Gameweek 10 was another big one for the differentials, with just two players in the FPL Team of the Week boasting an ownership of more than 10%. These were Newcastle’s Callum Wilson with 12 FPL points and Man City fullback Kyle Walker with 9 points. Of the remaining nine players, only hattrick hero and player of the week Riyad Mahrez was owned by more than 2.8% of all managers, while no less than six players were owned by less than 2%.
As a result, many of the popular fantasy picks, such as Dominic Calvert-Lewin (at home against Leeds), Spurs duo Heung-Min Son and Harry Kane (versus Chelsea away), and Timo Werner (at home against Spurs) all blanked. At an average of 44 points, GW10 wasn’t a very high-scoring round, but nevertheless an interesting one with just five weeks to go until the end of the first half of the FPL season. December is always an important time of the year for fantasy football and football betting fans with the increased number of games paid over the Christmas schedule. Taking advantage of promotional codes can be a sensible move from sites such as https://mybettingsites.co.uk/promo-codes/paddy-power-promo-code/ which is popular.
BUSINESS AS “USUAL” FOR MAN CITY
Of course, there is nothing “usual” about a 5-0 victory in the Premier League, but Pep Guardiola’s Man City finally looked like the skyblue title challenger we have gotten used to over the past years in the home game against Burnley. With Kevin de Bruyne as orchestrator and Riyad Mahrez as the main danger man, they didn’t give the Clarets much room to breathe. After a rather difficult start to the campaign, City has now entered a stretch of more favourable fixtures, on paper at least. Over the coming five weeks, for example, they are facing Fulham, West Bromwich Albion and Newcastle at the Etihad. On top of that, City has already qualified for the knock-out stages of the Champions League with two gameweeks to go, which should have a positive impact on their fitness and injury risks, and therefore their starting lineups in the Premier League. Do remember though, Pep is still Pep.
IMPRESSIVE LEEDS
Many people, including yours truly, expected a high-scoring affair at Goodison Park last weekend when Leeds came to visit. With a total of 38 attempts on goal, 15 for the home side and 23 for the visitors, there were plenty of opportunities to score and a 3-3 scoreline seemed more likely, but in the end, only Leeds midfielder Raphinha managed to find the net. As usual, the Whites did not refrain from attacking and their gameplay was a true joy to watch at times. When Marcelo Bielsa’s start to click, they really click. Their clean sheet was not so much courtesy of solid defending as it was of Everton’s poor finishing, but the objective was always clear: Whatever happens, we need to score more than the opponent. With three home games in the coming five weeks, against West Ham, Newcastle and Burnley, and a couple of very interesting (and budget-friendly) fantasy options on their roster, Leeds are definitely a team to keep an eye for coming FPL transfer plans.
TOOTHLESS ARSENAL
It’s a bit strange to call a team boasting the likes of Pierre-Americk Aubameyang, Alexandre Lacazette and Willian “toothless”, but it’s a more than fitting label for Arsenal at the moment. Over the last six games, the Gunners manage to score just two goals, once at Old Trafford in gameweek 7 and once at home versus Wolves last weekend. The London club won the FA Cup within a few months after Mikel Arteta’s appointment as manager last season and spirits were high in the build-up to the current campaign. The feeling was only reinforced by Aubameyang’s contract extension a few months ago. At the moment though, Arsenal are nowhere near being a challenger for the European spots, mainly due to their shyness in front of goal. From GW12, their fixture calendar turns a bit more appealing again, but for now, we wouldn’t recommend investment in any of their fantasy assets. The Gunners first need to show some fire(power) again.
LAMPARD DID IT
After conceding a worrying 54 goals in 38 games during the 2019-20 Premier League campaign, few people were confident in manager Frank Lampard’s ability to turn Chelsea into a defensively solid unit. Like this season, scoring wasn’t the issue last season either (69 league goals in total), but the defensive line looked like too much of a problem. Now, about six months later and 10 games into the new Premier League season, only Spurs have conceded less goals than the Blues (9 vs 10). Mister Abramovich obviously spent big bucks to bring in reinforcements in the persons of Ben Chilwell, Edouard Mendy and Thiago Silva, but for the moment, it’s working. Lampard’s men failed to score against a classic defensive Mourinho Spurs side, but they didn’t allow for much danger in their own area either. Simply said, the Blues are hot at the moment, both as fantasy picks and in real life. The upcoming schedule is alright, so we wouldn’t be surprised to see increased investment in Chelsea assets over the coming weeks.
ASTON VILLA vs NEWCASTLE POSTPONED
Finally, more of a public service announcement than a review of last weekend’s action. After a small explosion of infections in the Newcastle camp, their training grounds were closed on Monday and Tuesday. The Magpies immediately requested for Friday’s game at Villa Park to be postponed and the request was approved. From a fantasy point of view, popular fantasy assets like Callum Wilson and Jack Grealish will noticeably be absent from the next gameweek’s FPL action. A new date for the match has not yet been announced.