After what at times felt like the longest gameweek in the history of FPL, double gameweek 21 is now behind us and we have about 48 hours to prepare for double gameweek 22. Such is life in the (fantasy) Premier League at the moment. West Ham assets particularly stood out last week, with Manuel Lanzini, Jarrod Bowen and Vlad Coufal all recording double-digit hauls, while Lukasz Fabianski and Michail Antonio both made the team of the week with 9-pointers. Issa Diop completed the Hammers’ contingent with 8 points. They now have a single gameweek coming up, but seeing as their fixture is Leeds at home, you can expect heavy investment in West Ham assets before the DGW22 hits.

Other popular single gameweekers will be Liverpool’s Diogo Jota, currently brought in by more than half a million managers since the DGW21 deadline passed, and possibly Everton’s Dominic Calvert-Lewin and Demarai Gray for their away game at Carrow Road, despite disappointing from a fantasy point of view in DGW21.

As has been the case lately, try and hold out on making transfers for as long as possible, especially not now that double gameweek announcements can be made at any moment.

The Doubles Section

Seeing as corona outbreaks look like they’re here to stay for the coming weeks at least, we’ve added a temporary new section to our weekly previews to help you keep track of postponements and doubles. For GW22, at the time of writing, we have double gameweeks for the following teams:

Don’t forget, the deadline for gameweek 22 is set at 18h30 (UK time) on Friday, January 14^th, 2022.

Most transferred in/transferred out players (as per January 13^th, 2022)

Premium pick

Acceptable form and a decent double gameweek coming up. Over 200,000 managers have already brought in Cristiano Ronaldo (£12.5m) in the build-up to gameweek 22 to bring his current total ownership to 31.5% at the time of writing. With the double gameweek fixtures not offering any real stand-out combinations at first glance, Manchester United’s double against Aston Villa and Brentford, both away, is likely to tempt a large number of managers to captain the Portuguese superstar for DGW22. The Red Devils have been far from impressive lately, and neither Villa nor the Bees will prove to be walk-overs for Ralf Rangnick’s men, but then again, it’s not THAT crazy to expect Manchester United to take six points from these games. Ronaldo should be fit after missing out in the FA Cup on Monday and we’re expecting him to be the focal point of the United attack, while he is also on penalties. A return or two over the next two games to build on his current 8 goals and 3 assist so far isn’t too much to ask, right?

Non-premium pick

Despite having just a single fixture in what is a double gameweek for seven teams, Liverpool’s Diogo Jota (£8.3m) is currently the most transferred-in midfielder with about 24 hours to go to the DGW22 deadline. The Reds are preparing for a home game against Brentford, who just shipped four goals away against Southampton on Tuesday, and things are looking good for their Portuguese forward. Jota, who is classified as a midfielder in the official game He is the main man in Liverpool’s forward line now that both Mo Salah and Sadio Mané are involved in the African Cup of Nations. He has scored 2 goals and given 1 assist in his last four league games, and sits on a total of 10 goals and 2 assists for the season so far. The Portugal international is likely facing a depleted Brentford backline, with three defenders currently flagged, just coming off a 4-1 loss at Saint Mary’s. Over half a million fantasy managers have already brought Jota in and the added value of this transfer is that fixture-wise, he can be a decently-priced set-and-forget option until at least gameweek 26.

The budget enabler

For our budget enabler of the week, we’re looking at Brighton and Hove Albion, one of the seven teams with a double gameweek. Admittedly, the Seagulls don’t seem to have the easiest double match-up on paper, but there is some potential there, especially, quite surprisingly perhaps, in the attacking department. Neither the Eagles (8 goals conceded in the last four) nor the Blues (4 goals conceded in the last three) have been their defensive best of late, and Brighton’s striker Neal Maupay (£6.5m) seems to have hit a good vein of form at the moment. He has scored 7 goals and given 1 assist this season, and 1 of those goals plus the single assist were recorded over the last three gameweeks. Looking back a bit further, we can see that the Frenchman has actually returned in five of his last six league outings for a total of 30 FPL points. Not bad for a budget striker who is a nailed-on option for his gaffer and about to face two suspect defences. The way we see it, the home game against Palace is the main event, while the home encounter with Chelsea is a bonus.

