Halfway through Gameweek 21, it’s safe to say that, while some expected Fantasy Premier League (FPL) stars have indeed shone, several others have been amongst the most disappointing names so far.
Mohamed Salah (£13.1m) and Son Heung-min (£9.7m) lead the way for midfielders, with Erling Haaland (£13.9m) dominant until his recent foot injury. Not only that, Ollie Watkins (£8.9m) is the leading forward and budget attackers Anthony Gordon (£6.1m) and Cole Palmer (£5.8m) have already exceeded 100 points.
On the other hand, numerous notable players have failed to meet expectations until now. Some have mitigating circumstances, some don’t but the good news is that all have time to rectify their seasons and become strong FPL assets down the line.
Let’s take a look at these individuals.
FPL’S MOST DISAPPOINTING XI
GK: Mark Flekken (£4.5m, Brentford)
Brentford possessed last season’s best FPL goalkeeper David Raya (£4.9m). The Spaniard benefitted from the Bees’ combination of conceding the second-most attempts on target (197) but also the fourth-fewest big chances (67), meaning he collected lots of saves from non-threatening shots.
Whilst 12 clean sheets arrived, they’re currently on an unsatisfactory three. That’s despite Raya’s replacement Flekken being part of a defence with better underlying stats. Only three teams have a lower expected goals conceded (xGC, 25.61) tally and they rank joint-third-best for allowing big chances (40).
The hope for owners is that they’re due a successful shut-out and Double Gameweek 25 is on the horizon. An honourable mention should go to Jordan Pickford (£4.5m). The top-scoring stopper has disappointed in the sense that many backed him for Everton’s strong early fixtures, only to be given up on just before grabbing five clean sheets from his most recent eight.
DEF: Ben Chilwell (£5.4m, Chelsea)
In truth, this spot could go to either of Chelsea’s pricier full-backs. Chilwell’s pre-season popularity quickly brought an assist versus Liverpool, before a Gameweek 3 clean sheet. Yet that Luton Town match also saw him squander this opportunity, somehow:
Still, he reached three million owners by Gameweek 4 – a match where he was removed at the hour mark for a second time, preceding two successive benchings and a hamstring injury. Looking forward, the optimism is that Saturday marked his first minutes back in action and we already know from 2021/22 about his attacking instincts. Three goals from a mere 541 minutes.
As for Reece James (£5.3m), he began in more squads than Chilwell but was immediately hurt on the opening weekend. Ready for Gameweek 11, ownership soon crept over 500k – just in time for a red card at Newcastle United. Suspended, then benched, James completed the misery with another hamstring injury.
DEF: Matty Cash (£4.7m, Aston Villa)
Having seen a pair of Gameweek 3 goals bring in a whopping score of 17 points, many early Wildcards soon ensured the Aston Villa right-back represented over 3.5 million managers and had risen £0.7m in value.
The promise of attacking returns was hard to resist but just one of them has arrived since. In fact, there’s only been one occasion after Gameweek 7 where Cash has exceeded two points, mostly because six of Villa’s last eight matches haven’t seen him start.
Then again, it says a lot that he’s still the number-one defender for big chances (six), shots on target (10) and expected goals (xG, 3.74).
DEF: Ruben Dias (£5.5m, Manchester City)
A symbol of Man City’s frustrating defence, where the champions have conceded the fewest shots (160) and are second-best in many other areas but, at the same time, have a woeful three clean sheets from their last 18.
Whereas Kyle Walker (£5.4m) has picked up two assists and six bonuses, Dias is merely on 37 points from 15 starts and two cameos. Perhaps Man City will choose to become relentless like they usually do at this stage. They went on a run of 14 wins from 15 between February and May last season.
MID: Marcus Rashford (£8.4m, Manchester United)
Meanwhile, across Manchester, we found it hard to settle on three Man United names. Rashford’s place was never in doubt, having gathered a shocking two goals and two assists by Gameweek 18. This included seven consecutive blanks for someone who began in over four million squads.
An anonymous display at Newcastle led to four benchings in a row but recent form provides some hope – two goals and an assist in the latest three. Once football resumed after the 2022 World Cup, Rashford netted 10 times in 10 matches to make a mockery of his low price – could he just be a second-half-of-the-season kind of guy?
