FPL 2023-24: Gameweek 14 preview

The FPL gods had fun last weekend, that’s what it feels like when looking at the Gameweek 13 Team of the Week. No player boasts an ownership of more than 15% at the time of writing and that player is the much-criticised André Onana. Besides him, no less than four players are owned by less than 0.5% of all managers: Bournemouth’s Marcus Tavernier (no one scored more than his 16 FPL points) and Justin Kluivert, Fulham’s Willian and… wait for it… Manchester United’s Anthony Martial. Another three members of the GW13 Team of the Week sit in less than 5% of all FPL squads, those being Man United’s Diego Dalot, Luton’s Teden Mengi and Forest’s Morgan Gibbs-White. Probably the most actively popular player who made it into the team was Newcastle’s Anthony Gordon, who recorded 13 FPL points for the roughly 14% of fantasy managers who owned him.

We can see a couple of highly owned assets returning to the Team of the Week in gameweek 14 though, as the likes of Arsenal, Aston Villa and Liverpool are facing favourable opposition this weekend. The Gunners open the weekend with a home game against Wolves, Villa are visiting Bournemouth and Liverpool welcome Fulham to Anfield. On top of that, Manchester City have a home game against a Spurs side that has lost some of its early-season form. Gameweek 14 is also going to be a big one for the teams towards the bottom of the league, with Everton visiting Nottingham Forest and Burnley hosting Sheffield United on Saturday.

Check out FISO’s FPL Forum for the latest discussion and don’t forget, the deadline for gameweek 14 is set at 13h30 (UK time) on Saturday, December 2nd, 2023.

Most transferred in/transferred out players (as per November 30th, 2023)

 TRANSFERS OUTTRANSFERS INPOSSIBLE REASONS
GKAlisson (LIV), Turner (NOT), Vicario (TOT)Onana (MUN), Kelleher (LIV), Raya (ARS)Alisson injury
DEFCash (AST), Estupiñan (BRI), Romero (TOT)Zinchenko (ARS), Saliba (ARS), Tsimikas (LIV)Estupiñan injury, Romero red card
MIDBowen (WHU), Mitoma (BRI), Son (TOT)Mbeumo (BRE), Gordon (NEW), Saka (ARS)Bowen + Mitoma injury doubts
FORAlvarez (MCI), Nketiah (ARS), Darwin (LIV)Isak (NEW), Haaland (MCI), Darwin (LIV)Alvarez lack of returns, Nketiah benchings, Wilson injury + NEW fixtures

Premium pick

As far as the premium fantasy pick for gameweek 14 goes, there is practically no looking past Mohamed Salah (£13.0m). The Egyptian forward is back at it again this season, having scored 10 goals and provided 5 assists in thirteen league starts so far, and his recent form is red hot as well. He bagged a brace at home to Brentford to clinch the Player of the Week honour in gameweek 12 and then went on to provide the assist for the goal against Man City last weekend, in a game that ended 1-1. Up next are Fulham, who are having a decent first half of the season so far, but who we nevertheless can’t see getting much from their visit to Anfield on Saturday. The Cottagers have conceded an average of just under two goals per away game up until now, which will be like music to the ears of Salah. With Haaland facing Spurs on Sunday, Mo is looking like the stand-out captain for gameweek 14 even with Spurs’ current defensive issues.

Non-premium pick

It has been a fair few gameweeks since Bukayo Saka (£8.8m) scored a goal in the Premier League, as his last one came back in GW7 versus Bournemouth, but that doesn’t mean the England international has been entirely quiet of late. A total of 4 assists over his five league starts since then kept him ticking along quietly, recording 26 FPL points over that run. At his current price of £8.8m, an average of about 5 points per game is somewhat underwhelming, but look at it this way: he’s still involved, he’s still a starter and Arsenal are still top of the league after thirteen rounds. On top of that, Saka has his share of penalty and set-piece duties, and his upcoming two opponents qualify as “favourable” on paper. On Saturday, the Gunners host Wolves and three days later, it’s time for a visit to Luton Town. As far as we’re concerned, a perfect little run for Saka to get his name back on the scoreboard.

The budget enabler

When Andy Robertson got injured a few weeks ago, the Liverpool roster offered us Kostas Tsimikas as a great (short- to medium-term) enabler, and now the Reds are doing it again. That is, if you’re willing and able to make a short-term move for a real bargain goalkeeper. With first-choice goalie Alisson Becker out for at least two gameweeks, according to manager Jurgen Klopp, and possibly more, his back-up Caoimhin Kelleher (£3.9m) can help you free up some funds. Liverpool are amongst the more solid defences this season, having conceded 11 goals in thirteen games so far. An even bigger factor for considering a move for Kelleher though, in our opinion, is the upcoming run of fixtures. As we wrote just above, Kelleher should be between the Liverpool sticks for two to three league games at least, which means he will be there for the visit of Fulham this weekend, and the away games against Sheffield United (in GW15) and Crystal Palace (in GW16).

The differential

When recommending Bukayo Saka as our non-premium fantasy pick for gameweek 14, we mentioned Arsenal’s upcoming favourable fixtures, first at home to Wolves this weekend and then away at Luton next Tuesday. Seeing as Gabriel Jesus (£7.8m) got his first start against Brentford in GW13 after missing three consecutive league games due to injury, we want to highlight the possibility of getting to a potential major differential pick early. The Brazilian has not had a great season so far, as injuries have prevented him from recording more than a single goal and assist up until now, but when fit, he should be part of manager Mikel Arteta’s starting eleven. At the moment, Jesus is sitting in just 2.4% of all fantasy teams in the official game, which has put him firmly on our differential radar. He’s not cheap, but if you’re looking for a player to help you catch up in your mini-league, bringing in the Brazilian attacker, who got on the score sheet during the week in the CL drubbing of Lens, could be a shrewd move.

The (vice-)captaincy

Both Mo Salah and Erling Haaland are playing at home this weekend, so you can expect the captaincy discussion to be dominated by these two powerhouses once again. Seeing as Salah is facing Fulham, while Haaland faces Spurs, we have gone with the former, but in reality, either one could deliver a big double-digit haul this weekend.

If you’re looking for a Fantasy Sports Betting option outside of the usual two suspects, Bukayo Saka at home to Wolves could be a good choice, as could Bryan Mbeumo at home to Luton. Ollie Watkins could also deliver the goods when Aston Villa play Bournemouth on Sunday, if you feel like punting on a proven goalscorer with an away game on the agenda.