The differential

One of the reasons why double gameweek 22 isn’t as straight-forward as many would like, is that on paper, Watford have the best double match-up. The Hornets will be facing Newcastle and Burnley away from home, but of course, they are a relegation candidate themselves. In other words, Newcastle and Burnley will be eyeing the three points against Watford as well. Still, we feel that Josh King (£5.8m) could be a shrewd investment. Most of the eyes have been on Dennis as Watford’s stand-out attacking option (who has also just returned to training) and with good reason, but King has been ticking along nicely as well. The Norway international already has 5 goals and 4 assists to his name this season, and he’s a nailed-on starter under manager Claudio Ranieri. What’s more, he’s on penalties and that’s especially interesting during double gameweeks in our opinion. In the end, the 37.5%-owned Dennis (King is currently in 8% of all squads) has recorded “just” 3 goals and 1 assist more than King, making the latter a very interesting differential for DGW22. We might even be so bold as to suggest, him as a big-time outsider punt for the captaincy. For those who can afford such boldness, of course.

The captaincy

As we wrote earlier, we’re expecting Cristiano Ronaldo to be the main captain of choice in DGW22 and we’re leaning towards him as well. With Manchester United currently in sixth in the Prem, six points behind West Ham in fourth, away games against teams such as Villa and especially promoted Brentford are must-wins. Ronaldo should be fit enough to start both games, especially considering the fact that the Red Devils have a four-day resting period in between the two games and despite some pundits doubting the Portuguese’s physical ability to start and perform in both (what?!). He’s probably the safest bet for the armband this weekend.

Besides CR7, there is also Harry Kane, who is facing Arsenal at home and Leicester away in DGW22. The England captain blanked against Watford in GW21, but he did score in three consecutive games prior to that fixture. He’s nailed-on, on penalties, and well… Harry Kane. If you want to go the more differential route with your captaincy pick, the previously mentioned Josh King offers an interesting prospect, while James Maddison for his double against Burnley and Spurs is an outside pick with a big potential upside as well.

The quick turn-around between gameweeks 19 and 20 plus a rare and unexpected 0-pointer by Mo Salah, who was captained by just over half of all managers in the game and by 63% of the pre-GW20 Top 100, made for a low-scoring gameweek 20. With a points average of 37, it ranks among the three lowest averages of the season so far, which was also reflected in the official Team of the Week. No less than five players made the team with a single-digit haul. Leicester goalkeeper Kasper Schmeichel recorded the round’s highest score with 15 FPL points, thanks to a clean sheet and a Salah penalty save, followed by assist-hattrick hero Jarrod Bowen and Crystal Palace’s Odsonne Edouard (1 goal and 2 assists versus Norwich) with 14 points each.

Gameweek 21 is now DGW21 after this afternoon’s confirmation of 3 re-arranged fixtures: SOU v BRE, EVE v LEI and WHU v NOR. Due to Leicester, Southampton and Norwich having had their expected GW21 fixture postponed that leaves the following 3 clubs with two matches in the DGW: Brentford, Everton & West Ham. From a fantasy manager’s point of view, Tottenham’s visit to Watford also stands out. Southampton hosting Newcastle at Saint Mary’s has been postponed today so we’re down to 8 matches of the normal fixtures plus the 3 re-arranged fixxtures in DGW21.

As has been the case lately, try and hold out on making transfers for as long as possible, especially now that more double gameweek announcements can be made at any moment.

The Blanks Section

Seeing as corona outbreaks look like they’re here to stay for the coming weeks at least, we’ve added a temporary new section to our weekly previews to help you keep track of postponements and blanks. For DGW21, at the time of writing, two games have been postponed so far:

Don’t forget, the deadline for gameweek 21 is set at 11h00 (UK time) on Saturday, January 1^st, 2022.

