Looking at the latest Team of the Week, the first Gameweek of 2025 (or at least, the first Gameweek with at least one game taking place in 2025) ended up being a feast of recognition. The likes of Trent Alexander-Arnold, Rayan Ait-Nouri, Gabriel Jesus and Ollie Watkins all made it into the team, though none of them managed to keep Mohamed Salah from his title as highest-scoring player in GW19 with 16 FPL points. Liverpool’s Alexander-Arnold came close with 15 FPL points, thanks to a goal and a clean sheet at West Ham, as did Manchester City’s Savio, who managed a goal and an assist at the King Power Stadium which resulted in 14 FPL points.
As far as Gameweek 20 is concerned, many eyes will naturally be on Anfield on Sunday. The home side, who are the current leaders and who have been flying under new manager Arne Slot so far, are hosting a club in deep, almost unprecedented crisis in the form of archrivals Manchester United. The worst possible match-up for the Red Devils at the worst possible time? Possibly. Apart from that, Aston Villa’s home game against Leicester should attract plenty of fantasy attention, as should Manchester City’s home game against West Ham. Personally, we are also looking forward to the Gameweek 20 opener between Spurs and Newcastle, as we feel literally anything could happen in that game.
Don’t forget, the deadline for gameweek 20 is set at 11h00 (UK time) on Saturday, January 4th, 2025. The free to play FPL or pay to play season/weekend/daily games like FanTeam are ideal ways of following the Premier League action.
Most transferred in/transferred out players (as per January 2nd, 2025)
| TRANSFERS OUT | TRANSFERS IN | POSSIBLE REASONS | |
| GK | Fabianski (WHU), Sanchez (CHE), Onana (MUN) | Sels (NFO), Pickford (EVE), Kepa (BOU) | Fabianski injury doubt |
| DEF | Mazraoui (MUN), Porro (TOT), Virgil (LIV) | Aina (NFO), Hall (NEW), Alexander-Arnold (LIV) | Aina + Hall in excellent form |
| MID | Rogers (AST), Maddison (TOT), Bowen (WHU) | Diaz (LIV), Gordon (NEW), Mbeumo (BRE) | Gordon good form, Mbeumo keeps ticking, Rogers suspended, Bowen injured |
| FOR | Cunha (WOL), Jackson (CHE), Pedro (BRI) | Wood (NFO), Isak (NEW), Gakpo (LIV) | Isak excellent form, Gakpo good form, Wood now on 11 goals, Cunha suspended |
Premium pick
We recommended Mohamed Salah (£13.6m) as our stand-out premium fantasy in Gameweek 16 (and plenty of Gameweeks before that) and we’re doing it again for Gameweek 20. The Egyptian is simply too good at this very moment. He made it eleven league games in a row with at least one attacking return against West Ham in GW 19 (1 goal, 2 assists) and he is the only player in the official fantasy game to have already passed the 200-point mark in terms of FPL points. Actually, he seems to be running away with the title for highest-scoring player at the moment, as second-highest-scoring player Cole Palmer currently sits a cool 59 FPL points behind him (202 vs. 143 points). Liverpool have now got Manchester United at home coming up next, which is quite possibly the worst moment for the Mancunians to come to Anfield and Salah will be rubbing his hands as he’s scored more goals against Man Utd than any other EPL club. After their defeat in front of their own fans at the hands of Newcastle, United have now lost three consecutive home games for the first time since 1979, lost five league games in a calendar month since 1962, and lost six games in a single month for the first time since September 1930. We’re not completely sure what will happen at Anfield on Sunday, but we know one thing: Liverpool are not going to take it easy on their historic rivals.
Non-premium pick
The final Gameweek of 2024 was a welcome one for Ollie Watkins (£8.8m), as he managed to get back on the scoresheet for the first time since Gameweek 14, when he got a goal and an assist against Brentford. In Gameweek 19, he repeated that feat against Brighton, which resulted in a lovely 12 FPL points and a spot in the GW19 Team of the Week. The England international now has 8 goals and 4 assists to his name, which is perhaps slightly less than expected, but a more than decent overall tally nonetheless. On top of that, Aston Villa are playing Leicester City at home next, which looks like a good opportunity for Watkins to work on his numbers. No team has conceded more goals than the Foxes currently, who have already shipped 42 goals in the first 19 games of the season. The Villans have also got a decent-looking schedule after GW19 with away games against Everton and Wolves, and home games against West Ham and Ipswich Town between GW21 and GW25. In other words, expect Watkins to show up on the scoresheet a few more times over the coming weeks.
The budget enabler
As we are writing this piece, Nottingham Forest are third in the Premier League after 19 games. That’s right, we’re right at the halfway point in the season and the Tricky Trees are on their way to the Champions League. Of course, the season is very long still and it remains to be seen if Forest can keep their incredible performances up until the very end, but their current situation is nothing short of impressive. That is also why Anthony Elanga (£5.2m) is our budget-enabler of the week for Gameweek 20. The former Man United talent has been sensational for Forest of late, scoring 3 goals and providing 1 assist over his last four league games, thus playing a big role in the team’s ongoing 5-game win streak. At his current price tag of just £5.2m, that represents fantastic value and we see more points in his near future. In Gameweek 20, Forest are visiting Wolves (who are without star player Cunha), who together with Leicester have conceded the most goals (42) so far, and in Gameweek 22, they are playing Southampton at home. The minor downside to picking Elanga is that it’s Liverpool at home for Forest in Gameweek 21, but then again, his current price allows for a benching as he can easily serve as the fifth midfielder in your squad.
The differential
The situation in the Premier League at the moment is such that fantasy managers are actually aiming for players who are facing Manchester United. That is especially the case when those players belong to the current league leaders. In other words, Liverpool assets are going to be popular in the build-up to Gameweek 20, as if they weren’t already. We obviously included Mo Salah as our premium fantasy pick and we are now also including Cody Gakpo (£7.3m) as our differential fantasy pick for Gameweek 20. Manager Arne Slot likes to rotate a bit up front, which has led to the Netherlands international not always starting this season, but he has been delivering over the past few Gameweeks:
- GW13 (Man City home): 72 minutes, 1 goal
- GW14 (Newcastle away): 66 minutes, no attacking returns
- GW15 (blank)
- GW16: (Fulham home): 69 minutes, 1 goal
- GW17 (Spurs away): 67 minutes, no attacking returns
- GW18 (Leicester home): 90 minutes, 1 goal, 1 assist
- GW19 (West Ham away): 57 minutes, 1 goal
Gakpinho is currently owned by about 6.5% of all managers in the official fantasy game, which makes us think he represents excellent differential value for Manchester United’s upcoming visit to Anfield.
The (vice-)captaincy
Once again, our captain is Mohamed Salah.
If we would not go for Salah in a heartbeat, we’d probably slap the armband on Ollie Watkins for Villa’s home game against Leicester, or perhaps on Erling Haaland for City’s home game against West Ham. A more differential captaincy pick would be Alexander Isak for Newcastle’s visit to erratic (but entertaining) Spurs.
For further thoughts and discussions (including minleagues and side games) on the FPL season visit FISO’s FPL forum.