Fantasy Premier League: Gameweek 19 Preview – Captain Picks, “Who’s Hot, Who’s Not?” and Ones To Watch

We have 15 games to look forward to over the next eight days, all of which count towards the same gameweek.

Eleven teams have two games, eight have one game and Everton have no game at all. With so many games to look forward to, it may be worth activating your bench boost or triple captain chip, depending on how your team is set up.

One word of advice though; do your transfers on Saturday morning as you never know which game might be postponed next! Transfer deadline – Saturday 16th January at 11am.

Follow the in-house Yorkshire Post Fantasy Football expert John Mount (@Gameweek38) on Twitter for more FPL hints and tips.

Captain Picks

Kevin De Bruyne (£11.8m) vs Crystal Palace (H) & Aston Villa (H)

On paper, Man City have the most favourable fixtures this week.

The Sky Blues are on a seven-game winning streak and face an out-of-form Crystal Palace side, who have only won one of their last eight games before facing a coronavirus-struck Aston Villa team who haven’t kicked a ball since New Year’s Day.

Over the last four gameweeks, De Bruyne has taken more shots, and created more chances than any other City player, securing his status as an outstanding Man City asset.

Mo Salah (£12.5m) vs Man United (H) & Burnley (H)

With two home fixtures to look forward to, Salah is likely to be a popular captaincy choice once again.

His form and fixtures may not be as good as De Bruyne’s but you can never rule the Egyptian out. He scored the last time he played Man United and has one goal and two assists across the four times he’s faced Burnley. Having blanked in his last three games, Salah is due some good fortune.

Differential: Ollie Watkins (£6.1m) v Man City (A) & Newcastle (H)

Having not played since New Year’s Day and assuming he has no ongoing coronavirus symptoms, Watkins should be fresh and ready to face Man City before hosting Newcastle three days later.

Prior to Villa’s break in play, no player in the league had taken more shots in the box over the previous four gameweeks and having created seven chances in the same timeframe, he has the underrated threat to assist.

Although Man City away is a tough game, Newcastle at home is a favourable fixture in itself.

The Form Guide - Who’s Hot?

Phil Foden (Man City, £6.3m)

Similar to De Bruyne, Foden has great fixtures to look forward to and is in great form.

After starting just one of the previous eleven, Foden has started City’s last two league games and more importantly, he’s brought goals and assists to boot.

With two goals and one assist across these two games he looks increasingly undroppable and provides great value as a result.

Aaron Cresswell (West Ham, £5.4m)

With two great fixtures to look forward to, Cresswell can gain points from both clean sheets and goal involvement.

With six assists already this season, over the last six gameweeks no West Ham defender has taken more shots or had more chances from open play than Cresswell, as well as averaging five crosses per game.

On corners too, a double digit haul for Cresswell this gameweek seems likely.

The Form Guide - Who’s Not?

Wilfried Zaha (Crystal Palace, £7.4m)

With just one goal in his last seven games, Zaha’s poor form looks set to continue as he faces Man City (the league’s best defence) this week.

With only one game this week, it’s logical to sell Zaha for a player in better form with a double gameweek. Phil Foden, El Ghazi and Jack Grealish all come to mind.

Kyle Walker-Peters (Southampton, £4.8m)

Again, with just one tough game this gameweek (Leicester away), followed by fixtures against Arsenal, Aston Villa and Man United, it might be time to sell Southampton assets ahead of this tricky run.

Clean sheets look unlikely in this stretch and KWP has no goals and only two assists so far this season, proving that he’s not much of an attacking threat.

Ones to Watch (Less than 5% ownership)

Michail Antonio (West Ham, £6.2m, 4.6%)

Having played 90 minutes in the FA Cup last weekend, Antonio’s return to fitness is perfectly timed ahead of home games against Burnley and West Brom this gameweek.

Although he hasn’t started a league game since November, following the recent sale of Sebastien Haller, Moyes will rely on Antonio to lead the West Ham line as the club’s only recognised striker. Antonio started the season well with three goals across the first five league games.

Edinson Cavani (Man United, £7.8m, 2.0%)

Anthony Martial limping off vs Burnley creates a hole in the Man United attack and although we don’t know the extent of the Frenchman’s injury, Cavani is very much expected to start vs Liverpool and possibly against Fulham too.

Facing Sheffield United next week is an added bonus.

The Explainer

Transfers

After picking your initial squad, you receive 1 free transfer each Gameweek. Each additional transfer you make in the same Gameweek will deduct 4 points from your score.

If you do not use your free transfer, you are able to make an additional free transfer the following Gameweek. If you do not use this saved free transfer in the following Gameweek, it will be carried over until you do. You can never have more than 1 saved transfer.

For example, since you get 1 free transfer per gameweek, if you make no transfers between gameweeks, you will have 2 free transfers in preparation for the next gameweek. You will incur a 4 point hit per transfer over your free transfer allowance.

Point Scoring

During the season, your fantasy football players will be allocated points based on their performance in the Premier League. Remember, every week your captain scores double points, so pick them wisely!

Points Action

1 For playing up to 60 minutes

2 For playing 60 minutes or more (excluding stoppage time)

6 For each goal scored by a goalkeeper or defender

5 For each goal scored by a midfielder

4 For each goal scored by a forward

3 For each goal assist

4 For a clean sheet by a goalkeeper or defender

1 For a clean sheet by a midfielder

1 For every 3 shot saves by a goalkeeper

5 For each penalty save

-2 For each penalty miss

1 to 3 Bonus points for the best players in a match

-1 For every 2 goals conceded by a goalkeeper or defender

-1 For each yellow card

-3 For each red card

-2 For each own goal

For more information on the rules of the game, visit https://fantasy.premierleague.com/help/rules

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