Fantasy Premier League: Gameweek 24 Preview – Man City’s attack and Burnley’s defence look strong ahead of the double gameweek

Man City, Everton, Burnley and Fulham have the doubles this time around therefore should be prioritised but Man United’s away game at West Brom piques our interest too.

It will be worth keeping tabs on the Friday press conferences for injury updates on Calvert-Lewin, Rodriguez, Antonio, Digne and Justin ahead of the transfer deadline on Saturday 13th February at 11am.

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

Captain Picks

Raheem Sterling (£11.6m) vs Tottenham (H) & Everton (A)

With two games to look forward to, Sterling is a great captain option if you’re wanting to back City’s strong attack. Over their last six matches, no team has had more shots on target than Man City and across the same timeframe no Man City player has taken more shots in the box than City’s number seven.

Sterling himself is in great form, having scored four goals and created one assist across his last five games. He’s also been given the captains armband by Guardiola in recent weeks which indicated his importance to the team.

Bruno Fernandes (£11.5m) vs West Brom (A)

Although he only plays one game compared to Sterling’s two this gameweek, Bruno’s game against West Brom away is arguably more straight forward than City’s two games combined.

The Baggies have conceded 24 goals across their last six home games which is double the league’s second worst tally and no player has taken more shots in their last six away games than Bruno.

This concoction of stats has Fernandes as the leading captaincy pick in most models and algorithms but the chance for only one set of appearance and bonus points swings our favour towards the double gameweekers.

Differential

Matthew Lowton (£4.5m) vs Crystal Palace (A) & Fulham (H)

With consecutive games against lower half opposition, Burnley have the chance to form a sizeable gap between them and the relegation zone as the Clarets look to end their four-game streak without a clean sheet.

With only 33 shots on target between them over their last four matches, Crystal Palace and Fulham boast the league’s second and third worst attacks by this metric so at least one Burnley clean sheet this gameweek is to be expected. Lowton is arguably Burnley’s most attacking defender too. No Burnley defender has taken more shots or created more chances than the right-back across their last four games.

The Form Guide - Who’s Hot?

Gylfi Sigurdsson (Everton, £6.8m)

Following a good performance in the cup, coupled with continuing doubts over James Rodriguez’ fitness, Sigurdsson can be a fantasy bargain if he keeps his spot in Everton’s starting line-up.

The Icelandic international bagged a goal and three assists in Everton’s 5-4 win over Spurs on Wednesday which would have scored him a massive 18 points had it been a league game. On penalties and set pieces too, he’s everything you can ask for from a mid-priced midfielder.

Phil Foden (Man City, £6.1m)

Foden recorded 16 points in a man of the match performance via a goal and two assists against Liverpool last weekend in a game which saw his talents reach new heights.

The main doubt regarding his potential as a fantasy asset remains the uncertainty over his game-time though.

City’s win vs Liverpool was only the fifth time Foden played a whole game this season and with competition for his spot from Mahrez, Bernardo Silva and Torres, there’s a strong chance that he’ll be benched for at least one of Man City’s two games.

Mason Mount (Chelsea, £6.8m)

After being named as a sub for Tuchel’s first game in charge, Mount has started every Chelsea league game since and being rested in the cup on Thursday should work to his advantage this weekend when he takes on Newcastle at home.

Over the last four gameweeks, no Chelsea player has taken more shots or created more chances than the Englishman, showing how integral he is to the Blues’ attack.

The Form Guide - Who’s Not?

Callum Wilson (Newcastle, £6.7m)

Wilson had been in great form before limping off with a hamstring injury last weekend. He had contributed two goals and two assists across his last three games but his injury is set to rule him out for the next six to eight weeks so should be transferred out of your fantasy team.

Newcastle’s next two games are away to Chelsea and Man United, so the chances are that you were going to sell him this week anyway!

Danny Ings (Southampton, £8.4m)

With just nine shots over the last four gameweeks and only one goal since early December, Danny Ings is going through a rare dry spell.

Even Shelvey and Raphinha are taking more shots than him! Saying that, Ings did score the winner against Wolves in the FA Cup on Thursday which could spark a resurgence.

Ones to Watch (Less than 5% ownership)

James Tarkowski (Burnley, £5.3m 2.7%)

If you don’t fancy Matthew Lowton as your way into the Burnley defence, James Tarkowski is probably your next best option.

He’s more of an attacking threat from set-pieces than Lowton and has taken more shots in the box than any Burnley defender this season.

Jack Harrison (Leeds, £5.4m, 2.3%)

He’s scored three goals across the last four gameweeks but less than one in forty managers own Harrison. Leading the Leeds attack with Bamford and Raphinha, these three top the charts for shooting stats over Leeds’ last four gameweeks.

With a double gameweek to look forward to after Arsenal away this weekend, it may be worth getting ahead of the curve and bringing Harrison in whilst he continues to go under the radar.

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

Support The Yorkshire Post and become a subscriber today. Your subscription will help us to continue to bring quality news to the people of Yorkshire. In return, you’ll see fewer ads on site, get free access to our app and receive exclusive members-only offers. Click HERE to subscribe.