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 17.
- READ MORE: FPL Gameweek 17 complete guide – Best players, predicted line-ups, team news + more
- READ MORE: The latest FFS Cup results + draws
WHEN’S THE FPL GAMEWEEK 17 DEADLINE?
All transfers and team selections need to be done by 11:00 GMT on Saturday 20 December.
TIME FOR AFCON
Even though every FPL manager’s five transfer top-up happened before Gameweek 16, it’s from now that 33 top-flight players are away at the Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON): names like Mohamed Salah (£14.0m), Bryan Mbeumo (£8.2m), Iliman Ndiaye (£6.3m) and Ismaila Sarr (£6.4m).
Individuals eliminated at the group stage could be back by Gameweek 20, though.
Either way, AFCON Fantasy is live, as is a Fixture Ticker for it.
LATEST ON THIAGO + DEWSBURY-HALL
Just as they started entering the FPL community’s template team, both Igor Thiago (£7.2m) and Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall (£5.1m) got injured.
Brentford’s forward missed midweek but remains with the squad and is merely a doubt. Whereas reports say the Everton midfielder is out for around four weeks.
David Moyes wouldn’t specify beyond this weekend.
“Kiernan’s [Dewsbury-Hall] doing well but he won’t be available for the game. He’ll be a big miss for us but that’s what happens at this time of year.
“We have [a timescale] but I’m not telling you.” – David Moyes
That’s why owners of both – if they still have a Free Hit to use by Gameweek 19 – could choose to activate the chip now. For example, it can stack up on Arsenal, Bournemouth and Manchester City’s strong clean sheet odds.
MAKING TRANSFERS
Last week, Mark Sutherns was the sole ‘Great and the Good’ elite manager to immediately use all five of these AFCON transfers, and the only one to buy Harry Wilson (£5.7m) right before his 16-point haul.
Also in great form is Hugo Ekitike (£8.7m), boasting back-to-back braces. The Liverpool striker is a highly recommended purchase, and Laterier might prioritise buying him over leading midfielder Bruno Fernandes (£9.3m).
Joining Ekitike as a unanimous Scout Squad pick is Antoine Semenyo (£7.6m), tipped to score past Burnley.
Yet Zophar believes there’s nothing wrong with keeping Semenyo beyond Gameweek 17, and also likes shot-machine Matheus Cunha (£7.9m). The Brazilian is on our Goals Imminent table, which Diego Gomez (£4.9m) would’ve topped had he not got himself suspended.
BEST FPL GAMEWEEK 17 CAPTAIN
While many bosses were initially pleased that they captained Bukayo Saka (£10.3m) last week, Erling Haaland (£15.0m) still ended up beating his score.
Don’t expect a split decision this time, as the Norwegian will be at home to West Ham United.
The recommended armband recipient of both Captain Sensible and our Rate My Team (RMT) algorithm, there’ll be some Triple Captain activations as well.
Also liked are Phil Foden (£8.9m) and Antoine Semenyo.
TEAM REVEALS
- Eight-time top 10k finisher Zophar
- Hall of Fame #17 Dan Wright
- Three-time top 500 finisher FPL General
SCOUT PICKS + DIFFERENTIALS
Our weekly selection – which is essentially a Free Hit in all but name – unsurprisingly triples up on Man City.
Elsewhere, Marcus Tavernier (£5.6m) is liked by Goals Imminent and could be an excellent differential alternative to Semenyo when wanting to gain coverage of Bournemouth’s attack.
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 17!
