Fantasy Premier League: Gameweek 24 Preview – Captain picks, “Who’s Hot? Who’s Not?” Form Guide and Ones To Watch

Deadline – Tuesday 21 st January, 1830 GMT. Liverpool’s Club World Cup endeavours meant that their gameweek 18 fixture vs West Ham was postponed to a later date. Gameweek 24 is that date and both West Ham and Liverpool will play

twice this gameweek; West Ham will play Leicester and Liverpool will play Wolves before the two meet on 29 January to complete the double header that surrounds the FA Cup weekend.

Captain Picks

Liverpool top the league, have the tightest defence in the league and have scored in every game, so it would be wrong of me to suggest a captain that’s not a Liverpool player. Here, we’ll look at the main contenders for the armband. If you’re feeling extra confident, now could be a great time to use the Triple Captain chip.

This week, we’ll compare the stats between Liverpool’s top three point scorers: Sadio Mane, Mo Salah and Trent Alexander-Arnold.

Form: Over the last five games, Alexander-Arnold leads the way for points scored with 54, followed by Mane (31) and Salah (29). Remarkably, over the same timeframe, Trent also leads the line for goal involvement, as the marauding right back has been directly involved in five goals (one goal, four assists), compared to three goals for Salah and Mane (two goals and one assist each). Coupled with the fact that Alexander-Arnold receives four points for a clean sheet (of which Liverpool have kept six in a row), if you’re going solely on form, captaining Trent looks like the safest option.

Threat

Out of the three captain contenders, over the last five games, the statistics show that Mo Salah has been the most threatening in front of goal, not only for shots (sixteen, compared to fifteen for Mane and six for TAA), but for chances created too (thirteen, compared to seven for Mane and ten for TAA). Over the same time period, Salah has also had more touches in the opposition box, proving that he generally plays higher up the field in a more threatening role.

History

For games against Wolves and West Ham combined, Mane has the most goal involvement with seven goals and three assists over eleven games, however proportionately, Salah averages more than one goal involvement per game against Wolves and West Ham as he’s scored with five goals and four assists in seven games. As you would expect, TAA has lower attacking statistics, having only provided one assist in four games. However, in three of those four games, Trent was able to keep a clean sheet, which makes all three of these options very evenly matched.

The Form Guide – “Who’s Hot? (excluding Liverpool players)

Anthony Martial (Man United, £7.9m)

With Marcus Rashford being confirmed as out of action for the next couple of months due to a back injury, Ole Gunnar Solskjaer will hold Martial responsible to lead the line as their most senior striker in upcoming home games against Burnley and Wolves. Listed as a midfielder in the game, Martial scores more points for goals and clean sheets than a typical forward.

Craig Cathcart (Watford, £4.3m)

Watford’s recent ‘back to basics’ approach under Nigel Pearson has seen the Hornets tighten up at the back and keep three clean sheets in their last four games. After keeping Tottenham out by

around three millimetres on Saturday, Watford now play three games against lower half opposition in Aston Villa, Everton and Brighton which provides more opportunity to add to their eight clean sheets so far this season

The Form Guide – “Who’s Not?”

Raheem Sterling (Man City, £11.7m)

With no goals nor assists in his last four games, Raheem Sterling has not started 2020 well. Over the same time-frame Aguero, Jesus, De Bruyne and Mahrez have all had more than double the amount of shots, which shows how Sterling is no longer the heart of Guardiola’s tactical plans. As Sterling plays a tricky game away to Sheffield United this week, many will transfer Sterling out for Salah or Mane – myself included.

Martin Kelly (Crystal Palace, £4.4m)

With no clean sheets in their last seven games, this is currently Crystal Palace’s longest streak without a clean sheet this season and with games against form teams Southampton, Sheffield United and Everton next, this unfortunate stretch could easily continue. With no goals and only one assist all season, if Kelly isn’t bringing clean sheets in, he’s proving to be quite a deadweight.

Ones to Watch (Less than 5% ownership)

Brandon Williams (Man United, 4.6%, £4.1m)

Having started three out of Man United’s last four games, the Red Devils’ teenage left back is proving to be an instant hit with fans for his ability to get forward and whip balls into attacking

areas. Over the last four gameweeks, Williams has had more shots (two) and made more chances (three) than any other Man United defender, which bodes well with home games against Burnley and Wolves next.

Abdoulaye Doucoure (Watford, 2.4%, £5.6m)

Another beneficiary from Watford’s Pearson Plan has been Abdoulaye Doucoure. Before the Englishman took over in December, Doucoure only had one goal to his name. Since then, he’s scored twice more and provided two assists, all of which have come in his last four games as he’s started to dominate the no. 10 position between midfield and attack.

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!

Action Points

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