Fantasy Premier League Gameweek 25 Preview – Captain picks, ‘Who’s Hot?, Who’s Not?’ Form Guide and Ones To Watch

The mood amongst Fantasy Football managers will be split between those experiencing misery with Mane and those who were satisfied by Salah.

Predictable wins for Man City, Leicester and Tottenham meant the gameweek 24 average was high at 53 points. This week’s deadline: Saturday 1st February, 1130 GMT.

Captain Picks

Mo Salah vs Southampton (H) (£12.5m)

Due to the recent double gameweek, many Fantasy managers will be loaded up with Liverpool attackers – and rightly so! Popular pick Sadio Mane is ruled out due to injury so a switch to Salah will be a popular move. Playing at home against Southampton, I heavily expect Salah to lead the way in captaincy picks this week, especially on the back of a sixteen point haul. The Egyptian now has three goals and two assists in his last five games and tops the charts for shots (27) and big chances created (6) over the last six gameweeks. This week’s captaincy is an easy decision.

Anthony Martial vs Wolves (H) (£7.9m)

Martial has bagged a goal and an assist over his last three games against Wolves. The Frenchman scored the opener when the two teams met in gameweek two before Ruben Neves squared the tie. Martial’s form coupled with Wolves inability to keep a clean sheet in their nine consecutive games could spell more goals for the striker and no Man United player has had more shots in the box than him over the last six gameweeks (12).

The Form Guide – Who’s Hot?

John Fleck (Sheffield United, £5.0m)

Fleck’s form of a goal and an assist in his last three games bodes well as the Blades take on Crystal Palace, Bournemouth and Brighton next and might push on for a (dare I say it) spot in Europe now that Premier League survival is all but secure. With five goals so far this season, Fleck is Sheffield United’s joint top goalscorer.

Pierre Emerick Aubameyang (Arsenal, £10.7m)

With five of Arsenal’s next six games being against teams in the lower half of the league, now may be the perfect time to bring a Gunner in. Fresh after picking up a red card a few weeks ago, I expect Aubameyang to slot straight back into the starting line-up and pick up where he left off where he had scored three goals in four games.

Ayoze Perez (Leicester, £6.2m)

Three goals and three assists in his last six games means Perez could be a contender for the January player of the month. This will relieve Leicester fans who have seen Vardy’s from take an opposite turn. As well as being an attacking threat himself, Perez has created four big chances in his last six games, which ties him as the fourth most creative player in the league. Owned by a mere 7.8% of players, Perez is a nice mini differential.

The Form Guide – Who’s Not?

Matt Ryan (Brighton, £4.9m)

With only one clean sheet in his last thirteen games, it’s difficult to understand why Matt Ryan is the game’s most popular starting goalkeeper. Brighton have consecutive ‘six-pointers’ against West Ham and Watford, so if there is ever a time to tighten up at the back it is now; but with the stakes so high in both of these games, it’s hard to imagine their opposition not scoring.

George Baldock (Sheffield United, £5.1m)

After a hot streak of 32 points in four games, George Baldock’s form took a nosedive, picking up a mere 11 points in his next five. Alas, four of these five games were against traditional ‘top- six’ sides so a wobble in form was to be half expected. Owners will be hopeful of a reversion to early season form as they now play six bottom-half sides in a row.

Jamie Vardy (Leicester, £9.9m)

Regretfully, it is not Vardy’s first time in the wrong end of the form guide over recent weeks as the Yorkshireman has picked up a mere eight points over his last six games. He picked up a glute injury against West Ham last week but returned to action against Aston Villa in the League Cup, however did not look sharp. With tough upcoming games against Chelsea, Wolves and Man City up, now might be the time to cut your losses.

Ones to Watch (Less than 5% ownership)

Alex McCarthy (Southampton, £4.4m, 3.2%)

Although Southampton play Liverpool away this weekend, McCarthy has the price, form and fixtures to warrant consideration for your main goalkeeper spot. He’s the cheapest starting goalkeeper in the league, has conceded the lowest expected goals, shots, and shots in the box for a sub £5m goalkeeper and after the Liverpool game plays five bottom half teams in a row.

Gabriel Martinelli (Arsenal, £4.5m, 2.9%)

Tasked with the challenge of replacing Aubameyang while he served his suspension, Martinelli has stepped up to the mark and bagged two goals in two consecutive games. Logic would suggest that Mikel Arteta will find a way to play both strikers in a new-look front line, potentially at Alexandre Lacazette’s expense. Priced extremely low at £4.5m, the 18-year-old could be a great pick for those who spend big in midfield.

Chris Wood (Burnley, £6.2m, 1.3%)

Last week’s winner vs Man United brought on the Kiwi’s ten-goal milestone for his third consecutive season which begs the question: Is Chris Wood the most underrated striker in the league? Wood has three goals and one assist in his last four games and plays Southampton, Bournemouth and Newcastle after facing Arsenal this week. Twelve of his last thirteen shots have come from inside the box, proving that he’s a real poacher.

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