane made it a clean sweep of goals from the Reds’ front three – he has now returned points in three successive Gameweeks.

Yet it was Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain’s goal and assist that could bring him to the fore as a potential budget gem at just 5.6.

Granted, his pitch-time is still unclear – only eight of his 20 appearances since arriving from Arsenal were in the first XI. However, he’s now been named on the teamsheet in three of the last four Gameweeks, bagging 28 points.

At the back, the premium-priced Virgil van Dijk’s (5.5) aerial threat should profit the Reds in both boxes.

Expected to recover from a hamstring complaint for Monday’s trip to Swansea, the Dutchman arguably looks the only secure route into a defence that, prior to the weekend, had the best home defensive record in the league.

Elsewhere in their rearguard, Andrew Robertson (4.7) and Loris Karius (4.8) could offer cheaper options to the expensive Van Dijk if they can cement regular berths.

But a double or even triple-up on their attack – providing Oxlade-Chamberlain nails down a starting role – could end up being the preferred strategy, though much depends on the severity of Klopp’s rotation policy once the Champions League resumes next month.

The Talking Point

The output of budget-friendly players such as Arnautovic has triggered the gradual evolution of a template FPL squad in recent weeks.

With the Austrian and Jesse Lingard offering mid-price value in the centre of the park, funds have been freed up to acquire the seemingly near-essential Marcos Alonso at the back.

Factor in the growing popularity of Son Heung-min and Firmino, along with mainstays such as Kane, Salah and Raheem Sterling, and suddenly there’s a very similar look to many of our line-ups.

Those managers chasing down leads in mini-leagues face a dilemma – do they keep faith with this template or look for ways of breaking it in an attempt to make up ground?

Looking at the short-term fixtures can help.

The recent injury to Gabriel Jesus means that, suddenly, Sergio Aguero is a far more appealing option for back-to-back home encounters with Newcastle and West Brom. Undoubtedly, he is one of the main captain candidates for this weekend.

Leicester’s upcoming batch of home matches – (WAT SWA STK BOU) in the next six Gameweeks – now brings Riyad Mahrez and Jamie Vardy into the picture as potential alternatives for the likes of Son and Firmino.

Elsewhere, Arnautovic’s team-mate Manuel Lanzini and Bournemouth’s Callum Wilson have the form and fixtures as low-owned differentials.

And there’s also the January transfer window to help smash the currently accepted options.

Everton have already added Cenk Tosun to their ranks and are closing in on a deal for Theo Walcott ahead of three promising fixtures in four (WBA LEI CRY).

Alexis Sanchez’s apparent move to Man United could potentially bring last season’s top scoring FPL player back into the frame after a disappointing start to the season at Arsenal.

But if current press stories are anything to go by, it’s the Gunners themselves who could offer the most intriguing options as Wenger looks to restructure in light of the Chilean’s impending departure.

Not only is he looking to bring Henrikh Mkhitaryan to the Emirates as part of the Sanchez swap, the Arsenal manager’s mooted moves for Dortmund frontman Pierre Emerick Aubameyang and Bordeaux’s highly-rated Malcolm could help enliven Fantasy managers’ options in the final third.