Fantasy Premier League Gameweek 21 Preview – Captain picks, “Who’s Hot and Who’s Not” form guide and Ones To Watch

With the final deadline for the festive football coming on New Years’ Day at 1130 GMT, John Mount (@Gameweek38 on Twitter), aims to guide you through 2020’s first gameweek.

Captain Picks

Sergio Aguero vs Everton (H) (£11.7m)

With an average of a goal per start in the league this season, Aguero duly returned from injury with a goal against Southampton on Sunday. This week he faces Everton, who have failed to keep a clean sheet against Man City in their last five attempts. With an ownership of 10.6%, a successful Aguero captaincy pick would give you a huge boost up the rankings.

Mo Salah vs Sheffield United (H) (£12.3m)

Although he’s blanked in his last two games, Salah has been playing as an out and out striker for Liverpool in a 4-2-3-1 system with Firmino playing behind him. Over the same time period, the Egyptian has had the joint fifth most shots in the league and the joint third most touches in an opposition’s penalty area, proving that he’s getting into threatening areas.

Jamie Vardy vs Newcastle (A) (£10.1m)

After missing out on Saturday’s win at West Ham due to the birth of his daughter, Leicester manager Brendan Rodgers has said Vardy will be in the squad to take on Newcastle on Wednesday. Jamie has scored seventeen goals in the nineteen games he’s played this season, two of which were against Newcastle earlier this season.

The Form Guide - Who’s Hot?

Dominic Calvert-Lewin (Everton, £5.8m)

Mentioned as one to watch in last week’s Gameweek 19 and 20 article, Calvert-Lewin repaid the faith shown in him with a goal vs Burnley and a brace vs Newcastle as he continues to show form. Over the same two gameweeks, the Yorkshireman had the most shots and shots in the box in the league, proving he’s getting a consistent service from his teammates.

Ismaila Sarr (Watford, £6.2m)

Nigel Pearson’s Watford revival continues as the Hornets are now unbeaten in three games. Sarr has scored two goals and provided one assist in this time period whilst playing as a right forward alongside Troy Deeney. With five shots in the box over the last two games, Sarr could be beginning to show the form he had at Rennes last season as he totted up 13 goals in all competitions.

Lukasz Fabianksi (West Ham, £4.9m)

Fan-favourite Fabianksi returned from injury to save a penalty vs Leicester on Saturday and gained 8 fantasy points in the process. With games against Bournemouth, Sheffield United and Everton coming up in January coupled with the possibility of a new-manager bounce after the appointment of David Moyes, clean sheets could soon be on their way.

The Form Guide – Who’s Not?

Christian Pulisic (Chelsea, £7.1m)

Supposedly out with a hamsting injury, Pulisic is flagged as having a 75% chance of playing against Brighton on Wednesday. The American looked promising in October and November as he scored five goals in three games however he has now not contributed to a goal since gameweek 12. Rumours suggest that he has fallen down Lampard’s pecking order which could explain why he hasn’t started any of Chelsea’s last three league games.

Ricardo Pereira (Leicester, £6.4m)

Being rested on Saturday will have irritated Pereira owners as he has only returned with four points over the last five gameweeks. Although Leicester have an encouraging upcoming fixture run against Southampton, Burnley and West Ham in January, Pereira’s £6.4m price tag makes him the joint third most expensive defender in the game. I argue that these funds could be better spent elsewhere.

Bernardo Silva (Man City, £7.9m)

Silva’s one goal and two assists over the last eleven gameweeks falls short of high expectations for the Man City midfielder who’s underperformance may have contributed to Man City’s recent drop in form. Guardiola may be tempted to rotate the Portuguese out of upcoming games and play Foden instead.

Ones to Watch (Less than 5% ownership)

Callum Wilson (Bournemouth, 4.8%, £7.4m)

Although Bournemouth have picked up only 10 points over their last 14 games, with January fixtures against West Ham, Watford, Norwich and Brighton, you’d expect their form to pick up soon. Although Wilson is not in great form himself, if anyone is going to lift the Cherries out of this slump, many would point to him.

Djibril Sidibe (Everton, 1.3%, £5.3m)

New Everton manager Carlo Ancelotti has played Sidibe both as a right back and as a right wing-back

in his first two games and has scored 14 points in the process. Although Sidibe has Man City away up next, he would be worth holding for games against Brighton, West Ham, Newcastle, Watford and Crystal Palace after.

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