With Fantasy Premier League (FPL) resuming on Boxing Day, we’ll be welcoming back our stellar team of Pro Pundits and Hall of Famers for the restart.
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First up is five-time top 1k finisher Tom Freeman, who tells us how he’s planning for Gameweek 17.
Following Monday’s Double Gameweek announcement, I thought I’d jump on and put down some initial ideas for the restart, looking at potential players to bring in and team structure.
With Gameweeks 19, 20 and 23 all featuring teams who play twice, there is quite a lot to unpack given that we all have unlimited transfers.
So, I’m going to start by running through each of the teams involved in the Doubles, offering my thoughts on who to target and who to avoid. I’ll also share a first draft of my team for Gameweek 17.
FULHAM
GW17-21 fixtures: cry | SOU | lei + CHE | new | TOT
Fulham have netted a very decent 24 goals from 15 games so far this season and rank 10th for minutes-per-expected goals (xG). Given that they meet Crystal Palace and Southampton in Gameweeks 17 and 18, followed by a Double, I’m going to hold onto Aleksandar Mitrovic (£6.8m) and Andreas Pereira (£4.6m), both of whom have served me well so far.
Mitrovic has raced to nine Premier League goals from 12 matches, three of which came while carrying an injury, while only Kevin De Bruyne (£12.6m) has created more chances than Pereira. In terms of value, they are two of the best in the game.
Defensively, Marco Silva’s side have registered just three clean sheets and sit bottom for minutes-per-expected goals conceded (xGC), so their backline is an avoid.
CHELSEA
GW17-21 fixtures: BOU | nfo | MCI + ful | CRY | liv
Chelsea are struggling in the Premier League and have looked very ordinary under Graham Potter so far, scoring just nine and conceding eight in his eight league matches in charge. It’s early days for the former Brighton and Hove Albion gaffer, but 18th for mins-per-xG and 11th for mins-per-xGC in that time is poor.
However, the fixtures from Gameweeks 17 to 20 are really good: first up is newly-promoted Bournemouth and Nottingham Forest, followed by a Double which includes a trip to Fulham, then Crystal Palace.
Fitness pending, Kepa Arrizabalaga (£4.5m) and Reece James (£5.8m) are both nice options who are currently on the Watchlist. In attack, Raheem Sterling (£9.7m) has struggled since Potter took over, partly due to being picked in unfamiliar positions. Even when he does start, we don’t know where he’ll play, which is off-putting, given that it’s impossible to target any zonal matchups.
TOTTENHAM HOTSPUR
GW17-21 fixtures: bre | AVL | cry | ARS + mci * | ful