Most transferred in/transferred out players (as per December 31^st, 2021)

Premium pick

For the first time this season, Mo Salah came away with exactly zero FPL points after missing a penalty against Leicester and Liverpool going down 1 to nothing at the King Power Stadium. At the same time, give 24 hours more or less, Cristiano Ronaldo (£12.5m) shot himself straight into the official game’s Team of the Week with a goal, an assist and 3 bonus points against Burnley. Taking into account that United’s fixtures in gameweeks 17 and 18 were postponed, the Portuguese superstar now has 4 goals and 1 assist in his last five league games, and he started each of those games. Up next are Wolves at Old Trafford and it should be noted that Bruno Lage’s men have so far conceded just 7 goals in nine games on the road. Overall, their 14 goals conceded rank second in the entire league, just two more than Manchester City. Man United are the favourite here nonetheless, especially with Ronaldo in good goal-scoring form, and we hope that they will be able to build on the 17 goals they have already scored in nine home games this season. Due to the recently announced DGW for West Ham, Antonio (owned by 37%) at £7.8m is going to be in demand with an away match on Saturday 1st at Crystal Palace followed by a home match on Wednesday 12th to Norwich.

Non-premium pick

There is a small, a very small fantasy upside to fixture postponements, provided that any affected player you own is physically fine (of course, we hope that every player is fine always, but hear us out), namely that it can provide players with an unexpected rest during a crazy busy festive period. One player in such a situation in GW21 could be Raphinha (£6.5m) after the Leeds – Aston Villa game was postponed in GW20, following the postponement of Liverpool – Leeds in GW19. In other words, Leeds have not played a competitive league game since their 1-4 thumping at the hands of Arsenal back in GW18, on December 18^th. The Whites are now up against Burnley who went down to United at Old Trafford on Thursday night. The Clarets have conceded 24 goals so far this season, which in all honesty is equals mid-table at the moment, but they will be missing their first-choice goalkeeper Nick Pope against Leeds. As far as Raphinha goes, he’s got 3 goals and 1 assist from his last five league games, he is their best player and main creative outlet by some distance, and he’s on penalties as well. In what could end up being a tough weekend in FPL, the Brazilian could be a very shrewd signing. West Ham’s Bowen will also now be a popular pick for his DGW.

The budget enabler

In a time when your bench is more important than ever, a good, playing budget enabler can make all the difference in the world. That’s why the return to fitness and to the starting eleven of Ben Johnson (£4.0m) is such good news. The versatile West Ham fullback put in a decent shift against Watford, though he did not come away with a return. Since his emergence in David Moyes’ starting eleven back in gameweek 8, he featured in every game until injury hit in GW15. Over that run, he recorded 28 FPL points, courtesy of 2 clean sheets and a bonus point. Not bad for a 4.0m-priced fullback playing for a good side that has a favourable run of fixtures coming up, starting with Crystal Palace away and Leeds at home. With Aaron Cresswell out for the foreseeable future, Johnson is an ideal budget-enabling fantasy pick and has the newly announced DGW.

The differential

Off the back of a few more than decent performances and with Mo Salah due to depart for the AFCON very soon, Kevin de Bruyne (£11.9) has all the makings of becoming the next big bandwagon. For the first time this season, the Belgian has managed to perform at levels we were used to from him for an extended run of games after a first half of the season riddled with injury niggles. He’s got 3 goals and 1 assist in his last four league outings, and he started for the Cityzens in those games as well. That’s good news, but in the case of Man City, potentially bad as well, because in theory, it puts KDB higher and higher on Pep’s rotation list. Then again, this is and has been since a long time the main downside of picking Man City fantasy assets. What we’re seeing mainly, is one of the best midfielders in the world sitting in just 4.7% of all teams with a good run of fixtures coming up. Bringing him in now, before the away game at Arsenal and the home clash with Chelsea, could put you in the next bandwagon’s driver’s seat. Due to the newly announced DGW for West Ham, Everton & Brentford there will be moves to bring in players from these clubs (particuarly the WHU & EVE).

