Gameweek 33 of Fantasy Premier League (FPL) follows hot on the heels of Gameweek 32 – and there’s a fresh group of differentials to consider ahead of Tuesday’s deadline.
This time, we’ve selected low-owned picks at Crystal Palace, Newcastle United and Bournemouth, who we think have the potential to make an impact.
As always, to qualify, the player must have an ownership of 5% or less at the time of writing.
MICHAEL OLISE
- FPL ownership: 3.4%
- Price: £5.6m
- GW33-37 fixtures: wol | WHU | tot | BOU | ful
Michael Olise (£5.6m) may have blanked in three of his four appearances under Roy Hodgson, but he has undoubtedly been one of Crystal Palace’s brightest sparks.
Among all FPL midfielders, only Kevin De Bruyne (£12.1m) has attempted more crosses in that time, while his 12 created chances place him inside the top ten. Simply, he is his side’s main creator and the player his teammates seek out for inspiration more often than not.
Encouragingly, all of Olise’s next four opponents rank among the six worst sides in the division for crosses conceded from their left flank in the last four matches. Extending the sample to Gameweek 17, when the Premier League resumed after the World Cup, they are all bottom half.
Deployed as a right winger in Hodgson’s 4-3-3 formation, Olise underlined his quality with three assists from open play against Leeds United in Gameweek 30 and could get further joy at Molineux in midweek, with Wolverhampton Wanderers left-back Toti Gomes (£3.8m) looking “a bit rushed and chaotic in his defending at times” at Leicester City on Saturday, according to local paper the Express & Star.
Under Hodgson, Palace are playing with more freedom and have both the form and fixtures to deliver. From Gameweek 29 onwards – his first match in charge – the Eagles rank fifth for goals (nine), third for shots (69) and eighth for expected goals (xG, 6.95).
Olise has been working very well in tandem with Eberechi Eze (£5.6m) down Palace’s right side of late and could shine given his favourable match-ups.
JOE WILLOCK
- FPL ownership: 1.1%
- Price: £4.7m
- GW33-37 fixtures: eve | SOU | ARS | lee + BHA | LEI
Joe Willock (£4.7m) produced one of the assists of the season for Alexander Isak’s (£6.8m) first goal on Sunday, earning his fourth attacking return in six Gameweeks.
In a relentless display, the former Arsenal man created three chances for his Newcastle United colleagues and probably should have scored himself, too. His performance was so good Eddie Howe was quick to sing his praises, saying “… he has got a little bit of everything. He’s knuckled down, taken everything on board and delivered.”
From Gameweek 27 onwards, the first of Willock’s six starts in seven Newcastle matches, he has racked up five Opta-defined ‘big chances’, more than any other FPL midfielder bar Mohamed Salah (£12.8m). In that period, he also ranks third in his position for xG.
Willock complements Bruno Guimaraes (£5.5m) and Sean Longstaff (£4.3m) very well in Howe’s 4-3-3 formation, and although Joelinton (£5.9m) is more than capable of performing a similar box-to-box role, he was needed further forward on Sunday in the ongoing absence of Allan Saint-Maximin (£6.1m).
Newcastle went into that match having been convincingly beaten 3-0 at Villa Park in Gameweek 31, but they responded in emphatic fashion, dismantling Spurs 6-1. Now, they face relegation-threatened Everton and Southampton, with a Double Gameweek 36 to look forward to against Leeds and Brighton and Hove Albion shortly after.
A regular on Joe’s Goals Imminent table, we’re backing Willock – who costs just £4.7m – to finish the season strongly.
DOMINIC SOLANKE
- FPL ownership: 3.5%
- Price: £5.6m
- GW33-37 fixtures: sou | LEE | CHE | cry | MUN
A return of just five goals this season has been disappointing for Dominic Solanke (£5.6m), yet he continues to put up very strong underlying numbers.
In his last six matches, the Bournemouth no. 9 has registered 23 shots in the box, more than any other FPL forward, with five of those ‘big chances’. He has converted just two of those efforts into goals, meaning he has underperformed his xG by 2.04, but he is at least getting into dangerous positions.
Despite those struggles, he is a valued member of Gary O’Neil’s first team, with his manager recently saying “I think unless you watch Dom regularly and closely, some of the stuff he does can go without being noticed.”
It’s a good point. Solanke has complemented his five goals with nine assists this season, with two ‘big chances’ created in his last six outings. It’s also worth noting he has performed much better on the road this season, where his goal conversion rate is 15.4%, compared to just 2.4% at the Vitality.
The Cherries slumped to a 4-0 loss to West Ham United on Sunday, but the defeat came on the back of two away wins at Leicester City and Spurs. That offers encouragement ahead of their trip to bottom-of-the-table Southampton, which precedes a home meeting with leaky Leeds.
With two huge clashes up next, now would be a good time for Solanke to hit some form and start converting those chances.
