After we completed our league phase campaign in the Champions League in midweek, we welcome back the Premier League for Gameweek 24, and with it, Fantasy Premier League.
We finished with a 100% record in the league phase with a 3-2 win over Kairat Almaty, as Viktor Gyokeres, Kai Havertz and Gabriel Martinelli found the net in north London on Wednesday.
SUB MERINO ON THE ATTACK
We head into Saturday’s clash with Leeds United looking to return to winning ways in the league, following our 3-2 defeat against Manchester United. Among our squad, Mikel Merino (£5.5m) delivered the goods for his Fantasy managers, coming off the bench to score and add seven points to his season total, which now stands at 66.
The Spaniard is still an astute differential shout at just a 1.4% ownership, as is Martin Odegaard who collected four points on Sunday, having enjoyed a previous purple patch between Gameweeks 17 and 20. The skipper is available at £7.8m, owned by 2.3% of competitors.
Last weekend’s clash at Emirates Stadium also initiated a fourth member of our squad into the FPL 100 club, as Bukayo Saka (£10.0m) climbed to 101 points, and joins Declan Rice (£7.4m, 126 points), Gabriel (£6.9m, 121 points) and Jurrien Timber (£6.3m, 110 points).
Despite their position of 16th in the table, Leeds have offered plenty for their supporters to be encouraged by - and they are certainly on track in this season’s survival mission.
Where FPL is concerned, three players have surpassed 90 points, including budget midfield choice Anton Stach (£4.9m), who has racked up 95 points since his summer arrival. A set-piece specialist owned by just 2.6% of managers, Stach will at the very least provide a strong squad-player option.
Leeds' most high-profile performer is Dominic Calvert-Lewin (£6.0m). At 13.4% ownership, the Whites’ no. 9 is comfortably the most popular pick among his teammates - his nine goals helping him to 93 Fantasy points. Attacking midfielder Brenden Aaronson's (£5.4m) game time has risen in tandem with his performances, steering the American to 91 points, while other financially healthy picks include defender Joe Rodon (£3.9m), while goalkeeper Karl Darlow (£3.9m) has started the last two league matches.
HOLD THE CHIPS
With a packed schedule, numerous injuries, and AFCON returnees, millions of managers are rushing to shape their squads to be as competitive as possible as quickly as possible. These factors have contributed to bosses sacrificing points for extra transfers, and not always gathering a worthwhile return on their investment.
That said, the second round of chips this season - available since Gameweek 19 came to a close - have been of great appeal. Some have used their Triple Captain chip already, with plenty already slapping down their Wildcard and starting with a blank canvas stacked with in-form players.
However, as has always been the case when just one of each chip was permitted per year, chips are almost always more productive in the last third or quarter of the campaign, due to the explosion of Double and Blank Gameweeks (DGW and BGW).
For instance, the clubs involved in the Carabao Cup final in March, as well as the FA Cup semi-finals in April and final in May, will see their Premier League fixtures for those weekends rearranged. As these standalone fixtures will not constitute a Gameweek of their own, they will become Double Gameweeks for the clubs concerned, and their scheduled opponents.
A chip such as a Bench Boost or Triple Captain would be twice as effective if used on a player appearing twice in one Gameweek, and that has often been the number one approach for chip strategies. The Free Hit chip, for example, is also adept for a DGW, but is significantly the best chip to activate for a BGW, when a considerable number of your players are without a game due to cup commitments.
So while it can be very tempting to gain a short-term fix now, you may regret it down the line when your mini-league opponents are able to shuffle their pack when the Doubles and Blanks come out to play.
GET STRENGTHENING
For those with free transfers left over or planning to shuffle their team with a chip regardless, there are plenty of players to identify for your shopping list.
The fixture difficulty rating (FDR) algorithm is as trusty as ever at guiding your choices, with a handful of clubs boasting favourable run of fixtures that could draw you to their most valuable assets.
One such side is Chelsea, who face fixtures all rated a ‘2’ in the FDR for the next four Gameweeks. Liam Rosenior’s side host Wolves, Leeds United and Burnley, along with a trip to West Ham United, before visiting Emirates Stadium in GW28. Joao Pedro (£7.2m), Enzo Fernandez (£6.7m) and Trevoh Chalobah (£5.6m) are firm options in every outfield FPL position.
Despite their scintillating early-season form dipping and the loss of talisman Antoine Semenyo (£7.8m), Bournemouth could be spurred into life by their dramatic late winner against Liverpool last weekend. The Cherries have four fixtures rated a ‘2’ in their next seven, and no match rated above ‘3’ until they visit us in April. James Hill (£3.9m) is enjoying a run in the team as a great budget defensive option, while young striker Eli Junior Kroupi (£4.6m) often impacts in front of goal when given minutes. First-choice forward Evanilson is available at £7.0m, and is owned by just 2.5% of managers.
Finally, Crystal Palace have a fruitful-looking run of games over the coming weeks, despite - like Bournemouth - losing a key player to Man City in Marc Guehi (£5.2m). The positive news for the Eagles, and for many in the Fantasy sphere, is the return to fitness of Daniel Munoz. The wing-back offers excellent haul opportunities at both ends of the pitch, and along with the creative wizard Yeremy Pino - matching Munoz at just £5.8m - is an appealing differential for the time being.
Be sure to finalise your Gameweek 24 squad by Saturday, January 31, at 1:30pm UK time to make the cut!
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