The captaincy

The DGW21 captaincy debate this weekend has been thrown up in the air after the DGW announcement and most likely Antonio or Bowen of West Ham will be the main candidates unless you want to take a punt on an Everton player (such as Gray or DCL returning from injury) or a Brentford player.

Spurs also offer two interesting captaincy options in the persons of Heung-Min Son and Harry Kane as Spurs take on Watford at Vicarage Road. Antonio Conte’s men are picking up some form and both of the team’s star players are looking more dangerous as well. More differential options for the armband this weekend are penalty-taker Raphinha at home against Burnley and set-piece maestro James Ward-Prowse for Southampton’s home encounter with Newcastle.

28 goals in 6 games. Ah, Boxing Day, ye big beautiful beast, you did it again! In a period in which traditions play an especially important part of daily life, the Premier League did not disappoint and delivered the usual Boxing Day goal bonanza. A goal and 2 assists for Iheanacho, a brace for Saka, a brace for Jorginho, a couple of City players hauling big after their 6-3 (that’s six and three) victory over Leicester, and at the time of writing, gameweek 19’s most popular captain Cristiano Ronaldo hasn’t even played United’s away game at Newcastle yet. FPL points galore for popular assets and differentials alike.

Considering the fact that gameweek 20 is kicking off tomorrow at 15h00, we’ll be moving straight on to our fantasy picks for this mid-week round. Just a final note for the legendary few: IF you still have your first Wildcard, you have until GW20 to deploy it. If you don’t, it’ll be lost, lost forever, so our advice is to activate ASAP if this is your case.

The Blanks Section

Seeing as corona outbreaks look like they’re here to stay for the coming weeks at least, we’ve added a temporary new section to our weekly previews to help you keep track of postponements and blanks. For GW20, at the time of writing, two games have been postponed so far:

Don’t forget, the deadline for gameweek 20 is set at 13h30 (UK time) on Tuesday, December 28^th.

Most transferred in/transferred out players (as per December 27^th, 2021)

Premium pick

Living FPL legend Mo Salah (£13.0) missed out in gameweek 19 as Liverpool’s enticing game against Leeds was postponed. This opened up the captaincy playing field for the first time in a long time this season, but with the Reds back in action on Tuesday night, the Egyptian will most likely dominate the captaincy debate once again. He will be facing a Leicester side that has been defensively suspect this season and that just conceded six at the Etihad just a day ago. On top of that, no team in the league allows for more conceded chances from the left flank, which just happens to be Salah’s favourite hunting ground. Add to that the facts that Liverpool got an unplanned rest while Leicester are visiting Anfield not even 48 hours after an intense encounter with England’s reigning champions, and we can’t do anything but recommend Salah as the stand-out premium fantasy pick once again.

Non-premium pick

With a favourable run of fixtures extending all the way to at least gameweek 26, and with both Salah and Mané missing most of January’s game while they are at the AFCON, Diogo Jota (£8.1m) should probably be a set-and-forget option in your team for the foreseeable future. The Portuguese international combines good fixtures with consistently good form, which is underlined by his 10 goals and 1 assist from just 1,212 Premier League minutes this season. He started the last two league games for the Reds and scored a goal in each of those games for a total of 14 FPL points. A leaky Leicester side that just conceded six goals against Manchester City is up next and it could turn into another high-scoring affair. Perhaps not “6-3 high-scoring”, but we’re expecting a few goals for this one and Jota could end up playing a big role in the whole thing.