MID: Bruno Fernandes (£8.2m, Manchester United)
Team-mate Fernandes has three more points overall but what’s hard to fathom is that he’s created the league’s most chances (55) and sits joint-eighth for shots (49). Thanks to a dreadful 6.1% goal conversion rate, the six attacking returns are way below his 10.42 expected goal involvement (xGI).
There’s a reason why many entered Gameweek 1 with this Man United double-up and, with strong underlying stats alongside penalty duties, confidence remains that the Portuguese international will soon find some lasting form.
MID: Gabriel Martinelli (£7.7m, Arsenal)
Elsewhere, Arsenal attacker Martinelli bagged 15 goals and nine assists last season, finishing seventh on 198 points. These 24 returns vastly exceeded his 16.29 xGI, possibly giving a clue that things would be different this time.
18 appearances have yielded two goals, three assists and only three big chances. Names like Oliver McBurnie (£5.4m), Neal Maupay (£4.9m) and Jay Rodriguez (£5.3m) all have at least twice that amount.
Then again, Martinelli could be a great differential later on, as he’s still up in eighth for penalty area touches (127).
MID: Kaoru Mitoma (£6.4m, Brighton and Hove Albion)
Slightly behind Martinelli with 126 box touches is Brighton and Hove Albion winger Mitoma. It may feel harsh to label him as ‘disappointing’ but very little has been produced since the initial trio of goals and assists registered by Gameweek 6.
It was a similar burst to 2022/23, when the unknown Japanese international exploded onto the FPL scene roughly one-third through. From then, his 26 games brought seven goals and eight assists, where all but two arrived in the first 15 before things quietened down.
In approximately three to four million squads over these early months, he’s only recently threatened during a second-half outing versus Burnley.
FOR: Darwin Nunez (£7.4m, Liverpool)
Up front, there’s only really one place to start – Liverpool’s incredibly frustrating Uruguayan. It was all typified in the January win over Newcastle, where Darwin contributed 1.67 of his team’s Premier League record of 7.27 xG. Eight shots, five on target and just one solitary assist to show for it.
It’s a continuation of last season, where he barely played half of the available minutes yet ended up eighth for both big chances (27) and shots on target (34). This meant he had the best minutes per chance (20.6) rate of all those who played at least 80 minutes but, additionally, a goal conversion of just 10.7%.
This time, he’s close to matching the 14 attacking returns but has one goal from 10 matches and an even worse conversion ability (8.6%) than before, repeating the honour of having the best rate of chances (19.9). He’s joint-second for big chances (21) too.
For owners, such underlying stats will always give hope that a haul is imminent. Although Dominic Calvert-Lewin (£5.8m) is the sole player with bigger xG underachievement (-3.66), Darwin’s eight assists are way above the 2.2 expected (xA).
FOR: Rasmus Hojlund (£6.8m, Manchester United)
Completing the Man United trifecta is 20-year-old summer signing Hojlund. The Dane could cost up to £72m and showcased his talents when bagging five goals in the Champions League group stage.
However, he didn’t do so in the Premier League until Gameweek 19, his 12th start. But by breaking the duck and scoring in consecutive outings, this could be the boost needed to kick-start his Old Trafford career.
FOR: Nicolas Jackson (£6.9m, Chelsea)
Finally, fellow new arrival Jackson’s seven goals don’t actually rank too badly amongst FPL forwards. But it’s heavily skewed by a hat-trick in that bizarre match against nine-man Spurs.
Fifth for big chances (19), he’s the next biggest xG underachiever after Calvert-Lewin and Darwin (-3.59). Despite blanking in his first two outings – the 1.40 xGI hinted that big numbers could arrive at home to Luton. Many new owners were relieved to see him deliver late on but, soon after, Gameweek 6 brought a third successive blank and – shockingly – his fifth yellow card.
Another candidate is Brentford’s Yoane Wissa (£5.7m). After ending last season with two goals from three and netting in this opening couple of weekends, he went on to score just twice over the next 17.
