Which Leeds United player should you sneak into your Fantasy Premier League Gameweek 12 line-up
United were dumped out of the Champions League on Tuesday and will be keen to bounce back.
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Hide AdElsewhere, there is expected to be a gulf in class when Fulham host Liverpool on Sunday in what is the stand-out game for fantasy reasons.
Leeds host West Ham in Friday’s fixture which brings the transfer deadline forward to tonight at 6.30pm.
Follow the in-house Yorkshire Post Fantasy Football expert John Mount (@Gameweek38) on Twitter for more FPL hints and tips.
Captain Picks
Sadio Mane (£12.0m) vs Fulham (A)
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Hide AdHaving taken more shots (15) than any other Liverpool player over the last six gameweeks, Mane is a great captain pick for those who don’t fancy Mo Salah.
Having played 87 fewer minutes than the Egyptian in the Champions League on Wednesday, Mane should be fit and fresh come Sunday. He also scored last time he played at Craven Cottage, too.
Kevin De Bruyne (£11.8m) vs Man United (A)
With more minutes (742) than any other Man City attacker, De Bruyne personifies the Sky Blues’ attack. On set-piece and penalty duty, he’s a consistent threat from dead ball situations but it’s the fact that he averages a shot every 22 and a half minutes and creates a chance every 26 and a half minutes that makes De Bruyne the ultimate fantasy asset.
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Hide AdIn Man United, Man City have tough opponents but with the victor being the away side in six of the last eight times they’ve played each other, the recent trend favours City.
Timo Werner (£9.5m) vs Everton (A)
Having only scored one goal in the last four gameweeks, Werner’s ‘expected goal’ stat of 2.66 across the same timeframe shows us that A: His finishing has not been great recently (featuring a howler vs Leeds last week) and B: He’s getting the service and opportunities to score. In Everton, Chelsea play a team who haven’t kept a clean sheet in their last ten games, are missing their first choice full-backs (Digne and Coleman) and have lost four of their last six. If you think he can sort his finishing out, Timo is the man.
The Form Guide - Who’s Hot?
Callum Wilson (Newcastle, £6.6m)
After many sold Wilson last week for not having a game, now may be a great time to bring him in ahead of a great fixture run where he plays the three newly promoted sides (West Brom, Leeds and Fulham) in consecutive gameweeks.
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Hide AdWith seven goals and three assists so far this season, Wilson averages a goal involvement per game and should do well against the weaker teams.
Christian Pulisic (Chelsea, £8.2m)
With Hakim Ziyech out until Christmas with a hamstring injury, Pulisic is expected to regain his spot on Chelsea’s right-wing over the busy festive period.
With games against Wolves, West Ham and Arsenal coming up after Everton away this weekend, Chelsea have a decent schedule against teams they will be expected to beat. Averaging a goal involvement every 100 minutes last season, Pulisic will prove to be great value if he can do the same this time around.
Gabriel (Arsenal, £5.1m)
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Hide AdAs an aerial threat with the chance for clean sheets against Burnley, Southampton and Everton over the next few games, Gabriel could be a great mini differential.
He’s scored two goals already this season (joint third highest for a defender) and is by far Arsenal’s most attacking defender from set plays. Over 30,000 people have already transferred him in this week.
The Form Guide - Who’s Not?
Phil Foden (Man City, £6.4m)
Having been transferred out by over 55,000 managers this week, it’s safe to say that Foden’s time is up.
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Hide AdThe youngster has only played 50 minutes of premier league football over the last five gameweeks, with most of his gametime coming in the Champions League.
City won convincingly against Fulham last week without him so I doubt that he’ll return to the starting line-up against Man United on Saturday.
Tammy Abraham (Chelsea, £7.2m)
With two goals across the last four gameweeks, it’s not like Abraham is out of form, it’s just that Olivier Giroud’s form is better.
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Hide AdLast weekend, the Frenchman scored in his first league start of the season in a game which came three days after scoring a hat-trick. Giroud is not nailed on up front but I expect Abraham to play more of a supporting role over the busy Christmas period.
Ones to Watch (Less than 5% ownership)
Raheem Sterling (Man City, £11.4m, 4.0%)
After being benched for the two previous weeks, Sterling returned to the City starting eleven with a goal and an assist to surely stake his claim for a starting spot moving forward. With three goals and two assists across the nine games he’s played in this season, it’s not like he’s not delivering but still only one in 25 fantasy managers have him! Of course, Kevin De Bruyne is the favoured City pick but if you don’t fancy him, Sterling is an option.
Harvey Barnes (Leicester, £6.9m, 3.7%)
With three goals in his last four games, Barnes would be a great fantasy prospect if he could nail down a spot in Leicester’s starting line-up.
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Hide AdTwo of Barnes’ aforementioned goals came in the Europa League yet he’s only started one of Leicester’s last four league games. As Leicester’s joint-second fantasy point scorer, if you think there’s a chance he starts this week, he’ll be a great punt for a differential.
Rodrigo Moreno (Leeds, £5.7m, 2.1%)
Rodrigo could set the gameweek off in style tonight. Being eased back into the squad following an injury last month, Marcelo Bielsa has confirmed that the Spanish international will start the game against West Ham. He averages a shot every 20 minutes so Leeds fans will be thankful for his return.
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.
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Hide AdIf 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
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Hide AdFor more information on the rules of the game, visit https://fantasy.premierleague.com/help/rules
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