The budget enabler

This round’s budget enabler is a temporary fantasy pick, but one that could reap serious rewards over the coming two gameweeks. Kostas Tsimikas (£3.7m) is currently the cheapest player in the entire game and he will be starting as Liverpool’s left-back during Andy Robertson’s absence as the result of a red card in GW18 against Spurs (he’s suspended until 15th January). The Greek international has deputised for Robertson from the start on four league occasion so far this season, allowing him to amass a more than decent 28 FPL points (4 clean sheets, 1 assist). From those appearances, we also know that, when he’s on the pitch, Tsimikas carries part of the dead-ball duties, which only furthers his appeal as the ultimate short-term budget enabler. Free Hitters in gameweeks 20 or 21 in particular should have the Liverpool defender high on their watchlists when compiling their best possible squad. Liverpool’s fixtures are not the easiest with Leicester away on Tuesday followed by a tough visit to Stamford Bridge, but as far as budget fantasy picks for FPL go, you’re unlikely to find better than Tsimikas at the moment.

The differential

So, Riyad Mahrez (£8.6m). In cases such as his, it’s best to just cut to the chase: 3 consecutive starts, and a goal and an assist in each of those three games. That makes 3 goals and 3 assists in the last three league outings, plus 2 clean sheet points and 3 bonus points for a total of 35 FPL points over that same period. That’s just over 11 points per game on average. If that’s not good form, we don’t know what is. Next up for Manchester City are Brentford away and while Pep Roulette remains a very real and scary factor when it comes to City assets, Mahrez nonetheless kind of looks too good to ignore right now. To increase his fantasy appeal even further, he is also currently owned by just 3.6% of all managers and he is available at a decent non-budget price. If you’re desperate for an exciting differential, Mahrez should be top of your list.

The captaincy

As far as we’re concerned, there is no need to look further than Mo Salah in gameweek 20 (surprise, surprise). He is back after a rest against a Leicester side that… well, we’ve said it a few times before already. Basically, we feel that Liverpool could heap some more misery on the Foxes after conceding six times against City.

Still, if you’re willing to go the differential way or want to make sure you get a decent Vice Captain, there are a few good options besides Salah. Mason Mount and Romelu Lukaku could return away at Brighton, while Man City are visiting Brentford on Tuesday. Riyad Mahrez, Phil Foden and Kevin de Bruyne are all appealing prospects in terms of the captain’s armband. The same goes for Cristiano Ronaldo at home to Burnley. If you really feel Christmas lucky, why not take a punt on Dominic Calvert-Lewin as he is likely to return from injury at home for Everton against Newcastle on Thursday.

So a lot has happened in the FPL universe the past few days. A lot, a lot. It is, of course prime festive season right now, which means that gameweeks are coming thick and fast until mid-January, more or less. At the same time, coronavirus is flaring up again all over the world and the Premier League clubs have outbreaks to deal with and people’s safety to prioritise, adding a considerable factor of uncertainty to an already intense period of (Fantasy) Premier League football.

Considering the short turn-around in terms of gameweeks, we’ll get to business straight away. Just remember that a few games from GW19 have been postponed already (see below) and that fantasy managers have all received an extra Free Hit chip to cope with the once again growing uncertainty. Also, take an extra good look at the deadlines of the coming gameweeks as we recommend to hold off on any transfers or related decisions until the very last moment (not always easy to do with the holidays or work committments). At this point in the season and considering the potential impact on your week performance as a result of a sudden COVID-19 outbreak, it’s probably justified to put squad value in the back seat for a few weeks and focus solely on points.

Don’t forget, the deadline for gameweek 19 is set at 13h30 (UK time) on Sunday, December 26^th.

Most transferred in/transferred out players (as per December 25^th, 2021)

Premium pick

Looking at the fixtures, current team form and individual player quality, we normally would’ve picked Cristiano Ronaldo as our premium fantasy pick for gameweek 19. In the current circumstances though, with United only playing on Monday, the risk of a match postponement as a result of a coronavirus outbreak at Newcastle or Manchester is too high, in our opinion. That’s why instead, we have gone with Kevin de Bruyne (£11.9m) as Manchester City kick off the Boxing Day round of fixtures this year. In great part due to injury issues, this season had been sub-par compared to the Belgian’s usual standards, but he looks to be back on track. Pep Guardiola gave him the full 90 minutes in the past two gameweeks, including for the 7-0 thrashing of Leeds in which KDB scored twice and brought his differential ownership a sweet 16 FPL points. He’s up against a leaky Leicester side this weekend, so Salah sitting out this round could well result in more than a few managers opting for De Bruyne, either as a free transfer or as part of their Free Hit.

