If you’re in a rush and need some last-minute Fantasy Premier League (FPL) advice, here’s a quick round-up of what you need to know about Gameweek 16.
WHEN’S THE FPL GAMEWEEK 16 DEADLINE?
All transfers and team selections need to be done by 13:30 GMT on Saturday 13 December.
EVERYONE GETS FIVE FREE TRANSFERS
While FPL is briefly back to the standard distance between matches, what’s not normal is Gameweek 16 giving five free transfers to all managers.
This was announced in July, to coincide with the upcoming African Cup of Nations (AFCON) departures facing Bryan Mbeumo (£8.3m), Reinildo Mandava (£3.9m), an explosively out-of-favour Mohamed Salah (£14.0m) and more. Although, they are actually still around for this weekend.
We’ve put together everything you need to know about the timely top-up. Plus, six strategies for how to use these purchases.
LATEST ON MUNOZ + TIMBER
It’s not just AFCON, either. Over at Arsenal, Riccardo Calafiori (£5.7m) is suspended, and Mikel Arteta remains unsurprisingly vague about Jurrien Timber‘s (£6.5m) availability.
“Timber, again, depends [on] how he feels today. It was a knock that he picked [up in Gameweek 15] and he wasn’t feeling comfortable. So, again, I think it’s something a matter of days. Whether it’s tomorrow or not, we will see.” – Mikel Arteta on Jurrien Timber
However, one big development is the knee surgery that will sideline Crystal Palace’s Daniel Munoz (£6.0m) for over a month.
If Pro Pundit Lateriser owned the Colombian, he’d replace him with either Nico O’Reilly (£5.2m), an Everton defender, or someone who’ll benefit from Fulham’s strong Gameweek 16 clean sheet likelihood.
SO, WHO TO BUY?
Over 1.1 million managers have already used one transfer to grab Phil Foden (£8.7m), following 44 points in three matches. His latest haul was captained by FPL General from ‘The Great and the Good’, moving the expert roughly 900,000 up the worldwide rankings.
One article looks at the numbers behind such form, where Foden’s popularity is further boosted by Manchester City’s attractive fixture run.
Well, after Sunday’s tricky trip to Selhurst Park. Free Hit users may want to own Foden’s momentum but, if Erling Haaland (£15.0m) is there with his statistically imminent goal, having two attackers away to Palace feels excessive.
Elsewhere, Bukayo Saka (£10.2m) is a unanimous Scout Squad pick. He barely featured in Wednesday’s Champions League win, and has the best goal-scoring odds.
As for our ‘Buy, Keep or Sell?’ piece, the recent spurt of Harry Wilson (£5.4m) is noteworthy, but Bruno Guimaraes‘ (£7.0m) form doesn’t seem sustainable.
Liked by many, Yankuba Minteh (£6.2m) suddenly finds himself on three successive blanks. Zophar provides an opinion on the winger during his weekly Q&A session.
BEST FPL GAMEWEEK 16 CAPTAIN
League leaders Arsenal host last-placed Wolverhampton Wanderers, making Bukayo Saka the recommended armband recipient of Captain Sensible and our Rate My Team (RMT) algorithm.
Erling Haaland is in both top threes. The other names of interest are Bruno Fernandes (£9.1m) and Igor Thiago (£7.0m).
TEAM REVEALS
- Pro Pundit Zophar
- Hall of Famer Dan Wright
- FPL General’s Triple Captain + four transfers
- Hall of Famer Rob Mayes’ Free Hit team
SCOUT PICKS + DIFFERENTIALS
Our weekly selection – which is essentially a Free Hit in all but name – leans heavily on Arsenal, Brentford and Fulham assets.
The Bees’ right-back Michael Kayode (£4.5m) joins Matheus Cunha (£7.9m) in Gameweek 16’s trio of differential picks.
PREDICTED LINE-UPS
We’ve predicted the starting XIs of all 20 Premier League teams.
Whatever you decide to do, good luck with FPL Gameweek 16!
