Fantasy Premier League Gameweek 22 Preview – Captain picks, “Who’s Hot and Who’s Not” form guide and Ones To Watch

The Yorkshire Post’s resident fantasy football expert John Mount (@Gameweek38 on Twitter), aims to guide you through Gameweek 22. Deadline – Friday 9 th January, 19:00 GMT.

Captain PicksKevin De Bruyne vs Aston Villa (A) (£10.6m)Kevin De Bruyne is a mainstay in the City attack, having started the Sky Blues’ last 13 league games. He has great form too, with three goals and four assists in his last five league games. This week he plays an Aston Villa side who currently have the worst defence in the league. Over the last six gameweeks, Villa top the charts for goals conceded (13), xG conceded (15.57), big chances conceded (23), shots conceded (103) and shots in the box conceded (77) – showing that numerous Man City goals are highly likely at Villa Park on Sunday.

Marcus Rashford vs Norwich (H) (£9.1m)Rashford scored a goal and provided an assist when Man United beat Norwich 3-1 earlier this season. Hopefully history can repeat itself as Marcus comes into this game with three goals in his last five games in all competitions. Although they lost to Man City in the Cup on Tuesday, Man United come into this game unbeaten at home in their last eight league games. On the other hand, their opponents Norwich, have lost 70% of their away games this season.

Jamie Vardy vs Southampton (H) (£10.0m)With four goals and one assist in his last five games, Vardy was in the form of his life before his daughter’s birth and a minor injury, which caused him to miss Leicester’s away trips to West Ham and Newcastle. Having returned midweek vs Aston Villa in the EFL Cup, the Yorkshireman will hope to pick up his league form where he left off against Southampton this weekend. You may recall Vardy scoring a hat-trick in a certain 9-0 win against the Saints earlier in the season…

The Form Guide - Who’s Hot?Dominic Calvert-Lewin (Everton, £5.9m)Carlo Ancelotti’s preferred striker has played every Premier League minute under the Italian’s short tenure and has the form and the fixtures to warrant a transfer into your team. Dominic has three goals in his last three league games and has taken the second most shots in the box in the league over the last six gameweeks (17), proving that he’s getting the supply he needs. Up next, Everton play Brighton, West Ham, Newcastle, Watford then Crystal Palace.

James Maddison (Leicester, £7.7m)Maddison owners were rewarded with an eleven point return against Newcastle last week as the Englishman scored his first goal in six games to take his goal tally to six so far this season. Despite the lack of goals, Maddison’s stats have been very encouraging as he has taken eleven shots in this timeframe when teammate Vardy has only taken one more.

Raul Jimenez (Wolves, £7.5m)Wolves’ Mexican maestro has been a consistent threat all season and has scored two goals and provided three assists in his last six league games. Up next, Wolves host Newcastle before travelling to Southampton in must-win games if they are to challenge for a Champions League spot.

The Form Guide – Who’s Not?Harry Kane (Tottenham, £11.0m)Out with a hamstring injury, Kane has been ruled out for the foreseeable future, which is a shame as he was just beginning to show form as he had had a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year in scoring two goals in his last three games.

Wilfried Zaha (Crystal Palace, £6.8m)Although he’s listed as having a knock, I expect Zaha to play through the pain barrier against Arsenal on Saturday, even though he’s showing poor form with only one assist in the last four gameweeks. The Ivorian’s next two games are against Arsenal and Man City, so now might be a good time to sell.

Nick Pope (Burnley, £4.6m)With no clean sheets in his last three games, Pope’s miserable run of form looks set to continue as he faces Chelsea, Leicester, Man United and Arsenal next. Although Burnley don’t face the league’s top goalscorers in Man City and Liverpool on this horrendous fixture run, I still expect them to concede in each of these games.

Ones to Watch (Less than 5% ownership)Mason Holgate (Everton, 0.9%, £4.4m)Having played every minute of Everton’s last twelve league games, Holgate looks a snip at £4.4m for a defender in a traditionally top half club with an elite-level manager. With games against Brighton, West Ham, Newcastle, Watford and Crystal Palace next, what’s not to like?

Riyad Mahrez (Man City, 5.0%, £8.4m)If Mahrez can hold a place on Man City’s right wing down then he has all the attributes required to be a fantastic Fantasy differential. With 2 goals and 2 assists in his last five games in all competitions and games against Aston Villa, Crystal Palace and Sheffield United up next, it’s amazing that he’s only owned by 5% of players.

The ExplainerTransfersAfter 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 ScoringDuring the season, your fantasy football players will be allocated points based on their performancein the Premier League. Remember, every week your captain scores double points, so pick themwisely!Points Action1 For playing up to 60 minutes2 For playing 60 minutes or more (excluding stoppage time)6 For each goal scored by a goalkeeper or defender5 For each goal scored by a midfielder4 For each goal scored by a forward3 For each goal assist4 For a clean sheet by a goalkeeper or defender1 For a clean sheet by a midfielder1 For every 3 shot saves by a goalkeeper5 For each penalty save-2 For each penalty miss1 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 goalFor more information on the rules of the game, visit https://fantasy.premierleague.com/help/rules