Non-premium pick

Now, for our non-premium fantasy pick of the week, we considered Phil Foden as we feel he’ll get the chance to redeem himself this weekend after missing out in gameweek 18 due to a disciplinary sanction. Looking at the postponed fixtures though, and at the added uncertainty of players even starting this weekend, we figured that Alexandre Lacazette (£8.5m) might be a wiser choice this time. The French striker is pretty-much nailed-on as Arsenal’s man leading the line up front and has delivered decently of late. In his last three league outings, he recorded a goal and 2 assists for a total of 15 FPL points. That’s not extraordinary, especially not at his price, but it should be noted that he is on penalties and missed one against West Ham back in GW17. Up next are Norwich and despite the fact that the Canaries have improved considerably under new manager Dean Smith, a Gunners formation in good form should be a bridge too far for them. On top of that, Norwich are rumoured to be coping with a few COVID-19 cases at the club, so Laca might end up facing a depleted defence.

The budget enabler

For our budget-enabling fantasy pick of the week, we’re going for a defender. Ben Davies (£4.5m) has been a major benefactor of Antonio Conte’s arrival as Tottenham’s new manager. The Wales international has not missed a minute of league action since gameweek 10, a period of six games (Spurs had a few postponements in between as well) over which he scored 29 points, courtesy of 3 clean sheets and 2 assists. As an overlapping central defender, Davies actually carries the highest goal threat of all Spurs defenders, while defensively, Spurs are actually among the best in the Prem. Just five teams have conceded more than their 19 goals despite their mediocre start to the season. This weekend against Crystal Palace at home, their chance of a clean sheet is estimated at about 44%, meaning that another good score could be on the way for their Welsh defender.

The differential

After recommending Gabriel Martinelli (£5.4m) as the stand-out budget pick for gameweek 18 and seeing him bring home 15 FPL points, courtesy of a brace and a 3 bonus points, we decided we’re going to ride the Brazilian’s train for at least another week, as a differential this time. Martinelli has been spectacular for Arsenal of late and it’s difficult to see the side’s recent resurgence separate from the winger coming into red hot form. He has started the last five league games, and provided 3 goals and 2 assists over that period. Such is his form at the moment, that for the first time in a long time, Arsenal fans are pondering over how to fit all of their four exciting youngsters (Martinelli, Odegaard, Saka, Smith Rowe) into one starting lineup around striker Lacazette. For now, the Brazilian, who is listed as a midfielder in FPL and owned by just 6.8% of managers at the time of writing, seems assured of a start and that’s worth a lot during the festive period, especially when the next encounter is at Carrow Road on Boxing Day. Expect Martinelli to be in plenty if not all Free Hit sides this weekend.

The captaincy

With Salah out of the equation, the captaincy has been blown wide open for gameweek 19. Normally, Cristiano Ronaldo would probably be our pick of the bunch for his away game against Newcastle, but as we pointed out earlier, risking the captaincy over a full two-day period with COVID-19 outbreaks once again the news of the day doesn’t fill us with confidence. Instead, for the GW19 captain we’re going with Kevin de Bruyne for City’s home encounter with Leicester. As usual, this involves rotation risk as well, but we feel the Belgian will be an integral part of Guardiola’s starting eleven over the festive period after missing so much of the earlier part of the season.

If you’re feeling less confident about KDB, you could also opt for Harry Kane (or Son) at home against an injury-plagued Palace defence after his goal against Liverpool in GW18, his first attacking return of any sort since gameweek 8. Another interesting option could be Riyad Mahrez, as him starting for City would mean that he would be facing Leicester’s weaker left side of the defence. As a matter of fact, no defence in the PL has given up more chances from their defensive left. For the more differential captaincy picks, Michail Antonio (if fit after covid isolation) at home to Southampton and Alexandre Lacazette away at Norwich could reap big rewards.