With unlimited transfers at their disposal ahead of Gameweek 17, Fantasy Premier League (FPL) managers can completely overhaul their squads.
It’s effectively an extra Wildcard in all but name and it gives us a chance to not just react to the mid-season World Cup and any fresh injuries but also set ourselves up for the coming months.
Here, we go through some of the top targets by position ahead of the Boxing Day deadline.
First up, the goalkeepers.
We should point out that we’re compiling this piece based on which fixtures have already been confirmed. There is a chance, for example, that one or two matches get added to Gameweek 21 to make that a ‘double’ and catapult Robert Sanchez (£4.6m) up the watchlist, but it remains speculation for now until we hear otherwise from official sources.
DANNY WARD
- Price: £4.1m
- Ownership: 29.3%
How far we’ve come from the first eight Gameweeks of the season.
Danny Ward (£4.1m) accumulated just eight points before the September international break, matching that in one fell swoop in Gameweek 9.
Leicester’s new number one went on to be the highest-scoring FPL goalkeeper from Gameweeks 9-16, registering more clean sheets (six) and conceding fewer goals (three) than any current first-choice custodian.
All this from a starting price of £4.0m.
Above: FPL goalkeepers sorted by points from Gameweeks 9-16
There’s a strong argument to suggest that favourable fixtures were the main catalyst for that upturn in form, something that Leicester don’t really have after the restart with high-flying Newcastle United and free-scoring Liverpool up first.
A decent foursome then follows but clashes with three more big-six sides, Tottenham Hotspur, Manchester United and Arsenal, bookends that run.
Ward’s owners, then, will have to ride out some trickier tests over the next nine Gameweeks or use him in a rotation pairing with another goalkeeper. Fulham and Chelsea’s fixtures, for example, largely dovetail well with those of the Foxes, so Kepa Arrizabalaga (£4.5m) or Bernd Leno (£4.5m) – both of whom also ‘double’ in Gameweek 19 – are possible partners:
The concern would be that, just as Leicester weren’t as bad as what their early-autumn form suggested, they’re not as strong as what followed.
No side overachieved more on the expected goals conceded (xGC) stakes between Gameweeks 9-16, with the Foxes shipping on just three occasions from an xGC of 9.81.
There was at least an encouraging sign in Gameweek 14 that Leicester had become a more resilient side even against top-class opposition, with reigning champions Manchester City limited to a narrow 1-0 win.
The arrival of Wout Faes (£4.5m) has been a big part of that new-found solidity in front of Ward, with Brendan Rodgers praising the Belgian’s impact.
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